cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novel wheel running blocks the preovulatory luteinizing hormone surge and advances the hamster circadian pacemaker.

In rodents, the preovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) surge is timed by a circadian rhythm. We recently reported that a phenobarbital-induced delay of the estrous cycle in Syrian hamsters is associated with an approximately 2-h phase advance in both the circadian locomotor activity rhythm and the timing of the LH surge. The following study tests the hypothesis that a >2-h nonpharmacological phase advance in the circadian pacemaker that delays the estrous cycle by a day will also phase advance the LH surge by approximately 2 h. Activity rhythms were continuously monitored in regularly cycling hamsters using running wheels or infrared detectors for about 10 days prior to jugular cannulation. The next day, on proestrus, hamsters were transferred to the laboratory for 1 of 3 treatments: transfer to a “new cage” (and wheel) from zeitgeber time (ZT) 4 to 8 (with ZT12 defined as time of lights-off), or exposure to a “novel wheel” at ZT5 or ZT1. All animals were then placed in constant dark (DD). Blood samples we...
Cosmogenic exposure dating of late Pleistocene moraine stabilization in Alaska

Seventy-three new 1 0 Be/ 2 6 Al ages from 57 moraine boulders and 2 tors, together with 43 previously published cosmogenic exposure ages from 41 moraine boulders, allow us to critique the use of cosmogenic exposure (CE) dating of moraine boulders in Alaska. Boulder exhumation during moraine degradation likely gives rise to the largest uncertainty in constraining the timing of initial moraine stabilization following ice retreat. Isotopic inheritance appears to be most important for moraines deposited close to their cirque headwalls. Boulder-surface (bedrock) erosion rate can be roughly constrained and leads to a range in moraine stabilization ages. Snow-cover history is difficult to constrain, but its effect is thought to be minor for the tall boulders sampled. Despite these complications, the CE ages provide important new information regarding the timing of the last and penultimate glaciations in Alaska. Three penultimate moraines yielded CE ages that overlap with marine isotope stage (MIS) 4/early MIS 3 (45-65 ka) rather than MIS 6 (ca. 140 ka). Based on a combination of our new CE chronologies and existing 1 4 C ages from six study areas, glaciers retreated from their local late Wisconsin maxima: ca. 24-27 ka, Kokrines Hills (west-interior Alaska); ca. 24-26 ka, northeastern Brooks Range (NE Alaska); ca. 21-23 ka, Yukon Tanana Upland (east-interior Alaska); ca. 22 ka, Ahklun Mountains (SW Alaska); ca. 20 ka, western Alaska Range (central Alaska); ca. 16-18 ka, Chuilnuk Mountains (SW Alaska). Overall, glacier retreat was concurrent with the peak of the last global glacial maximum, probably in response to limited moisture availability.
Time-series analysis with neural networks and ARIMA-neural network hybrids

Time-series analysis is important to a wide range of disciplines transcending both the physical and social sciences. Statistical models have sound theoretical bases and have been successfully used in a number of problem domains. More recently, machine-learning models such as neural networks have been suggested as offering potential for time-series analysis. Results of neural network empirical testing have thus far been mixed. This paper proposes melding useful parameters from the statistical ARIMA model with neural networks of two types: multilevel perceptrons (MLPs) and radial basis functions (RBFs). Tests are run on a range of time-series problems that exhibit many common patterns encountered by analysts. The results suggest that hybrids of the type proposed may yield better outcomes than either model by itself.
Lecithin:retinol acyltransferase in ARPE-19

The purpose of this study is to investigate if a readily available cell line (APRE-19) may be used to study in vitro function of visual cycle enzymes such as lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (LRAT). Cells incubated with exogenous retinol accumulated intracellular all-trans retinol and all-trans retinyl ester. Membrane proteins from ARPE-19 exhibited LRAT activity, which was inhibited by an LRAT inhibitor, retinyl bromoacetate (RBA). Gene microarray and Western blot results indicated that ARPE-19 cells expressed LRAT transcript and the LRAT protein. Therefore, our data show that ARPE-19 contains an active LRAT enzyme and suggest that it is an appropriate cell system to study visual cycle enzymes.
The effect of acetate and bicarbonate dialysis on orthostatic blood pressure regulation

Dialysis-induced hypotension is probably due to multiple factors which reduce cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance. That acetate, used in dialysate as a source of bicarbonate, may be one of these factors is suggested from several studies which show improved blood pressure regulation with bicarbonate-containing dialysate. We have further examined this hypothesis by comparing supine and standing blood pressure changes in nine stable patients during dialysis with acetate or bicarbonate solutions. Although mean weight changes were not different, standing blood pressure was lower after acetate dialysis. Such a hypotensive effect of acetate could result from depression of the force of myocardial contraction and/or from a reduction in peripheral vascular resistance.
Internetworking with the Power Globe remailer

The use of the Internet by power engineers has been growing rapidly. The most common use is person-to-person electronic mail (E-mail), which is beginning to replace long-distance phone calls in many instances. Power engineers in academia have long been using E-mail to communicate with each other on research and educational matters. With utilities, vendors, and consultants joining the Internet in increasing numbers, the power industry is making more use of E-mail for business communications. In addition to person-to-person E-mail, it is possible to send one-to-many broadcast E-mail messages over the Internet. Electronic mailing lists are one way of broadcasting messages. An Internet remailer is an E-mail address to which messages may be sent for the purpose of broadcasting to all people whose E-mail addresses are in the remailer's list. This article describes a remailer that has been serving power engineers for the past few years, explains the functions of the list, and provides thoughts on its future based on the experience gained so far. The goal is to inform the power engineering community at large, especially those in the power industry, of its existence and to invite power engineers to add their names to the Power Globe mailing list. >
Using mobile code to provide fault tolerance in tuple space based coordination languages

Tuple space based coordination languages suffer from poor fault tolerance to agent failure. Traditionally, transaction type mechanisms have been adopted in them to provide this type of fault tolerance. However, transactions change the semantics of the tuple space access primitives performed within them and do not provide a sufficient level of flexibility.We propose using mobile coordination, which utilises mobile code, as an alternative mechanism for providing better fault tolerance to agent failure. The use of mobile code is transparent to the application programmer. Mobile coordination provides the same level of fault tolerance as transactions, but it also introduces the concept of agent wills. This allows coordination patterns to be performed in a fault tolerant manner which cannot be performed in a fault tolerant manner using transactions.Mobile coordination is described in detail. The API for a prototype centralised implementation is presented. It is shown that mobile coordination provides better support and better performance than the traditional approach of using transactions. Implementation strategies for a distributed implementation are also discussed.
Experimental measurements of the loads induced on an overhead highway sign structure by vehicle-induced gusts☆

Abstract The results of an initial investigation of the induced horizontal loads by vehicle-induced gusts on an overhead highway sign structure are given here. The experimental effort was designed to measure unsteady loads on a model highway sign (1 : 30 scale) produced by a model vehicle passing underneath. Tests with varying vehicle speed, vehicle length, vehicle shape, and sign height were conducted. In all cases, the qualitative nature of the results were similar. Several characteristic features of these loads (which appear to be universal to all types of vehicles) have been identified and discussed in detail. Further research is needed were ambiguities exist. It was observed that the most severe wind-loading condition registered in the direction opposite to the vehicle motion and occurred when the leading edge of a rectangular vehicle was in the proximity of the sign panel. Typically, this force was approximately 1 5 the product of the dynamic pressure based upon the vehicle speed and the area of the sign. This load was followed by a force in the opposite direction of approximately 1 8 the same product which occurred later by Ut/L=0.3. The latter force seems strongly dependent upon vehicle shape.
Sensitivity and robustness of methods for analyzing time-resolved fluorescence measurements of layered biological tissue

Time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) measurements from layered biological tissue provide chemical and structural information which may be useful for imaging or single-point tissue diagnostics. While several techniques for analyzing TRF data have been proposed in the literature, a rigorous theoretical evaluation of these approaches has not been performed. In this study we have evaluated the sensitivity and robustness of four methods for analyzing TRF signals: biexponential deconvolution, single exponential deconvolution, Laguerre deconvolution, and direct peak width computation. Each of these analyses was performed on a large dataset of synthetic fluorescence decay curves. Each decay curve was generated by numerically convolving a pre-recorded nitrogen laser pulse with a biexponential decay based on fluorescence lifetimes of colonic mucosa. The relative contribution of each mucosal layer to the total TRF signal as well as the superficial layer's inherent lifetime were varied so as to investigate sensitivity to morphological and biochemical changes representative of a neoplastic disease process. To evaluate robustness, pre-set levels of Gaussian-distributed noise were added to the convolved curves to achieve variations in the signal-to-noise ratio. The relative merits and pitfalls of each analytical method are discussed.
The geometry of super Riemann surfaces

We define super Riemann surfaces as smooth 2|2-dimensional supermanifolds equipped with a reduction of their structure group to the group of invertible upper triangular 2×2 complex matrices. The integrability conditions for such a reduction turn out to be (most of) the torsion constraints of 2d supergravity. We show that they are both necessary and sufficient for a frame to admit local superconformal coordinates. The other torsion constraints are merely conditions to fix some of the gauge freedom in this description, or to specify a particular connection on such a manifold, analogous to the Levi-Civita connection in Riemannian geometry. Unlike ordinary Riemann surfaces, a super Riemann surface cannot be regarded as having only one complex dimension. Nevertheless, in certain important aspects super Riemann surfaces behave as nicely as if they had only one dimension. In particular they posses an analog $$\widehat\partial $$ of the Cauchy-Riemann operator on ordinary Riemann surfaces, a differential operator taking values in the bundle of half-volume forms. This operator furnishes a short resolution of the structure sheaf, making possible a Quillen theory of determinant line bundles. Finally we show that the moduli space of super Riemann surfaces is embedded in the larger space of complex curves of dimension 1|1.
High dynamic range (HDR) virtual bronchoscopy rendering for video tracking

In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a new rendering method based on high dynamic range (HDR) lighting and exposure control. This rendering method is applied to create video images for a 3D virtual bronchoscopy system. One of the main optical parameters of a bronchoscope's camera is the sensor exposure. The exposure adjustment is needed since the dynamic range of most digital video cameras is narrower than the high dynamic range of real scenes. The dynamic range of a camera is defined as the ratio of the brightest point of an image to the darkest point of the same image where details are present. In a video camera exposure is controlled by shutter speed and the lens aperture. To create the virtual bronchoscopic images, we first rendered a raw image in absolute units (luminance); then, we simulated exposure by mapping the computed values to the values appropriate for video-acquired images using a tone mapping operator. We generated several images with HDR and others with low dynamic range (LDR), and then compared their quality by applying them to a 2D/3D video-based tracking system. We conclude that images with HDR are closer to real bronchoscopy images than those with LDR, and thus, that HDR lighting can improve the accuracy of image-based tracking.
Kinetics of the gas phase reaction of methyl benzoate with bromine and iodine: The methoxyl C ? H bond strength of methyl esters

The gas phase reactions of PhCOOCH3 with I2 and Br2 were studied spectrophotometrically in a static system over the temperature ranges 344–359° and 246–303°, respectively. For each system the initial rate was first order in PhCOOCH3 and half order in halogen as the concentration of PhCOOCH3 was varied from 1.4 to 15.2 torr, that of I2 from 6.2 to 26.4 torr, and that of Br2 from 3.0 to 13.6 torr. The rate-determining step is the extraction of a methoxyl hydrogen atom: Empirical assignment of A-factors for k1 lead to for the I2 system, and to for the Br2 system, where ϕ = 2.303RT in kcal/mole. Combined with the assumption that E–1 = 1 ± 1 kcal/mole and 2 ± 1 kcal/mole for HI and HBr, respectively, DH (PhCOOCH2H) calculated from the two systems shows excellent agreement at 100.2 ± 1.3 kcal/mole and 100.1 ± 1.3 kcal/mole. Using a value of δH (PhCOOMe) = –65.6 ± 1.5 kcal/mole obtained from group additivity estimates, δHf,2980 (PhCOOCH2) is calculated to be –16.7 ± 2.0 kcal/mole. Unimolecular decomposition of the Ph(CO)O°CH2 radical was also observed: with a rate constant equal to The abnormally high methoxyl CH bond strength is discussed in relation to the bonding in ethers, alkanes, and esters.
The Hg-Cd-Zn-Te phase diagram

Selected values are gathered for the crystalline compounds HgTe, CdTe, and ZnTe and their elements. Then the phase diagram and remaining thermodynamic data for these binaries and the Hg-Cd-Te, Hg-Zn-Te,and Cd-Zn-Te ternaries are fit with an associated solution model for the liquid phase anda quasiregular model for the pseudobinaries. Finally, no adjustable model parameters remaining, some features of the Hg-Cd-Zn-Te quaternary are calculated.
Blackjack playing strategies and beliefs: A view from the field

A great deal of research on the psychology of gambling has been conducted that has looked at non-experienced gamblers in laboratory or classroom settings. Yet there has been comparatively little research examining the practices and beliefs of actual gamblers within their natural gambling context. The current research contributes to the naturalistic study of casino gamblers. It reports the results of 10 weeks of ethnographic participant observation conducted in 1999 in two Indiana riverboat casinos located about 1/2 hour from Chicago. The research examines blackjack players' strategies for and beliefs about winning as explained and understood by the gamblers themselves. It uses blackjack's basic strategy and card counting as organizing principles around which to discuss and assess these strategies and beliefs.
A comparative study of stearic and lignoceric acid oxidation by human skin fibroblasts.

Abstract Sensitive assays were developed for long chain and very long chain fatty acid oxidation in human skin fibroblast homogenates. Stearic and lignoceric acids were degraded by the fibroblasts by the β-oxidation pathway. The cofactor requirements for stearic and lignoceric acid β-oxidation were very similar but not identical. For example, appreciable lignoceric acid oxidation could be demonstrated only in the presence of α-cyclodextrin and was inhibited by Triton X-100. In Zellweger's syndrome, stearic acid β-oxidation was partially reduced whereas lignoceric acid β-oxidation was reduced dramatically (
Evaluation and management of vaginitis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate recent advances in our understanding of the clinical relevance, diagnosis, and treatment of vaginal infections, and to determine an efficient and effective method of evaluating this clinical problem in the outpatient setting.
A generalized equation for surface tension from the triple point to the critical point

A three-parameter generalized equation is proposed for surface tension from the triple point to the critical point. This equation not only fits the data well but also is good for interpolation between the normal boiling point and the critical point. This equation is also good for extrapolation to the triple point. This equation has been tested using the surface tension of water from the triple point to the critical point. The constants of this equation obtained using orthobaric surface tensions are given for a number of compounds. The isobaric surface tensions determined at a pressure of 1 atm do not differ significantly from the orthobaric surface tensions. Such data also have been used in obtaining equations from the triple to the critical point.
Differences in steroid specificity for rat androgen binding protein and the cytoplasmic receptor

Abstract Two proteins in the rat, androgen binding protein (ABP) and the cytoplasmic receptor (CR), have high affinity and limited capacity for binding androgens. To determine the structural requirements for binding with high affinity, each protein was partially purified and the ability of over 100 steroids to compete with [3H]dihydrotestosterone (17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one) for binding sites was assessed. The results indicate marked differences in the steroid specificities of the two proteins. Some alterations of dihydrotestosterone at C-2 or C-2 and C-3 increase binding to ABP two to four-fold. Similarly, the affinity of 17β-hydroxy-7α-methyl-4-estren-3-one for ABP increases two-fold when a double bond is created at C-14. Addition of a methyl group in the alpha position at C-7 or C-17, or an ethinyl group at C-17 cause little change in affinity; however, modifications at C-11 and C-17β, and deletion of the methyl group at C-10 significantly impair binding to ABP. Binding to the CR is maintained or increased by deletion of the methyl group at C-10. Binding is lessened by modifications at C-3 and C-17β. Most alterations at C-2, C-7, C-11, and C-17α have only minor effects on binding to the CR. These studies should provide a molecular basis for predicting the effects of specific structural modifications. When some modifications at C-2 or C-2 and C-3 are combined with changes at C-17β, the resulting steroids retain very high affinity for ABP and very limited binding to the CR. Such steroids may provide a means for assessing the function of ABP.
Effect of audits on the extent of compliance with wastewater discharge limits

Abstract This study explores the effect of environmental self-audits (“audits”), which represent an important type of environmental management system practice, on the extent of facilities’ compliance with wastewater discharge limits. Theoretically, audits may (1) improve compliance by enhancing the effectiveness of treatment technologies and pollution prevention methods, (2) undermine compliance by distracting facilities’ personnel with audit-related administrative burdens, or (3) not influence compliance because these effects neutralize each other. By examining the extent of compliance, our study’s results reflect both improvement toward and beyond compliance. By assessing compliance with multiple pollutants separately, our study examines whether audits influence the control of different pollutants uniformly. Lastly, we employ a dynamic panel estimator, which allows us to explore whether facilities adjust their discharges dynamically, while controlling for any inertia in facilities’ pollution control systems. Our study empirically examines the U.S. chemical manufacturing sector between 1999 and 2001 using survey and publicly available EPA data.
Questionnaire and Interview Inconsistencies Exaggerated Differences Between Adopted and Non-Adopted Adolescents in a National Sample

ABSTRACT In a series of adoption-related studies using the Add Health data sets, discrepancies were observed between the Add Health In-school Questionnaire and the In-home Interview data sets in the com-Address correspondence to: Xitao Fan, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 405 Emmet Street South, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (E-mail: xfan@virginia.edu). parisons between adoptees and non-adoptees on a group of behavioral and psychosocial outcome variables. Detailed analyses led to our identification of a group of adolescents who were likely to have mischievously or dishonestly identified themselves as “adoptees” when in fact they were not. This group also appeared to have provided extreme responses on questions about delinquent behaviors. The evidence suggests that, as a result of the extreme responses of this group, the previously reported differences between the adopted and non-adopted groups in our article in Child Development(Miller et al., 2000) may have been substantially overstated. S...
Boron neutron capture therapy of brain tumors: an emerging therapeutic modality

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the nuclear reaction that occurs when boron-10, a stable isotope, is irradiated with low-energy thermal neutrons to yield alpha particles and recoiling lithium-7 nuclei. For BNCT to be successful, a large number of 10B atoms must be localized on or preferably within neoplastic cells, and a sufficient number of thermal neutrons must be absorbed by the 10B atoms to sustain a lethal 10B (n, alpha) lithium-7 reaction. There is a growing interest in using BNCT in combination with surgery to treat patients with high-grade gliomas and possibly metastatic brain tumors. The present review covers the biological and radiobiological considerations on which BNCT is based, boron-containing low- and high-molecular weight delivery agents, neutron sources, clinical studies, and future areas of research. Two boron compounds currently are being used clinically, sodium borocaptate and boronophenylalanine, and a number of new delivery agents are under investigation, including boronated porphyrins, nucleosides, amino acids, polyamines, monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, liposomes, and epidermal growth factor. These are discussed, as is optimization of their delivery. Nuclear reactors currently are the only source of neutrons for BNCT, and the fission reaction within the core produces a mixture of lower energy thermal and epithermal neutrons, fast or high-energy neutrons, and gamma-rays. Although thermal neutron beams have been used clinically in Japan to treat patients with brain tumors and cutaneous melanomas, epithermal neutron beams now are being used in the United States and Europe because of their superior tissue-penetrating properties. Currently, there are clinical trials in progress in the United States, Europe, and Japan using a combination of debulking surgery and then BNCT to treat patients with glioblastomas. The American and European studies are Phase I trials using boronophenylalanine and sodium borocaptate, respectively, as capture agents, and the Japanese trial is a Phase II study. Boron compound and neutron dose escalation studies are planned, and these could lead to Phase II and possibly to randomized Phase III clinical trials that should provide data regarding therapeutic efficacy.
Topological susceptibility in SU(3) lattice gauge theory

Abstract We report the results of a Monte Carlo calculation of the topological susceptibility χt in SU(3) lattice gauge theory. We find no evidence of asymptotic scaling, but χt varies with β in the same way as the string tension σ. Assuming σ = (420 MeV)2, then χt = (221 ± 13 MeV)4, in reasonable agreement with the large N prediction of χt = (180 MeV)4.
Optimization of the optical sparse array configuration

One feature of systems with sparse optical aperture is the possible existence of zero-value regions of the optical transfer function. In using fast-convergent gradient methods for nonlinear constrained optimization with criteria based on the optical transfer function or the modulation transfer function, the gradient of the minimized function can also contain zero-value regions. Such situations can result in a suspension of the calculation if an intermediate solution falls into such a region. We show that, using gradient methods, it is possible to avoid this calculation problem if we redefine the subaperture step pupil functions—in particular, approximate them by continuously differentiable functions having no zero-value regions. This is demonstrated on examples of apertures consisting of circular and annular subapertures. This approach can be used for both types of multiaperture optical telescopes, the Michelson and Fizeau, and for both space and earth science missions.
Semiconductor laser technology for remote sensing experiments

Semiconductor injection lasers are required for implementing virtually all spaceborne remote sensing systems. Their main advantages are high reliability and efficiency, and their main roles are envisioned in pumping and injection locking of solid state lasers. In some shorter range applications they may even be utilized directly as the sources.
Maximum Expected BLEU Training of Phrase and Lexicon Translation Models

This paper proposes a new discriminative training method in constructing phrase and lexicon translation models. In order to reliably learn a myriad of parameters in these models, we propose an expected BLEU score-based utility function with KL regularization as the objective, and train the models on a large parallel dataset. For training, we derive growth transformations for phrase and lexicon translation probabilities to iteratively improve the objective. The proposed method, evaluated on the Europarl German-to-English dataset, leads to a 1.1 BLEU point improvement over a state-of-the-art baseline translation system. In IWSLT 2011 Benchmark, our system using the proposed method achieves the best Chinese-to-English translation result on the task of translating TED talks.
Test Review: Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System

The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis, Kaplan, & Kramer, 2001) represents the first set of executive tests co-normed on a large and representative national sample designed exclusively for the assessment of executive functions including flexibility of thinking, inhibition, problem solving, planning, impulse control, concept formation, abstract thinking, and creativity. The D-KEFS, composed of nine stand alone tests that can be individually or group administered, provides a standardized assessment of executive functions in children and adults between the ages of 8 and 89. Utilizing a “cognitive-process approach,” the D-KEFS tests allow examiners to systematically generate and evaluate relevant clinical hypotheses on executive functioning of a given examinee by comparing and contrasting performance on multiple testing conditions and using contrast measure scores and error analyses. A review of the administration, scoring and interpretation, test construction, standardization, and technica...
Datascape: A Synthesis of Digital and Embodied Worlds:

Digital and synthetic worlds are often conceived as self-contained entities that exist in abstracted and remote spaces. The author elaborates an approach to hybrid space that instead focuses on local contexts of digital information correlated with the embodied spaces people inhabit—an informational substrate that both describes and regulates human activity. The author presents a mobile interactive art installation as a way to bring geographically referenced information out of databases and into everyday experience of traveling through the world. Datascape enables a hybrid ecology whereby participants author dynamic geographic narratives that compose a digital world coextensive with the planet Earth. A vehicle-mounted digital periscope engenders action between passengers and a visual and sonic landscape that unfolds and emerges based on conversations between people, data, and dynamic representational entities that compose the landscape. By allowing people to view and interact with information descriptive o...
How Collaboration and Research Can Affect School Counseling Practices: The Minnesota Story:

Collaboration among various professional groups to enhance student learning is a very useful strategy. This article describes how one state, Minnesota, over time (1960-1990), employed collaboration among schools, universities, professional organizations, and the State Department of Education to affect student counseling practices where needed. Efforts were directed to investigate and integrate all components of the school counseling profession by beginning with the possible impact of current practice, then researching various implementation models based on appropriate psychological theories, and finally changing counselor certification and graduate education to close the gap between relevant theory and professional practice. Such efforts have supportive implications for the national standards of the American School Counselor Association.
Using cluster analysis to characterize meaningful learning in a first-year university chemistry laboratory course

The Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was designed to measure students' cognitive and affective learning in the university chemistry laboratory. The MLLI was administered at the beginning and the end of the first semester to first-year university chemistry students to measure their expectations and experiences for learning in their laboratory course. To better understand what students' expectations for learning were fulfilled, and what expectations went unmet, cluster analysis was used to examine students' expectations and experiences as measured by their average scores on the MLLI at both the beginning and the end of the semester. The cluster solution yielded four clusters. Three of the four clusters consisted of parallel responses, i.e., the first cluster had both low expectations and low experiences, the third cluster had both high expectations and high experiences, and the second cluster was in the middle of the first and third. The fourth cluster had expectations similar to those of the high cluster, but surprisingly had experiences similar to those of the middle and low clusters. Descriptions of each cluster of students, including distinguishing characteristics of their learning in the laboratory, and the implications of this research are discussed.
Crash Estimation at Signalized Intersections Along Corridors: Analyzing Spatial Effect and Identifying Significant Factors

Intersections could be considered as isolated when the distance between them is long because, the influence between them is negligible. Signalized intersections, especially closer ones along a certain corridor, are spatially correlated and will influence each other in many respects. Use of the basic negative binomial regression for correlated crash frequency data leads to invalid statistical inference due to incorrect test statistics and standard errors that are based on the misspecified variance. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) provide an extension of generalized linear models to the analysis of correlated data and can account for the spatial correlation among signalized intersections. In this study, 476 signalized intersections from 41 corridors are selected in Orange, Brevard, and Miami-Dade Counties in Florida. Because the distance between some intersections along some corridors is very long, the intersections along the 41 corridors were divided into 116 clusters. The spatially correlated crash...
Comparison of individual factors in school psychology graduate students: Why do students pursue a degree in school psychology?

The purpose of this study was to investigate what factors influenced students to enter the field of school psychology. Although numerous studies have documented the thoughts and perspectives of practitioners regarding why they have chosen to become school psychologists, attempts to recruit and retain an adequate number of school psychology practitioners and researchers have shown limited success. A national sample of 307 school psychology graduate students responded to a survey designed to measure issues related to the current state of professional practice, the influence of parental education, and professional organization recruitment. Results indicated that working with children and personal experiences within the school system were highly related to participant's decisions to become school psychologists. In addition, doctoral level and nondoctoral level students present similar reasons for entering the field. This research is discussed in terms of its implications for future research and the current shortage of school psychology practitioners and faculty. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 865–872, 2007.
Incorporation of isotopic oxygen into the carbonyl group of esters and amides

Syntheses and analyses are described for incorporation of 17O from 17O-enriched water into the carbonyl oxygen position of the ester and amide bonds in O-(trans-pchlorocinnamoyl)-L-β-phenyllactate and N-(benzoyl)-glycyl-L-phenylalanine.
Morphologies of suspended clay-sized quartz particles in the Mississippi River and their relation to sedimetary sources

Clay-sized quartz particles from the suspended load of the Mississippi River display subspherical and well-rounded morphologies. When viewed under a scanning electron microscope, the grain surfaces exhibit overlapping caps of precipitated SiO 2 plates and occasional etch pits formed by chemical dissolution. Such morphologies indicate that the grains are multicyclic in origin and have been derived from weathering pedogenic environments. In comparison, primary clay-sized quartz grains from glacial drift and gneissic detritus are wedgelike and angular, and their surfaces are characterized by mechanically produced features such as breakage blocks and conchoidal fractures. Thus, grains from different sedimentary provenances display distinctive shape and surface texture features. Morphological analysis of clay-sized quartz particles should become an important diagnostic tool in understanding the complex history of terrigenous deposits, because the fine particles exhibit the same source-indicative features as the coarser silt- and sand-sized grains.
Calderone, Mary Steichen (1904−1998)

Mary Steichen Calderone, known during her heyday in the 1960s and 1970s as the “grandmother of sex education,” helped normalize the use of scientific terminology for genitalia and age-appropriate scientific descriptions of reproductive and non-reproductive sexual activity in sex education materials for schoolchildren, ranging from elementary school to university. As the Medical Director of Planned Parenthood from 1953 to 1964 she persuaded the American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association to include family planning in their definitions of good care. As the Director and then President of the Sex (currently Sexuality) Information and Education Council of the U.S. from 1964 to 1982, she became the target of criticism by the Christian Crusade and others on the New Right. Keywords: contraception; masturbation; Planned Parenthood; sex education; sexuality; SIECUS
Concurrency control and data replication strategies for large-scale and wide-distributed databases

The explosion of the Internet and the advances in high-speed wide-area networks (WANs) provide the opportunity to distribute large database systems over geographically distant sites to improve the performance and the robustness of such systems. The traditional concurrency control and commitment control protocols should be re-designed to fit this new scenario. Because of the diversity of applications, it is possible that the correctness of a transaction and database consistency can be relaxed based on the requirements of the application. This paper focuses on developing revised protocols to provide different levels of consistency and performance to meet the different needs of various applications in large and widely distributed database systems. In our approach, the entire system is organized in a tree framework. The concepts of insular consistency and regional consistency are introduced to relax strict consistency from the time and space dimensions. A concurrency control protocol, called the Hierarchical Token Forwarding Protocol (HTFP), and a commitment control protocol, called the Hierarchical Asynchronized Multi-level-consistency Protocol (HAMP), are proposed to achieve different kinds of consistency in a single distributed database system.
Genetic Basis of Alopecia Areata: A Roadmap for Translational Research

Alopecia areata (AA) is a recurrent autoimmune type of hair loss that affects about 5.3 million people in the United States alone. Despite being the most prevalent autoimmune disease, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this complex disease are still poorly understood, and rational treatments are lacking. Further efforts are necessary to clearly pinpoint the causes and molecular pathways leading to this disease and to find evidence-based treatments for AA. The authors focus on the central role of genetics for gaining insight into disease pathogenesis and setting the stage for the rational development of novel effective therapeutic approaches.
Coronary artery endothelial dysfunction is positively correlated with low density lipoprotein and inversely correlated with high density lipoprotein subclass particles measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Objective The association between cholesterol and endothelial dysfunction remains controversial. We tested the hypothesis that lipoprotein subclasses are associated with coronary endothelial dysfunction.
Neutron Diffraction Investigation of Vitreous Germania

The neturon diffraction pattern of vitreous germania is explained using the model of randomly oriented tetrahedra linked at corner oxygen atoms. The atomic radial distribution function calculated from the data gives 1.73, 2.83, and 3.45 A as the Ge–O, O–O, and Ge–Ge interatomic distances, respectively. The number of atoms coordinated at these distances is 3.9, 5.9, and 4.3, respectively.
Electrical and optical properties of diamond-like carbon

Abstract Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films, amorphous hydrogenated or nonhydrogenated forms of carbon, are metastable amorphous materials characterized by a range of attractive mechanical, chemical, tribological, as well as optical and electrical properties. The films can be prepared at low temperatures, from a large variety of precursors, by a diversity of techniques, and their characteristics can be modified by incorporation of different elements such as N, F, Si, or metals. The diversity of methods used for the deposition of DLC films provides the flexibility to tailor their properties according to specific needs and potential applications. The optical gap of these materials is in the range of 1–4 eV and the electrical resistivity spans 14 orders of magnitude. The dielectric constant of DLC films covers the range of 2.5–6. The talk will review the optical and electrical characteristics of DLC and discuss the actual and potential applications based on these properties.
In Praise of Replacement

This article serves to present a large mathematical perspective and historical basis for the Axiom of Replacement as well as to affirm its importance as a central axiom of modern set theory.
Predicting the Solution Time of Branch-and-Bound Algorithms for Mixed-Integer Programs

The most widely used progress measure for branch-and-bound (B&B) algorithms when solving mixed-integer programs (MIPs) is the MIP gap. We introduce a new progress measure that is often much smoother than the MIP gap. We propose a double exponential smoothing technique to predict the solution time of B&B algorithms and evaluate the prediction method using three MIP solvers. Our computational experiments show that accurate predictions of the solution time are possible, even in the early stages of B&B algorithms.
Pattern matching and lossy data compression on random fields

We consider the problem of lossy data compression for data arranged on two-dimensional arrays (such as images), or more generally on higher dimensional arrays (such as video sequences). Several of the most commonly used algorithms are based on pattern matching: Given a distortion level D and a block of data to be compressed, the encoder first finds a D-close match of this block into some database, and then describes the data by describing the position of the match. We consider two idealized versions of this scenario. In the first, the database is taken to be a collection of independent realizations of the same size and from the same distribution as the original data. In the second, the database is assumed to be a single long realization from the same source as the data. We show that the compression rate achieved (in either version) is no worse than R(D/2) bits per symbol, where R(D) is the rate-distortion function. This is proved under the assumptions that (1) the data is generated by a Gibbs distribution, and (2) the distortion measure is a metric, generalizing the corresponding one-dimensional bound of Steinberg and Gutman (1993). Using large deviations results by Dembo and Kontoyiannis (see ibid., vol.48, p.1590-15, 2000) and by Chi (2001), we are able to give short proofs for the present results.
Overdose of Atypical Antipsychotics Clinical Presentation, Mechanisms of Toxicity and Management

Historically, treatment for schizophrenia focused on sedation. The advent of the typical antipsychotics resulted in treatment aimed specifically at the underlying disease, but these agents were associated with numerous adverse effects, and were not particularly effective at treatment of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. As a result, numerous atypical agents have been developed over the past 2 decades, including several agents within the past 5 years. Overdose of antipsychotics remains quite common in Western society. In 2010, poison control centres in the US received nearly 43,000 calls related to atypical antipsychotics alone. Due to underreporting, the true incidence of overdose with atypical antipsychotics is likely much greater. Following overdose of an atypical antipsychotic, the clinical effects observed, such as CNS depression, tachycardia and orthostasis are largely predictable based on the unique receptor binding profile of the agent. This article, which focuses on the atypical antipsychotics commonly used in the treatment of schizophrenia, discusses the features commonly encountered in overdose. Specifically, agents that result in QT prolongation and the corresponding potential for torsades de pointes, as well as unique features encountered with the various medications are discussed. The diagnosis of this overdose is largely based on history. Routine use of drug screens is unlikely to be beneficial. The primary goal of management is aggressive supportive care. Patients with significant CNS depression with associated loss of airway reflexes and respiratory failure need advanced airway management. Hypotension should be treated first with intravenous fluids, with the use of direct acting vasopressors reserved for persistent hypotension. Benzodiazepines should be used for seizures, with barbiturates used for refractory seizures. Intravenous magnesium can be administered for patients with a corrected QT interval exceeding 500 milliseconds.
Internal Journeys of College Presidents: Diary Reflections About Leadership and Values

Beyond these demands on their personal lives and those of their partners and families of presidents are the larger, and in many ways more difficult, relentless passages which must be navigated in the life of institutions and in the office of the president. These are the points of intersection, to name just a few of the forces, between and among leadership dynamics, the organizational culture of the college, its institutional saga, its diverse and often competing constituencies, and its stated and unstated mission and purpose. Here the very real politics and the necessary use of human capital takes place. Frank Smallwood, emeritus Professor of Government and Director of the Nelson Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, once remarked employing an analogy from a card game, that all leaders, especially college presidents, have only so many chips of goodwill stacked in front of them at the beginning of their tenure. They can expend these however rapidly they wish, but the reality is t...
Mapping Wildfire Burn Severity in Southern California Forests and Shrublands Using Enhanced Thematic Mapper Imagery

Wildfire is a major disturbance agent in Mediterranean Type Ecosystems (MTEs). Providing reliable, quantitative information on the area of burns and the level of damage caused is therefore important both for guiding resource management and global change monitoring. Previous studies have successfully mapped burn severity using remote sensing, but reliable accuracy has yet to be gained using standard methods over different vegetation types. The objective of this research was to classify burn severity across several vegetation types using Landsat ETM imagery in two areas affected by wildfire in southern California in June 1999. Spectral mixture analysis (SMA) using four reference endmembers (vegetation, soil, shade, non-photosynthetic vegetation) and a single (charcoal-ash) image endmember were used to enhance imagery prior to burn severity classification using decision trees. SMA provided a robust technique for enhancing fire-affected areas due to its ability to extract sub-pixel information and minimize the effects of topography on single date satellite data. Overall kappa classification accuracy results were high (0.71 and 0.85, respectively) for the burned areas, using five canopy consumption classes. Individual severity class accuracies ranged from 0.5 to 0.94.
A rapid interference detector for ultra wideband radio systems in 0.13μm CMOS

A broadband low-power down-converter that can rapidly scan the UWB spectrum within several tens of nano-seconds to detect large interferers, is presented. The detector employs cascaded image-reject stages, each consisting of harmonic-rejection mixers, and decomposes the spectrum into 16 equal sub-bands. The LO path uses a single HF input with integer dividers. The IC is in 0.13 mum CMOS. It requires 17 mA in the signal path and 24 mA for the LO path from a 1.2 V VDD, while spanning 1.75 to 8.75 GHz.