cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Helping Social Studies Teachers to Design Learning Experiences Around Data: Participatory Design for New Teacher-Centric Programming Languages

Social studies educators often use stories to convey historical changes over time. Data visualizations are powerful tools that can help illustrate and investigate these stories and the questions surrounding them. The ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate, and use data and data visualizations - known as data literacy - has become an increasingly important component of K-12 social studies education in recent years. In an effort to improve data literacy, teachers see a role for computer science in social studies education.In Spring 2019, we conducted a pilot participatory design session with 18 social studies pre-service educators with little to no programming experience. This was a unique session where we asked pre-service teachers taking a course on data literacy to inform the design of programming languages, specifically for social studies education. We structured our session as participatory design [1], a novel method in computing education research, where teachers evaluated two programming experiences and then told us what they would like in future programming languages and experiences. The Minimal Manual [2] was used as a guide in the design of the programming activity sheets.Survey results showed teachers initially did not believe programming would be useful, but afterwards their opinions changed and they even showed eagerness to learn and do more with programming for their purposes. The characteristics that the teachers most valued were features of the programming environment, rather than the language syntax or semantics. For their students, they preferred a programming language that would be useful in other classes as well as in social studies. We are currently using conjecture maps [3] to process and analyze the data from our participatory design session. Conjecture maps are meant to specify theoretically salient features in the learning environment design by mapping out how they are predicted to work to produce desired outcomes. It has enabled us to see where and how we can improve future participatory design sessions.
A short-term clinical evaluation of two kinds of bleaching strips

目的 评价两种漂白药膜的效果以及对牙齿牙龈的影响.方法 将76例符合要求的患者随机分成WP2、WW2、WW1 3组,WP2组及WW2组每天用药2次,30 min/次,WW1组每天用药1次30 min.分别采用主观法和客观法测量用药前、5、7 d,以及停药2周患者的上前牙的颜色变化,并询问牙齿牙龈的过敏情况.结果 所有患者的牙齿颜色均有显著变化.WW2组的△L*值及主观比色值较WP2组有明显降低.WW1组与其他两组比较,△a*值、△b*值、△E值及主观结果均下降较少,WW2组的牙龈过敏较明显,牙齿过敏无差异.结论 两种漂白药膜都具有漂白作用,WW2组对L*值的改变较大,牙龈刺激也较大。
Toward a science of delivering aid with dignity: Experimental evidence and local forecasts from Kenya

How can governments and nonprofits design aid programs that afford dignity and facilitate beneficial outcomes for recipients? We conceptualize dignity as a state that manifests when the stigma associated with receiving aid is countered and recipients are empowered, both in culturally resonant ways. Yet materials from the largest cash transfer programs in Africa predominantly characterize recipients as needy and vulnerable. Three studies examined the causal effects of alternative aid narratives on cash transfer recipients and donors. In study 1, residents of low-income settlements in Nairobi, Kenya (N = 565) received cash-based aid accompanied by a randomly assigned narrative: the default deficit-focused "Poverty Alleviation" narrative, an "Individual Empowerment" narrative, or a "Community Empowerment" narrative. They then chose whether to spend time building business skills or watching leisure videos. Both empowerment narratives improved self-efficacy and anticipated social mobility, but only the "Community Empowerment" narrative significantly motivated recipients' choice to build skills and reduced stigma. Given the diverse settings in which aid is delivered, how can organizations quickly identify effective narratives in a context? We asked recipients to predict which narrative would best motivate skill-building in their community. In study 2, this "local forecasting" methodology outperformed participant evaluations and experimental pilots in accurately ranking treatments. Finally, study 3 confirmed that the narrative most effective for recipients did not undermine donors' willingness to contribute to the program. Together these studies show that responding to recipients' psychological and sociocultural realities in the design of aid can afford recipients dignity and help realize aid's potential.
Patricia Akhimie and Bernadette Andrea, eds. Travel and Travail: Early Modern Women, English Drama, and the Wider World. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Early Modern Cultural Studies. Pp. 384.

This review considers Travel and Travail: Early Modern Women, English Drama, and the Wider World.
Multi-gaussian random variables

A generalization of the classic Gaussian random variable to the family of Multi- Gaussian (MG) random variables characterized by shape parameter M > 0, in addition to the mean and the standard deviation, is introduced. The probability density function of the MG family members is the alternating series of the Gaussian functions with the suitably chosen heights and widths. In particular, for the integer values of M the series has finite number of terms and leads to flattened profiles, while reducing to classic Gaussian density for M = 1. For non-integer, positive values of M a convergent infinite series of Gaussian functions is obtained that can be truncated in practical problems. While for all M > 1 the MG PDF has attened profiles, for 0 < M < 1 it leads to cusped profiles. Moreover, the multivariate extension of the MG random variable is obtained and the Log-Multi-Gaussian (LMG) random variable is introduced.
Sustained Effects of a School-Based Psychiatry Program

To provide access to timely youth psychiatric care, the Bridge Program: School-Based Psychiatry provides interim, school-based psychiatric services by child psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse case...
Generative mechanisms for scientific knowledge transfer in the food industry

This paper investigates the generative mechanisms for scientific knowledge transfer in the food industry, addressing the sustainability of knowledge transfer projects related to health, safety and regulation. Different levels of analysis examine structure, agency and interactions within a multilevel framework. The main research questions are: (1) what are the key generative mechanisms within science–industry knowledge transfer? and (2) what are the implications of these mechanisms to policy? This research applies explaining-outcome process-tracing by investigating different knowledge transfer projects, utilising empirical data from 52 in-depth interviews with food scientists and food SMEs, 17 supporting documents and 16 observations. Systematic combining is used to develop a narrative from empirical data, where the evidence leads to the formation of the most plausible explanation. This is followed by the abstraction of mechanisms which are then matched to a suitable theoretical framework. The results from the study show a range of predominant mechanisms that drove scientific knowledge transfer including nonpecuniary incentives, reputation, opportunity, instrumental rationality, self-interest, strategic calculation, aggregation, learning and adaptive self-regulation. The overall conclusion is that the construction of relationships based around social norms, autonomy and relatedness are more dominant than those focused on financial incentives or transaction cost theories.
Identity Concealment Games: How I Learned to Stop Revealing and Love the Coincidences.

In an adversarial environment, a hostile player performing a task may behave like a non-hostile one in order not to reveal its identity to an opponent. To model such a scenario, we define identity concealment games: zero-sum stochastic reachability games with a zero-sum objective of identity concealment. To measure the identity concealment of the player, we introduce the notion of an average player. The average player's policy represents the expected behavior of a non-hostile player. We show that there exists an equilibrium policy pair for every identity concealment game and give the optimality equations to synthesize an equilibrium policy pair. If the player's opponent follows a non-equilibrium policy, the player can hide its identity better. For this reason, we study how the hostile player may learn the opponent's policy. Since learning via exploration policies would quickly reveal the hostile player's identity to the opponent, we consider the problem of learning a near-optimal policy for the hostile player using the game runs collected under the average player's policy. Consequently, we propose an algorithm that provably learns a near-optimal policy and give an upper bound on the number of sample runs to be collected.
A Retrospective Examination of Home PCA Use and Parental Satisfaction With Pediatric Palliative Care Patients.

Introduction:Home Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) is an effective and often preferred therapy for the treatment of chronic pain symptoms in the pediatric palliative care patient. There is little...
A Framework for Analysis of Diffuse Instability in Partially Saturated Granular Soils

Strain localization in the form of a deformation band is the most extensively investigated instability mode in geomaterials. Deformation is localized to a narrow band that could shear as well as either dilate or compact. The jump in the strain rate across the band is given by a tensor of determinant rank one. However, loose soils can also implode when subjected to compressive stresses. In this case the mechanism of deformation is diffuse in the sense that the jump in the strain rate tensor has a full rank. Only very recently has this mode been studied extensively in the context of material instability (Borja 2006a). In this paper we move one step further and consider the effect of volume constraint associated with the presence of fluids, specifically water and air, on loose soils that have a tendency to implode. The upshot is that, depending on the degree of saturation of these soils, the fluids may inhibit the solid from imploding freely resulting in a rise in the pore fluid pressures. The eigenmode at bifurcation is represented by the composite jumps in the strain rate tensor and the rates of pore air and pore water pressures. The framework of stability analysis presented in this work can be used to develop a criterion for the onset of liquefaction instability in fully saturated soils.
Electrochemical measurement, modeling, and prediction of corrosion inhibition efficiency of ternary mixtures of homologous surfactants in salt solution

Abstract The corrosion inhibition efficiency of different mixtures of three homologous surfactants, benzalkonium chlorides (BAC), was investigated using electrochemical measurements and modeling. The surface aggregation concentration (sac) and critical micelle concentration (cmc) of surfactant are useful to evaluate inhibition efficiency. A new cmc prediction model for ternary mixed homologous surfactants of interest has been developed. The model is applicable over a wide concentration range of dissolved salt in solution. The combination of the modified Langmuir adsorption model and the cmc prediction model provides a potential method for inhibition efficiency prediction of various mixed homologous surfactant systems at various dissolved salt concentrations.
On neuronal and glial differentiation of a pluripotent stem cell line, RT4-AC: a branch determination.

Publisher Summary The development of eukaryotes is the result of a series of hierarchical or nonhierarchical branchings of precursor cells (or pluripotent stem cells). Here, hierarchical branching implies that a predetermined order of segregation of cell types exists; nonhierarchical branching means that the order of segregation of cell types from stem cells is not fixed, but is more or less random (stochastic). Nonhierarchical branching has been observed in the branching of certain pluripotent stem cell systems. In this chapter, the term “maturation” is used to describe the cases in which terminal cells express overt differentiation properties in response to external agents, often without cell division. Under maturation conditions, the majority of a homogeneous population of precursor cells responds to an agent and expresses terminal differentiation properties. Detailed studies of neural as well as other characteristics reveal a clear-cut segregation of neuronal and glial properties and tumorigenicity among different derivative cell types upon cell type conversion. In this system, the stem cell type (RT4-AC) expresses some of both neuronal properties and glial properties. The systematic and consistent segregation of these properties is a remarkable and clear phenomenon that alludes to a fundamental aspect of cell differentiation (branch determination), and therefore is worthy of detailed studies on its mechanism. This chapter also observes differential maturational responses of the derivative cell types (RT4-B, RT4-D, and RT4-E) to dibutyryl-CAMP (dbcAMP). Based on the study of this system, the chapter discusses several points about the determination and maturation of neuronal and glial properties.
Animal Farming Operations: Groundwater Quality Issues

Animal farming operations (AFOs) include feedlots, dairies, cattle farms, hog farms, chicken farms, and other facilities that raise or maintain a significant number of animals either seasonally or year-round. With respect to groundwater quality, the fate, reuse, and disposal of animal manure produced at AFOs is of critical concern. Groundwater benefits a wide variety of uses including production as drinking water for domestic/municipal use, production as irrigation water for agricultural/municipal uses, ecosystem support, and providing base flow in rivers and streams that is vital to the ecological health of these surface waters. AFO related groundwater quality issues result from potentially detrimental impacts during the collection, transport, storage, and land application of animal manure and animal wastes. Potential groundwater pollutants originating from AFOs are (1) salts and nutrients, (2) bacteria that indicate the presence of pathogens, and (3) organic or inorganic chemicals specifically associated with the management of AFOs. Keywords: groundwater; water quality; animal farming operations; confined animal farming operations; salinity; nitrate; pesticide; fertilizer; manure; pathogens
Chapter 15 Curvature Stress and Biomembrane Function

Publisher Summary The lipid compositions of all cell membranes are meticulously regulated. The percentages of phospholipids, glycolipids, sphingolipids, glycerides, and sterols are maintained within a narrow range, and the ratios of unsaturated to saturated hydrocarbon chains of each lipid type are also set within given limits. The transmembrane distribution asymmetry of membrane lipids is strictly kept for the cell to function properly. The energy spent to maintain distinct lipid profiles for each membrane would be a wasteful investment if membrane lipids served only as an inert matrix for other functional components in the membrane. Apparently, membrane lipids are associated with cellular functions both chemically and physically. The chemical and physical controls of cellular functions by membranes are appreciated more as more is known about the nature of the control mechanisms. The relationship between lipid metabolic cycles and signal transduction processes represents examples of chemical control.
A Competing Risks Model of War Termination and Leader Change

Recent research demonstrates that leader change during war significantly increases the probability of war termination. However, leader changes caused by assassinations or by elec- tions are likely to have very different effects on the possibility of bringing war to an end. This paper explores the effect of regular and irregular leader transitions on the likelihood of war ter- mination. To get around the simultaneity problem between war termination and leader change, the paper estimates a competing risks bivariate survival model. The evidence shows that leader change –regardless of its type– in large coalition systems never increases the probability of war termination, while leader change –regardless of its type– in small coalition systems never reduces the probability of war termination. In short, leader transitions in autocratic systems are more likely to bring interstate war to an end than leader transitions in democratic ones. The study also shows that, as war progresses, the effect of leader change fades away.
Airborne allergic contact dermatitis caused by chamomile tea.

Keywords: airborne; allergic contact dermatitis; chamomile tea; Chamomilla recutita Rauschert; German chamomile; Matricaria chamomilla L; Matricaria recutita L
Construction and Analysis of Yeast RNA Polymerase II Ctd Deletion and Substitution Mutations

The carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of the RNA polymerase II largest subunit plays an essential but poorly understood role in transcription. The CTD is highly phosphorylated in vivo and this modification may be important in the transition from transcription initiation to elongation. We report here the development of a strategy for creating novel yeast CTDs. We have used this approach to show that the minimum viable CTD in yeast contains eight consensus (Tyr1Ser2Pro3Thr4Ser5Pro6Ser7) heptapeptide repeats. Substitution of alanine or glutamate for serines in positions two or five is lethal. In addition, changing tyrosine in position one to phenylalanine is lethal. The effects of mutations that alter potential phosphorylation sites are consistent with a requirement for CTD phosphorylation in vivo.
Stochastic analysis of multiphase flow in porous media: 1. Spectral/perturbation approach

Stochastic analysis of steady-state multiphase (water, oil, and air) flow in heterogeneous porous media was performed using the perturbation theory and spectral representation techniques. The gas phase is assumed to have constant pressure. The governing equations describing the flow of oil and water are coupled and nonlinear. The key stochastic input variables are intrinsic permeability,k, and the soil grain size distribution index, α. Three different stochastic combinations of these two input parameters were considered. The perturbation/spectral analysis was used to develop closed-form expressions that describe stochastic variability of key output processes, such as capillary and individual phase pressures and specific discharges. The analysis also included the derivation of the mean flow equations and estimation of the effective flow properties. The impact of the spatial variability ofk and α on the effective conductivities and the variances of pressures and specific discharges was examined.
How Do Faculty Make Formative Use of Student Evaluation Feedback?: A Multiple Case Study

This multiple case study explored faculty formative use of student evaluation feedback. Results were based on interviews of ten education faculty members at a midwestern research university and reviews of relevant documents. It was found that end of semester student evaluation, originally used for summative evaluation, was also used by faculty for teaching improvement purposes. Faculty cared for student evaluation feedback and used discretion in using the feedback to improve their teaching. Faculty also experienced anxiety and tensions in the context of a mandated summative evaluation. Variations were found in faculty use of evaluation feedback, as a result of difference in background and experience.
Light cone reference for total gravitational energy

We give an explicit expression for gravitational energy, written solely in terms of physical spacetime geometry, which in suitable limits agrees with the total Arnowitt-Deser-Misner and Trautman-Bondi-Sachs energies for asymptotically flat spacetimes and with the Abbot-Deser energy for asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes. Our expression is a boundary value of the standard gravitational Hamiltonian. Moreover, although it stands alone as such, we derive the expression by picking the zero-point of energy via a ``lightcone reference.''
Role of Hypertension in Coronary Artery Disease

Historically, stroke, heart failure and renal insufficiency were seen as the major complications of untreated hypertension. More recently, it has become evident that coronary heart disease is probably
ROTATIONAL MAGNETIC PROCESSES IN A TYPE-II SUPERCONDUCTOR

Magnetization-vector (/rvec M/) measurements were made on a disk of compacted Nb powder rotated in a fixed field /rvec H/ at 4.2 K. /rvec M/ is a separable into a non-rotating diamagnetic component (approx. /minus//rvec H//4 for H H/sub c1/) plus a penetrating-flux component which (for H > H/sub c1/) rotates with the sample but only up to some critical angle, indicating a frictional torque due to flux pinning. 5 refs., 3 figs.
Novel actions of inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase II in drug-resistant tumor cells

We review herein current work on the cytotoxic and cellular actions of two classes of inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase II: one represented by etoposide and teniposide, which stabilize DNA-protein complexes, and another represented by merbarone and aclarubicin, which do not stabilize such complexes. We discuss current concepts of protooncogene activation and cell cycle perturbations by some of these inhibitors and summarize recent findings of novel actions of the latter compounds in tumor cells that express a mutant topoisomerase II.
Influence of antioxidants on the bioactivity of amphotericin B.

Abstract Four antioxidants, propyl gallate, butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene, and d-α-tocopherol acid succinate were found to stabilize amphotericin B and to prolong its antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Although each of the antioxidants was effective in this respect, propyl gallate and butylated hydroxyanisole were better than butylated hydroxytoluene and d-α-tocopherol acid succinate. None of the antioxidants alone adversely affected normal cell growth. It is suggested that amphotericin B instability is due, at least in part, to lability of the carbon-carbon double bonds of the polyene moiety toward autoxidation. By protecting the drug molecule with an antioxidant, it is possible to significantly lower the quantity of AB necessary to obtain particular antifungal effects.
Some Distribution Patterns of Cottage Cheese Particles and Conditions Contributing to Curd Shattering

Summary Four sieves each of different mesh size were used successfully to separate curd particles by size. Percentages of curd on each sieve showed effects of using different knives and making procedures. The grit value, or percentage of the curd as fine particles collected on the finest, 1 / 16 -in. mesh sieve, reflected the more important forces of curd shattering of uncreamed Cottage cheese. Grit produced during cutting and cooking gives a rough tactual response, whereas grit from tender curd developed during washing, creaming, and packaging does not. Type of milk, manufacturing technique, creaming, and packaging affected grit levels. Cottage cheese exposed to freezing temperatures for six months, or otherwise made abnormally or irregularly, showed excessively high levels of grit or cheese dust, as high as 34%, whereas uncreamed curd with good texture, manufactured from wholly reconstituted skimmilk, showed values under 5%.
Bloom syndrome ortholog HIM-6 maintains genomic stability in C. elegans

Bloom syndrome is caused by mutation of the Bloom helicase (BLM), a member of the RecQ helicase family. Loss of BLM function results in genomic instability that causes a high incidence of cancer. It has been demonstrated that BLM is important for maintaining genomic stability by playing a role in DNA recombination and repair; however, the exact function of BLM is not clearly understood. To determine the mechanism by which BLM controls genomic stability in vivo, we examined the phenotypes caused by mutation of the C. elegans BLM helicase ortholog, HIM-6. We find that the loss of HIM-6 leads to genomic instability as evidenced by an increased number of genomic insertions and deletions, which results in visible random mutant phenotypes. In addition to the mutator phenotype, him-6 mutants have a low brood size, a high incidence of males, a shortened life span, and an increased amount of germ line apoptosis. Upon exposure to high temperature, him-6 mutants that are serially passed become sterile demonstrating a mortal germ line phenotype. Our data suggest a model in which loss of HIM-6 results in genomic instability due to an increased number of DNA lesions, which either cannot be repaired and/or are introduced by low fidelity recombination events. The increased level of genomic instability that leads to him-6(ok412) mutants having a shortened life span.
Entrance region heat transfer in a channel downstream of an impinging jet array

Abstract An experimental investigation is carried out on the entrance region heat transfer in a parallel plate channel downstream of a jet array located in one of the plates. The jet impingement surface is kept isothermal while the opposing surface, containing the jet array, is adiabatic. The focus of the investigation is the systematic study of the effect of flow rate and array geometric parameters on local Nusselt numbers in the entrance region of the channel immediately downstream of the array. To place these results in context, Nusselt numbers opposite the array and in the fully developed region downstream of the channel entrance are also included. In the entrance region, the ratio of the local to fully developed Nusselt number is independent of the channel Reynolds number, and the effects of some jet array geometric parameters are significant. These effects become negligible within 10 hydraulic diameters from the channel entrance. The entrance length is about 21 hydraulic diameters. The fully developed Nusselt numbers agree well with previous measurements. Empirical correlations are developed to fit the observations.
A search for life on Earth at kilometer resolution

Study of several thousand photos indicating that about 0.01 of Gemini and Apollo photographs of the earth at 100 m resolution reveal signs of life - rectangular arrays due to human agricultural and urban territoriality, roads, canals, jet contrails, and industrial pollution. Potential false positives - e.g., dunes, sand bars, jetstream clouds - abound. A curve is derived for the detectivity of contemporary life on earth, in a plot of ground resolution versus global coverage. A comparable biology on Mars would not have been detected by all observations of Mars through Mariner 7.
Haemodynamic effects of intracoronary neuropeptide Y in dogs: resistance to α adrenergic blockade

Study objective — Neuropeptide Y is a peptide isolated from brain and neural tissue around human coronary arteries. It has been shown to produce coronary vasoconstriction and myocardial ischaemia. The purposes of this study were (a) to determine whether the vasoconstriction induced by neuropeptide Y was mediated by α adrenergic receptors in vivo, and (b) to determine the time course of the effect and whether it was reproducible with a second administration. Design — Neuropeptide Y (200 μg over 2 min) was given by intracoronary injection on two occasions 1 h apart to group I dogs (control). In group II the second dose was preceeded by treatment with the α blocker phenoxybenzamine (4-10 mg·kg−1). The time course and magnitude of the effect was studied in the two groups to determine the effects of α blockade and of repeated neuropeptide Y dosage. Experimental material — 14 mongrel dogs (n=7 per group) were anaesthetised with chloralose for a left thoracotomy to measure coronary blood flow, aortic pressure, left ventricular pressure, and heart rate. Measurements and main results — Reproducible prolonged increases in coronary vascular resistance occurred after the first [33(SD 18)%] and second [34(17)%] doses of neuropeptide Y. At this infusion rate mean aortic pressure increased with each dose by 21% and coronary blood flow decreased by 7%. In group II dogs, phenoxybenzamine given intravenously 20 min after the first dose of neuropeptide Y reduced mean aortic pressure by 15-20 mm Hg. In this group neuropeptide Y also caused reproducible increases in coronary vascular resistance before (36%) and after (46%) a blockade. Conclusions — Neuropeptide Y constricts coronary arteries in vivo by mechanisms that do not require intact α adrenergic receptors, and the coronary vasoconstriction was prolonged and reproducible.
Must Complex Systems Theory Be Materialistic

So far, the sciences of complexity have received less attention from philosophers than from scientists. Responding to Salthe’s (Found Sci 15, 4(6):357–367, 2010a) model of evolution, I focus on its metaphysical implications, asking whether the implications of his canonical developmental trajectory (CDT) must be materialistic as his reading proposes.
Mannich base derivatives of bioactive benzyl-1,3-benzodioxo-5-ols

3,4-Methylenedioxyphenol (sesamol) reacts with equimolecular quantities of an aromatic aldehyde and morpholine or piperidine in methanol to give Mannich bases 7 and 8, related to insect growth regulators and anti-leukemic and antimitotic benzyl-1,3-benzodioxole derivatives.
Jump Processes in Commodity Futures Prices and Options Pricing

Empirical evidence shows that log-return relatives on commodity futures prices are not normally distributed. This departure from normality seems to be caused by large price changes occurring in the commodity markets with the arrival of important new information. This suggests that a jump-diffusion model may be a plausible choice for modeling the stochastic process underlying commodity option prices. Merton (1976a) develops a jump-diffusion option pricing model assuming that jump risk is unsystematic. However, the jump-diffusion model developed by Bates (1991) is more appropriate for commodity option pricing since it allows jump risk to be systematic. In this article, recent transactions data on futures and futures options are used to test out-of-sample options using American versions of Black's diffusion and Bates's jump-diffusion models. The results show that Bates's model performs considerably better than Black's model. Jump-diffusion Asian option prices are also shown to differ considerably from geometric Brownian motion Asian option prices.
Shrinkage estimation for convex polyhedral cones

Estimation of a multivariate normal mean is considered when the latter is known to belong to a convex polyhedron. It is shown that shrinking the maximum likelihood estimator towards an appropriate target can reduce mean squared error. The proof combines an unbiased estimator of a risk difference with some geometrical considerations. When applied to the monotone regression problem, the main result shows that shrinking the maximum likelihood estimator towards modifications that have been suggested to alleviate the spiking problem can reduce mean squared error.
Vision, Metaphor and the Metaphysical Horizons of Twentieth-Century Hermeticism

This essay represents an attempt to clarify the nature of hermetic metaphor by looking to those moments in the poems of the terza generazione (Piero Bigongiari, Alfonso Gatto, Mario Luzi, and Alessandro Parronchi, among others) that dramatize the work of metaphor itself. Rarely if ever addressed by scholars of hermeticism, these reflexive moments not only shed light on the understanding of the work of metaphor among hermetic poets, but also suggest that we reconsider certain critical assumptions regarding their poetic project. After a discussion of the problem of metaphor and its relationship to metaphysics, I consider specific poems that demonstrate an attitude toward figuration—in broad terms, an impulse to resist “metaphoric fullness” and a consistent skepticism with regard to the ability of figuration to provide transcendence—that, together with a number of other qualities, justifies our speaking of the category of Italian hermeticism.
Temporal Phenotyping from Longitudinal Electronic Health Records: A Graph Based Framework

The rapid growth in the development of healthcare information systems has led to an increased interest in utilizing the patient Electronic Health Records (EHR) for assisting disease diagnosis and phenotyping. The patient EHRs are generally longitudinal and naturally represented as medical event sequences, where the events include clinical notes, problems, medications, vital signs, laboratory reports, etc. The longitudinal and heterogeneous properties make EHR analysis an inherently difficult challenge. To address this challenge, in this paper, we develop a novel representation, namely the temporal graph, for such event sequences. The temporal graph is informative for a variety of challenging analytic tasks, such as predictive modeling, since it can capture temporal relationships of the medical events in each event sequence. By summarizing the longitudinal data, the temporal graphs are also robust and resistant to noisy and irregular observations. Based on the temporal graph representation, we further develop an approach for temporal phenotyping to identify the most significant and interpretable graph basis as phenotypes. This helps us better understand the disease evolving patterns. Moreover, by expressing the temporal graphs with the phenotypes, the expressing coefficients can be used for applications such as personalized medicine, disease diagnosis, and patient segmentation. Our temporal phenotyping framework is also flexible to incorporate semi-supervised/supervised information. Finally, we validate our framework on two real-world tasks. One is predicting the onset risk of heart failure. Another is predicting the risk of heart failure related hospitalization for patients with COPD pre-condition. Our results show that the diagnosis performance in both tasks can be improved significantly by the proposed approaches. Also, we illustrate some interesting phenotypes derived from the data.
Relations between thalamic and corticofrontal sites of oculomotor control in the cat.

Recent studies from this laboratory have attempted to delineate the thalamic 15 and frontal cortical 14 regions from which conjugate eye movements could be elicited by low-threshold electrical stimulation in cats. The existence of connections between these thalamic and cortical sites has been postulated on the basis of anatomical dataT,1L However, ditficulties of interpretation inherent in conventional anatomical methods when applied to this particular problem make the conclusions still disputableL This study presents orthodromic single cell responses obtained but unreported in previous experiments on direct projections from frontal cortex to the thalamus s. The data are reported here since they show functional connections between structures specified by their functional properties, and since they suggest a similar organization of thalamocortical connections for the frontal lobe of cat and primate. These experiments were performed on 20 enc6phale isol6 cats under local anesthesia. Stimulation (single pulses or 10 Hz trains of pulses of 100-500/zA and 0.5 msec duration) was applied through fine concentric electrodes (David Kopf NE-100) implanted (1) within the internal medullary lamina: nucleus centralis lateralis (CL), (2) medial to the lamina: nucleus medialis dorsalis (MD), or (3) immediately external to the lamina: nucleus ventralis lateralis (VL) or ventralis posterior (VP). The stimulating current was monitored and equalized. In all cases, the production of ocular movements by stimulation was tested, and it was verified that such movements (contraversive deviations) were obtained only from CL placements8,15. After this test, the animals were paralyzed with Flaxedil, and the cortical frontal lobe was explored with glass micropipettes filled with 3 M KCI (tip diameter of less than 2 #m). Recordings from 40 to 100 units were obtained in each experiment along 2 or 3 tracks through the proreal and anterior sigmoid gyri, both lips of the cruciate and presylvian sulci and the mesial face of the frontal lobe. The responsiveness of each cell to the thalamic stimulation sites listed above was determined. The positions of the units were com-
Unstable queues with arrival rate less than service rate

We give three examples of unstable queues in which the average arrival rate is less than the average service rate. In the first example, service times are iid but the arrival rate increases with queue size; in the second, arrivals are iid but the service rate decreases with queue size; in the third, arrivals are ergodic and independent of iid service times.
Effects of ultrasound on the mouse exposed at different stages of gestation: acute studies.

At five stages of gestation, mice were exposed dorsally to ultrasonic irradiation at 1 W/cm2 (spatial and temporal average), 2 MHz, and 34 and 37° C (temperature at beginning of exposure). The results indicated that ultrasonic exposure up to at least 100 s is not hazardous to a pregnant mouse or its offspring in utero under the conditions of our experiment. Thresholds for both undesirable and lethal effects on the dam and its embryos or fetuses appeared between 100 and 200 s. Temperature rises in the uterus to more than 40° C and similarity of results obtained with continuous-wave and burst modes of irradiation suggest a thermal mechanism as one cause of these effects. Preliminary conclusions are that thresholds for both tissue damage to the dam and deleterious effects on pregnancy were similar; however, they occurred at spatial average intensity and exposure levels far in excess of those used in clinical diagnostic medicine.
Structure, processing, and property relationships in tunable rf and microwave devices

Abstract Our work on tunable rf and microwave devices based on 90° off-axis magnetron sputtered Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 epitaxial thin films is reviewed. In particular, we have studied the effects of energetic bombardment during deposition on the structural and electrical properties of these films. The fundamental result of changing the energetic bombardment conditions during deposition is to affect the stress/strain state of the films. We show that high bombardment conditions result in films with significantly extended out-of-plane lattice constants and depressed dielectric constants and tunabilities.
Morphological changes of pituitary gonadotrophs and thyrotrophs following treatment with LH-RH or TRH in vitro.

To investigate the relationship between LH-RH and TRH and the formation of castration cells and thyroidectomy cells, pituitary glands of 14-day old female rats were cultured with LH-RH or TRH for 10 days. Observed in these glands were external and internal zones, the former containing active, healthy appearing cells, and the latter consisting of many degenerative and necrotic cells. Gonadotrophs and thyrotrophs were readily demonstrated in the external zone of the organs by immunocytochemistry. Hypertrophie gonadotrophs (castration cells) and thyrotrophs (thyroidectomy cells) were observed only in the external zone by electron microscopy. Neither the typical signet-ring gonadotrophs nor intracisternal granules of thyroidectomy cells were seen in the present study. However, the hypertrophic gonadotrophs or thyrotrophs were similar to castration cells or thyroidectomy cells observed in the pituitary gland following castration or thyroidectomy. The results indicate that LH-RH and TRH directly stimulate the secretion of hormones and alter the morphological features of pituitary target cells.
A discrete model of S1-homotopy theory

Abstract We construct a discrete model of the homotopy theory of S 1 -spaces. We define a category P with objects composed of a simplicial set and a cyclic set along with suitable compatibility data. P inherits a model structure from the model structures on the categories of simplicial sets and cyclic sets. We then show that there is a Quillen equivalence between P and the model category of S 1 -spaces in which weak equivalences and fibrations are maps inducing weak equivalences and fibrations on passage to all fixed point sets.
Are the Dissociative Criteria in ASD Useful

Acute stress disorder (ASD) is a new DSM-IV diagnostic category, characterized by dissociative, intrusive, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms in the first month after a traumatic experience. The goal of the present study was to examine the utility of this diagnosis. In a prospective study, 79 mixed trauma victims who met DSM-IV symptom criteria for PTSD within 1 month following a traumatic event were followed through three months post-event. Dissociative symptoms in ASD only partially captured distress and dysfunction during the first month. Participants with and without ASD showed similar patterns of recovery, with only small differences that disappeared at three months post-event. Interestingly, initial PTSD avoidance but not ASD dissociative symptoms predicted PTSD severity at 3 months.
Generalization of social skills training for persons with severe mental illness

Even though social and coping skills training strategies have been shown to diminish symptoms, improve functioning, and enhance the quality of life for individuals with severe mental illness, research suggests that many of the positive effects do not generalize to other settings and responses. Some have argued that the lack of generalization represents a fundamental flaw in skills training. Others have countered that generalization is not a naturally occurring result of skills training. Rather, transfer training skills need to be strategically incorporated into the training program to facilitate generalization. Five sets of transfer training skills are reviewed here: fading reinforcers, self-management strategies, judicious use of homework, recruiting significant others to participate in the generalization program, and cognitive rehabilitation. The impact of these strategies is highlighted in this paper.
Breast Cancer Detection in Women with Implants

Breast augmentation is popular in the United States; likewise, breast cancer is prevalent among our population. It is therefore inevitable that a large number of augmented women will eventually develop breast cancer. Concerns have been raised about whether implants might interfere with detection of cancer. We review our experience with augmented breast cancer patients to determine the effect of implants on cancer diagnosis and prognosis, and to formulate recommendations regarding physical and radiological evaluation of the augmented breast. We reviewed a prospective database containing detailed information on 3953 nonaugmented and 129 augmented breast cancer patients. Various parameters in the two groups were compared and differences were analyzed using appropriate statistical methodology. We additionally reviewed mammograms of all women with palpable lesions to determine the sensitivity of mammography in augmented and nonaugmented patients. Our data reveal that augmented patients present with a statistically greater frequency of palpable lesions, have a slightly greater risk of invasive tumors, an increased likelihood of axillary lymph node metastases, and a significantly higher rate of false-negative mammograms. Despite this, there was no significant difference in stage of disease between augmented and nonaugmented patients; mean tumor size, recurrence rates, and breast cancer-specific survival were virtually identical in both groups. Based on our findings, we conclude that, despite the diminished sensitivity of mammography in women with implants, augmented and nonaugmented patients are diagnosed at a similar stage and have a comparable prognosis. Although implants might impair mammography, they may facilitate detection of palpable breast cancers on physical examination. MRI and breast ultrasound are useful adjuncts in some women with implants, but conventional mammography remains the most reliable tool for diagnosing early breast cancer in augmented patients.
The large dense core vesicle: a normal organelle of the central nervous system myelinated axon.

Large dense core vesicles (LDCV) were found frequently enough in normal guinea pig central white matter, basis pontis and spinal cord posterior columns to be regarded as a normal organelle. A review of studies of LDCV and dense core particles (DCP), which have a different cytological localization and appear to be associated with a variety of diseases, suggests that they are the same, and hence remarkably ubiquitous. LDCV should no longer be regarded as a type of synaptic vesicle, but as an incompletely defined organelle common to many cell types.
Larval feeding structure plasticity during pre-feeding stages of echinoids: Not all species respond to the same cues

Much of the work on phenotypic plasticity has focused on inducible defenses. As a result, little is known about induced phenotypes that improve the acquisition of resources (i.e. inducible offenses). Feeding larvae of several marine invertebrate species, gastropods and echinoderms, have inducible offenses, and produce larger feeding structures when given less food. To better understand inducible offenses, I investigated when in development sea urchin and sand dollar larvae can first alter their feeding morphology in response to different concentrations of food. Food induced feeding structure changes in both sea urchin and sand dollar larvae before larvae were able to ingest food. This suggests that the nervous system and a regulator gene, orthopedia, play a mechanistic role. In addition, larvae of the two species, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Dendraster excentricus, responded to different cues. Pre-feeding larvae of both species developed relatively shorter arms when given algal cells (i.e. chemical and physical stimuli), whereas only pre-feeding larvae of D. excentricus developed shorter arms when exposed to algal exudates (i.e. chemical stimuli). Larvae of neither species responded morphologically to the presence of polystyrene beads (i.e. physical stimuli).
The effect of surface index and atomic order on the GaAs oxygen interaction

Abstract Optical ellipsometry, Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction were applied to determine the initial sticking coefficient S0 and the interaction kinetics of oxygen and atomically ordered and disordered (110), (111) and ( 111 ) surfaces of GaAs. The activation energy of S0 for disordered surfaces was obtained. This information is used to suggest a surface disorder mechanism for oxygen interaction with these surfaces.
Coupling up: How Interactions between Cell Stresses and Intracellular Biochemistry Affect Cell Spreading

We present a two-dimensional mathematical model and finite element simulations that allow us to better understand how local cellular deformations must be coupled to the evolution of an intracellular plaque protein that controls the formation of focal adhesions. Specifically, we explore effects of alternate formulations for coupling cellular response to substrate mechanics. Further, we also investigate the effect of initial cellular shape on cell spreading and intracellular stresses. Our aim is to determine whether the initial anisotropy of a cell predisposes it to remain anisotropic during spreading. In addition, we examine the role of focal adhesion strength in maintaining anisotropy. In the models for cell and substrate mechanics we assume that the cell is an active hypoelastic material and the substrate is linearly elastic. Focal adhesions are modeled as a collection of discrete springs that can be added and removed dynamically. This work aims to unearth some of the fundamental mechanisms in cell-substrate interactions.