cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mental stress and cardiovascular reactivity in humans: a time-dependent response (852.6)

Cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to acute laboratory mental stress (MS) has been extensively studied as a potential predictor of future cardiovascular risk, but length of MS trial can vary across st...
Capital market response to SFAS Nos. 8 and 52

This study investigates the capital market response to Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) policy deliberations on foreign currency translations (FCT) by concentrating on five specific events associated with such deliberations. Examining the possible effects of these events, we argue that a market response to FASB policy deliberations on FCT could result from the effects of new information or from the effects of expected changes in managerial decisions. The tests utilized in this paper are designed to detect effects of both types. Generally, no apparent significant market reaction to three of the five events was observed. We found an apparent weak but significant reaction to one event and inconclusive results for a fifth.
The Origin, Application, Validity, and PotentialMisuse of Rule 10b5-1

The SEC adopted Rule 10b5-1 to define what it means to trade securities “on the basis of” material nonpublic information. This was to address decisions and commentary that found no insider trading violation of Rule 10b-5 where the defendant did not “use” inside information in deciding to trade, even if one “possessed” the information when the decision was made. Rule 10b5-1 specifies exclusive affirmative defenses for one charged with trading on the basis of material nonpublic information, the essence of which are that there is no violation if the trade was made pursuant to a pre-arranged plan, even if the seller or buyer later became aware of the information before the trade was made. There is, however, a substantial argument that the SEC exceeded its powers in adopting exclusive criteria for what it means to trade “on the basis of” material nonpublic information, rather than creating a safe harbor. Non-use of inside information in deciding to trade remains a defense even if the trade was not made pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the SEC abandoned a proposal to require detailed disclosure of some Rule 10b5-1 plans, other SEC rules require disclosure of a plan in some circumstances, although compliance may be deficient. Irrespective of mandated disclosure, there are reasons both for and against voluntary disclosure of a Rule 10b5-1 plan. Some have suggested that Rule 10b5-1 is being misused in that executives establish such plans, know when a trade will occur under the plan and then, in order to maximize their profits when the trade is made, delay or accelerate disclosure of corporate news that would affect the stock price. In most situations, any such timing of corporate disclosure would not violate the securities laws.
SUBURBAN ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICIES AIMED AT REDUCING SOLO DRIVING

Policies that are aimed at discouraging commuters from solo driving have become a part of overall efforts to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. Since driving alone is the overwhelming choice of employed residents in US metropolitan areas, the political acceptability of proposed policy changes plays a role in their success. The 1992 Orange County (CA) Annual Survey asked employed solo drivers to rate their likelihood of changing from solo driving in response to various fees and incentives. Fewer say they would be very likely to stop solo driving if they were charged a parking fee at work (20%), a smog fee (17%) or a congestion fee (16%), than if their employers paid them a cash bonus for stopping solo driving (28%), or if more public transit (33%) or more carpools at work (35%) were available. Young and lower-status solo drivers are more likely than others to say they would stop driving alone if there were fees or cash bonuses. Current non-solo drivers tend to be young and low income, providing a validity check on the demographic predictors of stated preferences. The findings are discussed in light of recent policy changes in Southern California.
Feeding Status Affects Glucose Metabolism in Exercising Horses

Four standardbred horses were used in a Latin square design experiment to evaluate the effects of feeding status on metabolic response to exercise. Horses were deprived of food overnight and then fed 0 (control condition), 1, 2 or 3 kg of corn grain approximately 2.5-3 h before exercise. The exercise test consisted of a warm-up phase (heart rate mean = 144 beats/min) followed by 800 m of walking and then a high intensity work bout for 1600 m (heart rate mean = 206 beats/min). All tests were conducted on a high speed equine treadmill on which the horses had been previously conditioned. During exercise, the control treatment resulted in steady plasma glucose concentrations, whereas all other treatments (1, 2 or 3 kg corn) caused a decline in plasma glucose. Liver glycogen concentration was decreased by exercise in the horses only when they received the control treatment. Plasma lactate concentration was increased by exercise but was not affected by feeding state. Plasma free fatty acid concentrations were highest when the horses received the control treatment. In addition, when horses received the control treatment, plasma free fatty acid concentrations decreased during the warm-up and high intensity phases of the test and increased during the walk phase. Free fatty acid concentrations changed in the horses receiving 1, 2 or 3 kg of corn grain only during the high intensity phase of the exercise test. Feeding status affects the metabolic response of horses to exercise thus further studies are necessary to evaluate the effect of feeding status on exercise performance.
Computational methods for MIMO flat linear systems: Flat output characterization, test and tracking control

This paper is concerned with the study of flat outputs for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) controllable linear time-invariant discrete- and continuous-time systems in state-space representation. Leveraging the equivalence of flatness to an estimation-theoretic system property known as strong observability, a quick computational test is developed for ascertaining if an output candidate is flat and the subspace of flat outputs can be constructively characterized. Moreover, we propose a computational method to find differentially (continuous-time), as well as non-causal and causal difference (discrete-time) flat outputs via a system transformation into a special control canonical form. Finally, design principles for flatness-based trajectory planning and tracking control for discrete-time systems are presented, which to our best knowledge, have yet to be successfully demonstrated.
Sidelined or Mainstreamed? Political Participation and Attitudes of People with Disabilities in the United States

Objective We examine whether people with disabilities are part of the political mainstream, or remain outsiders in important respects, by studying political participation and the underexplored topic of how disability relates to attitudes toward politics. Method We analyze new disability measures on the 2008 and 2010 Current Population Surveys voting supplements, and two other nationally representative surveys for 2006 and 2007. Results Citizens with disabilities remain less likely than nondisabled citizens to vote. While there are few differences in political preferences and party affiliations, people with disabilities tend to favor a greater government role in employment and healthcare, and give lower ratings on government responsiveness and trustworthiness. Conclusion People with disabilities continue to be sidelined in important ways. Fully closing the disability gap would have led to 3.0 million more voters in 2008 and 3.2 million more voters in 2010, potentially affecting many races and subsequent public policies.
Role of free tissue transfer in skull base reconstruction

Objective Free tissue transfer to the skull base provides a watertight seal to prevent CSF leakage and donor tissue tailored to the individual defect. Study Design and Setting Retrospective chart review of 38 patients who underwent free tissue transfer to the skull base between November 1995 and October 2005 at an academic, tertiary referral center. Results There were 23 male and 15 female patients (average age, 58.1 years) with skull base defects resulting from oncologic resection or head trauma most frequently. Donor sites included the radial forearm (25), rectus abdominis (12), latissimus dorsi (4), anterolateral thigh, scapula, serratus anterior, and ulna (1 each). Seven patients required a second free tissue transfer indicated for flap death (3), partial flap necrosis (2), pneumocephalus (1), or tumor recurrence (1). Two patients died in the immediate postoperative period. Conclusions Free tissue transfer is a robust option in the repair of post-surgical and post-traumatic skull base defects.
Short-period photophysiological responses of Thalassiosira pseudonana during photoacclimation to near-surface irradiance

A two-day deployment of the self-contained underwater photosynthetic apparatus (SUPS) was conducted to examine the effects of high and variable natural irradiance on the optical properties and primary productivity of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. Study objectives included the determination of short time response in the cycling of diadinoxanthin (DD) and diatoxanthin (DT), and associated changes in the rates of primary production, and quantum yield, and in cell absorption characteristics over a tow day period. A nutrient replete, lowlight acclimated diatom culture was placed in SUPA and in a collocated culture reservoir fitted with a quartz top. The instrument was deployed in shallow water in Sarasota Bay under fluctuating, high irradiance typical for June. A pigment sampling series reveals a correlation of DD to DT cycling with exposure to high irradiance. Net quantum yields, determined by cell absorption spectra and minute-to-minute SUPA net primary productivity values, exhibit high values initially which decay to lower values upon exposure to high light. Short time scale changes in quantum yield are observed due to changes in DD/DT cycling and fluctuating irradiance.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Multifocal Aspheric Contact Lenses in the Management of Accommodative Esotropia

The successful clinical use of multifocal aspheric contact lenses in the management of accommodative esotropia is reported. The patient was a 13 year old boy.
Strengths of High-Energy Capture Gamma Rays in W 184

S>A possible method for spin measurement is based on capture gamma rays emitted from individual levels. The most direct use of capture gamma rays for the determination of J applies when the ground-state transition is allowed for only one of the spins. An example is the compound nucleus W/sup 184/ in which the electric dipole ground-state transition at 7.42 Mev is allowed for J = 1 but forbidden for J = 0. No information exists concerning the relative transition probabilities involved. Earlier capture gamma measurements with the Brookhaven fast chopper showed strong ground-state transitions for several known resonances of W/sup 184/, indicating that J = I for these resonances. Transition probabilities of the ground-state gamma rays for the five J = 1 levels are tabulated. (A. C.)
Motion- Compensated Interpolation for Low- Bit- Rate Video Quality Enhancement

ABSTRACT Fast motion-compensated frame interpolation (FMCI) schemes for the decoder of the block-based video codec operating in low bit rates are examined in this paper. The main objective is to improve the video quality by increasing the frame rate without a substantial increase in the computational complexity. Two FMCI schemes are proposed depending on the motion vector mapping strategy, i.e. the non-deformable and the deformable block-based FMCI schemes. They provide a trade-off of the computational complexity and the visual performance.With proposed schemes, the decoder can perform frame interpolation using motion information received fromthe encoder. The complexity of FMCI is reduced since no additional motion search in the decoder is neededas required by standard MCI. It has been observed from experimental results that the visual quality of coded low-bit-rate video is significantly improved at the expense of a small increase in decoder's complexity. Keywords : motion-compensated frame interpolation ,
Developmental model relating white matter volume to neurocognitive deficits in pediatric brain tumor survivors.

BACKGROUND The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that, among survivors of pediatric brain tumors, the association between reduced volumes of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and intellectual/academic achievement deficits can be explained by patient problems with memory and attention. METHODS Quantitative tissue volumes from magnetic resonance imaging scans and neurocognitive assessments were obtained for 40 long-term survivors of pediatric brain tumors. They were treated with radiotherapy (RT) with or without chemotherapy 2.6–15.3 years earlier (median, 5.7 years) at an age of 1.7–14.8 years (median, 6.5 years). Neurocognitive assessments included standardized tests of intellect (intelligence quotient [IQ]), attention, memory, and academic achievement. RESULTS Analyses revealed significant impairments in patients' neurocognitive test performance on all measures. After statistically controlling for age at RT and time from RT, significant associations were found between NAWM volumes and both attentional abilities and IQ, and between attentional abilities and IQ. Subsequent analyses supported the hypothesis that attentional abilities, but not memory, could explain a significant amount of the relationship between NAWM and IQ. The final developmental model predicting academic achievement based on NAWM, attentional abilities, and IQ explained approximately 60% of the variance in reading and spelling and almost 80% of the variance in math. CONCLUSIONS The authors demonstrated that the primary consequence of reduced NAWM among pediatric patients treated for brain tumors was decreased attentional abilities, leading to declining IQ and academic achievement. Cancer 2003;10:2512–9. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11355
Prevention of Diabetes Development in Those with the Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is characterized by abnormal glucose levels, central obesity, hypertension, elevated triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol. This article reviews available data regarding the impact of lifestyle modification and drug therapies on the progression to diabetes in high risk individuals, such as those with hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and prediabetes. Lifestyle and pharmacological interventions may alter metabolic parameters and impact progression to diabetes. However, the cost-effectiveness of these interventions are unclear.
Analysis of temporal shear stress gradients during the onset phase of flow over a backward-facing step.

Endothelial cells in blood vessels are exposed to blood flow and thus fluid shear stress, In arterial bifurcations and stenoses, disturbed flow causes zones of recirculation and stagnation, which are associated with both spatial and temporal gradients of shear stress. Such gradients have been linked to the generation of atherosclerotic plaques. For in-vitro studies of endothelial cell responses, the sudden-expansion flow chamber has been widely used and described. A two-dimensional numerical simulation of the onset phase of flow through the chamber was performed. The wall shear stress action on the bottom plate was computed as a function of time and distance from the sudden expansion. The results showed that depending on the time for the flow to be established, significant temporal gradients occurred close to the second stagnation point of flow. Slowly ramping the flow over 15 s instead of 200 ms reduces the temporal gradients by a factor of 300, while spatial gradients are reduced by 23 percent. Thus, the effects of spatial and temporal gradients can be observed separately. In experiments on endothelial cells, disturbed flow stimulated cell proliferation only when flow onset was sudden. The spatial patterns of proliferation rate match the exposure to temporal gradients. This study provides information on the dynamics of spatial and temporal gradients to which the cells are exposed in a sudden-expansion flow chamber and relates them to changes in the onset phase of flow.
HUMANISTIC EDUCATION: WHAT IS IT?

(1976). HUMANISTIC EDUCATION: WHAT IS IT? The Review of Education: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 68-73.
A Simple Fluorescence Staining Technique for the Differentiation of Human Tissue Transplanted Into Nude Mice

Human and mouse nuclei can be distinguished by differences in the constitutive heterochromatin when stained with quinacrine dihydrochloride. With the staining method described, mouse heterochromatin during interphase appears as brilliant fluorescent chromocenters. By replacing the commonly used aqueous buffer mounting medium with a xylene-diluted synthetic resin, the haziness of the nuclear fluorescence is eliminated thus allowing identification of the heterochromatin pattern in histological preparations. A requirement for the definite identification of cells of human or murine origin in the nude mouse is the knowledge that the heterochromatin arrangements changes according to the stage of differentiation of the cell of the position of a particular nucleus within the cell cycle.
Conformational Control in the Rebeccamycin Class of Indolocarbazole Glycosides.

Indolocarbazole glycosides are balanced between two conformations: a “closed” conformation containing a cyclic hydrogen bond between the indolocarbazole NH and the pyranose oxygen and an “open” co...
Atrioventricular junction ablation combined with either right ventricular pacing or cardiac resynchronization therapy for atrial fibrillation: the need for large-scale randomized trials.

Background Nonrandomized studies suggest that atrioventricular (AV) junction ablation and pacemaker implantation may improve quality of life, ejection fraction, and exercise tolerance in patients with symptomatic drug-refractory atrial fibrillation. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether recent randomized trials support the use of AV junction ablation in combination with conventional right ventricular pacemaker therapy or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in atrial fibrillation. Methods Meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing AV junction ablation vs drugs or CRT vs right ventricular pacing for atrial fibrillation. Results Six randomized trials with 323 patients compared AV junction ablation vs pharmacologic therapy. The majority of these trials did not individually report a statistically significant improvement in survival, stroke, hospitalization, functional class, atrial fibrillation–associated symptoms, left ventricular ejection fraction, exercise capacity, healthcare costs, or quality of life. Overall, all-cause mortality was 3.5% for AV junction ablation patients and 3.3% for controls (relative risk 1.18, 99% confidence interval 0.26–5.22). Three randomized trials with 347 patients compared CRT vs right ventricular pacing in atrial fibrillation. These trials did not individually report a statistically significant improvement in survival, stroke, hospitalization, exercise capacity, or healthcare costs. CRT was associated with a statistically significant improvement in ejection fraction in two of the three trials. Overall, CRT was associated with a trend toward reduced all-cause mortality relative to controls (relative risk 0.51, 99% confidence interval 0.22–1.16). All-cause mortality was 7.1% for CRT patients and 14% for controls. Conclusion Limited randomized trial data have been published regarding AV junction ablation in combination with conventional pacemaker therapy or CRT for atrial fibrillation. Large-scale randomized trials are needed to assess the efficacy of these therapies.
Computer-assisted localization of nervous system injuries

Abstract Expert systems to assist in neurological diagnosis require a representation of anatomical relationships. In order to test one representational method, a prototype expert system was developed. It accepts patient signs of neurological dysfunction and identifies the site of nervous system injury. The system's knowledge base is contained in a semantic network which represents nervous system anatomy and the physical signs of injuries. When provided with an individual's physical signs, the network is searched by a simple algorthm; the anatomical locations which best explain the physical signs are the system's output. Medical expert systems which require anatomical reasoning can use a direct representation of spatial relationships to avoid the difficulties of encoding clinical associations in the form of If-Then rules.
The assessment of child sexual abuse allegations: using research to guide clinical decision making

As reports of child sexual abuse (CSA) have risen, greater attention has been focused on how clinicians evaluate allegations of abuse. A common theme in the CSA assessment literature is to encourage comprehensive, multimodal assessments. This recommendation, however, is rarely accompanied by suggestions regarding how clinicians might integrate and differentially weight the information gathered. The present article is designed to address the issue of which sources of information clinicians should rely upon when conducting CSA assessments. Specifically, the commonly used indicators and procedures for assessing allegations of abuse are identified and then examined in light of their respective empirical literatures. It is concluded that medical examinations and the child's report are among the best sources of information, and should therefore be most heavily relied upon to arrive at accurate decisions. Clinicians are encouraged to adopt the mind set of a scientist conducting an a priori, hypothesis-driven research investigation. This approach should help clinicians avoid the temptation of post hoc analyses that reflect personal biases more than the actual data. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en
AFM-mapped, nanoscale, absorber-driven laser damage in UV high-reflector multilayers

Submicrometer lateral-size craters that develop independently of the presence of micron-scale growth nodules and whose number density follows the intensity profile of the full laser beam are the dominant laser-damage features in 351-nm high-reflector production coatings on the University of Rochester's 60-beam OMEGA laser. Coupled with the observation that the smallest measured damage craters allow for initiating absorber sizes not larger than 10 nm, the experimental evidence points toward randomly distributed nano-cluster absorbers as the sources for energy transfer from the optical field to the porous film medium.
A 1.4V signal swing hybrid CLS-opamp/ZCBC pipelined ADC using a 300mV output swing opamp

Scaling in CMOS technologies has made the application of traditional opamp topologies increasingly difficult. In the face of decreasing voltage headroom and intrinsic device gain, designers have employed techniques such as gain-boosting, correlated double sampling , and correlated level-shifting (CLS) [1] to maximize output swing for a given gain specification. Zero-crossing based circuits (ZCBC) remove the opamp altogether and use a comparator and current sources [2], which are more amenable to scaling and have proven capable of high efficiency, as in [3]. However, the open loop nature of ZCBC creates challenges for designs that must reliably track over process, voltage, and temperature. In this paper, we describe a hybrid CLS-opamp/ZCBC pipelined ADC that introduces techniques to improve accuracy, robustness, and power efficiency in scaled technologies. It incorporates CLS and a low power, small output swing double-cascoded telescopic opamp to achieve very high effective gain. A dynamically biased zero-crossing detector (ZCD) is introduced that increases the power efficiency of ZCBC designs.
Does the MMPI differentiate chronic illness from chronic pain

This study examines the relationship between MMPI scales and functional limitation for the chronic illness populations of chronic low back pain, migraine headache, hypertension and diabetes. Average MMPI profiles for these groups approximate those of previous studies with the chronic low back group having the most disturbed profile and showing elevations especially on the Hs, Hy and D scales. Several kinds of analyses, however, demonstrate that, in general, the MMPI group differences can be accounted for by individual self-rated functional limitation. The data do not support attempts at defining a low back pain or chronic pain personality profile apart from the emotional disturbance associated with chronic limitation and disruption of activity.
Derivation and validation of the SEER-Medicare myelodysplastic syndromes risk score (SMMRS).

Abstract Accruing data since 2001, the SEER-Medicare dataset is an outstanding resource for MDS-related comparative effectiveness research; however, although several MDS prognostic models exist, complete data required to calculate them are not available therein. Using SEER-Medicare as a training and internal validation set ( n = 9820) and clinical data at our institution as an external validation set ( n = 307), we created a new MDS risk score (the SMMRS) for use with SEER-Medicare. Risk stratification by the SMMRS was comparable to the IPSS (net reclassification improvement index was 0.0), demonstrating that it is a useful research tool to stratify MDS patients in studies using SEER-Medicare.
Film/substrate registry as measured by anomalous x-ray scattering at a reacted, epitaxial Cu/Si(111) interface

We used anomalous x-ray-diffraction methods to measure the contribution of an epitaxial copper overlayer on silicon to the crystal truncation rods (CTR's). The intensities of the CTR's are analyzed to determine interface structure; the epitaxy of a large-misfit system, Cu on Si(111), can be described in relationship to this structure. Anomalous scattering observed at the Cu K edge along a Si CTR demonstrates copper atoms to be in registry with the Si(111) surface. The copper-atom registry at the interface can be modeled based on the known bulk \ensuremath{\eta}-${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$Si structure and observed epitaxy.
Applying for computational time on NSF’s TeraGrid—the world’s largest cyberinfrastructure supporting open research

This article describes how to apply for allocations of high-performance computing time, storage, and advanced user support on the National Science Foundation’s TeraGrid.
Enabling Real-Time Collaborative Brain-Mobile Interactive Applications on Volunteer Mobile Devices

Commercially available wearable brain sensors and devices that convert smartphones into virtual reality systems open up the potential to implement real time collaborative brain-mobile interactive applications. These applications may derive psychological contexts using electroencephalogram (EEG) collected in a wireless setting, and provide individualized sensory feedback through devices such as Google Cardboard. Psychological contexts are affected not only by user's own behavior but also by her interaction with the environment and possibly other individuals. Hence, deriving psychological context information not only requires sensing of an individual's brain but also data from her neighbors. Further, the data needs to be processed by computationally intensive machine learning algorithms which may not be executed within desired latency using resource limited mobile devices. In such a scenario, real time computation of psychological contexts and administration of sensory feedback may be infeasible. In this work, we consider the idea of offloading psychological context estimation and sensory feedback computation to volunteer mobile devices and study the feasibility of large scale real-time adhoc brain-mobile interface applications. We present the BraiNet architecture, which can be used to write a custom application to perform computation on brain data and gain group level aggregate inferences and provide feedback. Further, heavy computation related to the brain signal processing can be offloaded to networked mobile devices for adhoc real-time execution without the need for a dedicated server. We show the usage of BraiNet to develop "Neuro Movie" (nMovie), that modulates movie frames based on individuals subconscious preferences.
Urinary taurine as a non-invasive marker of aflatoxin B1-induced hepatotoxicity: success and failure.

Abstract The usefulness of urinary taurine as a non-invasive measure of hepatotoxicity of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) was evaluated: changes in urinary taurine were characterized in a dose-response, acute toxicity experiment and in two sub-chronic, low dose exposure experiments. Urine of young, male, F344 rats was collected for 4 days prior to, and for 3 days after, the treatment with AFB 1 . Rats received a single p.o. dose of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 or 3 mg AFB 1 /kg body wt. A transient increase in urinary taurine was noted with doses of 1, 2 or 3 mg AFB 1 /kg. In two sub-chronic exposure experiments, rats were gavaged with 25 μg AFB 1 /day for 5 successive days per week for 1 or 2 weeks (approximately 0.25 mg/kg/day). In the first experiment, only a transient increase in urinary taurine during 5 successive doses of AFB 1 was observed, while in the second experiment, urinary taurine rose continuously during the 2 weeks of the AFB 1 treatment. An explanation for these differing results is not obvious. Urinary taurine appeared to be a useful, non-invasive marker when hepatotoxicity was extensive. Unfortunately, at the low doses of AFB 1 (0.25–0.5 mg/kg) as used in carcinogenesis experiments (10 doses of 25 μg/rat), urinary taurine appeared to be an insensitive measure of hepatic damage.
Both Too Much and Too Little: Sources of Federal Instability in Canada

Federalism is often praised for being able to accommodate diversity within the confines of a single state while preventing secession. Federalism, however, is fraught with tensions and instability. Federalism is typically adopted as a second-best alternative among actors whose first choice is either a more centralized state or a more decentralized state. These preferences persist over time. Instability in federation, then, comes from federal partners pushing in opposite directions at the same time. From this dynamic comes the much-examined propensity for secessionism to develop within federations. Largely unexamined in the literature on federalism, but equally problematic from the standpoint of stability, is the equal and opposite risk of consolidation (or centralization). This article examines sources of federal instability by exploring the origins and evolution of federalism. I use examples from Canada to demonstrate the extent to which my argument is applicable to real world federations. In conducting t...
A comparison of the methods used to calculate first order BOD equation constants

Abstract A comparison of seven published methods for calculating first order BOD equation constants for river water samples showed that six of the methods gave k values that varied up to 57% from those obtained using the reference Reed—Theriault procedure. Variations of Lo values from those of the reference method were as high as 51%. In addition certain methods tended to give higher k and/or Lo values and others to give low k and/or Lo values. The cause of these deviations was not due to deficiencies in the calculation methods but probably due to poor adherence to first order kinetics.
Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of isogenic doubled haploid exotic introgression lines in maize

We characterized the genotypic and phenotypic variation in cell wall digestibility (CWD) and other agronomic traits of 50 backcross 1 generation doubled haploid (BC1DH) lines developed from the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize project. These lines were generated by introgressing 31 exotic unadapted maize races into PHZ51 and PHB47, temperate inbred lines with expired Plant Variety Protection. The 50 BC1DH lines and five check lines were genotyped with 199 single nucleotide polymorphism markers distributed across the genome. We identified, on average, 11.8% of markers with exotic donor parent alleles. This likely underestimates the proportion of donor introgressions, since we cannot discriminate monomorphic alleles from donor and recurrent parents. The potential roles of natural selection and the doubled haploid process in favouring selection of the recurrent genome are discussed. Although the proportion of donor parent genome was underestimated, donor fragments evaluated across the 50 BC1DH lines covered 92.9% of the recurrent parent genome. The evaluation of BC1DH lines for CWD revealed promising lines with CWD not differing significantly (α = 0.05) from forage quality lines used as checks. The introgression of exotic genome segments, however, was generally associated with higher ears, lodging, and late flowering. Even with limited power, our association analysis revealed quantitative trait polymorphisms associated with CWD, flowering date, and lodging.
Religious identities of Buddhist nuns: Training precepts, renunciant attire, and nomenclature in Theravāda Buddhism

The concept of "renunciation" in contemporary Buddhism is a controversial one. This article investigates the ambiguities latent in the religious and social indicators of Buddhist nuns as "householders" or "laity" and "renunciants." I explore these identities in textual, historical, and contemporary contexts with reference to perceptions on training precepts, ascetic attire, and nomenclature. I suggest that Buddhist nuns participate in not one but variant ideals of renunciation that are located in a politics of representation, which both includes them in a community of Buddhist renunciants and distances them from it.
Peptide-based molecular beacons for cancer detection

The development of highly sensitive fluorescence molecular probes in combination with innovative optical techniques plays a pivotal role in the advancement of non-invasive optical imaging of human pathologic conditions. Fluorochromes attached to various ligands have been used for detection of nucleic acid hybridization, in drug discovery, detection of molecular interactions, and for deciphering biological pathways. To advance this technique to an application that could be relevant to clinical study requires the development of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dyes since imaging in this range of wavelength (700-900 nm) allows light to penetrate several centimeters into the tissue and reducing the interference from biological background. In addition, the wavelength of NIR optical probes lies in the oscillation wavelength of a semiconductor laser. Therefore, it is suitable for imaging using laser beam as a source of light. We describe herein the design and synthesis of specific peptide-based fluorescence beacons for detection of cancer. Besides the NIR feature, the dyes possess some other important properties for biological application such as stability in an array of chemical milieu, water solubility, good quantum yield, and a handle for bioconjugation. In order to increase the selectivity during bioconjugation, the cyclic polymethine cyanine dyes were developed using different approaches. The stability of these dyes was demonstrated by labeling a peptide epitope via solid phase peptide chemistry. The in vivo optical imaging showed potential and broad application of these dyes in developing molecular-based beacons for cancer detection.
Electron diffraction study of the structure of vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer nanocrystals

The structures of nanocrystals consisting of 70% vinylidene fluoride and 30% trifluoroethylene made by Langmuir–Blodgett deposition were studied using transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Highly ordered nanocrystals with sizes ranging from 100 nm to 4 µm were grown on Langmuir–Blodgett films at a deposition surface pressure of 20 mN m−1. Electron diffraction patterns from individual crystals allowed us to determine the crystal symmetry and lattice parameters. A monoclinic phase had been found with the lattice parameters a = 9.06 ± 0.03 A,b = 5.18 ± 0.02 A,c = 20.40 ± 0.05 A,α = 90° ± 0.3°,β = 93° ± 0.2°,γ = 90° ± 0.2°, consistent with the monoclinic space group C23.
Early neonatal experience of Long-Evans rats results in long-lasting changes in reactivity to a novel environment and morphine-induced sensitization and tolerance

In Long-Evans rats, daily 3-h separation from the dam during the neonatal period results in enduring alterations in behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stressors and sensitivity to antinociceptive effects of acute and chronic morphine. We tested whether early neonatal experience alters sensitivity to effects of morphine on locomotor activity. The subjects were adult rats that had one of the following backgrounds: daily separation from the dam on postnatal days 2-14 for either 3 h (maternal separation (MS)) or 15 min (handled control (H)) or no separation from the dam (non-handled control (NH)). After two consecutive days of baseline activity measurements, subjects were tested daily after SC injections of either morphine (10 mg/kg) or saline for seven days and again on day 10. Beginning five days later, saline and 1.0-10 mg/kg of morphine were tested in all animals. On the baseline days, MS animals had higher horizontal and vertical activity than did NH controls, whereas H animals spent more time in the center of the testing chamber. In MS and H animals but not in NH controls, daily injections of morphine produced progressive increases in all locomotor activity measures, indicative of sensitization (horizontal counts, center time) and tolerance (vertical counts). MS animals with a history of morphine treatment had significantly higher horizontal and vertical activity after a saline injection than did their counterparts with a history of saline treatment, indicative of conditioning. They also exhibited greater locomotor sensitization to 1.0 mg/kg of morphine than did H and NH controls. These results provide further evidence that environmental manipulation in the form of maternal separation early in life results in enduring changes in sensitivity to effects of morphine that could reflect altered endogenous opioid systems.
Die quantitative Bestimmung von Borfluorwasserstoffsäure neben freier Borsäure mit Hilfe von Cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium-chlorid

Im Cetyl-trimethyl-ammoniumchlorid wurde ein Reagens gefunden, welches die quantitative Bestimmung von Borfluorwasserstoffsaure neben Flussaure und Borsaure gestattet.
Unexpectedly similar charge transfer rates through benzo-annulated bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes

A 4-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)phenyl electron donor and 10-cyanoanthracen-9-yl electron acceptor are attached via alkyne linkages to the bridgehead carbon atoms of bicyclo[2.2.2]octane and all three benzo-annulated bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes. The σ-system of bicyclo[2.2.2]octane provides a scaffold having nearly constant bridge geometry on which to append multiple, weakly interacting benzo π-bridges, so that the effect of incrementally increasing numbers of π-bridges on electron transfer rates can be studied. Surprisingly, photoinduced charge transfer rates measured by transient absorption spectroscopy in toluene show no benefit from increasing the number of bridge π-systems, suggesting dominant transport through the σ-system. Even more surprisingly, the significant changes in hybridization undergone by the σ-system as a result of benzo-annulation also appear to have no effect on the charge transfer rates. Natural Bond Orbital analysis is applied to both σ- and π-communication pathways. The transient absorption spectra...
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF MULTISPECIES TOXICITY TESTS FOR PESTICIDE REGISTRATION

The community conditioning hypothesis describes ecological structures as historical, nonequilibrial, and by definition complex. Indeed, the historical nature of eco- logical structures is seen as the primary difference between single-species toxicity tests and multispecies test systems. Given the complex properties of ecological structures, mul- tispecies toxicity tests need to be designed accordingly with appropriate data analysis tools. Care must be taken to ensure that each replicate shares an identical history, or divergence will rapidly occur. Attempting to realize homogeneity by linear cross inoculation or waiting for an equilibrium state to occur assumes properties that ecological structures do not have. Data analysis must also incorporate the dynamic and hyperdimensional nature of ecological structures. Univariate analysis of individual variables denies the fundamental character of ecological structures as complex systems. A variety of methods, such as correspondence analysis, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and nonmetric clustering and association analysis, are available to search for patterns and to test their relationships to experimental treatments. Visualization techniques including Space-Time Worms and redundancy analysis are also critical in attempting to understand the dynamic nature of these structures. Reliance upon the traditional analysis methods, such as ANOVA and the estimation of LOECs (lowest observable effects concentrations) or NOECs (no observable effects concentrations), com- parable to those of single-species toxicity tests, is to be blind to the unique and complex nature of multispecies toxicity tests. Fundamental design criteria for multispecies toxicity tests, data analysis, and interpretation are presented.
Obtaining New Insights for Biodiversity Conservation from Broad-Scale Citizen Science Data

Increasing public engagement in volunteer science1, either through data collection2 or processing3, is both raising public awareness of science and gathering useful information for scientists. While the payoffs of citizen science4 are potentially large, achieving them requires new approaches to data management and analysis that can only result from strong cross-disciplinary collaborations. This is especially true in ecology and conservation biology, where historically the understanding of species’ responses to environmental change has been constrained by the limited spatial5 or temporal scale6 of available data. Here we describe collaborative research in ecology, computer science, and statistics to generate essential information for conservation management of North American birds: accurate dynamic bird distributions models based on habitat associations across much of North America. Unique is our ability to describe the broad-scale dynamics of seasonal bird distributions and the associated seasonal patterns of habitat use. Our source of bird distribution data is eBird7, an online bird checklist program that currently gathers more than 74,000 checklists monthly from a large network of contributors. Our results were made possible through a data intensive scientific workflow8 that includes analytical methods merged from the fields of machine learning and statistics. We believe that this novel approach of data collection, synthesis, analysis, and visualization will serve as a hallmark for future research initiatives, with broad applicability across many scientific domains.
Looking glass: a C++ library for testing student programs through reflection (abstract only)

Looking Glass is a library designed to support the testing of students' C++ code through reflection. Instructors can design tests that compile even if there are mismatches between the instructor's and student's code (like misspelled function names or parameters that do not have the expected types). Using the autogenerated metadata, instructors can search for and call functions or methods in the student code, including the main function, while providing feedback (rather than a compile error) if the required code is not found. Although not suitable for all C++ programs, Looking Glass was designed to support instructors in introductory and intermediate classes and to be transparent to the students. This poster describes the setup and use of Looking Glass with examples of the functionality it currently supports.
Cytokine Levels during Pregnancy Influence Immunological Profiles and Neurobehavioral Patterns of the Offspring

The underlying causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are unknown, but clinical and experimental studies indicate immune mechanisms, in general, and cytokine dysregulation, in particular, as contributing factors in their etiology. We developed a prenatal mouse model of autism to demonstrate that circulating levels of defined cytokines in pregnant dams could influence fetal development and behavioral characteristics in their offspring. We administered daily injections of murine IL-2 (0.4 mug in phosphate-buffered saline [PBS]) to pregnant mice during mid-gestation, and analyzed their offspring (IL-2 pups) in comparison to offspring of pregnant mice injected with vehicle only (PBS pups). Significant levels of IL-2 were present in amniotic fluid and tissues from embryos of dams given radiolabeled IL-2, indicating that the injected IL-2 crossed the placenta and entered the fetuses. Lymphocytes from IL-2 pups demonstrated accelerated T cell development, with a skewing toward TH1 cell differentiation. IL-2 pups also showed in vitro proliferative and cytotoxicity responses that were significantly higher than control PBS pups when stimulated with syngeneic B lymphoma cells or allogeneic spleen cells. In addition to their previously shown increases in open-field activity, grooming and rearing behavior, offspring of IL-2-injected (vs. PBS-injected) dams also displayed abnormal new motor learning as assessed through acquisition of the classically conditioned eyeblink response. These results suggest that increases in maternal levels of IL-2 during pregnancy induce in their offspring long-lasting increased vulnerability to neurobehavioral abnormalities associated with autism, and provide a valid animal model to determine the underlying immunological mechanisms.
Degassing of FC-72 in Microgravity

The Carthage College Microgravity Team designed and built a system to degas FC-72 during microgravity conditions through the NASA SEED program. FC-72 is an electronic coolant with low boiling point and surface tension that would be an ideal coolant for use in a two-phase cooling system onboard spacecraft [3M, 2013]. The goal of the project was to remove the dissolved gases from liquid FC- 72 to improve the efficiency of flow boiling in microgravity as part of the Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment conducted jointly by NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and Purdue University. A radial membrane contactor was used to remove the gases from the liquid during microgravity. Data from the lab was compared with the parabolic flight data to determine the relative effectiveness of the radial membrane contactor in reduced gravity.
Predictive value of clinical evaluation of stress urinary incontinence: a summary of the published literature.

Our objective was to evaluate the symptom and sign of stress incontinence in predicting the presence of urodynamically diagnosed genuine stress incontinence (GSI). The study was a computation of the sensitivity and predictive values from the published literature (1975–1998), evaluating the history and/or physical examination for the diagnosis of GSI, with calculation of efficacy variables. Results show that the isolated symptom of stress incontinence has a positive predictive value (PPV) of 56% for the diagnosis of pure GSI and 79% for GSI with additional abnormalities. The PPV of stress incontinence in association with other symptoms is 77% in detecting GSI (with or without additional abnormalities). A positive cough stress test has a PPV of 55% for detecting pure GSI and 91% for the mixed condition (GSI plus additional diagnosis). When isolated, the symptom or the sign of stress incontinence is a poor predictor of GSI. In combination, the prediction may be more promising.