cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonprofit organization financial performance measurement: An evaluation of new and existing financial performance measures

Consensus about financial performance measurement remains elusive for nonprofit organization (NPO) researchers and practitioners alike, due in part to an overall lack of empirical tests of existing and new measures. The purpose of the current study was to explore potential similarities of financial performance measures derived from two sources: current NPO research and key informant interviews with NPO foundation constituencies. The authors examined financial performance measurement ratios with data from fifteen Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 line items. Using factor analytic techniques, they found three performance factors, each with two associated financial measurement ratios, to be present. They categorized the performance factors as fundraising efficiency, public support, and fiscal performance. This article discusses implications of the findings and future research.
Unknown blocking scheme for low control data volume and high observability

This paper presents a new blocking logic to block unknowns for temporal compactors. The proposed blocking logic can reduce data volume required to control the blocking logic and also increase the number of scan cells that are observed by the temporal compactors. Control patterns, which describe values required at the control signals of the blocking logic, are compressed by LFSR reseeding. In this paper, the blocking logic gates for some groups of scan chains that do not capture unknowns are bypassed. Since all the scan cells in these scan chain groups are observed without specifying the corresponding bits in control patterns, fewer specified bits are required and more scan cells are observed. The seed size is further reduced by reducing numbers of specified bits in the densely specified control patterns. The proposed method can always achieve the same fault coverage that can be achieved by direct observation of scan chains. Experiments with large industrial designs clearly demonstrate that the proposed method is scalable to large circuits. Hardware overhead for the proposed blocking logic is very low.
An Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of Survey Response Data On Household Electricity Conservation

In this article, we evaluate the reliability and validity of responses to a survey question inquiring as to whether or not households reduced electricity consumption during the energy crisis by directly comparing survey responses with actual kwh electricity consump tion data before and after second energy crisis of 1979. A response bias arises to the extent that when respondents are confronted directly by an interviewer, they are inclined to provide the interviewer with a socially acceptable response, namely that they reduced their consumption of electricity. Our analysis using data from a large sample of Hawaii households revealed that a bias toward overreporting electricity conservation indeed existed. However, the larger source of error stemmed from response unreliability, as indicated by the weak correlation between reported conservation behavior and actual electricity conservation.
D2D Communication Underlay in Uplink Cellular Networks with Fractional Power Control and Fractional Frequency Reuse

Underlaying Device-to-Device (D2D) communications in next generation (5G) cellular networks is a promising technology because D2D can exploit the proximity of communication pairs and reuse existing cellular frequency resources. Although D2D communication has a great potential to improve the capacity and spectral efficiency of the overall system, the interference between D2D user equipment (DUE) and cellular user equipment (CUE) needs to be properly tackled in order to achieve the target performance gains. Fractional frequency reuse (FFR) has been demonstrated as an effective scheme to mitigate uplink interference. Further, uplink power control in a cellular network is a widely employed mechanism to manage interference across the uplink network while improving spectral efficiency. Existing uplink fractional power control (FPC) in LTE trades off reasonably well the cell-edge UE performance with the overall system performance. In this paper, we study the performance of D2D communications underlaying an uplink LTE network which utilizes both FPC and FFR. FPC in such a network is slightly different than the existing FPC mechanism in that it is only applied within certain geographical areas. In such a system, geometry information is exploited to allocate resources so that significant interference reduction can be attained. Coverage analysis is conducted for both CUEs and DUEs by following a mathematically trackable Poisson Point Process (PPP) model. A spectral efficiency study is also presented along with the impact of various uplink parameters on the system performance.
Uric Acid Production in Normal and Gouty subjects, Determined by by N15 Labeled Glycine.∗:

Summary1. Glycine was synthesized by the Schoenheimer and Ratner method with a modification (ion exchange resins) which in our hands gave better yields. 2. N15 tagged glycine was fed to a normal and to a gouty subject while they were on the same constant, low protein, low purine, 2000-calorie diet. Daily urine samples were analyzed for total nitrogen and uric acid, as well as for isotope concentration in these 2 fractions. 3. No significant difference could be found between the 2 subjects in the isotope distribution of the total nitrogen or uric acid. The percentage of N15 excreted as uric acid was no greater in the gouty than in the normal subject. The significance of this finding in relation to the pathogenesis of gout is discussed.
Fast Evaporation of Spreading Droplets of Colloidal Suspensions

When a coffee droplet dries on a countertop, a dark ring of coffee solute is left behind, a phenomenon often referred to as the coffee-ring effect. A closely related yet less-well-explored phenomenon is the formation of a layer of particles, or skin, at the surface of the droplet during drying. In this work, we explore the behavior of a mathematical model that can qualitatively describe both phenomena. We consider a thin axisymmetric droplet of a colloidal suspension on a horizontal substrate undergoing spreading and evaporation. In contrast to prior work, precursor films (rather than pinned contact lines) are present at the droplet edge, and evaporation is assumed to be limited by how quickly molecules can transfer out of the liquid phase (rather than by how quickly they can diffuse through the gas phase). The lubrication approximation is applied to simplify the mass and momentum conservation equations, and the colloidal particles are allowed to influence the droplet rheology through their effect on the ...
Results of wind-tunnel testing from the piezoelectric aerostatic response tailoring investigation

This paper presents the results of ground and wind-tunnel tests from the Piezoelectric Aeroelastic Response Tailoring Investigation. The key objectives of this research were to demonstrate active control of aeroelastic response at subcritical speeds (conditions below the wing flutter speed) and wing flutter suppression using a large-scale aeroelastic wind-tunnel model with distributed piezoelectric actuators. Experimental methodologies, challenges, and results are discussed. Active flutter suppression and reduced response at subcritical speeds using piezoelectric actuation was successfully demonstrated in NASA-Langley's Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. (Author)
Baroreflex control of the rat tail circulation in normothermia and hyperthermia

The role of thermoregulatory background in the baroreceptor reflex control of the tail circulation was investigated 1) in anesthetized rats with a constant flow technique and 2) in conscious rats by measuring tail blood flow (venous occlusion plethysmography). In series I, during normothermia, systemic intravenous phenylephrine infusion increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) by 61.0 +/- 3.6 mmHg and induced a reflex decrease in tail perfusion pressure (TPP) from 105.0 +/- 6.3 to 84.2 +/- 4.4 mmHg (P less than 0.005). Hyperthermia decreased TPP to 66.5 +/- 5.1 mmHg (P less than 0.001) and abolished the TPP response to increased MAP (P greater than 0.05). Increases in MAP via systemic infusion of whole blood caused reductions in TPP during normothermia but failed to reduce TPP further during hyperthermia. Graded decreases in MAP during both normothermia and hyperthermia caused tail vasoconstriction. The increase in TPP was greater (P less than 0.025) during hyperthermia. In series II, conscious animals showed similar responses to hemorrhage. Graded decreases in MAP produced graded decreases in tail vascular conductance (TVC, ml.100 ml-1.min-1.100 mmHg-1). The slope of the TVC-MAP relationship averaged 0.011 +/- 0.003 TVC U/mmHg during normothermia and was markedly steeper (P less than 0.01) during hyperthermia (1.99 +/- 0.39 TVC U/mmHg). Thus the participation of the cutaneous vasculature of the rat in baroreceptor reflexes depends on thermal status, probably through the level of background sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerve activity.
Letter to the Editor: Author Response

Re: Hansen AR, Pritchard T, Melnic I, Zhang J. Physical activity, screen-time, and school absenteeism: self-reports from NHANES 2005–2008. Curr Med Res Opin 2016;32:651-9Dear Editor,Thank you for s...
Cushioned extended-periphery avoidance: A reactive obstacle avoidance plugin

While collision avoidance and flight stability are generally a micro air vehicle's (MAVs) highest priority, many map-based path planning algorithms focus on path optimality, often assuming a static, known environment. For many MAV applications a robust navigation solution requires responding quickly to obstacles in dynamic, tight environments with non-negligible disturbances. This article first outlines the Reactive Obstacle Avoidance Plugin framework as a method for leveraging map-based algorithms while providing low-latency, high-bandwidth response to obstacles. Further, we propose and demonstrate the effectiveness of the Cushioned Extended-Periphery Avoidance (CEPA) algorithm. By representing recent laser scans in the current body-fixed polar coordinate frame, a 360° lower-bound understanding of the environment is available. With this extended field of view, motion assumptions common in other reactive planners can be relaxed and emergency control effort can be applied in any direction. CEPA is validated in simulation and on hardware in a GPS-denied environment using strictly onboard computation and sensing.
Prognostic significance of thrombocytosis in idiopathic sideroblastic anemia

In order to determine the prognostic significance of thrombocytosis in idiopathic sideroblastic anemia, the clinical courses of 17 patients were reviewed. Six patients (36%) had thrombocytosis, and none developed acute leukemia. Nine patients (53%) had normal platelet counts, and one developed acute leukemia. Two patients (12%) were thrombocytopenic, and one died of acute leukemia. There was little correlation between survival and platelet count. Sixty-three additional case reports of idiopathic sideroblastic anemia were collected from the literature. Analysis of those patients and the patients in the present study documented transformation to acute leukemia in 5 of 9 (56%) thrombocytopenic patients, 4 of 54 (7.4%) patients with normal platelet counts, and 0 of 17 patients with thrombocytosis (p less than 0.05). Therefore patients with idiopathic sideroblastic anemia and thrombocytosis appear to have a decreased likelihood of leukemic transformation.
Alate Semiochemicals Release Worker Behavior During Fire Ant Nuptial Flights

Bioassays conducted during induced laboratory mating flights of Solenopsis invicta Buren investigated whether alate semiochemicals stimulate formation of the worker retinues that accompany alates d...
The power of “wealth, nobility and men:” Inequality and corruption in Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories

This article draws a connection between socio-economic inequality and political corruption based on a reading of Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories. Prevailing interpretations of the Histories attribute the moral corruption and civil conflict Machiavelli condemns as the source of Florence’s republican failure to the unique historical conditions of early-modern Florence. In this article, I trace Florentine corruption and factionalism to the perennial problem of inequality. Through his narration of the two centuries of Florentine history leading up to Cosimo de Medici’s ascent to first citizen, I contend, Machiavelli demonstrates the deleterious effect of inequality on the social relations, organizational forms, and modes of collective action in Florence. At the same time, his depiction of Florence’s transformation from a quasi-feudal commune dominated by a nobility with private armies to a modern commercial city ruled through patronage illustrates the contingent modality of inequality and the particularly ...
Exploring associations between state education initiatives and teachers' sleep: A social-ecological approach.

Abstract Social policies that are not specifically aimed at impacting health can still have health consequences. State education reforms, such as standardized testing and stringent accountability for schools and teachers, may affect teacher health by changing their working conditions. This study explores associations between state education initiatives and teachers’ sleep, an important predictor of productivity and chronic health conditions. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2013 and 2014 data sets provided sleep and demographic data for 7836 teachers in 29 states in the United States. We linked the teacher data to state education reform data from the U.S. Department of Education. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of reporting inadequate sleep (i.e., p p
Minimally Invasive Approach and Endovascular Techniques for Vascular Trauma

Vascular injury continues to be associated with high morbidity and mortality rates, requiring timely and effective management in the earliest phases after injury in order to optimize outcomes. The management of these injuries has traditionally required operative surgical intervention. In recent years, however, the evolution of endovascular technologies has expanded the therapeutic modalities available to trauma providers. Endovascular intervention for vascular injury may particularly hold promise in the treatment of vascular injuries at locations that demand complex or challenging exposures in order to facilitate effective repair.
Representing and Querying Imperfect Spatio-Temporal Information in an Object-based Framework

Storing and managing large collections of spatio-temporal information is necessary in several applications to infer hidden knowledge from the study of the evolution of natural phenomena. For example, for the study of the variation of temperatures in a region, of the evolution of the soil coverage over a period of time, of the recurrence of natural hazards in critical areas, of the spreading of pollution or epidemics.
Interactive Planning and Sensing in Uncertain Environments with Task-Driven Sensor Placement

We consider the problem of planning the path of a vehicle, called the actor, to traverse a threat field with minimum threat exposure. The threat field is an unknown, time-invariant, and strictly positive scalar field defined on a compact 2D spatial domain estimated by a network of mobile sensors. The threat field is assumed to be finitely parametrized by coefficients of spatial basis functions. Estimates of these parameters are constructed using measurements from the sensors. A novelty of this problem setup is that the actor can request the sensors to reposition themselves. The actor and the sensors interact iteratively. At each iteration, Dijkstra's algorithm is used to determine the actor's path with minimum expected threat exposure. Next, a set of grid points “near” this path are identified. Finally, the next set of sensor locations is determined to maximize the confidence of threat field estimates on these grid points, the threat field estimate is accordingly updated, and the iteration repeats. We study the convergence of these iterations and the actor's performance under this interactive sensor placement method. We compare the proposed method to a typical information-driven sensor placement approach. We demonstrate that in comparison, not only is the proposed method faster by at least two orders of magnitude, but in certain situations also results in improved actor performance.
IL-4 and IL-13 Guide Early Thymic Progenitors To Mature toward Dendritic Cells

Recently we reported that IL-4 and IL-13 signaling in murine early thymic progenitors (ETPs) expressing the heteroreceptor (HR) comprising IL-4 receptor α (IL-4Rα) and IL-13 receptor α 1 (IL-13Rα1) activate STAT6 and inhibit ETP maturation potential toward T cells. In this study, we asked whether IL-4 and IL-13 signaling through the HR mobilizes other STAT molecules to shape ETP fate decision. The findings indicate that HR+ ETPs undergoing cytokine signaling display increased STAT1, but not STAT3, phosphorylation in addition to STAT6 activation. In parallel, the ETPs had a STAT1-dependent heightened expression of IRF-8, a transcription factor essential for development of CD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs). Interestingly, STAT1 phosphorylation and IRF-8 upregulation, which are independent of STAT6 activation, guided ETP maturation toward myeloid cells with a CD8α+ DC phenotype. Furthermore, these CD8α+ DCs display a thymic resident phenotype, as they did not express SIRPα, a molecule presumed to be involved in cell migration. These findings suggest that IL-4 and IL-13 cytokine-induced HR signaling provides a double-edged sword that simultaneously blocks T cell lineage potential but advances myeloid maturation that could impact T cell selection and central tolerance.
Dataset of 24-subject EEG recordings during viewing of real-world objects and planar images of the same items.

Abstract Here we present a collection of electroencephalographic (EEG) data recorded from 24 observers (14 females, 10 males, mean age: 25.4) while observing individually-presented stimuli comprised of 96 real-world objects, and 96 images of the same items printed in high-resolution. EEG was recorded from 128 scalp channels. Six additional external electrodes were used to record vertical and horizontal electrooculogram, as well as the signal from the left and right mastoid. EEG has been pre-processed, segmented in non-overlapping epochs, and independent component analysis (ICA) has been conducted to reject artifacts. Moreover, supplemental pre-processing steps have been completed to facilitate the analysis of event-related potentials (ERP). These data are linked to the article “Distinct visuo-motor brain dynamics for real-world objects versus planar images”. Alongside this data we provide the custom-written Matlab® code that can be used to fully reproduce all analyses and figures presented in the linked research article.
Pulmonary Artery Diastolic Pressure Measurement Improved by Use of Analog Circuits

Most of the pressure amplifiers currently being used in intensive care intravascular pressure monitoring do not operate satisfactorily on patients in respiratory distress. Most pressure amplifiers using a digital display perform well on patients who are stable and have little respiratory difficulty. Depending on their basic circuitry, when used on a patient either in congestive heart failure or with other disorders affecting pulmonary function, these amplifiers will either display a diastolic pressure 5 to 10 torr low or will display a wildly fluctuating pressure. A small analog computer circuit, to be retrofitted into standard ICU pressure amplifiers, has been developed to measure and accurately display diastolic pressures.
Infective endocarditis due to Granulicatella elegans presenting with musculoskeletal symptoms

A 62-year-old man with essential hypertension and right L4-L5 hemilaminectomy was referred to rheumatology for evaluation of severe arthralgia and myalgia for 12 months. Review of symptoms was significant for night sweats and 20 pounds unintentional weight loss. Physical examination was significant for holosystolic murmur best heard at the cardiac apex of unclear chronicity. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated inflammatory markers, white blood cell count and B-type natriuretic peptide. Transoesophageal echocardiogram showed flail posterior mitral leaflet with severe mitral regurgitation and two vegetations (2.5×1 cm and 1.6×0.3 cm). Abdominal CT showed new focal splenic infarcts, and a brain MRI revealed subacute infarcts, consistent with the embolic phenomenon. Blood cultures grew Granulicatella elegans. The patient underwent mitral valve replacement surgery followed by 6 weeks of parenteral therapy with vancomycin and gentamicin, with full recovery at a 3-month follow-up.
Control Barrier Functions for Complete and Incomplete Information Stochastic Systems

Real-time controllers must satisfy strict safety requirements. Recently, Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) have been proposed that guarantee safety by ensuring that a suitably-defined barrier function remains bounded for all time. The CBF method, however, has only been developed for deterministic systems and systems with worst-case disturbances and uncertainties. In this paper, we develop a CBF framework for safety of stochastic systems. We consider complete information systems, in which the controller has access to the exact system state, as well as incomplete information systems where the state must be reconstructed from noisy measurements. In the complete information case, we formulate a notion of barrier functions that leads to sufficient conditions for safety with probability 1. In the incomplete information case, we formulate barrier functions that take an estimate from an extended Kalman filter as input, and derive bounds on the probability of safety as a function of the asymptotic error in the filter. We show that, in both cases, the sufficient conditions for safety can be mapped to linear constraints on the control input at each time, enabling the development of tractable optimization-based controllers that guarantee safety, performance, and stability. Our approach is evaluated via simulation study on an adaptive cruise control case study.
2019 Town Hall on Human Factors and Ergonomics for Patient Work

The 2019 Town Hall gathers stakeholders in the human factors and ergonomics (HFE) community who share an interest in applying HFE to study and improve patient work, an area called “patient ergonomi...
Optimal maintenance decisions for deteriorating quoin blocks in miter gates subject to uncertainty in the condition rating protocol

Abstract Condition assessments and rating systems are frequently used by field engineers to assess inland navigation assets and components. The goal of these assessments is to initiate effective risk-informed budget plans for maintenance and repair/replace. Ideally, a degradation model of every component failure mode in the gate would facilitate maintenance decision-making. However, sometimes there is no clear physical understanding how a damage progresses in time; for example, it isn't clear how the bearing gaps change in time in the quoin blocks of a miter gate. Therefore, this is one motivation for the framework proposed in this paper, which integrates Structural Health Monitoring with a Markov transition matrix built from historical condition assessment. To show the applicability of this framework, two examples are presented of how to find the optimal time to plan for maintenance of components in miter gates i) static maintenance planning based on operational condition assessment (OCA) ratings only and ii) dynamic maintenance planning based on integration of damage diagnostics based on monitoring data and failure prognosis based on OCA ratings. In addition, this paper presents a new Bayesian approach to estimate the ratio of errors in the OCA ratings, which allows for improved accuracy in OCA rating-based prognosis.
Sexual Misconduct: Are You Aware?

Sexual misconduct, a continuum of unwanted acts and behaviors that ranges from discrimination to assault, is a growing concern in health care. There is often a power dynamic involved, with the perpetrator having greater positional power than the victim. Both health care providers and educators in health care programs need to be aware of sexual misconduct. This includes using consent when working with a patient and/or student as wells as being sensitive to how varying contextual factors impact how actions and conversations are received. Schools and programs have a responsibility to educate individuals on prevention and recognition of sexual misconduct, reporting sexual misconduct, and responding to sexual misconduct.
Commentary: Is the Statistic Value All We Should Care about in Neuroimaging?

Abstract Here we address an important issue that has been embedded within the neuroimaging community for a long time: the absence of effect estimates in results reporting in the literature. The statistic value itself, as a dimensionless measure, does not provide information on the biophysical interpretation of a study, and it certainly does not represent the whole picture of a study. Unfortunately, in contrast to standard practice in most scientific fields, effect (or amplitude) estimates are usually not provided in most results reporting in the current neuroimaging publications and presentations. Possible reasons underlying this general trend include: 1) lack of general awareness, 2) software limitations, 3) inaccurate estimation of the BOLD response, and 4) poor modeling due to our relatively limited understanding of FMRI signal components. However, as we discuss here, such reporting damages the reliability and interpretability of the scientific findings themselves, and there is in fact no overwhelming reason for such a practice to persist. In order to promote meaningful interpretation, cross validation, reproducibility, meta and power analyses in neuroimaging, we strongly suggest that, as part of good scientific practice, effect estimates should be reported together with their corresponding statistic values. We provide several easily adaptable recommendations for facilitating this process.
A highly efficient chain code for compression using an agent-based modeling simulation of territories in biological beavers

Abstract The accelerated developments in technology led to a tremendous increase in the volumes of data to be transferred and exchanged between various network channels. These advancements create a huge demand for researchers to investigate new data compression techniques. Recent evidence from the literature shows that agent-based modeling is a promising direction to reduce the size of the data and change its original representation. In this article, the objective is to build an agent-based modeling simulation for chain coding and take advantage of it in data compression. Our agent-based model is inspired by the concept of defended territories of biological beavers. To this end, we use the pixel distribution in a bi-level image to construct a virtual environment of agents, add the beavers, and build territories around them. The main idea of defended beaver territories is to allow each beaver to maintain its area and protects it from intruders. To put it another way, defended territories allow beavers to work on different parts of an image while the algorithm tracks and records their movements, as well as manages disputes between them. Our research findings represent a further step towards employing the generated codes of movements in image processing operations other than coding and compression. Additionally, the experimental results showed that the current model was prosperous, and it could outperform many existing image compression techniques, including JBIG family methods. What’s more, paired-samples t-tests reveal that the mean differences between the outcomes of the current approach and each of the other standardized benchmarks we employed in comparison are statistically significant.
Who They Are and What They Want

On November 1, 1962, Estelle Griswold, the executive director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, and Charles Lee Buxton, the head of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University, opened a clinic in New Haven, Connecticut. The clinic was one of several that Planned Parenthood had opened in Connecticut over the prior few decades. Like the other clinics, this one's purpose was to provide birth control information to married couples and dispense contraceptives to married women. Within days of opening the clinic, Griswold and Buxton were arrested for violating an 1879 Connecticut statute, which prohibited any person from using “any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception.” Violators could be fined or imprisoned for up to a year, and Connecticut law stated that “[a]ny person who assists, abets, counsels, causes, hires or commands another to commit any offense may be prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal offender.” Griswold and Buxton were found guilty as accessories to violating the anti-contraceptive statute and fined $100 each. The Appellate Division of the Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of Errors in Connecticut both affirmed their convictions, so Griswold and Buxton appealed their case to the US Supreme Court. When Griswold and Buxton opened the clinic in New Haven, they were well aware of the anti-contraceptive statute. In fact, one of their goals in opening the clinic was to provoke a legal action that would allow them to challenge the archaic Connecticut law. Though once fairly common in the United States, Connecticut's 82-year-old ban on contraceptives was one of only two such laws still in place in 1961. In the preceding decades, several doctors and patients had brought challenges to the law, but those challenges had failed on procedural grounds. In the most recent case, Poe v. Ulman , Buxton and his patients had asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the statute, but their lawsuit was deemed unripe because the law had not actually been enforced against them. With their arrest and conviction, Griswold and Buxton were now positioned to directly challenge the constitutionality of the anti-contraceptive law.
The use of wearable devices in cognitive fatigue: current trends and future intentions

Due to the limited capacity of the brain, prolonged mental tasks placed on an individual could cause cognitive fatigue (CF). CF is known to cause attention deficits, leading to poor situational awa...
Maintenance therapy after allogeneic transplant for acute myeloid leukemia: great expectations.

Allogeneic transplantation rightly considered the most effective treatment for acute leukemia also has many limitations, not least a high rate of recurrence. Many studies have been conducted to dec...
Collective Wrongdoing, Reparations, and Native Americans

North American history is replete with accounts of atrocities being inflicted by members of one group on members of another. Some such examples include: the seizure by the French, the British, the Spanish, the Dutch (and later by the United States and Canadian) governments, respectively, of millions of acres of land inhabited by Native (North) Americans; the genocide (or attempt therein) of various Native Americans1 by the U.S. military at the order of, among others, former U.S. president Andrew Jackson; the enslavement of several Native Americans in the U.S., etc.2 These and other significant harms have found little justice in the form of reparations. This chapter seeks to clarify the nature of reparations and analyzes philosophically objections to policies of reparations to historically and seriously wronged groups with the primary focus being on the Native American experiences in the U.S..3
Magnetic transitions in ultra-small nanoscopic magnetic rings: Theory and experiments

Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003(Dated: May 22, 2008)In this article, we report on experimental and theoretical investigations of magnetic transitionsin cobalt rings of size (diameter, width and thickness) comparable to the exchange length of cobalt.Magnetization measurements were performed for two sets of magnetic ring arrays: ultra-small mag-netic rings (outer diameter 13 nm, inner diameter 5nm and thickness 5 nm) and small thin-walledmagnetic rings (outer diameter 150 nm, width 5 nm and thickness 5 nm). This is the ﬁrst reporton the fabrication and magnetic properties of such small rings. Our calculations suggest that ifthe magnetic ring’s sizes are comparable to, or smaller than, the exchange length of the magneticmaterial, then only two magnetic states are important - the pure single domain state and the ﬂuxclosure vortex state. The onion-shape magnetic state does not arise. Theoretical calculations arebased on an energetic analysis of pure and slightly distorted single domain and ﬂux closure vortexmagnetic states. Based on the analytical calculations, a phase diagram is also derived for ultra-smallring structures exhibiting the region for vortex magnetic state formations as a function of materialparameter.
Development of a Selective Enterococcus Medium Based on Manganese Ion Deficiency, Sodium Azide, and Alkaline pH

Rogosa broth, without its salt supplement and dissolved in deionized water, was adapted for the selective isolation and enumeration of enterococci. This medium supported good growth of enterococci, but it suppressed growth of other lactic acid bacteria. The sensitivity and specificity of the medium were tested after addition of various increasing concentrations of NaN(3) against known strains of enterococci and other bacteria. Many strains of Streptococcus faecium showed low azide tolerance; optimal growth was obtained at a concentration of 0.01% NaN(3), which totally or partially inhibited unrelated species of lactic acid bacteria. The selectivity of the medium was further increased by pH adjustment to 9.6. Carbonate and Tween 80 were added to overcome partial inhibition of enterococcal growth by the new combination of selective conditions. The final medium was evaluated in agar form in isolations from human and animal feces, polluted water, meat, and dairy products. Counts were obtained after 16 to 17 h of incubation at 37 C. The isolates satisfactorily conformed to the group characteristics of enterococci.
IPSPs strongly inhibit climbing fiber-activated [Ca2+]i increases in the dendrites of cerebellar Purkinje neurons

The interaction between the excitatory climbing fiber (CF) response and stellate cell inhibition was studied in guinea pig Purkinje cells in sagittal slices from the cerebellar vermis. Sharp microelectrode recordings from the soma or dendrites were combined with high-speed fluorescence imaging of intracellularly injected fura-2. In this way both the electrical responses and the associated [Ca2+]i changes could be monitored at the same time. Usually simultaneously activated inhibition caused almost no change to the somatically recorded CF response. However, the inhibition caused a strong reduction in the CF- associated [Ca2+]i increase which normally was widespread in the dendrites. This effect was graded; stronger inhibition caused a larger and more widespread reduction in the [Ca2+]i change that was greatest in the more distal dendrites. Sometimes the reduction was over 90% in the distal dendrites and occasionally it was localized to only a single dendritic branch. Both the inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) and the associated reduction in the CF-induced [Ca2+]i change were blocked by bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist. Dendritic recordings showed that each CF response evoked a 2–3 msec wide action potential. The amplitude of this action potential was reduced in a graded manner by the IPSP in parallel with the reduction in the [Ca2+]i change. Varying the time between the activation of the IPSP and the CF response showed that both the reduction in the [Ca2+]i change and the action potential amplitude occurred in a narrow time window of about 8–10 msec, about the rise time of the IPSP. Together these results indicate that the CF response activates a fast dendritic Ca2+ spike that causes most of the [Ca2+]i increase, both of which can be blocked by an inhibitory shunting conductance. This interaction provides a means whereby Ca(2+)-dependent dendritic mechanisms can be modulated without affecting the immediate output of the Purkinje cell.
Reparations, Self-Determination and the Seventh Generation

This paper links indigenous peoples' claims of self-determination to the right of reparations under international law. This analysis unfolds within the context of U.S. domestic legislation designed to address the large scale removal of indigenous children from their families and communities. We are just over one generation removed from the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). According to indigenous teachings on law and family, we have six more generations to consider before we can fully comprehend the impact of this landmark legislation. Yet, despite its many successes, the ICWA has its detractors. Some of the more highly charged criticisms center on claims of race matching or violations of individual freedoms. This paper suggests a different view of the law, one that seeks to analyze the ICWA within existing and emerging international human rights precepts. By focusing on the international right to reparation in the form of indigenous self-determination, the paper offers a sound legal basis for the continuation of this and similar federal legislation designed to remedy serious human rights violations against Native peoples and their children. The first two parts of the paper present the factual foundation for indigenous claims to reparations and discusses the major human rights violations that give rise to these claims. The remaining parts of the paper analyzes international reparation principles and then seeks to link those principles to various aspects of the ICWA, while at the same time identifying some of the deficiencies in the law. Both the approaching 30th anniversary of the ICWA and the current debate before the U.N. General Assembly regarding the Draft Declaration on Indigenous Peoples Rights make this a timely discussion.
Metamorphic and tectonic evolution of a structurally continuous blueschist‐to‐Barrovian terrane, Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey

Metamorphic terranes comprised of blueschist facies and regional metamorphic (Barrovian) rocks in apparent structural continuity may represent subduction complexes that were partially overprinted during syn- to post-subduction heating or may be comprised of unrelated tectonic slices. An excellent example of a composite blueschist-to-Barrovian terrane is the southern Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey. Late Cretaceous blueschist facies rocks are dominated by marble characterized by rod-shaped calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite and interlayered with blueschist that contains eclogite and quartzite pods. Barrovian rocks, which have 40Ar/39Ar white mica ages that are >20 Myr younger than those of the blueschists, are also dominated by marble, but rod-shaped calcite has been progressively recrystallized into massive marble within a ∼200-m transition zone. Barrovian marble is interlayered with quartzite and schist in which isograds are closely spaced and metamorphic conditions range from chlorite to sillimanite zone over ∼1 km present-day structural thickness. Andalusite, kyanite and prismatic sillimanite are present in muscovite-rich quartzite; in one location, all three are in the same rock. Andalusite pre-dates Barrovian metamorphism, kyanite is both pre- and syn-Barrovian and sillimanite is entirely Barrovian. Muscovite with phengitic cores and relict kyanite in quartzite below the staurolite-in isograd are evidence for pre-Barrovian subduction metamorphism preserved at the low-T end of the Barrovian domain; above the staurolite isograd, all evidence for subduction metamorphism has been erased. Some regional metamorphism may have occurred during exhumation, as indicated by syn-kinematic high-T minerals defining the fabric of L-tectonite. Quartz microstructures in lineated quartzite reveal a strong constrictional fabric that may have formed in a transtensional bend in the plate boundary. Transtension accounts for the closely spaced isograds and development of a strong constrictional fabric during exhumation.
Personality differences in emotions: Does emotion regulation play a role?

In Study 1, individuals high in neuroticism (high N) felt more negative and experienced less decrease of their negative emotions than individuals low in Neuroticism (low N) when extremely unpleasant hypothetical scenarios improved. Study 2 also found that high N individuals felt more negative than low N in a slightly unpleasant laboratory situation, and that individuals high in Extraversion (high E) felt more positive than individuals low in Extraversion (low E) in a slightly pleasant laboratory situation. The present studies also confirmed that high N individuals were less likely to repair negative emotions than low N, and high E individuals were more likely to savor positive emotions than low E. These attempts at negative and positive emotion regulation predicted negative and positive emotional reactions, respectively, and accounted for the trait differences in emotions. Hence, there is evidence that differences in negative emotion regulation mediated the relation between Neuroticism and negative emotio...
Mercury (Hg) emissions from domestic biomass combustion for space heating

Three mercury (Hg) species (gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), and fine particulate-bound mercury (PBM(2.5))) were measured in the stack of a small scale wood combustion chamber at 400°C, in the stack of an advanced wood boiler, and in two areas influenced by wood combustion. The low temperature process (lab-scale) emitted mostly GEM (∼99% when burning wood pellets and ∼95% when burning unprocessed wood). The high temperature wood boiler emitted a greater proportion of oxidized Hg (approximately 65%) than the low temperature system. In field measurements, mean PBM(2.5) concentrations at the rural and urban sites in winter were statistically significantly higher than in warmer seasons and were well correlated with Delta-C concentrations, a wood combustion indictor measured by an aethalometer (UV-absorbable carbon minus black carbon). Overall the results suggest that wood combustion may be an important source of oxidized mercury (mostly in the particulate phase) in northern climates in winter.
Impact of Smad3 loss of function on scarring and adhesion formation during tendon healing.

Studies were performed evaluating the role of Smad3, a transcription factor mediating canonical TGF-β signaling, on scarring and adhesion formation using an established flexor digitorum longus (FDL) tendon repair model. In unoperated animals the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) range of motion (ROM) was similar in Smad3 −/− and wild type (WT) mice while the basal tensile strength of Smad3 −/− tendons was significantly (39%) lower than in WT controls. At 14 and 21 days following repair Smad3 −/− MTP ROM reached approximately 50% of the level of the basal level and was twice that observed in WT tendon repairs, consistent with reduced adhesion formation. Smad3 −/− and WT maximal tensile repair strength on post-operative day 14 was similar. However, Smad3 −/− tendon repairs maximal tensile strength on day 21 was 42% lower than observed in matched WT mice, mimicking the relative decrease in strength observed in Smad3 −/− FDL tendons under basal conditions. Histology showed reduced "healing callus" in Smad3 −/− tendons while quantitative PCR, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry showed decreased col3a1 and col1a1 and increased MMP9 gene and protein expression in repaired Smad3 −/− tendons. Thus, Smad3 −/− mice have reduced collagen and increased MMP9 gene and protein expression and decreased scarring following tendon FDL tendon repair.
In-state College Tuition Policies for Undocumented Immigrants: Implications for High School Enrollment Among Non-Citizen Mexican Youth

This paper examines the secondary effects of policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants. Drawing upon repeated cross-sections of 15–17-year-olds in the Current Population Survey across 1997–2010, we assess changes in high school enrollment rates among Mexican-born non-citizen youth—a proxy for the undocumented youth population. We find that Mexican-born non-citizen youth living in states that deny in-state tuition benefits to undocumented youth are 49 % less likely to be enrolled in school than their peers living in states with no explicit policy. Conversely, Mexican-born non-citizen youth living in states that grant in-state tuition benefits to undocumented youth are 65 % more likely to be enrolled in school than their peers living in states with no explicit policy. The enactment of these policies is unrelated to changes in school enrollment among naturalized citizens. Our findings lend support to the proposition that that the implementation of in-state tuition policies sends signals to immigrant youth about their future educational possibilities in the long-term, which in turn influences the extent to which they engage in school in the short-term.
GRG Update: DDW 2011

I would like to take this opportunity to update the readership of Digestive Diseases and Sciences (DDS), including members of the GRG, on the 2011 GRG Spring Symposium. DDW was held at McCormick Place in Chicago, and followed the ‘‘new’’ 4-day format. In doing so, the GRG Symposium was moved to Monday morning rather than its traditional Sunday afternoon slot in order to avoid time conflicts with other basic science-oriented sessions. This year’s symposium, entitled ‘‘MicroRNAs as Pleiotropic Regulators in Digestive and Liver Disease,’’ was chaired by Dr. Nick Davidson, Washington University, St. Louis, and myself. The following outstanding state-of-the-art lectures were presented: Fractal Genetics and Systems Biology of Diet-Induced Metabolic Diseases by Dr. Joseph Nadeau, Boston University; MicroRNAs as Regulators of Hepatocyte Proliferation and Regeneration by Dr. Holger Willenbring, University of California San Francisco; and MicroRNAs as Regulators of Intestinal Inflammation by Dr. Didier Merlin, Emory University.
In vivo modulation of HDL phospholipid has opposing effects on SR-BI- and ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux

The effects of in vivo modulation of HDL phospholipid (PL) on scavenger receptor class BI (SR-BI)- and ATP binding cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1)-mediated efflux were examined by overexpressing either endothelial lipase (EL) or phosphatidylserine phospholipase (PS-PLA1) in human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) transgenic mice. Overexpression of EL led to large reductions in the serum PL/apoA-I ratio (-60%), total cholesterol (TC; -89%), and HDL cholesterol (-91%). Relative to the serum before overexpression of EL, the efflux potential of the serum via SR-BI decreased by 90% and ABCA1-mediated efflux increased by 63%. In contrast to overexpression of EL, overexpression of PS-PLA1 led to increases in the PL/apoA-I ratio (88%), TC (78%), HDL cholesterol (57%), and HDL size. The efflux potential of the serum increased by 60% via SR-BI and decreased by 57% via ABCA1. There were significant positive correlations between SR-BI-mediated efflux and a number of serum parameters, including PL/apoA-I ratio, PL, TC, free cholesterol (FC), and HDL cholesterol. In striking contrast, the same correlations were seen with ABCA1-mediated efflux, but the relationships were inverse. In summary, in vivo modulation of HDL PL content affects ABCA1- and SR-BI-mediated efflux in a reciprocal manner. These findings indicate that the type of lipase acting on HDL in vivo will determine which FC efflux pathway the HDL serves. Additionally, the extent of lipolysis will determine the efficiency of FC removal via this pathway.