cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing Investigative Skill Development in Inquiry‐Based and Traditional College Science Laboratory Courses

A laboratory practical examination was used to compare the investigative skills developed in two different types of general-chemistry laboratory courses. Science and engineering majors (SEM) in the control group used a traditional verification approach (SEM-Ctrl), whereas those in the treatment group learned from an innovative, inquiry-based approach (SEM-Trt). A scoring rubric was developed from their examination sheets to assess six component investigative skills. Results indicated that SEM students in the SEM-Trt group scored significantly higher than those in SEM-Ctrl for all six skills. Furthermore, nursing and applied science majors (NonSEM) in the inquiry-based group (NonSEM-Trt) wrote significantly better discussions than did SEM students in SEM-Ctrl group. Overall, competency at the mid-range level of laboratory skills was attained by most SEM-Trt students (72.5%) but by only 30.5% of SEM-Ctrl and 28.6% of NonSEM-Trt students. Apparently, during the semester students in the SEM-Trt group were able to use the inquiry-based method effectively to combine chemical tasks with writing tasks and postlaboratory discussions. One implication of this study for science instructors is that practical examinations can provide useful feedback regarding the quality of the laboratory experience. Another implication is that this study provides evidence for the use of the innovative inquiry-based laboratory approach to support student learning of high-level investigative skills. However, students' requisite background knowledge must match the level of these skills.
Fear of food as a treatment target: Exposure and response prevention for anorexia nervosa in an open series†

Objective: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe mental illness with high rates of relapse and rehospitalization. New treatment approaches are needed. We aimed to evaluate the potential utility of addressing eating-related fear in the treatment of AN using psychotherapy techniques known to be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, namely exposure therapy and response prevention. Method: We developed a brief treatment intervention for AN (AN-EXRP) and evaluated its effects in an open series of nine individuals with AN towards the end of acute weight restoration. We focused on eating behavior as the primary outcome, as it is related both to anxiety and to longer term course. Results: Change in anxiety with AN-EXRP was associated with greater caloric intake. Discussion: These findings support the anxiety-centered model of AN and suggest the potential utility of further developing this treatment approach. © 2011 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2012)
Principles of scientific research team formation and evolution.

Research teams are the fundamental social unit of science, and yet there is currently no model that describes their basic property: size. In most fields, teams have grown significantly in recent decades. We show that this is partly due to the change in the character of team size distribution. We explain these changes with a comprehensive yet straightforward model of how teams of different sizes emerge and grow. This model accurately reproduces the evolution of empirical team size distribution over the period of 50 y. The modeling reveals that there are two modes of knowledge production. The first and more fundamental mode employs relatively small, “core” teams. Core teams form by a Poisson process and produce a Poisson distribution of team sizes in which larger teams are exceedingly rare. The second mode employs “extended” teams, which started as core teams, but subsequently accumulated new members proportional to the past productivity of their members. Given time, this mode gives rise to a power-law tail of large teams (10–1,000 members), which features in many fields today. Based on this model, we construct an analytical functional form that allows the contribution of different modes of authorship to be determined directly from the data and is applicable to any field. The model also offers a solid foundation for studying other social aspects of science, such as productivity and collaboration.
Familial thyroid carcinoma: the road less travelled in thyroid pathology

Abstract This paper reviews the pathologic and clinicopathologic aspects of thyroid cancers and neoplasms which occur in familial settings. The data and details of C cell lesions are reviewed and a brief overview of the molecular-morphological correlations is presented. Familial tumors of follicular derivation are also described with a review of the many syndromes associated with these lesions. These tumors which may be papillary, follicular or Hurthle cell can occur solely as thyroid neoplasms without extrathyroidal manifestations or may accompany syndromes in which the extrathyroidal lesions are of primary prognostic importance (e.g. familial adenomatous polyposis). The pathologist may play a critical role in the identification of these syndromes by recognizing particular patterns of thyroid tumors (e.g. cribriform morular variant of papillary carcinoma). These issues are reviewed in this article.
Biologically-Inspired Human-Swarm Interaction Metrics:

Human-swarm interaction is an emerging field encompassing questions related to biology, robotics, computer science, human-computer interaction, and psychology. Swarms are large groups of individual...
Origins of Eponymous Orthopaedic Equipment

Orthopaedists make great use of eponymous equipment, however the origins of these tools are unknown to many users. This history enriches, enlightens, and enhances surgical education, and may inspire modern innovation. We explored the origins of common and eponymous orthopaedic equipment. We selected pieces of equipment named for their inventors and in the broadest use by modern orthopaedists. We do not describe specialized orthopaedic implants and instruments owing to the overwhelming number of these devices. The history of this equipment reflects the coevolution of orthopaedics and battlefield medicine. Additionally, these stories evidence the primacy of elegant design and suggest that innovation is often a process of revision and refinement rather than sudden inspiration. Their history exposes surgical innovators as brilliant, lucky, hardworking, and sometimes odd. These stories amuse, enlighten, and may inspire modern orthopaedists to develop creative solutions of their own. The rich history of the field’s eponymous instruments informs an ongoing tradition of innovation in orthopaedics.
Bias and Efficiency: A Comparison of Analyst Forecasts and Management Forecasts

Extant literature documents that analyst forecasts are optimistically biased and fail to incorporate information in prior returns. This paper extends similar tests to examine management forecast characteristics. We find that, in contrast to analyst forecast errors, management forecast errors cannot be predicted by prior returns or accruals. We also document that while both management forecasts and analyst forecasts are inaccurate, the sources of the inaccuracies are different. For the sample of firms that have analyst as well as management forecasts available, management forecasts are more efficient, which we define as better reflecting information in stock prices. However, management forecasts are more optimistically biased compared to analyst forecasts. We also find that the biases in management forecasts and inefficiency in analyst forecasts decline for more recent forecasts, however, the biases and inefficiencies are not eliminated.
Is the Academy a Liberal Hegemony? The Political Orientations and Educational Values of Professors

In the last several years, conservatives have argued that an overwhelmingly Left and liberal faculty has taken over American colleges and universities. In particular, two main claims have been advanced: (1) a disproportionate percentage of the faculty is liberal; and (2) these liberal faculty are pushing their values on students and colleagues, skewing the educational process. However, data to support these contentions come from unrepresentative institutions and/or disciplines and mistakenly equate party identification with political ideology. In contrast, we use two nationally representative surveys done by the Carnegie Foundation (in 1989 and 1997) to address these concerns. We have several key findings: (1) although left-of-center faculty increased slightly, the best overall description of these trends suggests increased movement to the center, toward a more moderate faculty, between 1989 and 1997; (2) there are sizable differences across disciplines and institu- tional types, with conservatives being the plurality in some fields and in two-year colleges; (3) changes in age and gender have offsetting effects on changes in liberalism; and (4) there are significant differences in edu- cational values between liberal and conservative professors. In the last several years, right-wing activists and scholars, especially David Horowitz and the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC) and the National Association of Scholars, have claimed that an overwhelmingly Left and liberal fac- ulty has taken over universities, imposing political correctness and suppressing dissent (e.g., Tierney 2004; Wall Street Journal 2004; Wisse 2004). The "thought police," the argument goes, have made conservative views unwelcome on campus, and college students are being exposed only to liberal and leftist perspectives.
Association of Poor Subjective Sleep Quality With Risk for Death by Suicide During a 10-Year Period: A Longitudinal, Population-Based Study of Late Life

Importance Older adults have high rates of sleep disturbance, die by suicide at disproportionately higher rates compared with other age groups, and tend to visit their physician in the weeks preceding suicide death. To our knowledge, to date, no study has examined disturbed sleep as an independent risk factor for late-life suicide. Objective To examine the relative independent risk for suicide associated with poor subjective sleep quality in a population-based study of older adults during a 10-year observation period. Design, Setting, and Participants A longitudinal case-control cohort study of late-life suicide among a multisite, population-based community sample of older adults participating in the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Of 14 456 community older adults sampled, 400 control subjects were matched (on age, sex, and study site) to 20 suicide decedents. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary measures included the Sleep Quality Index, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale, and vital statistics. Results Hierarchical logistic regressions revealed that poor sleep quality at baseline was significantly associated with increased risk for suicide (odds ratio [OR], 1.39; 95% CI, 1.14-1.69; P P P P Conclusions and Relevance Our results indicate that poor subjective sleep quality is associated with increased risk for death by suicide 10 years later, even after adjustment for depressive symptoms. Disturbed sleep appears to confer considerable risk, independent of depressed mood, for the most severe suicidal behaviors and may warrant inclusion in suicide risk assessment frameworks to enhance detection of risk and intervention opportunity in late life.
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using hamstrings for a two-incision technique

Abstract Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions are most commonly performed through a single incision, using either a patellar tendon or a hamstring graft. This technique, however, may be problematic in circumstances such as revision ACL reconstructions or reconstructions in patients with open growth plates. In these cases, a second incision may be needed to avoid existing tunnels or an open physis. The two-incision ACL reconstruction technique described in this article incorporates a four-stranded, gracilis-semitendinosus graft. The four free tendon ends are fixed proximally in a figure-of eight fashion with two bicortical screws and soft tissue washers. The distal looped end is secured with three No. 5 sutures tied to a screw and post. This construct provides graft (2800–4500 N) and fixation (821 N) strengths exceeding that of a 10 mm patellar tendon graft with interference screw fixation. This technique allows for an accelerated rehabilitation program, has low graft harvest morbidity, and provides the freedom necessary for tunnel placement and orientation in complicated reconstructions. For these reasons, this technique should be familiar to surgeons specializing in knee ligament reconstruction.
The discrete Pascal transform and its applications

We introduce a new discrete polynomial transform constructed from the rows of Pascal's triangle. The forward and inverse transforms are computed the same way in both the one- and two-dimensional cases, and the transform matrix can be factored into binary matrices for efficient hardware implementation. We conclude by discussing applications of the transform in digital image processing, such as bump and edge detection.
Physical, Mental and Critical Period

Dr. Money has made significant contributions to the scientific literature in the field of learning disabilities through many published articles and editorials. He is connected with the department of pediatrics and psychology at Johns Hopkins.
Cortical oscillations and temporal interactions in a computer simulation of piriform cortex.

1. A large-scale computer model of the piriform cortex was constructed on the basis of the known anatomic and physiological organization of this region. 2. The oscillatory field potential and elect...
Significance of postoperative acute renal failure after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation.

Background Deteriorating renal function is common in patients with advanced heart failure and is associated with poor outcomes. The relationship between renal function and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is complex and has been explored in multiple studies with contradictory results. The aim of our study is to examine the significance of postoperative renal failure after implantation of a continuous-flow LVAD and its relationship to outcomes. Methods From March 2006 to July 2011, 100 patients underwent implantation of a HeartMate II (Thoratec Corp, Pleasanton, CA) or HeartWare (Heart International, Inc, Framingham, MA) LVAD at our institution. Patients were stratified based on postoperative development of acute renal failure (ARF). Variables were compared using 2-sided t tests, χ 2 tests, Cox proportional hazards models, and log-rank tests to determine whether there was a difference between the 2 groups and whether postoperative renal failure was a significant independent predictor of outcome. Results We identified 28 patients (28%) with postoperative ARF and 72 patients (72%) without postoperative ARF. The 2 groups were similar with regard to demographics and comorbidities. The patients with ARF were more likely to be intubated preoperatively (14.3% versus 1.4%; p = 0.021) and had higher preoperative central venous pressure (CVP) (14.3 mm Hg versus 10.7 mm Hg; p = 0.015). Postoperatively patients with ARF had a longer hospital stay (32.4 versus 18.7; p = 0.05), were more likely to experience right ventricular (RV) failure (25% versus 5.6%; p = 0.01) and ventilator-dependent respiratory failure (VDRF) (28.6% versus 6.9%; p = 0.007). There was a significant difference when comparing the ARF and non-ARF groups for 30-day (17.9% versus 0%; p p p = 0.012). Conclusions Patients in whom ARF developed after LVAD implantation had a higher rate of VDRF and RV failure and a longer length of stay (LOS). Postoperative ARF was associated with higher mortality at the 30-day, 180-day, and 360-day intervals. ARF after LVAD may be an early marker of poor outcome, particularly RV failure, and may be an opportunity for early intervention and rescue.
Detection of Scab-Damaged Hard Red Spring Wheat Kernels by Near-Infrared Reflectance

ABSTRACT Scab (Fusarium head blight) is a fungal disease that has become increasingly prevalent in North American wheat during the past 15 years. It is of concern to growers, processors, and the consumers because of depressed yields, poor flour quality, and the potential for elevated concentrations of the mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Both wheat breeder and wheat inspector must currently deal with the assessment of scab in harvested wheat by manual human inspection. The study described herein examined the accuracy of a semi-automated wheat scab inspection system that is based on near-infrared (NIR) reflectance (1,000–1,700 nm) of individual kernels. Using statistical classification techniques such as linear discriminant analysis and nonparametric (k-nearest-neighbor) classification, upper limits of accuracy for NIR-based classification schemes of ≈88% (cross-validation) and 97% (test) were determined. An exhaustive search of the most suitable wavelength pairs for the spectral difference, [log(1/R)λ1 - ...
Non-SH2 Domains within Insulin Receptor Substrate-1 and SHC Mediate Their Phosphotyrosine-dependent Interaction with the NPEY Motif of the Insulin-like Growth Factor I Receptor

Insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and SHC become rapidly phosphorylated upon tyrosines after insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGFIR) activation. In this study we demonstrate that IRS-1, SHC, and the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase interact directly and specifically with the IGFIR. The interaction of all three proteins is dependent upon IGFIR kinase activity and, furthermore, substitution of Tyr-950 with Phe within the NPEY motif of the IGFIR eliminated interaction with both SHC and IRS-1 but had no effect upon p85 interaction. We show that residues 160-516 of IRS-1 and 1-238 of SHC are sufficient and necessary for receptor interaction in the yeast two-hybrid assay. We also demonstrate a direct in vitro interaction between the IGFIR and a fusion protein containing SHC amino acids 1-238. No interaction was observed with a SHC protein containing only the SH2 domain. We conclude that SHC and IRS-1 interact with the tyrosine-phosphorylated NPEY motif of the IGFIR, and that both proteins interact via related motifs located in their amino termini. We conclude that the interactions of SHC and IRS-1 with the IGFIR are similar to those which we have previously defined with the insulin receptor.
Reproductive and vegetative morphology of Polyptera (Juglandaceae) from the Paleocene of Wyoming and Montana.

The morphology, systematics, and ecology of the extinct juglandaceous genus Polyptera are interpreted on the basis of infructescences, fruits, staminate catkins, pollen, and compound leaves from the Paleocene of Wyoming and Montana. The elongate infructescences of Polyptera manningiibear numerous helically arranged sessile fruits. The fruit is a pyramidal nut with a vascularized husk and a multilobed disk-like wing adaptive for wind dispersal. Associated staminate catkins bear numerous helically arranged florets, each with six or more stamens. Pollen from the anthers is triporate and isopolar, with ultrastructure diagnostic of Juglandaceae, but with a pattern of exinous thinning characteristic of the extinct dispersed pollen type Maceopolipollenites anellus (Nichols et Ott) comb. nov. The correlated leaves, Juglandiphyllites glabra (Brown ex Watt) comb. nov., are deciduous, pinnately compound, and have five to seven petiolulate finely serrate leaflets. Systematically, Polyptera shows relationships both with the Hicorieae and the Juglandeae. Occurrences in the Torrejonian and Tiffanian stages of the Paleocene place Polyptera as the oldest unequivocal record of Juglandaceae. Polyptera manningii typically occurs in low-diversity assemblages of 8‐15 species, and usually is a dominant or subdominant constituent of floodplain assemblages. It may have been an early-successional colonizer.
Ferrocene-functionalized carbon nanoparticles

Carbon nanoparticles were synthesized from natural gas soot and functionalized with ferrocenyl moieties by using 4-ferrocenylphenyldiazonium as the reactive precursor. The incorporation of the ferrocenyl units onto the carbon nanoparticle surface was confirmed by varied spectroscopic measurements. For instance, in FTIR measurements the characteristic vibrational bands of the ferrocenyl and phenyl moieties could be clearly identified. XPS measurements showed that there were approximately 31.9 ferrocenyl units per nanoparticle. UV-vis spectroscopic measurements displayed an absorption band at ca. 465 nm which was consistent with the optical characteristics of ferrocenyl derivatives. Furthermore, with surface functionalization by the ferrocenyl moieties, the photoluminescence of the carbon nanoparticles was found to diminish in intensity and red-shift in energy with the addition of NOBF4. This was accounted for by the formation of varied electron-accepting moieties on the particle surface, such as positively charged ferrocenium, quinone-like derivatives, and nitrosation of the aromatic rings of the graphitic cores. Interestingly, in electrochemical studies the nanoparticle-bound ferrocenyl moieties were found to exhibit two pairs of voltammetric waves with a difference of their formal potentials at about 78 mV, suggesting nanoparticle-mediated intraparticle charge delocalization at mixed valence as a result of the strong core–ligand covalent bonds and the conductive sp2carbon matrix of the graphitic cores. Consistent behaviors were observed in near-infrared measurements, indicating that the particles behaved analogously to a Class I/II mixed-valence compound.
The Value to the Customer of RFID in Service Applications

This paper examines how customer value may be affected by deploying radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies within service environments. Business articles promote operational cost savings and improved inventory management as key benefits of deploying RFID. In response, service firms are using RFID to reengineer service transactions and customer touchpoints. Customers may view these RFID applications to offer both benefits and drawbacks. This paper demonstrates that individuals will recognize far more of value from RFID service applications than just cost savings and inventory availability. The paper analyzes qualitative survey responses on the value from RFID to identify a broad list of value objectives – benefits and drawbacks – associated with RFID service applications. The paper contributes to academic literature by providing salient value dimensions for return on investment models of service RFID applications, and for future empirical analyses of means-ends and value-profit chain models. Managers can use the list of dimensions to develop rich business cases for evaluating the benefits and costs from enhancing service operations with RFID. The identified drawbacks also provide managers with a resource for understanding potential risks of RFID applications.
Distinct downstream pathways of caspase-11 in regulating apoptosis and cytokine maturation during septic shock response

Caspase-11 is an essential mediator of septic shock response and caspase-11-deficient mice are resistant to LPS-induced shock. Here we report that LPS-induced caspase-11 regulates lymphocyte apoptosis by activating both caspase-3 and caspase-7. The activation of caspase-11 preceded that of caspase-1 and caspases-3/-7, and in the absence of caspase-11, the activation of caspases-3/-7 was significantly reduced. The early activation of caspases-3/-7 by caspase-11 was not affected by blocking of caspase-1 activity and IL-1β release, implying that caspase-11 activates caspases-3/-7 independently of caspase-1 activation. Furthermore, we show that caspase-11-mediated apoptosis under septic condition is Bid-independent. Our work suggests that the human homologue of caspase-11 may be an effective therapeutic target for treatment of septic shock.
Turbulent dispersal promotes species coexistence

Several recent advances in coexistence theory emphasize the importance of space and dispersal, but focus on average dispersal rates and require spatial heterogeneity, spatio-temporal variability or dispersal-competition tradeoffs to allow coexistence. We analyse a model with stochastic juvenile dispersal (driven by turbulent flow in the coastal ocean) and show that a low-productivity species can coexist with a high-productivity species by having dispersal patterns sufficiently uncorrelated from those of its competitor, even though, on average, dispersal statistics are identical and subsequent demography and competition is spatially homogeneous. This produces a spatial storage effect, with an ephemeral partitioning of a 'spatial niche', and is the first demonstration of a physical mechanism for a pure spatiotemporal environmental response. 'Turbulent coexistence' is widely applicable to marine species with pelagic larval dispersal and relatively sessile adult life stages (and perhaps some wind-dispersed species) and complements other spatial and temporal storage effects previously documented for such species.
The Power of Environmental Adaptation: Florence Nightingale’s Original Theory for Nursing Practice

Florence Nightingale was a prolific writer. Her diaries, letters, monographs, and books remain as a part of her legacy. From these documents, her ideas, values, and beliefs in a wide range of topics can be identified. The philosophical basis of modern nursing is generally seen as Nightingale's most recognized contribution to societal change. In fact, her documents contain her philosophical assumptions and beliefs regarding all elements found in the metaparadigm of nursing. These can be formed into a conceptual model that has great utility in the practice setting and offers a framework for research conceptualization.
Beam Combining of Fiber Lasers

Significant progress has been made using wavelength and coherent beam combining, leading to combining of laser arrays with diffraction-limited output. This tutorial provides an overview of fiber beam combining and the trades among various techniques.
John B. Watson and the study of human sexual behavior

Abstract This article reviews the steps in John B. Watson's career from his initial experiments in rat learning, through studies of reflexes in newborn and infant children, to his exploration of adult human sexual behavior. The latter began with questionnaire studies of World War I films on sex hygiene. Watson was next reported to have engaged in laboratory studies of human sexual behavior at The Johns Hopkins University. Subsequently, “a set of small instruments for measuring the female sex response,” stated to have been Watson's, came to light. A photograph and descriptions of these instruments are presented. Other indications of Watson's interests in human sexual behavior, and the early hazards of undertaking such research in academia, are briefly surveyed.
Mathematical Accidents and the End of Explanation

A conspicuous difference between “traditional” philosophy of science and “traditional” philosophy of mathematics concerns the relative importance of the notion of explanation. Explanation has long featured centrally in debates in the philosophy of science, for at least two reasons. Firstly, explanation has been viewed as playing an important role in the methodology of science, principally due to the inductive character of scientific method. This has led to a focus on giving a philosophical model of scientific explanation, whose leading candidates have included Hempel’s deductive-nomological model, the causal model promoted by Lewis, van Fraassen’s pragmatic model, and the unification models of Kitcher and Friedman. Secondly, explanatory considerations have been an important feature of philosophical debates over scientific realism and anti-realism. This has led to a focus on inference to the best explanation and the conditions under which this mode of inference can underpin robust ontological conclusions.
Avascular necrosis of bone after renal transplantation.

Two groups of patients underwent renal transplantation and were managed similarly in all respects, except for the dosage of corticosteroids administered post-operatively. For the first group, sixty-eight in number, the dosage was approximately three times greater than that for the second group with 136 patients. Avascular necrosis of bone appeared in sixteen patients in the first group and in two in the second. A greatly increased incidece of avascular necrosis after repeated transplantations was noted.
Flipping the Audience Script An Activity That Integrates Research and Audience Analysis

This article describes a flipped classroom activity that requires students to integrate research and audience analysis. The activity uses Twitter as a data source. In the activity, students identify a sample, collect customer tweets, and analyze the language of the tweets in an effort to construct knowledge about an audience’s values, needs, and attitudes. The article first presents an overview of audience analysis frameworks. It then presents a step-by-step tutorial for integrating the activity. The authors also provide business communication instructors with resources for implementing the activity including video lectures, handouts, and instructional guides.
Competition in shared markets and Major League Baseball broadcast viewership

ABSTRACTThis work evaluates the cross-quality elasticity of related products in the context of local market Nielsen Local People Meter ratings of Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season broadcasts from 2010 through 2013 from six teams in three shared markets. We employ a fixed effects panel regression with multi-way error clustering, finding that fans exhibit nuanced behaviour related to the absolute quality and relative quality of the two local teams. Our estimates imply quality-related competition for viewership between teams in the face of large disparities in quality. However, when both teams are of high quality, viewership increased beyond what own-team success would predict alone for the competing team. The competitive effects are largely dominated by the spillover effects. These findings point to complementary effects of team success beyond own-team interest, and bring about an important nuance in the literature on market definition, competition and substitution in sport.
Gertrude's Lazy Susan

ion. The break in logic that I argue generates value is discussed by William Carlos Williams as well. He introduces “The Work of Gertrude Stein” with the following lines: Stein’s theme is writing. But in such a way as to be writing envisioned as the first concern of the moment, dragging behind it a dead weight of logical burdens, among them a dead criticism
Three Music Education Majors’ Journeys Through Aural Skills 101

The purpose of this narrative research was to examine the musical paths of three music education majors enrolled in their first semester of aural skills at a large university. The semester-long, interview-based study centered on a theoretical framework of the reciprocal relationship between students’ self-perceptions and their academic success. Their stories highlight the complex paths that led each of them to the same introductory college course; their experiences during the first semester; and their reflection on the meaning of the coursework for their growth as musicians and educators. Participants developed unique perceptions about their aural skills abilities during precollege musical training, carried them into undergraduate studies, and may perpetuate them through their future teaching. Recommendations for further research include investigation of the following: alignment between high school and college aural skills curricula, effects of music education majors’ aural skills progress on their teache...
Effect observation of TB fixed dose combinations to cure initial smear- positive tuberculosis

Objective To discuss the anti- tuberculosis efficacy and safety on fixed dose combination( FDC)Rifampin Isoniazid and Pyrazinamide capsules,and Rifampin and Isoniazid Capsules. Methods Take 187 patients with newly diagnosed patients with smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis,double blinded and randomly divided into the treatment group of 93 cases and control group with 94 cases of short course chemotherapy. Results The treatment group and the control group of 2 sputum negative conversion rate were 85. 4%( 76 cases)and 83. 9%( 73 cases); over the course of the sputum negative conversion rate was 97. 8%( 87 cases) and97. 7%( 85 cases); chest X- ray lesions,the efficiency of the treatment group 62. 9%( 56 cases),control group 62. 1%( 54 cases); the effective rate of treatment group 98. 9%( 88 cases),control group 97. 7%( 85 cases); the end of treatment,cavity closure rate was 92.9%( 26/28),the control group the cavity closure rate was 92%( 23 /25); the incidence rate of adverse reaction was 11. 8%( 11 /93) in the treatment group,the control group 14. 9%( 14 /94). Conclusions TB fixed dose combination Rifampin Isoniazid and Pyrazinamide capsules,and Rifampin and Isoniazid Capsules is a highly effective,safe,convenient taking,can reduce the occurrence of resistance to anti tuberculosis drugs.
Photoinduced spontaneous free-carrier generation in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Strong quantum confinement and low dielectric screening impart single-walled carbon nanotubes with exciton-binding energies substantially exceeding kBT at room temperature. Despite these large binding energies, reported photoluminescence quantum yields are typically low and some studies suggest that photoexcitation of carbon nanotube excitonic transitions can produce free charge carriers. Here we report the direct measurement of long-lived free-carrier generation in chirality-pure, single-walled carbon nanotubes in a low dielectric solvent. Time-resolved microwave conductivity enables contactless and quantitative measurement of the real and imaginary photoconductance of individually suspended nanotubes. The conditions of the microwave conductivity measurement allow us to avoid the complications of most previous measurements of nanotube free-carrier generation, including tube-tube/tube-electrode contact, dielectric screening by nearby excitons and many-body interactions. Even at low photon fluence (approximately 0.05 excitons per μm length of tubes), we directly observe free carriers on excitation of the first and second carbon nanotube exciton transitions.
Synthesis, Single‐Crystal Structure Determination and Raman Spectra of the Tricyanomelaminates NaA5 [C6N9]2·4H2O (A: Rb, Cs).

Transparent colorless crystals of the title compounds are prepared from of solutions of Na3[C6N9] and RbF or CsF in boiling water by slow evaporation at room temperature.
Safety or Style? An Examination of the Role of Football Equipment Personnel

The national recognition of concussions has increased greatly over the past de-cade. While concussions have moved to the spotlight, institutional policies and procedures are just beginning their climb into the public eye. This research delves into a sphere of sport that has to date been largely ignored, the role of equip-ment personnel. Equipment personnel were chosen due to their connection to concussions and organizational power. Organizational power has traditionally rested with those who acquire the most resources. Coaches usually represent such power. However, power can also be derived from maintaining resources. Quali-tative methodology was utilized to gauge the perceptions of equipment person-nel on a variety of topics related to organizational power and concussions. The results revealed that equipment personnel have little overall professional power. Although a majority of participants reported that they believed they retained the power to choose protective equipment for student-athletes, this autonomy was neither consistent nor sovereign. Informal power structures were discovered in which coaches were thought to have more power than their formal supervisors. Administrators should consider implementing policies that grant greater autono-my to equipment personnel in order to better protect student-athletes.
Evaluation of computer imaging technique for predicting the SPAD readings in potato leaves.

Abstract Facilitating non-contact measurement, a computer-imaging system was devised and evaluated to predict the chlorophyll content in potato leaves. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera paired with two optical filters and light chamber was used to acquire green (550 ± 40 nm) and red band (700 ± 40 nm) images from the same leaf. Potato leaves from 15 plants differing in coloration (green to yellow) and age were selected for this study. Histogram based image features, such as mean and variances of green and red band images, were extracted from the histogram. Regression analyses demonstrated that the variations in SPAD meter reading could be explained by the mean gray and variances of gray scale values. The fitted least square models based on the mean gray scale levels were inversely related to the chlorophyll content of the potato leaf with a R 2 of 0.87 using a green band image and with an R 2 of 0.79 using a red band image. With the extracted four image features, the developed multiple linear regression model predicted the chlorophyll content with a high R 2 of 0.88). The multiple regression model (using all features) provided an average prediction accuracy of 85.08% and a maximum accuracy of 99.8%. The prediction model using only mean gray value of red band showed an average accuracy of 81.6% with a maximum accuracy of 99.14%.
The nature of learning tasks and knowledge acquisition: The role of cognitive engagement in physical education

Acquiring scientific knowledge about physical activity is necessary for students to become physically literate for life, and cognitive engagement and cognitive levels of tasks are two components that often determine the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition. This study sought to determine the extent to which students’ cognitive engagement in descriptive, relational and reasoning learning tasks contributed to their acquisition of knowledge and the extent to which cognitive engagement on lower-level tasks contributed to higher-level tasks (e.g. descriptive to relational to reasoning). The performance of students in descriptive, relational and reasoning tasks and knowledge acquisition was measured in 992 middle school students in active physical education lessons. The results revealed that students’ performance in relational (regression coefficient = 0.09, p < 0.01) and reasoning (regression coefficient = 0.06, p < 0.01) tasks directly contributed to their acquisition of knowledge (R2 = 0.14). The performance of students in descriptive tasks indirectly contributed to knowledge acquisition through influencing their performance in relational and reasoning tasks (indirect effect = 0.09, p < 0.01).
Enumeration of Circulating Tumor Cells and Disseminated Tumor Cells in Blood and Bone Marrow by Immunomagnetic Enrichment and Flow Cytometry (IE/FC)

Enumerating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in bone marrow has shown to be clinically useful, as elevated numbers of these cells predict poor clinical outcomes. Accurate detection and quantification is, however, difficult and technically challenging because CTCs and DTCs are extremely rare. We have developed a novel quantitative detection method for enumeration of CTCs and DTCs. Our approach consists of two steps: (1) EPCAM-based immunomagnetic enrichment followed by (2) flow cytometry (IE/FC). The assay takes approximately 2 h to complete. In addition to tumor cell enumeration, IE/FC offers opportunities for direct isolation of highly pure tumor cells for downstream molecular characterization.
A semi-automated assessment of sarcopenia using psoas area and density predicts outcomes after pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic malignancy.

Background: Sarcopenia has been associated with increased adverse outcomes after major abdominal surgery. Sarcopenia defined as decreased muscle volume or increased fatty infiltration may be a proxy for frailty. In conjunction with other preoperative clinical risk factors, radiographic measures of sarcopenia using both muscle size and density may enhance prediction of outcomes after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for malignancy. Methods: Preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans of patients undergoing PD for malignancy were analyzed from a prospective pancreatic surgery database. Sarcopenia was assessed both manually and with a semi-automated technique by measuring the total psoas area index (TPAI) and average Hounsfield units (HU) at the L3 lumbar level to estimate psoas muscle volume and density, respectively. Adjusting for known pre-operative risk factors, preoperative sarcopenia measurements were analyzed relative to perioperative outcomes. Results: Sarcopenia assessments of 116 subjects demonstrated good correlation between the semi-automated and the manual techniques (P Conclusions: When combined with preoperative clinical assessments in patients with pancreatic malignancy, semi-automated sarcopenia metrics are a simple, reproducible method that may enhance prediction of outcomes after PD and help guide clinical management.
Non-Rigid Event-by-Event Continuous Respiratory Motion Compensated List-Mode Reconstruction for PET

Respiratory motion during positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging can cause significant image blurring and underestimation of tracer concentration for both static and dynamic studies. In this paper, with the aim to eliminate both intra-cycle and inter-cycle motions, and apply to dynamic imaging, we developed a non-rigid event-by-event (NR-EBE) respiratory motion-compensated list-mode reconstruction algorithm. The proposed method consists of two components: the first component estimates a continuous non-rigid motion field of the internal organs using the internal–external motion correlation. This continuous motion field is then incorporated into the second component, non-rigid MOLAR (NR-MOLAR) reconstruction algorithm to deform the system matrix to the reference location where the attenuation CT is acquired. The point spread function (PSF) and time-of-flight (TOF) kernels in NR-MOLAR are incorporated in the system matrix calculation, and therefore are also deformed according to motion. We first validated NR-MOLAR using a XCAT phantom with a simulated respiratory motion. NR-EBE motion-compensated image reconstruction using both the components was then validated on three human studies injected with 18F-FPDTBZ and one with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracers. The human results were compared with conventional non-rigid motion correction using discrete motion field (NR-discrete, one motion field per gate) and a previously proposed rigid EBE motion-compensated image reconstruction (R-EBE) that was designed to correct for rigid motion on a target lesion/organ. The XCAT results demonstrated that NR-MOLAR incorporating both PSF and TOF kernels effectively corrected for non-rigid motion. The 18F-FPDTBZ studies showed that NR-EBE out-performed NR-Discrete, and yielded comparable results with R-EBE on target organs while yielding superior image quality in other regions. The FDG study showed that NR-EBE clearly improved the visibility of multiple moving lesions in the liver where some of them could not be discerned in other reconstructions, in addition to improving quantification. These results show that NR-EBE motion-compensated image reconstruction appears to be a promising tool for lesion detection and quantification when imaging thoracic and abdominal regions using PET.
Diminished alternative reinforcement as a mechanism linking conduct problems and substance use in adolescence: a longitudinal examination

AIMS To determine whether diminished alternative reinforcement (i.e. engagement and enjoyment from substance-free activities) mediated the longitudinal association of conduct problems with substance use in early-mid-adolescence. DESIGN Structural equation modeling tested whether the association between wave 1 (baseline) conduct problems and wave 3 (24-month follow-up) substance use outcomes was mediated by diminished alternative reinforcement at wave 2 (12-month follow-up). Additional analyses tested whether sex and socio-economic status moderated this association. SETTING Ten high schools in Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2013-15. PARTICIPANTS Students (n = 3396, 53.5% female, mean [standard deviation (SD)] age at wave 1 baseline = 14.1 (0.42) years). MEASUREMENTS Self-reported conduct problems (11-item questionnaire), alternative reinforcement (44-item questionnaire) and use of alcohol, marijuana and combustible cigarettes during the past 6 months (yes/no) and the past 30 days (nine-level ordinal response based on days used in past 30 days). RESULTS Significant associations of wave 1 conduct problems with wave 3 marijuana use during the past 6 months (β = 0.25) and past 30 days (β = 0.26) were mediated by wave 2 diminished alternative reinforcement (βindirect effect : 6 months = 0.013, 30 days = 0.017, Ps < 0.001). Associations of conduct problems with alcohol or combustible cigarette use were not mediated by alternative reinforcement. All associations did not differ by sex and socio-economic status. CONCLUSIONS Diminished alternative reinforcement may be a modifiable mechanism linking early adolescent conduct problems and subsequent marijuana use that could be targeted in prevention programs to offset the adverse health and social sequelae associated with comorbid conduct problems and marijuana use in early-mid adolescence.
A model of motivation for physical activity in individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an incurable chronic degenerative autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that presents with limited physical and/or cognitive functioning. Physical act...
Effect of 5-Methylpyrazole-3-Carboxylic Acid (MPCA) on Fat Mobilization, Ketogenesis and Glucose Metabolism during Exercise in Man

Prolonged leg exercise is accompanied by increased transport of free fatty acids (FFA) and glucose into the working muscles (I). When fat mobilization is prevented during exercise by prior injection of nicotinic acid, the ventilatory R.Q. rises and hypoglycemia was observed on one occasion (2). Ability to exercise at moderate work loads is not impaired, however, indicating that other substrates, presumably carbohydrate, can substitute for FFA as fuel under these conditions. In contrast, a subject with absent myophosphorylase (McArdle’s syndrome), was unable to perform muscular work and to develop the characteristic 1second wind’ when availability of FFA had been decreased by prior injection of nicotinic acid (3). This suggested that utilization of muscle glycogen might increase in healthy subjects who exercise after injection of nicotinic acid.
Units of Selection

Any biological entity that reproduces and shows heritable variation in phenotype can be the focus of natural selection. Classical population genetics attempted to reduce these processes to a genic-level description. This can be shown to be inadequate on several grounds, the first being the dynamical insufficiency of single-locus equations when there is epistasis and linkage disequilibrium, the second being the fact that apart from certain types of genetic elements, genes do not replicate independently of genomes. It is also argued that kin selection, once formulated as a vindication of genic selection, is actually a special case of more general group selection phenomena. Indeed, interdemic and even species selection could drive observed evolutionary changes in phenotype.