cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Way of the Cloud

This chapter begins a more systematic analysis of the major components of the cloud architecture. We consider client platform architectures and issues of mobility, the cloud and the Internet, where questions of control over routing dominate, and the multi-tiered structure of cloud computing datacenters. Within this broad context, many standards arise, and there have been many proposals for formalizing desired properties. This chapter considers situates the questions cloud computing poses and tries to answer against a broader perspective of large-scale computing applications, looking at the kinds of systems that demand cloud-scale solutions and summarizing their needs.
Overhead elimination mechanisms in real-time systems

The OEM (Overhead Elimination Mechanism), a scheduler for finding minimal overheads with reduced context switches in real-time systems, was developed using procedural methods. Software produced by these methods has often proven to be inflexible and difficult to modify or enhance. Because an object-oriented approach makes it easier to enhance the system, we will explore an object-oriented OEM, OOEM, in real-time environments. The OOEM (Object-oriented Overhead Elimination Mechanism) is the shift result from the transition from procedural approach to object-oriented approach and it will be a basis for building more dynamic real time environments such as aperiodic, BP, and sporadic. The operation, implementation, and performance of the OEM and OOEM will be presented. A comparison between our algorithms and other well-known algorithms in terms of context switches will also be shown. A valuable contribution of this research is to provide the real-time system designer with a wide range of alternative for reducing the complexity of system development and can lead higher quality system.
Jewish Lawyers for Causes of the Political Right

The best known Jewish cause lawyers have served causes associated with the political left. This essay focuses on Jewish lawyers who serve causes of the American political right, drawing on interviews with 16 Jewish lawyers who were among 72 lawyers interviewed for a book on lawyers for conservative and libertarian causes. It offers several observations about these lawyers’ characteristic, political values, and positions in conservative lawyer networks, and it suggests how these lawyers’ experiences and views might relate to broader trends in Jewish political identity and voting patterns.
Role and future of MRI in radiation oncology

Technical innovations and developments in areas such as disease localization, dose calculation algorithms, motion management and dose delivery technologies have revolutionized radiation therapy resulting in improved patient care with superior outcomes. A consequence of the ability to design and accurately deliver complex radiation fields is the need for improved target visualization through imaging. While CT imaging has been the standard of care for more than three decades, the superior soft tissue contrast afforded by MR has resulted in the adoption of this technology in radiation therapy. With the development of real time MR imaging techniques, the problem of real time motion management is enticing. Currently, the integration of an MR imaging and megavoltage radiation therapy treatment delivery system (MR-linac or MRL) is a reality that has the potential to provide improved target localization and real time motion management during treatment. Higher magnetic field strengths provide improved image quality potentially providing the backbone for future work related to image texture analysis-a field known as Radiomics-thereby providing meaningful information on the selection of future patients for radiation dose escalation, motion-managed treatment techniques and ultimately better patient care. On-going advances in MRL technologies promise improved real time soft tissue visualization, treatment margin reductions, beam optimization, inhomogeneity corrected dose calculation, fast multileaf collimators and volumetric arc radiation therapy. This review article provides rationale, advantages and disadvantages as well as ideas for future research in MRI related to radiation therapy mainly in adoption of MRL.
Genomic and Immunologic Drivers of Very Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Purpose of ReviewInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial disease caused by dysregulated immune responses to commensal or pathogenic intestinal microbes, resulting in chronic intestinal...
Physiological Mechanisms for the Control of Waking

Abstract Critical discoveries of (1) the presence of electrical coupling, as well as (2) intrinsic membrane gamma oscillations in the reticular activating system (RAS) have led to a new understanding of the control of the arousal states of waking and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The physiological mechanisms of the control of waking include the generation of gamma oscillations through high threshold P/Q-type calcium channels modulated by CaMKII, and of the control of REM sleep include the generation of gamma oscillations through high threshold N-type calcium channels modulated by cAMP/PKA. This brainstem-originating activity has been termed “bottom-up gamma” and has been proposed to subserve the process behind preconscious awareness. That is, the maintenance of gamma band activity in the RAS provides information for the process necessary to support a state capable of reliably assessing the world around us on a continuous basis.
Cripping Human Rights Education with Disability Studies: An Undergraduate Reading List

Aiming to place disability studies in conversation with other antioppressive educational frameworks, this article “crips” human rights education (HRE), a field that, by definition, teaches people a...
Home‐Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Alone and Hybrid With Center‐Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Background Center‐based cardiac rehabilitation (CBCR) has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). Home‐based cardiac rehabilitation (HBCR) can be an alternative to incre...
The normative beliefs that form individual food safety behavioral intention: A qualitative explanatory study

Abstract Reports from the Center for Control Disease and Prevention suggest that approximately 61% of foodborne illnesses were attributed to improper food handling and is the leading cause of outbreaks in the foodservice industry. However, even when employees are trained in food safety, knowledge does not translate into improved practices on the job. Several meta-analyses have suggested the importance of using injunctive norms to predict individual behavior in both social psychology and management journals. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify and explore the normative beliefs related to predicting employees’ food safety behavioral intentions. An online survey was first distributed to foodservice employees to measure individual-level norms about food safety practices. A follow-up qualitative questionnaire helped generate an in-depth understanding of employees’ experiences. The narrative texts were then analyzed using ATLAS.ti. Additional diagram analyses were conducted. A total of 104 responses were documented with mostly female participants, a mean age of 36, and an average of about 11.2 years of industry experience. The results indicated that employees were usually not influenced by their manager or coworkers’ approval. Instead, their behavior was guided by innate motivations of moral reasoning and personal ethics. The data further noted that intrinsic motivation should be an essential construct to form normative beliefs. The results challenge the previous understanding regarding normative pressure in food safety. Revalidation of the theory and path inference directions are discussed.
How to Increase Creativity in Research

Few things are more important to a research career than discovery. A great idea is important and new. It might lead to the founding of a new field, or a new approach to an existing one, and sprout hundreds of additional studies. Where do these ideas come from? The answer to this question lies in the general field of creativity research. Here I discuss how creativity might be enhanced in ten steps. They involve being motivated to be creative, to learn creativity techniques, to interact with others outside your core group, to foster eureka moments, to recognize good new ideas when you see them, to work with others, to encourage creativity in others, to give feedback in a kind way, to defer ownership of ideas, and to learn science improvisation. The references in these sections give a peek into the growing field of creativity studies. Greater attention to and understanding of the sources of creative insight will help lead us to that magic idea that is new and important.
The Girlhood Project Pivoting our Model with Girls During COVID-19

The Girlhood Project (TGP) is a community based, service-learning/research program that is part of the undergraduate course at Lesley University called "Girlhood, Identity and Girl Culture " TGP works with community partners to bring middle and high school girls to Lesley's campus for nine weeks as part of intergenerational girls' groups that are co-facilitated by Lesley students (also referred to as TGP students) TGP fosters the development of feminist leadership, critical consciousness, voice, and community action, and activism in all participants In this article, we describe how we adapted TGP's model to a virtual and synchronous platform for students during COVID-19 and supported their learning competencies We reflect critically on this experience by centering the voices and perspectives of girls, students, and professors
Heterogeneity between proximal and distal aspects of occlusive thrombi on pretreatment imaging in acute ischemic stroke.

BackgroundThe potential heterogeneity in occlusive thrombi caused by in situ propagation by secondary thrombosis after embolic occlusion could obscure the characteristics of original thrombi, preve...
Randomized Phase III, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Prophylactic Gabapentin for the Reduction of Radiation Therapy-Induced Pain During the Treatment of Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose/Objective(s) We sought to determine if prophylactic gabapentin usage in patients undergoing definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (chemoRT) for oropharyngeal cancer improves patient-reported quality of life (QOL) metrics, opioid analgesic requirements, and feeding tube (FT) placement. Materials/Methods This double-blind, randomized phase III study for patients with AJCC 7th ed stage III-IV oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing concurrent chemoRT randomly allocated patients to prophylactic gabapentin (600 mg TID) or placebo, stratified by smoking status. All patients received 70 Gy in 35 fx using IMRT. The primary endpoint was change in Patient-Reported Oral Mucositis Symptom (PROMS) scores from baseline over the study period. Opioid requirements (average over the entire study period and change from baseline, converted to daily morphine equivalents [DME]), FT placement, and other patient-reported QOL metrics (FACT-HN and PRO-CTCAE) were assessed. Questionnaires were administered at baseline, weekly during RT treatments, and at 6-week post-RT follow-up (f/u). Patients were considered compliant if they took at least 12 doses in any given week (self-reported). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to detect differences in PROMS scores and change in opioid use from baseline. Wilcoxon-rank sum tests were used to compare average opioid use, FACT-HN, and PRO-CTCAE scores. Chi-square test was used to compare FT placement. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results There were 65 patients enrolled in the study and 7 withdrew consent, leaving 58 patients to be analyzed. Baseline characteristics were well-balanced, and only 1 patient was considered non-compliant. All patients completed RT as planned. No significant difference was found in PROMS scores between the two groups (P = 0.130). FT placement was significantly higher in the gabapentin vs placebo arm (64.3% vs 33.3%, P = 0.003). Of the FTs placed, 96% were Dobhoff tubes. There was no significant difference in terms of average opioid use (median 22.8 DME [IQR 12.8-36.5] vs 15.8 DME [IQR 8.3-32.4], P = 0.412) or change in opioid use (P = 0.818) for gabapentin vs placebo, respectively. For the FACT-HN questionnaire, the only significant difference noted was in the functional well-being index with the gabapentin arm having a significant decrease in scores from baseline to f/u (median -6 [IQR -10 to -1.5] vs -1 [IQR -5.75 to 5], P = 0.017) with lower scores suggesting poorer QOL. PRO-CTCAE scores increased significantly at f/u from baseline for gabapentin vs placebo (median 6 [IQR 3 to 11] vs 1 [IQR -2 to 6.5], P = 0.014) with higher scores suggesting worse QOL. Conclusion This study suggests that prophylactic gabapentin is not effective in improving pain related to mucositis during chemoRT in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and other strategies should be evaluated to minimize opioid usage in this patient population.
Open access, closed systems: independent online journalism in Japan

This article is part of an ethnography of Japan’s ‘independent’ journalism movement, with a focus on the establishment and dissolution of the Free Press Association of Japan (FPAJ). Based on 13 mon...
Magnetic Resonance Studies of Metal Cation Transport Across Biological Membranes: Use Of Paramagnetic Lanthanide Ions

Paramagnetic lanthanide ions (*Ln+3) have proved to be very useful in effecting magnetic resonance studies of the transport of metal cations across biological membranes; a very important process (1) usually facilitated by integral membrane proteins (2). We will discuss two different types of study: 1) the transport of *Ln+3 ions as surrogates for physiological metal cations (Na+, K+, Mg+2 and Ca+2) 2) the use of anionic complexes of *Ln+3 ions to study the transport of physiological cations directly by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).
Sensitivity of the water resources of Rio Yaqui Basin, Mexico, to agriculture extensification under multiscale climate conditions

[1] The Yaqui River Basin (YRB) is the most important wheat-producing region in Mexico. The main source of irrigation water in the Yaqui basin (over 80%) is surface water. Crop production sustainability is therefore closely linked to YRB streamflow and potentially to its sensitivity to climate variability and land use changes. We study the sensitivity of streamflow to land cover change resulting primarily from conversion of natural vegetation to unirrigated agriculture within the basin. We also examine how this sensitivity is influenced by midscale (North American Monsoon) and large-scale (El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)) climate regimes. Streamflow simulations using the variable Infiltration Capacity Model were performed in which current land use was altered incrementally within the three major subbasins of the YRB. In general, we found that the sensitivity of basin runoff to ENSO-and PDO-related variations in precipitation was much greater than to land cover–related changes and was highest during winter. Furthermore, climate and land cover runoff sensitivities appear to be related; in El Nino (generally wet) years the sensitivity of streamflow to land cover change can be four times higher than in La Nina (generally dry) years. The sensitivity of streamflow to PDO phase was smaller. Streamflow sensitivities to climate were the highest when PDO and ENSO were in phase. We conclude that climate variability exerts stronger controls on the surface hydrology than does land use change associated with the extensification of agriculture. For instance, flows in El Nino versus La Nina years differed by 76% in winter and 16% in summer, whereas maximum monthly (winter) flow changes were at most 4%.
Frequency of prescription of inhaled corticosteroids to children with asthma in U.S. emergency departments.

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2011; 18:767–770 © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives: This study examined how frequently inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are prescribed at discharge in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) for children presenting with asthma exacerbations. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the 2005–2007 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) database for ED visits by children 2 to 21 years old with acute respiratory symptoms and a diagnosis of asthma exacerbation. The authors determined the proportion of visits with an ICS prescription at discharge, and the associations between demographic, clinical factors, and ICS prescriptions were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Between 2005 and 2007, there were 2,288,874 estimated visits by children 2 to 21 years old to U.S. EDs with asthma exacerbations, and ICS were prescribed at discharge at 4.0% of these visits (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.4% to 5.5%). In the logistic regression model, ICS were more likely to be prescribed in the fall (adjusted odds ratio [OR] vs. spring 3.3; 95% CI = 1.0 to 11.0). Otherwise, there were no pertinent demographic or clinical factors associated with ICS prescription. Conclusions: Inhaled corticosteroids are infrequently prescribed for children with asthma at discharge from U.S. EDs. Other than the fall season, there are no identified demographic or clinical factors associated with the likelihood of ICS prescriptions. ED clinicians should consider interventions to increase ICS prescriptions for children with persistent asthma.
A low-dose regimen of cisplatin before high-dose cisplatin potentiates ototoxicity.

Objectives/Hypothesis Cochlear preconditioning with low doses of kanamycin or noise can reduce susceptibility to noise- and ototoxic drug-induced hearing loss. The current study was undertaken to investigate whether a preconditioning regimen of low-dose cisplatin would alter susceptibility to ototoxicity induced by a single large dose of cisplatin. Study Design In vivo study using an animal model. Methods Twenty-six Fischer 344/NHsd rats were used in the study. The low-dose regimen consisted of cisplatin (2 or 3 mg/kg) given every 2 weeks by intraperitoneal injection. Control animals received injections of saline on the same schedule as the cisplatin injections. Four injections were done in total. Following the preconditioning interval, seven of the animals were sacrificed for hair cell analyses. The remaining 19 animals were exposed to 12 mg/kg cisplatin by intraperitoneal infusion to induce cochlear injury. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds were measured 3 days after cisplatin, and the cochleae from the 19 animals were harvested and analyzed. Results Statistical analyses revealed no threshold shifts, but mild outer hair cell losses, after the low-dose regimen. ABR threshold shifts in the rats exposed to the 12 mg/kg cisplatin dose were significantly higher at day 3 in the animals that underwent preconditioning with low-dose cisplatin. Outer hair cell losses were also greater in the preconditioned animals. Conclusions Preconditioning with low-dose cisplatin, using the protocol applied in the current experiment, created potentiation of cisplatin ototoxicity, rather than protection from it. There are numerous possible explanations for this effect that should be considered. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 125:E78–E83, 2015
Is the Ozone Hole over Your Classroom

irst year university science students are surveyed about their understanding of the ozone layer, ozone depletion and the effect of ozone depletion on Australia. Although students seem to understand the basic function of the ozone layer, over 65% of students incorrectly believe that the ozone hole is over Australia, and over 90% of students Incorrectly believe that the ozone hole is present during the summer Together these ideas seem to explain why nearly 75% of students blame the ozone hole for Australia's high rate of skin cancer. Survey results also indicate that students seem confused about global warming, and the connection with ozone depletion. Conclusions from this study suggest that better teaching resources for environmental issues such as ozone depletion and global warming are needed before improvements in students' understanding can be
Retraining teachers to teach high school computer science

During the last few years, computers have arrived in the high school. Most of this nation's high schools are now offering courses on some aspect of computer science. There is still a great degree of difference in what is taught in the high school and the selection and preparation of teachers to conduct these courses.The Education Board of the ACM has addressed the issue of teacher training in computer science in various ways over the past several years. Specifically, recommendations for standard courses and guidelines for certifying high school teachers were developed. A major outcome of the previous work was the realization that most of the high school computer science teachers were and would continue to be in-service rather than pre-service teachers. As a result, retraining of existing teachers rather than initial training of pre-service teachers became the real issue.In 1985, the Retraining Task Force was formed to study the issue of retraining teachers and make recommendations about the nature of such retraining. The Task Force was sponsored jointly by the Education Board of the ACM and the IEEE. The Task Force is now concluding its two years of study and is preparing a position paper on the results of the study.The members of the Task Force will discuss the study itself, the findings, and implications and recommendations for the future. Included will be results of several national surveys conducted to gather background information, identification of problem areas encountered, and a summary of the group's investigation and conclusions about retraining. The session will conclude with a discussion with the audience about retraining and goals for the future.
Regulation of messenger RNA translation during insect development.

Publisher Summary Insect metamorphosis is the differentiation at the postembryonic level. The process of cell differentiation is linked to the mechanisms that direct specific protein synthesis rather than with the ultimate appearance of protein molecules. The development of pupa into adult occurs in a differentiating system, where many changes take place, usually in one direction. In insects, growth and differentiation are regulated by several hormones. The use of juvenile hormone helps to study the mechanisms of gene expression. The major influence of juvenile hormone in promoting the synthesis of the two classes of cuticular protein-adult and pupal is at the translational level. This is facilitated by controlling the translation of cuticular messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). The translational control is mediated by the appearance of new rate-limiting aminoacyl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA). The chapter explains the steps involved in protein synthesis. One of the characteristics of the differentiated cell is its ability, at one point in its development, to synthesize a large amount of a specific protein. This is accomplished by the production of stable mRNA. If a specific mRNA is stable, this amounts to the amplification of this specific gene. The tRNA and its activating enzymes are the limiting factors in the microsomal cell-free system for the regulation of cuticular mRNA translation. The chapter discusses the regulation of cuticular mRNA translation in cell-free systems from Tenebrio pupae . In addition, the chapter discusses the experiments on the initiation of mRNA translation during the development of Tenebrio pupae . In eukaryotic organisms, protein synthesis is initiated in a manner similar to the bacterial protein synthesis. The specificity in the formation of 80S initiation complex suggests that mRNA contains, besides the AUG codon for methionine, a specific sequence of nucleotides that is recognized by some elements of the initiation machinery.
Cost reduction in a manufacturing fabricator: from the bottom up

In today's highly competitive business environment, manufacturers must decrease costs and maximize tool usage to maintain a competitive edge. IBM's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Essex Junction, Vermont, is no exception to the rule. In the early 1990s, this facility took a hard look at all of the factors that contributed to the cost of its products. Major sources of spending in a device fabricator like IBM's are those expenses incurred in maintaining machines and equipment-in particular, spare parts for repair and the routine maintenance of equipment. The increased awareness of costs associated with maintaining manufacturing equipment has also brought a renewed focus to spare parts. Although these costs can be enormous, then are also significant opportunities for savings. Unfortunately, discovering these savings can be a difficult and time-consuming task, if people looking for the savings do not have a through understanding of how individual tools function. On the other hand, if the real costs of equipment maintenance are not known, it is difficult to determine where and how to realize savings. This paper describes how manufacturing personnel learned to use IBM's financial reporting systems to find these savings and reduce the use of spare parts.
Practicing What We Preach: Authentic Assessment in Mathematics.

Individual students within any mathematics classroom possess unique strengths, weaknesses, preferred learning styles, maturity levels, and academic understandings (or misunderstandings). However, each student is expected to progress through the same set of mathematical standards and to achieve at a predetermined level on statewide assessment tests. This article presents authentic assessment and instruction strategies that can be interwoven to ensure that students receive learning opportunities that allow them to seek solutions in a manner that is most consistent with their specific background knowledge and learning styles. Two examples from a fifth-grade classroom are presented and conclusions about the effectiveness of this approach are discussed.
Generalized multilevel function-on-scalar regression and principal component analysis

This manuscript considers regression models for generalized, multilevel functional responses: functions are generalized in that they follow an exponential family distribution and multilevel in that they are clustered within groups or subjects. This data structure is increasingly common across scientific domains and is exemplified by our motivating example, in which binary curves indicating physical activity or inactivity are observed for nearly 600 subjects over 5 days. We use a generalized linear model to incorporate scalar covariates into the mean structure, and decompose subject-specific and subject-day-specific deviations using multilevel functional principal components analysis. Thus, functional fixed effects are estimated while accounting for within-function and within-subject correlations, and major directions of variability within and between subjects are identified. Fixed effect coefficient functions and principal component basis functions are estimated using penalized splines; model parameters are estimated in a Bayesian framework using Stan, a programming language that implements a Hamiltonian Monte Carlo sampler. Simulations designed to mimic the application have good estimation and inferential properties with reasonable computation times for moderate datasets, in both cross-sectional and multilevel scenarios; code is publicly available. In the application we identify effects of age and BMI on the time-specific change in probability of being active over a 24-hour period; in addition, the principal components analysis identifies the patterns of activity that distinguish subjects and days within subjects.
Anomalous magnetoresistance and hall effect in iron alloys of the layer structure TaSe2

Abstract Resistance, magnetoresistance and Hall effect measurements have revealed a variety of eletronic changes induced in single crystals of TaSe2 when alloyed with iron in concentrations from 0–10 at.%. Both substitutional and excess iron alloys have been studied and in each case different phases of TaSe2 are produced below the growth temperature depending on the iron concentration. Resistance minima, anomalous Hall effects, negative magnetoresistance, and superconductivity can all be observed in this system.
Ecology of Marsupials in Two Amazonian Rain Forests in Northeastern Peru

Species diversity, relative abundance, and seasonal variability in reproductive activity of marsupials were examined at two locations in tropical rain forests in northeastern (Amazonian) Peru during wet and dry seasons. Eight species of opossums (Didelphimorphia) were captured in a single 11-ha plot, but only four ( Didelphis marsupialis, Marmosops noctivagus Philander opossum , and Philander andersoni ) were common. Large differences with respect to species diversity and abundance of opossums were found between two similar rain-forest sites. Reproductive activity in opossums was positively related to rainfall and fruit production.
Conflict, cooperation and trust in three power systems

The central variables of power, conflict, cooperation and trust have traditionally been employed in a context-irrelevant fashion as general theoretical explanations for many social phenomena at the levels of organisms or persons, groups, organizations, societies and even supranational systems. This paper questions the assumed high cross-system applicability of these concepts by outlining three different prototypical power systems which seem to find frequent expression in everyday life: the unilateral power system, in which a strong source imposes influence on a weak target; the mixed power system, in which partially equivalent interactants bargain to agreement or deadlock; and the bilateral power system, in which interactants are in unit relation and formulate joint policy programs. Power, conflict, cooperation and trust are all found to require substantially different definition and treatment when considered in one as opposed to another of these prototypical systems. A context sensitive approach to conflict research is recommended, in which concepts are articulated with specific regard for the interactional system in which they will be applied. A preliminary effort is made to outline the nature of the variables in each system, allowing the treatment of existing as well as new, e.g., love and hate, topics as valid influence foci while maintaining a good consonance of theoretical expression with social experience. More generally, the dual issues of a bias toward context-irrelevant theory coupled with unrepresentative empirical forays are suggested as potentially debilitating problems for every subdiscipline concerned with social inquiry.
History of Bio-Medical Electronics Art

The almost phenomenal growth of the IRE Professional Group on Bio-Medical Electronics demonstrates the mutual interest that has been aroused both in engineering and in biology through new knowledge of living systems gained by instrumentation and technics recently available in this interzonal field. The engineer should develop a high-level respect for living systems at all stages of development, from that of unit cells to that of the amazing coordination of the living systems in the highly developed human being. An understanding of these systems will be advantageous to the physical sciences. Engineers, physicists and biologists have learned that by serving each other they can serve their respective goals best. The author believes that the science of electronics is the "liaison officer" responsible for converging the life sciences and the physical sciences into a single society. The organization of a society that would converge the man-made disciplines that cover the widely divergent fields reflected in the terms "bio-medical electronics," "biophysics" and "bio-medical engineering" was not achieved until the science of electronics was put to work in the life sciences.
Raman spectra of the polymeric difluorides of the group IV elements and the structure of polydifluorosilylene

Abstract The Raman spectra for (SiF2)x and GeF2 are reported. In the spectrum of (SiF2)x a band has been observed at 411 cm−1 and is most probably associated with SiSi bonding in the compound; this is the first direct evidence for such a bond. The high degree of similarity between the spectra of (SiF2)x and (CF2)x suggests that (SiF2)x is a zig-zag helical chain polymer similar to (CF2)x.
Down regulation and recovery of the epidermal growth factor receptor in serum supplemented versus defined medium

The down regulation of surface membrane receptors for 125I) epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been evaluated in normal and SV40-transformed human fibroblasts (WI38) under conditions of serum-supplemented versus defined growth media. Both normal and transformed WI38 cells down regulate and recover the EGF receptor and these processes do not differ significantly in serum-supplemented versus defined media. These data are in contrast to a recent study that reported that the HeLa cell does not down regulate the EGF receptor in defined media, whereas it does in serum-supplemented media.
Characterization of deposition and erosion of the TFTR bumper limiter and wall

Abstract To understand material transport by the plasma in the TFTR tokamak, graphite bumper limiter tiles and metal surfaces have been studied. Detailed measurements of the TFTR inner bumper limiter POCO ™ AXF-5Q graphite tiles indicate areas of net erosion and areas of net deposition. These areas are poloidally asymmetric and on the scale of a bay (l/20th of the torus) repeat regularly toroidally. Finer scale measurements indicate that there are subtle variations in the interaction of the plasma with the wall. Furthermore, a study of the correlation of limiter deposits with the type of discharges in TFTR indicates that the material composition depth distribution was determined by the tokamak operational history. In particular, the relative amounts of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and metal in the deposits changed over time, reflecting plasma impurity levels. The outer wall of the vessel was not exposed to direct plasma flux and does not show evidence of erosion.
Proton-proton bremsstrahlung calculation: Studies of the off-shell proton electromagnetic vertex and of pseudoscalar vs pseudovector π N couplings

The proton-proton bremsstrahlung $(pp\ensuremath{\gamma})$ process has been used as a tool to study the problems related to both the off-shell proton electromagnetic vertex and pseudoscalar (ps)-pseudovector (pv) $\ensuremath{\pi}N$ coupling. We have developed an approach which can be applied to investigate the two problems together. We show that (i) the analyzing powers calculated using the on-shell $p\ensuremath{\gamma}p$ vertex, with ps or pv coupling, yield very poor results for most of the cases with small proton scattering angles at 280 MeV, (ii) the calculations using the off-shell $p\ensuremath{\gamma}p$ vertex and ps coupling in most cases produce cross sections which fail to fit the TRIUMF data at 200 and 280 MeV, and (iii) the data for both cross sections and analyzing powers in the energy region between 157 and 280 MeV can only be consistently described by the calculations using the off-shell $p\ensuremath{\gamma}p$ vertex and pv coupling. Thus our results indicate that the off-shell $p\ensuremath{\gamma}p$ vertex must be used in relativistic $\mathrm{pp}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ calculations and the pseudovector coupling is the best choice for the $\ensuremath{\pi}N$ vertex. More accurate data are needed for further study of the problems.
Routing of multimedia connections in hybrid networks

The prevailing vision for next generation multimedia communication systems is a digital one. However, we anticipate a transitional period in which hybrid networks involving both analog and digital technology will coexist. These analog facilities will include crossbar audio-video switches, CATV distribution systems, and dedicated lines. For some scale of use, these facilities may offer economies for connectivity to conventional analog video equipment. We are interested in connection routing that will be needed in such hybrid networks for services including video conferencing and broadcast results. The routing problem in such topologies resembles but is not identical to that found in telephone systems because of the presence of broadcast connections. We discuss representative topologies, review related work, and describe algorithms and simulation results. In addition we describe a hybrid system that we have implemented in our research lab which involves several A/V switches, CATV channels, digital video on a LAN, and a point-to-point link to an offsite conference area.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Distinct Sector Hashes for Target File Detection

Using an alternative approach to traditional file hashing, digital forensic investigators can hash individually sampled subject drives on sector boundaries and then check these hashes against a prebuilt database, making it possible to process raw media without reference to the underlying file system.
Poof: no more viruses

American University's office of Information Technology (IT) deployed Cisco Clean Access (CCA) across the student network in 2005 to combat the continual rise in virus and spyware infections. After two years, there has been a 79% reduction of malware infections reported by our students to the IT Help Desk. Several factors combined to facilitate the tremendous success of this Network Admission Control (NAC) implementation. These factors included: extensive communication with users; requirements selection, which reflected a thorough analysis of requirements to address the greatest areas of risk in the simplest way possible; and development of custom software tools to simplify the process of performing individual updates. After the dramatic reduction in malware infections for the student population, IT is in the process of transitioning all AU staff and faculty to CCA during the spring and summer of 2007. Due to an accelerated timeline for deployment and the unique needs of staff and faculty, IT developed a new transition strategy that leverages AU's existing Novell infrastructure and new features of CCA to create an almost seamless transition for the end user. As CCA is enabled in each department, machines can be silently evaluated to determine if they meet AU's requirements and new applications and patches may be deployed through the use of login scripts. The end result is magic. Therefore, IT is prepared to quickly and painlessly migrate all 3400 staff and faculty to CCA within months.
Local government fiscal reform in developing countries: Lessons from Kenya

Abstract Local government fiscal reform is emerging clearly as a major development issue of the 1990s. As central governments of developing countries cut back their budget growth in response to economic reality and donor pressure, many are attempting to tap the underutilized potential of local authorities to help meet rising service demands. Drawing on a case study of the local finance system in Kenya and that country's attempts at reform, the challenging economic, institutional and political issues that must often be confronted in such reform efforts are highlighted.
The MERG Suite: Tools for discovering competencies and associated learning resources

As the demands for competency-based education grow, the need for standards-based tools to allow for publishing and discovery of competency-based learning content is more pressing. This project focused on developing federated discovery services for competency-based medical e-learning content. We built a tool suite for authoring and discovery of medical e-learning metadata. The end-user usability of the tool suite was evaluated through a web-based survey. The suite, implemented as an open-source system, was evaluated to identify areas for improvement. The MERG suite is a starting point for organizations implementing competency-based e-learning resources.
Effects of a phytogenic feed additive on growth performance, susceptibility of channel catfish to Edwardsiella ictaluri and levels of mannose binding lectin

Abstract A study was conducted to investigate the effect of a phytogenic feed additive (Digestarom® P.E.P. MGE; containing the essential oils carvacrol, thymol, anethol, and limonene) on growth performance and disease susceptibility to Edwardsiella ictaluri. Two hundred and fifty juvenile channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (7.2 ± 0.1 g) were allotted into the following treatments: Control (floating diet) and EO (floating diet supplemented with essential oils). The fish were fed their respective diets for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, all fish were exposed to virulent E. ictaluri by bath immersion (1.9 × 107 cfu/mL; final concentration). Plasma and tissue samples were taken to quantify protein and mRNA expression levels of mannose binding lectin (MBL). Weight gain and food conversion ratio were similar between treatments. After exposing fish to virulent E. ictaluri and monitoring mortality for 21 days, survival was 43% higher (69.5 vs 48.4%) in fish fed EO compared to fish not treated with EO (P
School Nurses: Positive Deviant Leaders in the School Setting

A variety of leadership theories are examined to support the idea that school nurses can be positive deviants in the school setting. Transformational leadership, situational leadership, and complexity theory can all be used by school nurses to create positive change in the school environment because all recognize the need for flexible leadership in a changing environment. The complex and chaotic nature of the school setting requires organizational leaders to be flexible and to have the ability to recognize and address its changing needs. The school nurse can develop personal power to be used as an appropriate agent for change using Benziger's 12-step process. Conflict and cultural consonance promotion provide opportunities for the school nurse to demonstrate leadership skills within the school community. Positive deviants can be found in any setting. They demonstrate winning behaviors that can be adopted by their peers. School nurses, in their unique role, can use their leadership behaviors to promote the health of their school environment.
Mercury detection by means of thin gold films

The adsorption of elemental mercury vapor on a thin (several hundred angstroms) gold film produces resistance changes in the film. An instrument for the detection of mercury based on this phenomenon is simple and rapid and requires no chemical separations other than passage of the vapor sample through a few standard dry filters. The instrument is portable, and the technique is directly applicable to environmental problems and geochemical prospecting. The limit of detection of the prototype instrument is 0.05 nanogram of mercury.
Design and Control Degrees of Freedom

One of the central problems in developing a steady-state process flowsheet is finding the number of variables that must be specified to completely define the process. This number is called the design degrees of freedom. Once this number has been found, the number of design optimization variables can be calculated by subtracting all variables that are set by specifications on production rate, product qualities, safety constraints, and environmental limitations. In principle, the design degrees of freedom are easily calculated by simply subtracting the number of equations from the number of variables. However, for typically complex industrial processes, there are many hundreds of variables and equations, and it is not a trivial job to make sure that the correct variables and equations have been defined. In addition, this conventional variables-minus-equations approach requires that a detailed model of the process be available. Once the plant has been specified, the design of a control structure requires tha...
MICHAEL POLANYI ON ART AND RELIGION: SOME CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON MEANING

This paper is a critique of the theory of meaning in art and religion that Michael Polanyi developed in his last work entitled Meaning. After giving a brief summary of Polanyi's theory of art, I raise two serious difficulties, not with the theory itself, but with the claims Polanyi makes about the relation of meaning in art to science and religion. Regarding the first difficulty, I argue that Polanyi betrays an earlier insight when in Meaning he attempts to dissociate meaning in art from meaning in science; instead I argue that both science and art are aesthetic enterprises. Regarding the second, I argue that Polanyi's account of religion is an aesthetic reduction, that meaning in religion, at least in the Western tradition, is not so much an aesthetic as it is an existential matter.
Stability and Structure of Activated Macrocycles. Ligands with Biological Applications.

Single p-toluic acid pendant groups were attached to 1,4,7,10,13-pentaazacyclopentadecane (15aneN5) and 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (cyclam) to prepare bifunctional reagents for radiolabeling monoclonal antibodies with 64,67Cu. The ligands are 1,4,7,10,13-pentaazacyclopentadecane-1-(α-1,4-toluic acid) (PCBA) and 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-1-(α-1,4-toluic acid) (CPTA). For the parent macrocycles and their pendant arm derivatives, the 1:1 Cu2+ complexes dissociate only below pH 2. At pH 0.0 and 25 °C the CPTA−Cu complex has a half-life toward complete dissociation of 24 days. A new approach was developed for the estimation of the Cu2+ stability constant for the kinetically robust CPTA. All other formation constants were determined at 25.0 °C with batch spectrophotometric techniques. Potentiometric titrations were used to determine the protonation constants of the macrocyclic ligands as well as of the metal chelates. The protonation constants, stability constants, and pM's are discussed in terms...
Adipose Cellularity Studies in Commercial Broiler Chicks

Abstract The development of adipose depots in broiler chickens prior to sexual maturity occurred as a consequence of both adipocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Prior to about 28 days of age, increases in fat deposition were primarily associated with differences in adipocyte number while at later ages adipocyte hypertrophy became the primary influence. The feeding of diets containing a low calorie-to-protein ratio reduced fat deposition by decreasing adipocyte hypertrophy. The differences in adiposity between two commercial broiler stocks were due primarily to differences in adipocyte number prior to 28 days of age. Results at older ages were inconclusive for differences among populations.
Sub-clone refactoring in open source software artifacts

We present a study of revisions made to open source projects that documents the actual refactoring of code associated with code clones (i.e., sections of duplicated code). The study identifies a characteristic in which some clone refactorings were performed on only part of the clone (i.e., a sub-clone). We conclude that sub-clones should be considered during the clone maintenance activity.