cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
OS FATORES CRÍTICOS QUE INFLUENCIAM A MOTIVAÇÃO DE UMA EQUIPE DE VENDAS NO VAREJO DA MODA FEMININA

Entender os aspectos relacionados as equipes de trabalho tem sido um dos desafios para os empresarios nas ultimas decadas. Mais do que isso, compreender profundamente os perfis e os fatores que influenciam as pessoas para cooperar em prol dos objetivos propostos, tornou-se foco dentro das empresas. O objetivo principal deste estudo foi de identificar os fatores criticos que influenciam a motivacao de uma equipe de vendas para atingir as metas no varejo da moda feminina. Alem disso, tracou-se o perfil das vendedoras e analisou-se a relacao entre os principais fatores criticos motivacionais e os resultados compilados destes perfis. Para coletar as informacoes utilizou-se de um questionario estruturado com quinze questoes de multiplas escolhas enviado por e-mail para cinquenta vendedoras de uma empresa do varejo da moda feminina, caracterizando-se como uma pesquisa quantitativa. Utilizou-se tambem de pesquisa documental e observacao do participante. Considerou-se para a analise e discussao dos dados os dois fatores criticos positivos e negativos que influenciam uma equipe de vendas para atingir as suas metas. Apontou-se como fatores criticos positivos “ter desafios constantes e ser reconhecido como um bom profissional pelos lideres e subordinados”. Como fatores criticos negativos, elegeu-se pelos respondentes “possibilidade de crescimento na empresa e participar nas decisoes estrategicas da empresa”. Diante dos resultados da pesquisa, sugeriu-se acoes para melhorar a motivacao e o desempenho das vendedoras.
Scaling Up Ensemble of Adaptations for Classification by Approximate Nearest Neighbor Retrieval

Acquisition of case adaptation knowledge is a classic challenge for case-based reasoning. A promising response is learning adaptation rules from cases in the case base, using the case difference heuristic (CDH). In previous research we presented Ensembles of Adaptations for Regression (EAR), an approach that uses a CDH-based method to generate adaptation rules and then exploits the availability of multiple learned rules to apply ensemble-based adaptation. We extended EAR to classification tasks, with Ensembles of Adaptations for Classification (EAC), which showed promising accuracy results. EAR and EAC are practical for standard case bases, but become computationally expensive for large case bases and large ensembles, primarily due to retrieval cost. This paper presents research on scaling up EAC by integrating it with EACH, a new method for efficient approximate retrieval that extends locality-sensitive hashing retrieval to categorical features. Experimental results support the ability of the EAC with EACH (Ensemble of Adaptations for Classifications Hashing) to maintain accuracy while increasing efficiency. In addition, EACH could be applied as a standalone method to provide scalable approximate nearest neighbor retrieval in other CBR retrieval contexts.
Who Is Teaching Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders?: A Profile and Comparison to Other Special Educators.

This national study of 859 teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) provides a profile of their characteristics and preparedness to teach and compares these teachers with ...
A generalized technique for conformal antenna array synthesis

The goal of this paper is to accurately predict the conformal array far field performance using a modeled equation. Focusing on open waveguide antenna arrays, a new model is used to predict the single radiator patterns using four coefficient variables and an angle offset. In order to further automate the array far field prediction, this paper will investigate creating new equations for each coefficient based on both angle offset and radius of curvature. These equations are based on previously determined coefficients and therefore compared with corresponding single radiator measurements to illustrate the performance of these new equations.
Improved adductor function after canine recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and repair using muscle progenitor cells.

Objective Muscle progenitor cells (MPCs) can be isolated from muscle samples and grown to a critical mass in culture. They have been shown to survive and integrate when implanted into rat laryngeal muscles. In this study, the ability of MPC implants to enhance adductor function of reinnervated thyroarytenoid muscles was tested in a canine model. Study design Animal study. Methods Sternocleidomastoid muscle samples were harvested from three canines. Muscle progenitor cells were isolated and cultured to 107 cells over 4 to 5 weeks, then implanted into right thyroarytenoid muscles after ipsilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve transection and repair. The left sides underwent the same nerve injury, but no cells were implanted. Laryngeal adductor force was measured pretreatment and again 6 months later, and the muscles were harvested for histology. Results Muscle progenitor cells were successfully cultured from all dogs. Laryngeal adductor force measurements averaged 60% of their baseline pretreatment values in nonimplanted controls, 98% after implantation with MPCs, and 128% after implantation with motor endplate-enhanced MPCs. Histology confirmed that the implanted MPCs survived, became integrated into thyroarytenoid muscle fibers, and were in close contact with nerve endings, suggesting functional innervation. Conclusion Muscle progenitor cells were shown to significantly enhance adductor function in this pilot canine study. Patient-specific MPC implantation could potentially be used to improve laryngeal function in patients with vocal fold paresis/paralysis, atrophy, and other conditions. Further experiments are planned. Level of evidence NA. Laryngoscope, 2017.
High Metal Removal Rate (HMRR) Machining

The need for improving the productivity of machining operations has encouraged the development of new concepts and techniques, such as thermal machining, as well as high speed and ultra-high speed machining. High metal removal rate machining shares the goal of improving productivity with the others, but its approach is more evolutionary in nature; it attempts to take advantage of step advances in machine and cutting tool technologies, as they occur, and to incorporate them into machining operations with a minimum of delay.
Evaluation of Game-Based Learning in Cybersecurity Education for High School Students

Game based learning is a new game play mechanism that the players explore various aspects of game play in a learning context designed by the instructor or the game designer. Nevertheless, general acceptance of game based learning as a new learning paradigm was deferred by a lack of well-controlled, large sample efficacy studies. To address the increasing need of cybersecurity workforce, this paper introduces a game based learning method for high school cybersecurity education. Purdue University Northwest launched GenCyber high school summer camps to about 200 high school students in Chicago metropolitan area. The survey conducted after the summer camp indicated that the game based learning for cybersecurity education was very effective in cybersecurity awareness training. Further analysis of survey data revealed that there is a gender difference in raising students' interests in cybersecurity and computer science education using game based learning method.
Documenting the Ohio Hopewell Mortuary Record: The Bioarchaeological Data Base

This chapter introduces the reader to the data base of Ohio Hopewell burials and associated grave goods that have served as the foundation for reconstructing the social and ceremonial organization of Scioto Hopewell peoples and other Ohio Hopewell groups, as presented in Part II of this book and in Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual, and Ritual Interaction (Carr and Case, 2005c). The data base, called HOPEBIOARCH, describes the tomb characteristics, artifact inclusions, artifact positions relative to the body, and age and sex estimates for 936 burials representing 1483+ individuals from 112 mounds and burial areas in 50 excavated Ohio Hopewell sites.
The Effect of Acute Exercise on Encoding and Consolidation of Long-Term Memory

Evidence supports that acute exercise benefits long-term memory. However, it is unclear whether these effects are due to benefits to encoding or consolidation. The purpose of this study was to more effectively isolate encoding and consolidation to advance our understanding of the specific nature of the effects of exercise on long-term memory. Using a within-subject design, participants completed a control session (no exercise), an encoding and consolidation condition (exercise prior to exposure to the memory task, E + C), and a consolidation condition (exercise following exposure). The exercise was 30min of moderate-intensity cycling. Memory was assessed using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test with recall assessed at 60 min and recall and recognition assessed at 24 hr. Results showed that the E + C condition had significantly better recall at 60 min and 24 hr than the no-exercise condition. This provides additional evidence that acute exercise benefits encoding more than consolidation.
Applications to Chemical Apparatus

As discussed in Chap. 1, glass has been used extensively in modern science, particularly in terms of laboratory glassware. In fact, the image of glass objects such as distillation heads, beakers, flasks, vials, and test-tubes has become mainstay in the public’s common view of chemical laboratories and the practice of chemical research. Even for the practitioner of science, it is hard to imagine what the chemical laboratory would be like without glass. After all, no other material can really match its combination of low cost, chemical stability, thermal durability, as well as freedom and versatility in the design of chemical apparatus for nearly any desired application. The importance of glass to the chemical arts was even highlighted by Neri in his Art of Glass.
“To Ferguson, Love Palestine”: mediating life under occupation

ABSTRACTIn Ferguson, Missouri, Palestinian activists and black protesters created a transnational collective identity defined by what some scholars call a “community of feeling” following the murde...
Poster: A framework to secure IoT networks against network layer attacks

With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), sensor and actuator networks, subsequently referred to as IoT networks (IoTNs), are proliferating at an unprecedented rate in several newfound areas such as smart cities, health care, and transportation, and consequently, securing them is of paramount importance. We present NLSec, a fully distributed and lightweight framework that can detect arbitrary network layer (NL) attacks in any given IoTN, localize (i.e., identify) the compromised nodes, and mitigate the attacks by isolating the compromised nodes automatically. We also present insights obtained from an exploratory study on the effects of NL attacks on IoTNs, which guided us in designing NLSec.
Interleukin-10 and Zonulin Are Associated With Postoperative Delayed Gastric Emptying in Critically Ill Surgical Pediatric Patients: A Prospective Pilot Study.

Background Impaired gastric emptying (GE) is associated with morbidity in surgical critically ill children. The relationship between inflammation, gut barrier integrity (lipopolysaccharide binding protein [LBP]; zonulin), and GE has not been described in this cohort. Methods Children ≥2 years of age and requiring critical care after surgery were enrolled. Preoperative and postoperative levels of serum cytokines, LBP, and zonulin, and GE by the acetaminophen absorption test, were measured, allowing patients to serve as their own controls. Postoperative delayed GE was defined as a decrease in GE by ≥20% compared with preoperative GE. The following were examined : comparison between postoperative andpreoperative values, correlations between fold change (postoperative/preoperative) in study variables, and fold change in study variables between patients with and without postoperative delayed GE. Results Twenty patients, median age 14 years (12.25, 18), 12 female, were included. Eight of 20 patients had postoperative delayed GE. Postoperative interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-10, and LBP were increased, and zonulin was decreased (P-values Conclusion Postoperative changes in IL-10 and zonulin were associated with delayed GE in surgical critically ill children, which might suggest a mechanism to for delayed GE in postoperative inflammation and gut barrier dysregulation after surgery.
Dynamic power management for value-oriented schedulers in power-constrained HPC system

Abstract High performance computing (HPC) systems are confronting the challenge of improving their productivity under a system-wide power constraint in the exascale era. To measure the productivity of an HPC job, researchers have proposed to assign a monotonically decreasing time-dependent value function, called job-value, to that job. These job-value functions are used by the value-based scheduling algorithms to maximize the system productivity where system productivity is the accumulation of job-value for the completed jobs. In this study, we first show that the relative performance of the competing state-of-the-art static power allocation strategies interchange based on the level of the power constraint when applied to the value-based algorithms. We then investigate the limitations of these static strategies by relating the job completion rate to the resource utilization, and expose that there is non-negligible amount of unused resources for the scheduler to utilize. Even though the system is oversubscribed, these unused resources are insufficient to schedule new high-value jobs. Based on this observation, we propose a novel dynamic power management strategy for the value-based algorithms. Our dynamic allocation policy maximizes the system productivity, resource utilization, and job completion rate by utilizing application power-performance models to reallocate power from running jobs to newly arrived jobs. We simulate a large-scale system that uses job arrival traces from a real HPC system. We demonstrate that the dynamic-variant of each value-based algorithm earns up to 16% higher productivity and completes 13% more jobs compared to its static variants when power becomes a highly constrained resource in the system.
The End of life care tab: A Quality improvement intervention

Background: Two sentinel cases prompted an evaluation of our EOL care practice for children in our pediatric intensive care unit. Lack of clear guidelines for end of life care in the PICU and physician variability in practice resulted in communication breakdowns triggering significant moral distress amongst PICU staff. Problem Analysis: A more detailed evaluation of the problem was performed using two measures: quantitative data collection with a PICU staff needs assessment survey as well as qualitative data from staff debriefings. The survey included a self-assessment on EOL clinical skills, an assessment of inter- and intra-team communication, an assessment of communication with patients/families, and …
Impact of Firearm Surveillance on Gun Control Policy: Regression Discontinuity Analysis.

Background: Public mass shootings are a significant public health problem that require ongoing systematic surveillance to test and inform policies that combat gun injuries. Although there is widespread agreement that something needs to be done to stop public mass shootings, opinions on exactly which policies that entails vary, such as the prohibition of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB) (1994-2004) reduced the number of public mass shootings while it was in place. Methods: We extracted public mass shooting surveillance data from the Violence Project that matched our inclusion criteria of 4 or more fatalities in a public space during a single event. We performed regression discontinuity analysis, taking advantage of the imposition of the FAWB, which included a prohibition on large-capacity magazines in addition to assault weapons. We estimated a regression model of the 5-year moving average number of public mass shootings per year for the period of 1966 to 2019 controlling for population growth and homicides in general, introduced regression discontinuities in the intercept and a time trend for years coincident with the federal legislation (ie, 1994-2004), and also allowed for a differential effect of the homicide rate during this period. We introduced a second set of trend and intercept discontinuities for post-FAWB years to capture the effects of termination of the policy. We used the regression results to predict what would have happened from 1995 to 2019 had there been no FAWB and also to project what would have happened from 2005 onward had it remained in place. Results: The FAWB resulted in a significant decrease in public mass shootings, number of gun deaths, and number of gun injuries. We estimate that the FAWB prevented 11 public mass shootings during the decade the ban was in place. A continuation of the FAWB would have prevented 30 public mass shootings that killed 339 people and injured an additional 1139 people. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the utility of public health surveillance on gun violence. Surveillance informs policy on whether a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines reduces public mass shootings. As society searches for effective policies to prevent the next mass shooting, we must consider the overwhelming evidence that bans on assault weapons and/or large-capacity magazines work.
Murine Cytomegalovirus Genes Influencing Virus Growth and Tropism for Salivary Gland

The salivary gland is an important tissue in cytomegalovirus (CMV) pathogenesis. In the mouse, the salivary gland is the primary site from which virus is transmitted from animal to animal and is also a site of viral persistence and latency. Several murine CMV mutants that exhibit reduced salivary gland tropism have been described in the literature. Many temperature-sensitive mutants grow poorly in the salivary gland; however, the mutations responsible for this poor growth phenotype have not been mapped to particular genes. One variant of the Smith strain of murine CMV, the Vancouver strain, carries a deletion that was rescued by the HindIII E fragment from wild-type murine CMV. The ability to grow in the salivary gland correlated with the expression of a 42-kDa early protein. The salivary gland growth gene-1 (sgg1) of murine CMV has been the most thoroughly characterized determinant of salivary gland tropism. This gene encodes two overlapping transcripts (1.5 and 1.8 kb) which are initiated from different promoters but utilize the same polyadenylation signal. Sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame encoding a putative type 1 integral membrane protein. A 37-kDa protein absent in an sgg1 mutant could be detected in both rescued and wild type virus. The 37 and 42 kDa proteins represent distinct murine CMV proteins that correlate with salivary gland tropism in the mouse. It remains to determine how many other genes are involved in the salivary gland tropism of murine CMV and the mechanism by which these genes act during murine CMV pathogenesis.
miRNAs/Small Noncoding RNAs

microRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 22 nucleotide long, small noncoding RNAs that function in posttranscriptional gene silencing and play fundamental roles in biology. miRNAs are produced by sequential cleavage of precursor RNA transcripts by the Ribonuclease III enzymes, Drosha and Dicer. Then miRNAs are loaded to the effector protein, Argonaute, forming miRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC). miRISC binds mRNA targets via sequence complementarity and silences the targets by translational repression and/or mRNA destabilization. Human genome contains over 1800 miRNAs, which target 60% of human mRNAs. Mutations in the miRNA genes and the miRNA pathway genes are associated with various human diseases including cancers.
Adenylate kinase: Kinetic behavior in intact cells indicates it is integral to multiple cellular processes

Monitoring the kinetic behavior of adenylate kinase (AK) and creatine kinase (CK) in intact cells by 18O-phosphoryl oxygen exchange analysis has provided new perspectives from which to more fully define the involvement of these phosphotransferases in cellular bioenergetics. A primary function attributable to both AK and CK is their apparent capability to couple ATP utilization with its generation by glycolytic and/or oxidative processes depending on cell metabolic status. This is evidenced by the observation that the sum of the net AK- plus CK-catalyzed phosphoryl transfer is equivalent to about 95% of the total ATP metabolic flux in non-contracting rat diaphragm; under basal conditions almost every newly generated ATP molecule appears to be processed by one or the other of these phosphotransferases prior to its utilization. Although CK accounts for the transfer of a majority of the ATP molecules generated/consumed in the basal state there is a progressive, apparently compensatory, shift in phosphotransfer catalysis from the CK to the AK system with increasing muscle contraction or graded chemical inhibition of CK activity. AK and CK appear therefore to provide similar and interrelated functions. Evidence that high energy phosphoryl transfer in some cell types or metabolic states can also be provided by specific nucleoside mono- and diphosphate kinases and by the phosphotransfer capability inherent to the glycolytic system has been obtained. Measurements by 18O-exchange analyses of net AK- and CK-catalyzed phosphoryl transfer in conjunction with 31P NMR analyses of total unidirectional phosphoryl flux show that each new energy-bearing molecule CK or AK generates subsequently undergoes about 50 or more unidirectional CK-or AK-catalyzed phosphotransfers en route to an ATP consumption site in intact muscle. This evidence of multiple enzyme catalyzed exchanges coincides with the mechanism of vectorial ligand conduction suggested for accomplishing intracellular high energy phosphoryl transfer by the AK and CK systems. AK-catalyzed phosphotransfer also appears to be integral to the transduction of metabolic signals influencing the operation of ion channels regulated by adenine nucleotides such as ATP-inhibitable K+ channels in insulin secreting cells; transition from the ATP to ADP liganded states closely coincides with the rate AK-catalyzes phosphotransfer transforming ATP (+AMP) to (2) ADP.
Shear Wave Dispersion in Lean Versus Steatotic Rat Livers

Objectives The precise measurement of fat accumulation in the liver, or steatosis, is an important clinical goal. Our previous studies in phantoms and mouse livers support the hypothesis that, starting with a normal liver, increasing accumulations of microsteatosis and macrosteatosis will increase the lossy viscoelastic properties of shear waves in a medium. This increase results in an increased dispersion (or slope) of the shear wave speed in the steatotic livers. Methods In this study, we moved to a larger animal model, lean versus obese rat livers ex vivo, and a higher-frequency imaging system to estimate the shear wave speed from crawling waves. Results The results showed elevated dispersion in the obese rats and a separation of the lean versus obese liver parameters in a 2-dimensional parameter space of the dispersion (slope) and shear wave speed at a reference frequency of 150 Hz. Conclusions We have confirmed in 3 separate studies the validity of our dispersion hypothesis in animal models.
Printed flexible thermoelectric generators for use on low levels of waste heat

Abstract This work focuses on the design, fabrication and testing of thermoelectric generator (TEG) devices using dispenser printer. A series-parallel prototype of 50 couples, with 3.5 mm × 600 μm × 100 μm printed element dimensions, is fabricated on a custom designed polyimide substrate. Se doped mechanically alloyed (MA) Bi 2 Te 3 was used as the n-type material whereas Te doped MA Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 was used as p-type material. The prototype TEG device produces a power output of 33 × 10 − 6 W at 0.75 × 10 − 3 A and 43 × 10 − 3 V for a temperature difference of 20 K resulting in a device areal power density of 2.8 W m − 2 . To achieve a similar power output in a practical situation, such as from pipes carrying hot fluid an experimental study in forced and natural convection is performed. In forced convection, 33 × 10 − 6 W power output is achieved when the pipe surface temperature is about 373 K. While, in natural convection, maximum power up to 8 × 10 − 6 W power is obtained at 373 K pipe surface temperature. Forced convection is desired for the system to generate sufficiently high power. In the case of natural convection, we achieved much lower power compared to forced convection. The prototype presented in this work demonstrates the feasibility of deploying a printable and “perpetual” power solution for practical wireless sensor network (WSN) applications.
Accounting for spatial relationships in models of interstate population migration.

This study focuses on the specification of distance and space in models of state-to-state population migration. Typically, space is captured by one or two simple variables that do not adequately model the spatial relationship between states. These are particularly poor measures for states with a common border, especially those with a metropolitan area located near the border. Four models of interstate population migration are developed, with increasingly complex specifications of space. The models are estimated using 1975 to 1980 migration data for the 48 contiguous states of the United States. Common borders and bordering metropolitan areas do influence interstate population flows. Models lacking a more detailed specification of space will lose explanatory power and suffer from biases.
Energy and employment: a time-series analysis of the causal relationship

Abstract The relation between total employment and total energy consumption is analyzed using dynamic time series methods. Based on monthly data for the period January 1973–March 1978, there is a unidirectional causality running from energy to employment, without feedback. This suggests that single equation dynamic (distributed lag) regressions of employment on energy can be treated as reflecting behavioral relationships as opposed to solely statistical forecasting relationships. The constructed model indicates that the employment variable reacts to a change in the energy availability inversely, after a pure delay of eight months. 1 The response decays geometrically, and it is practically complete by the end of the twelfth month following the shock in the energy variable. Thus, the causal dynamics between the two variables could not have been captured using annual data. The long run elasticity of total employment with respect to domestic energy consumption is estimated to be −0.1356. An increase in total employment should result from a constraint on energy use, rather than the decrease widely predicted.
The Riboflavin Content of Cow's Milk

Abstract The riboflavin content of about 400 samples of milk was determined by the measurement of the intensity of fluorescence of an acetone filtrate by a photoelectric cell. The riboflavin ranged from .60 to 3.42mg. per liter. A negative skew correlation of −0.830 was found between riboflavin content and milk production. Commercial milk in summer contained about 20 per cent more riboflavin than winter milk. Cows, after being fed in winter on phosphoric acid grass silage, showed no increase in riboflavin when turned out on grass pasture.
Model simulations of freely propagating turbulent premixed flames

The structure and propagating characteristics of turbulent premixed flames are investigated using both direct numerical simulations (DNS) and a one-dimensional simulation based on the linear-eddy model (LEM) under identical flow conditions. Extension to an earlier LEM model was carried out to include finite-rate kinetics and heat-release effects. The turbulence intensity and Lewis number were varied systematically to study their effects on the premixed flame. The LEM approach is shown to be capable of capturing both the structure and the propagation characteristics of turbulent flames in good qualitative agreement with the DNS. Reasonable quantitative agreement with high Reynolds number (Re) experimental results was also obtained in this study. The increase in the normalized turbulent propagation speed ut/SL with decrease in Lewis number is captured in the LEM simulations, where SL is the laminar flame speed and ut is the turbulent flame speed. The linear increase of ut/SL with increase in the normalized turbulence intensity u′/SL is reproduced. Furthermore, consistent with experiments, the “bending” of this curve at high u′/SL, where u′ is the turbulent intensity, in also predicted by LEM. The LEM analog of the flame surface density shows that the flame area width of the flame brush increase with an increase in u′/SL. These results demonstrate that the LEM approach can capture many underlying features of the premixed flame and can predict the turbulent flame speed. This is accomplished at a fraction of computational cost of an equivalent DNS. In addition, the demonstration that the LEM can be used without major modifications for high Re premixed flames may make this simulation model a valuable tool for analyzing turbulent premixed flames.
Design of Intelligent Agents for Personal Rapid Transit

This paper presents machine learning concepts to successfully implement an intelligent agent solution to the problem of autonomous control of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicles. The PRTs can operate independently and together as a whole system. Thus, they can be considered as a system of systems. By developing a set of rules for the vehicles to follow, the various parts of a Bayesian Network (BN), its nodes, parameters, structure and utility function are determined. The variables in the network are generated from the sensor data of the PRT vehicles. Using the overall system goals, a utility function can be devised that will select the best action for an agent to take. Simulation results show that this methodology is useful for "rapid prototyping" a decision theoretic agent. The gap between the intelligent agent and rule based agent performance for the collision metrics suggests that more research is needed to develop a systematic method of creating utility functions to meet system goals.
Factors associated with cervical instability requiring fusion after cervical laminectomy for intradural tumor resection

Object The indications remain unclear for fusion at the time of cervical laminectomy for intradural tumor resection. To identify patients who may benefit from initial fusion, the authors assessed clinical, radiological/imaging, and operative factors associated with subsequent symptomatic cervical instability requiring fusion after cervical laminectomy for intradural tumor resection. Methods The authors reviewed 10 years of data obtained in patients who underwent cervical laminectomy without fusion for intradural tumor resection and who had normal spinal stability and alignment preoperatively. The association of pre- and intraoperative variables with the subsequent need for fusion for progressive symptomatic cervical instability was assessed using logistic regression analysis, and percentages were compared using Fisher exact tests when appropriate. Results Thirty-two patients (mean age 41 ± 17 years) underwent cervical laminectomy without fusion for resection of an intradural tumor (18 intramedullary and 1...
Vibrational frequencies and structural determination of selenium dithiocyanate

Abstract The vibrational frequencies and corresponding normal mode assignments of selenium dithiocyanate are examined theoretically using the gaussian 03 set of quantum chemistry codes. Two conformers were found with C 2 and C s symmetry. A thermodynamic analysis shows that the two forms of selenium dithiocyanate have free energies that are very similar and that both forms would likely exist at appreciable concentrations at room temperature in the gas phase. All normal modes were successfully assigned to one of seven types of motion predicted by a group theoretical analysis (C N stretch, S–C stretch, Se–S stretch, S–C N bend, Se–S–C bend, S–Se–S bend, and S–Se–S–C torsion).
Self-aligned-gate GaN-HEMTs with heavily-doped n + -GaN ohmic contacts to 2DEG

We report record DC and RF performance obtained in deeply-scaled self-aligned-gate GaN-HEMTs with heavily-doped n+-GaN ohmic contacts to two-dimensional electron-gas (2DEG). High density-of-states of three-dimensional (3D) n+-GaN source near the gate mitigates “source-starvation,” resulting in a dramatic increase in a maximum drain current (I dmax ) and a transconductance (g m ). 20-nm-gate D-mode HEMTs with a 40-nm gate-source (and gate-drain) distance exhibited a record-low R on of 0.23 Ω·mm, a record-high I dmax of >4 A/mm, and a broad g m curve of >1 S/mm over a wide range of I ds from 0.5 to 3.5 A/mm. Furthermore, 20-nm-gate E-mode HEMTs with an increased L sw of 70 nm demonstrated a simultaneous f T /f max of 342/518 GHz with an off-state breakdown voltage of 14V.
Stability of Initial Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnoses in Community Settings.

The study’s objectives were to assess diagnostic stability of initial autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses in community settings and identify factors associated with diagnostic instability using data from a national Web-based autism registry. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the relative risk of change in initial ASD diagnosis as a function of demographic characteristics, diagnostic subtype, environmental factors and natural history. Autistic disorder was the most stable initial diagnosis; pervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified was the least stable. Additional factors such as diagnosing clinician, region, when in time a child was initially diagnosed, and history of autistic regression also were significantly associated with diagnostic stability in community settings. Findings suggest that the present classification system and other secular factors may be contributing to increasing instability of community-assigned labels of ASD.
Effects of various hormones on the amounts of phosphorus containing fractions of the brain (phospholipid, nucleoprotein, total acid-soluble phosphorus compounds).

THE purpose of the investigation here described was to ascertain whether the phospholipid content of the brain is a fixed amount, or an amount subject to changes of the hormone content of the brain tissue. The method used did not reveal any changes of the phospholipid content of the brain after administration of several hormones. It was, however, observed that the phospholipid content of the brain increases after a single intraperitoneal injection of corticotropin (ACTH) and decreases afterpr olonged administration of the thyrotropic hormone of the pituitary gland (TSH). method The contents of phospholipid, nucleoprotein, and total acid-soluble phosphorus containing compounds of the brain were ascertained following a method described by King (1946) with minor modifications. The phospholipid fraction contained lecithins, cephalins, and sphyngomyelins. The nucleoprotein fraction contained ribo- and desoxyribonucleic acid and a small amount of phospho protein (Schmidt et al., 1945). The total acid-soluble ph...
Parameter estimation and unique identifiability

Abstract One of the fundamental problems in system parameter estimation is the specification of the sufficient conditions (in the absence of noise) for unique estimation of the parameters in process models. We examine what unique identifiability means for parameters in linear and nonlinear process models comprised of algebraic and ordinary differential equations, and discuss related tests for uniqueness for prespecified types of measurements and process inputs. Typical examples encountered in chemical engineering are used to illustrate the tests. No procedure exists that will universally determine whether the parameters in any process model can be uniquely identified, but some of the tests cited have been found useful in numerous practical applications.
Immigrants and civil rights in cross-national perspective: Lessons from North America

The degree to which a nation envisions civil rights as applying to all residents offers insight into its commitment to and capacity for immigrant inclusion. A much-debated question is whether there is a trend toward convergence in national policies around immigrant inclusion, given globalization and the rise in human rights norms. Or do institutional legacies and domestic politics tend to preserve old approaches? This issue has been investigated most thoroughly in European contexts. Here we examine the cases of Canada and the United States. We find that while Canada and the United States, both settler societies, have much in common, they differ significantly in their historical experience with civil rights, which helps explain differences in how they approach the inclusion of immigrants in their societies. While civil rights has more potential for advancing immigrant concerns in the United States, neither country readily envisions immigrant inclusion as a civil rights issue.
Managing for the environment

Technological Trajectories and the Human Environment by Jesse H. Ausubel and H. Dale Langford (eds). National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1997, pp. 214, $42.95 (hardcover); Linking Science and Technology to Society's Environmental Goals, by the Policy Division, National Research Council. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996, pp. 530 $69.95 (hardcover).
Third generation photovoltaics: Multiple Exciton Generation in colloidal quantum dots, quantum dot arrays, and quantum dot solar cells

Nanostructures of semiconductor materials exhibit quantization effects when the electronic particles of these materials are confined by potential barriers to small regions of space. The confinement can be in one dimension (producing quantum films, also termed quantum wells in the early 1980s as the first examples of quantization in nanoscale materials, in two dimensions (producing quantum wires or rods), or in three dimensions (producing quantum dots (QDs))1. Some authors refer to these three regimes as 0D, 1D, or 2D, respectively, although these terms are not as precise. Nanostructures of other classes of materials, such as metals and organic materials, are also possible. Here, we will focus on semiconductor nanostructures and their potential applications to photovoltaics (PV). Nanostructures of crystalline materials are also referred to as nanocrystals; and this term includes a variety of shapes with the three types of spatial confinement, including spheres, cubes, rods, wires, tubes, tetrapods, ribbons, disks, and platelets.1 The first six shapes are being intensively studied for PV applications.
Human mesenchymal stem cells support unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cells and suppress T-cell activation

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to interact with hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and immune cells, and represent potential cellular therapy to enhance allogeneic hematopoietic engraftment and prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We investigated the role of human MSCs in NOD-SCID mice repopulation by unrelated human hematopoietic cells and studied the immune interactions between human MSCs and unrelated donor blood cells in vitro. When hematopoietic stem cell numbers were limited, human engraftment of NOD-SCID mice was observed only after coinfusion of unrelated human MSCs, but not with coinfusion of mouse mesenchymal cell line. Unrelated human MSCs did not elicit T-cell activation in vitro and suppressed T-cell activation by Tuberculin and unrelated allogeneic lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Cell-free MSC culture supernatant, mouse stromal cells and human dermal fibroblasts did not elicit this effect. These preclinical data suggest that unrelated, human bone marrow-derived, culture-expanded MSCs may improve the outcome of allogeneic transplantation by promoting hematopoietic engraftment and limiting GVHD and their therapeutic potential should be tested in clinic.
Epidemiologic evidence regarding predisposing factors to prostate cancer.

In 1990, prostate cancer will be the most common cancer diagnosed in U.S. men and will be the second-leading cause of cancer mortality in these men. One in ten U.S. men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime. Twenty thousand prostate cancer cases occur each year in men under the age of 65. The average number of years of life lost for a man dying of prostate cancer is nine. In addition, both incidence and mortality of prostate cancer are increasing. A review of the literature regarding prostate cancer is timely in light of recent studies examining possible predisposing factors for this disease. In this review, a framework for understanding genetic and environmental factors which may predispose to prostate cancer is presented. The identification of factors which predispose to clinical prostate cancer offers the possibility of lowering the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer in the United States. Epidemiologic evidence regarding possible predisposing factors to prostate cancer is reviewed.
Solution-adaptive structured-unstructured grid method for unsteady turbomachinery analysis. II - Results

A solution-adapt ive method for the time-accurate analysis of two-dimension al flows in multistage turboma- chinery is presented. The method employs a hybrid structured-unstructured zonal grid topology in conjunction with appropriate modeling equations and solution techniques in each zone, thus combining the advantages of both structured and unstructured grid methods. An efficient and robust grid adaptation strategy is also used for the unstructured grid regions. The numerical methodology is presented in detail in Part I of this article. Results obtained using this method for different turbomachine flow configurations are presented in this article. The numerical results compare well with available experimental data and other structured grid based simulations. ART I of this article describes a hybrid-grid procedure for the analysis of unsteady turbomachinery flows that combines the advantages of both unstructured and structured grid methodologies. The method is implemented within the zonal framework of Ref. 1, which is generalized to include both structured and unstructured grid domains. The region in the immediate vicinity of the airfoils (inner region) is dis- cretized using structured grids, while the rest of the domain (outer region) is discretized using an unstructured triangular grid. In the viscous inner regions, the Navier-Stokes equations are solved using an implicit, third-order accurate, upwind- biased scheme. In the inviscid outer region, the Euler equa- tions are solved using either a central difference scheme or an upwind scheme that incorporates a linear reconstruction procedure. The solution in the outer unstructured region is advanced in time explicitly using the same time-step values as for the structured regions which are time-advanced in an implicit manner. An efficient and robust grid adaptation strat- egy with both grid refinement and coarsening capabilities is also used for the unstructured grid. For generality, three- dimensional effects of stream-tube contraction are also mod- eled. The present method is capable of treating multistage turbomachinery configurations. Part I of this article described the domain decomposition, grid generation, inner and outer grid solution procedures, grid adaptation strategy, and the various boundary conditions used. Results obtained using this method for different turbomachine flow configurations are presented in this article.
On the Viability of Compression for Reducing the Overheads of Checkpoint/Restart-Based Fault Tolerance

The increasing size and complexity of high performance computing (HPC) systems have led to major concerns over fault frequencies and the mechanisms necessary to tolerate these faults. Previous studies have shown that state-of-the-field checkpoint/restart mechanisms will not scale sufficiently for future generation systems. Therefore, optimizations that reduce checkpoint overheads are necessary to keep checkpoint/restart mechanisms effective. In this work, we demonstrate that checkpoint data compression is a feasible mechanism for reducing checkpoint commit latencies and storage overheads. Leveraging a simple model for checkpoint compression viability, we show: (1) checkpoint data compression is feasible for many types of scientific applications expected to run on extreme scale systems, (2) checkpoint compression viability scales with checkpoint size, (3) user-level versus system-level checkpoints bears little impact on checkpoint compression viability, and (4) checkpoint compression viability scales with application process count. Lastly, we describe the impact that checkpoint compression might have on future generation extreme scale systems.
Statistical Methods for Predicting Mortality in Patients Diagnosed with Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Rationale and Objectives Risk stratification in pulmonary embolism (PE) guides patient management. The purpose of this study was to develop and test novel mortality risk prediction models for subjects with acute PE diagnosed using computed tomographic pulmonary angiography in a large cohort with comprehensive clinical data. Materials and Methods Retrospective analyses of 1596 consecutive subjects diagnosed with acute PE from a single, large, urban teaching hospital included two modern statistical methods to predict survival in patients with acute PE. Landmark analysis was used for 90-day mortality. Adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (aLASSO), a penalization method, was used to select variables important for prediction and to estimate model coefficients. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate the resulting prediction rules. Results Using 30-day all-cause mortality outcome, three of the 16 clinical risk factors (the presence of a known malignancy, coronary artery disease, and increased age) were associated with high risk, while subjects treated with anticoagulation had lower risk. For 90-day landmark mortality, subjects with recent operations had a lower risk for death. Both prediction rules developed using aLASSO performed well compared to standard logistic regression. Conclusions The aLASSO regression approach combined with landmark analysis provides a novel tool for large patient populations and can be applied for clinical risk stratification among subjects diagnosed with acute PE. After positive results on computed tomographic pulmonary angiography, the presence of a known malignancy, coronary artery disease, and advanced age increase 30-day mortality. Additional risk stratification can be simplified with these methods, and future work will place imaging-based prediction of mortality in perspective with other clinical data.
Sample Stability of Periodically Correlated Pulse Trains

Abstract The sample stability of an important class of pulse trains is considered. Because the pulse trains may not be stationary, the classical results concerning stability are not applicable; however, by using the fact that the moments of the pulse trainsare periodic, it can be shown that the sample average always converges in stochastic mean and that, under suitable additional restrictions the convergence may be taken to be with probability 1. The limit in both cases is a well-defined random variable for which an explicit expression is given. These results extend some earlier work in which a more restricted class of pulse trains has been treated.