cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Self-Efficacy and Mobile Learning Technologies: A Case Study of CourseMIRROR

Mobile devices and applications have reshaped daily lives of people of all ages. One outcome of these technologies is increased access to small, powerful computers, wireless communication, and unlimited access to information at any time. These technological innovations are influencing students’ learning outcomes and engagement behaviors in and out of classroom settings as well. Based on these advancements, there is a need for research studies to explore the relationship between students’ self-efficacy beliefs and their learning outcomes in the context of mobile learning technologies. In this chapter, we describe cognitive and motivational outcomes associated with a mobile technology called CourseMIRROR (Mobile In-situ Reflections and Review with Optimized Rubrics). CourseMIRROR was designed to create an interactive environment between students and faculty in college classrooms as it scaffolds students to reflect on their learning experiences while enabling instructors to efficiently monitor students’ reflections to inform instruction. Specifically, we addressed the following research questions in this chapter: (1) Do students with high academic self-efficacy beliefs generate high-quality reflections? (2) To what degree do students’ self-efficacy beliefs and reflection quality scores predict their learning outcomes?
First Report of a Helminth Parasite, Clinostomum marginatum (Digenea: Clinostomidae) from the Federally Threatened Jollyville Plateau Salamander, Eurycea tonkawae (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Texas, U.S.A.

We examined 822 Jollyville Plateau Salamanders, Eurycea tonkawae, from Williamson and Travis counties, Texas, U.S.A., for endoparasites. Because this species is protected, we used a minimally invasive technique to visualize and obtain encapsulated parasites. Three salamanders (0.37%) were found to be harboring metacercaria of a Clinostomum species. We identified these digeneans as belonging to C. marginatum based on morphological characteristics and supporting molecular analyses. This is the first peer-reviewed published report of any parasite from this federally threatened salamander.
Quantum fine-tuning in stringy quintessence models

Abstract We investigate the extent to which quintessence models for dark energy are fine-tuned in the context of recent swampland conjectures. In particular, the issue is whether there is a double fine-tuning in which both V and | ∇ V | are fine-tuned, or whether there is only a single fine-tuning due to the relation | ∇ V | ∼ V / M Pl arising naturally. We find that indeed this relation arises naturally in simple string compactifications for some scalars, such as the dilaton and volume modulus, when treated classically. However, we find that quantum effects can spoil this natural relation, unless the scalar is conformally coupled to the matter sector. Furthermore, it is well known that such conformal couplings are generically ruled out by fifth force tests. To avoid these fifth forces, an interesting proposal is to assume the scalar (quintessence) only couples to the hidden sector. However, we then find quantum corrections to V from visible sector Standard Model particles generically spoil the relation. A possible way out of all these problems is to have the scalar conformally coupled to a dark sector that is an exact copy of the Standard Model. This ensures the relation | ∇ V | ∼ V / M Pl is maintained naturally even when matter particles run in the loop. However, we find that quantum corrections from quintessons or gravitons in the loop spoil the relation if the effective theory has a cutoff greater than ∼0.1 GeV.
PML is recruited to heterochromatin during S phase and represses DAXX-mediated histone H3.3 chromatin assembly

The incorporation of the histone H3 variant, H3.3, into chromatin by the H3.3-specific chaperone DAXX and the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factor ATRX is a critical mechanism for silencing repetitive DNA. DAXX and ATRX are also components of promyelocytic nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), which have been identified as sites of H3.3 chromatin assembly. Here, we use a transgene array that can be visualized in single living cells to investigate the mechanisms that recruit PML-NB proteins (i.e. PML, DAXX, ATRX, and SUMO-1, SUMO-2 and SUMO-3) to heterochromatin and their functions in H3.3 chromatin assembly. We show that DAXX and PML are recruited to the array through distinct SUMOylation-dependent mechanisms. Additionally, PML is recruited during S phase and its depletion increases H3.3 deposition. Since this effect is abrogated when PML and DAXX are co-depleted, it is likely that PML represses DAXX-mediated H3.3 chromatin assembly. Taken together, these results suggest that, at heterochromatin, PML-NBs coordinate H3.3 chromatin assembly with DNA replication, which has important implications for understanding how transcriptional silencing is established and maintained.
Comparison of statistical inversion with iteratively regularized Gauss Newton method for image reconstruction in electrical impedance tomography

Abstract In this paper, we investigate image reconstruction from the Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) problem using a statistical inversion method based on Bayes’ theorem and an Iteratively Regularized Gauss Newton (IRGN) method. We compare the traditional IRGN method with a new Pilot Adaptive Metropolis algorithm that (i) enforces smoothing constraints and (ii) incorporates a sparse prior. The statistical algorithm reduces the reconstruction error in terms of l2 and l1 norm in comparison to the IRGN method for the synthetic EIT reconstructions presented here. However, there is a trade-off between the reduced computational cost of the deterministic method and the higher resolution of the statistical algorithm. We bridge the gap between these two approaches by using the IRGN method to provide a more informed initial guess to the statistical algorithm. Our coupling procedure improves convergence speed and image resolvability of the proposed statistical algorithm.
Metal Bonding with 3d and 6d Orbitals: An EPR and ENDOR Spectroscopic Investigation of Ti3+–Al and Th3+–Al Heterobimetallic Complexes

Accessing covalent bonding interactions between actinides and ligating atoms remains a central problem in the field. Our current understanding of actinide bonding is limited because of a paucity of diverse classes of compounds and the lack of established models. We recently synthesized a thorium (Th)–aluminum (Al) heterobimetallic molecule that represents a new class of low-valent Th-containing compounds. To gain further insight into this system and actinide–metal bonding more generally, it is useful to study their underlying electronic structures. Here, we report characterization by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy of two heterobimetallic compounds: (i) a Cptt2ThH3AlCTMS3 [TMS = Si(CH3)3; Cptt = 1,3-di-tert-butylcyclopentadienyl] complex with bridging hydrides and (ii) an actinide-free Cp2TiH3AlCTMS3 (Cp = cyclopentadienyl) analogue. Analyses of the hyperfine interactions between the paramagnetic trivalent metal centers and the surrounding m...
A Multi-Agent Based Hybrid Optimization Method for Signal Source Search and Localization

Searching and locating the position of the signal source is of great significance in wireless sensor network, mobile communication, public safety, and so on. A traditional signal source search and localization method requires either the signal source to be in the line-of-sight or a large number of operations to compute, which is difficult to satisfy in a complex environment for an unknown signal source with limited computational resources. In this paper, we propose a hybrid gradient-free optimization method combining the advantages of the Nelder-Mead Simplex algorithm and the Particle Swarm Optimization to study the search and localization of a signal source by using received signal strengths with a multi-agent system. Integrating a direct search method with a bio-inspired evolutionary method enables a feasible optimal solution to be found with a rapid convergence rate. To validate our proposal, numerical experiments are conducted to investigate the localization performance; three cases are studied, including two standard objective test functions and a complex 2.4GHz mobile signal strength distribution. The findings demonstrate the approving achievements of the proposed method in terms of global optimization, accuracy, and rate of convergence.
ESKD Risk in Living Kidney Donors "Like Me".

Living kidney donation is an important therapeutic modality in the treatment of individuals with advanced CKD or ESKD. Over the past decade 58,839 of the 178,991 transplants performed in the USA utilized kidneys from living donors (32.9%) (<https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/
Why Phyllis Schlafly is Right (But She's Wrong) About Pornography

Phyllis Schlafly's preeminent concern is to preserve a pattern of gender-specific roles and relations that, she thinks, have helped protect women and children from desertion and abuse. She wants to suppress pornography because it helps to reinforce a vernacular masculine culture that is indifferent or hostile to the needs of women and children. Schlafly's worries about this culture are legitimate and valid. But the suppression of pornography is the wrong solution to the problem, because no workable legal rule can properly delimit the material that concerns her. The antecedents of Schlafly's views on gender, in Rousseau's political theory and the nineteenth century ideology of domesticity, and their contemporary applicability are examined.
Big, hungry fish get the lure: Size and food availability determine capture over boldness and exploratory behaviors

Abstract Fish behavioral phenotypes have previously been shown to influence capture by recreational anglers, and artificial selection of specific phenotypes can occur. However, little is known about how environmental conditions influence which phenotypes are most vulnerable. This study sought to define the interaction between behavioral phenotype and prey availability to influence angling vulnerability using largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede). Behavioral assays to define boldness and exploratory phenotype were performed, and fish were transferred to one of two ponds for angling; fathead minnows, Pimphales promelas (Rafinesque) were stocked as prey into one pond while the other pond had no minnows. Behavioral phenotype did not influence capture, regardless of prey availability, and catch rates were higher in the pond that had no minnows relative to the pond with minnows. Size was the strongest predictor of capture, with larger fish most likely to be captured, despite a narrow range of total lengths across all individuals. Findings suggest that angling of largemouth bass is not influenced by exploration and boldness behavioral phenotypes, no matter the prey density.
Creating ‘Confederate pioneers’: a spatial narrative analysis of race, settler colonialism, and heritage tourism at the Museu da Imigração, Santa Bárbara d’Oeste, São Paulo

Local history museums are important to heritage tourism, often presenting interconnected local, regional, national, and transnational histories. This article explores the settler colonial narrative...
Review: Pathogenesis of cholestatic liver diseases

Cholestatic liver diseases (CLD) begin to develop after an impairment of bile flow start to affect the biliary tree. Cholangiocytes actively participate in the liver response to injury and repair and the intensity of this reaction is a determinant factor for the development of CLD. Progressive cholangiopathies may ultimately lead to end-stage liver disease requiring at the end orthotopic liver transplantation. This narrative review will discuss cholangiocyte biology and pathogenesis mechanisms involved in four intrahepatic CLD: Primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, cystic fibrosis involving the liver, and polycystic liver disease.
Molecular Diagnostics in Central Nervous System Infections

Central nervous system (CNS) infections can be life threatening if not diagnosed and treated early. The myriad clinical presentations of CNS infections can make a prompt diagnosis challenging. Multiple diagnostic modalities have been used in the past, including conventional microscopic examination, gram stain and cultures, antigen detection and serology, but these techniques have had major limitations - most notably in the diagnosis of viruses and other difficult to culture organisms. Advances in molecular diagnostics have largely replaced conventional techniques with a faster turnaround time and higher sensitivity and specificity. In this review we aim to summarize the currently available armamentarium of molecular assays, as well as their applications and limitations in diagnosing central nervous system infections.
Cybersecurity analysis in Dedicated Short-Range Communications in vehicular networks

As smart vehicles become more common, vehicular networks are used to allow cooperation between them. Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) is a common protocol used in these Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs), but the protocol has some inherent flaws that can put users and their data at risk. This paper gives an overview of vehicular networks and DSRC, an analysis of the challenges and cybersecurity risks that DSRC faces, and their possible solutions.
Explainable Active Learning (XAL): Toward AI Explanations as Interfaces for Machine Teachers

The wide adoption of Machine Learning (ML) technologies has created a growing demand for people who can train ML models. Some advocated the term "machine teacher'' to refer to the role of people who inject domain knowledge into ML models. This "teaching'' perspective emphasizes supporting the productivity and mental wellbeing of machine teachers through efficient learning algorithms and thoughtful design of human-AI interfaces. One promising learning paradigm is Active Learning (AL), by which the model intelligently selects instances to query a machine teacher for labels, so that the labeling workload could be largely reduced. However, in current AL settings, the human-AI interface remains minimal and opaque. A dearth of empirical studies further hinders us from developing teacher-friendly interfaces for AL algorithms. In this work, we begin considering AI explanations as a core element of the human-AI interface for teaching machines. When a human student learns, it is a common pattern to present one's own reasoning and solicit feedback from the teacher. When a ML model learns and still makes mistakes, the teacher ought to be able to understand the reasoning underlying its mistakes. When the model matures, the teacher should be able to recognize its progress in order to trust and feel confident about their teaching outcome. Toward this vision, we propose a novel paradigm of explainable active learning (XAL), by introducing techniques from the surging field of explainable AI (XAI) into an AL setting. We conducted an empirical study comparing the model learning outcomes, feedback content and experience with XAL, to that of traditional AL and coactive learning (providing the model's prediction without explanation). Our study shows benefits of AI explanation as interfaces for machine teaching--supporting trust calibration and enabling rich forms of teaching feedback, and potential drawbacks--anchoring effect with the model judgment and additional cognitive workload. Our study also reveals important individual factors that mediate a machine teacher's reception to AI explanations, including task knowledge, AI experience and Need for Cognition. By reflecting on the results, we suggest future directions and design implications for XAL, and more broadly, machine teaching through AI explanations.
Secure and Privacy-preserving Traffic Monitoring in VANETs

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) facilitate vehicles to wirelessly communicate with neighboring vehicles as well as with roadside units (RSUs). However, an attacker can inject inaccurate information within the network that can cause various security and privacy threats, and also disrupt the normal functioning of any traffic monitoring system. Thus, we propose an edge cloud-based privacy-preserving secured decision making model that employs a heuristic based on vehicular data such as GPS location and velocity to authenticate traffic-related information from the ROI under different traffic scenarios. The effectiveness of the proposed model has been validated using VENTOS, SUMO, and Omnet++ simulators, and also, by using a simulated cloud environment. We compare our proposed model to the existing state-of-the-art models under different attack scenarios. We show that our model is effective and capable of filtering data from malicious vehicles, and provide accurate traffic information under the influence of at least one non-malicious vehicle.
"A play is not a journal article:" A Review of Johnny Saldaña's Ethnotheatre: Research from Page to Stage

Johnny Saldana’s (2011) book, Ethnotheatre: Research from Page to Stage, does exactly what it sets out to do: It is a hands-on guide that walks researchers across disciplines step-by-step through interpreting and representing data in an ethnodramatic format. It really is “research from page to stage.” For those with little theatre experience, Saldana provides excellent suggestions for additional readings and comparisons of different types of plays. There is much merit in this book as a text for a qualitative research class or special interest class. The exercises provided are great way for students and researchers to be more reflective as they move towards ethnodrama or autoethnodrama as a new form of writing.
Integration is not necessary for expression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protein products.

Abstract A common feature in the life cycle of cytocidal retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), is the accumulation of large amounts of unintegrated viral DNA. As yet, the role of unintegrated viral DNA in the cytopathogenesis of cytocidal retrovirus infections remains unresolved. HIV-1 mutants which were deleted in the integrase/endonuclease gene and which were unable to establish an integrated form of the virus were constructed. Despite an inability to integrate, these mutants were fully competent templates for HIV-1 core and envelope antigen production. HIV-1 antigen could be detected in the supernatants of lymphocyte cultures infected with HIV-1 integrase mutants. However, an inability to rescue infectious virus from these cultures indicated that HIV-1 integration was required for the production of infectious HIV-1. On the basis of the ability of unintegrated HIV-1 DNA to serve as a template for HIV-1 antigen production, it is plausible that unintegrated viral DNA can contribute to the HIV-1 antigen pool during HIV-1 replication.
Conjugated equine estrogens inhibit progression of atherosclerosis but have no effect on intimal hyperplasia or arterial remodeling induced by balloon catheter injury in monkeys.

Objectives. This study sought to determine the effects of estrogen treatment on atherosclerosis progression and the proliferative and structural responses of the atherosclerotic arteries to injury. Background. Estrogen treatment suppresses the intimal response to arterial injury in nonatherosclerotic rodents and rabbits and inhibits the in vitro proliferation of smooth muscle cells. However, the effect of estrogen on the response of atherosclerotic arteries to transmural injury, as occurs in balloon catheter angioplasty in humans, is unknown. Methods. Forty-six ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys were fed an atherogenic diet for 30 months; 25 received 175 μg/day of conjugated equine estrogens, and 21 served as untreated control animals. All animals underwent balloon catheter injury of the left iliac artery. Subsets of animals underwent a necropsy study at 4, 7, 14 and 28 days after injury; injured and contralateral (uninjured) arteries were pressure-fixed and evaluated morphometrically. Results. Estrogen treatment resulted in a 37% decrease (p 0.4). Conclusions. In contrast to previous studies of nonatherosclerotic animals, the results indicate that in the circumstance of transmural injury to arteries of primates with preexisting atherosclerosis, estrogen does not suppress arterial neointimal or structural responses to injury.
The Scope of Black English

The phrases "Black English," "Black Dialect," and "Black Language" are relatively new phenomena. For 400 years, the oral communicative patterns of black Americans have been considered "substandard," "corrupt," "ungrammatical," and "sloppy." Black people have been accused of "destroying the English language" and of exhibiting pronunciation "errors" related to ignorance and to laziness. Such language patterns were believed to be the primary reason for the lack of economic progress of the black man in America, as the language patterns were considered the "last barrier to integration" (Green, 1963). It was not until 1964 that researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics recognized the consistency of linguistic patterns in the speech of black individuals. They observed that the "nonstandard" patterns of black speech were not accidental, but had a predictable sound pattern, grammatical structure, and vocabulary. They were the first to recognize the legitimacy of black speech as a "well-ordered, highlydeveloped linguistic system" used for communication in the
NETMARK: A Schema-less Extension for Relational Databases for Managing Semi-structured Data Dynamically

Object-Relational database management system is an integrated hybrid cooperative approach to combine the best practices of both the relational model utilizing SQL queries and the object-oriented, semantic paradigm for supporting complex data creation. In this paper, a highly scalable, information on demand database framework, called NETMARK, is introduced. NETMARK takes advantages of the Oracle 8i object-relational database using physical addresses data types for very efficient keyword search of records spanning across both context and content. NETMARK was originally developed in early 2000 as a research and development prototype to solve the vast amounts of unstructured and semi-structured documents existing within NASA enterprises. Today, NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput open database framework for managing, storing, and searching unstructured or semi-structured arbitrary hierarchal models, such as XML and HTML.
Pensando o direito: pensando o direito em movimento

This essay argues that one way to “think law” is to think “law in motion”. I will argue that a “law in motion” perspective embodies four core elements or ‘multiplicities’ which are: (1) multiple methodologies; (2) multiple perspectives; (3) multiple vocalities; and (4) multiple media including objects. As will become evident by the number of inspiring colleagues that have articulated rationales and perspectives for each of these multiplicities, these are not original ideas for which I can claim credit. And yet, the attempt to put them together in a comprehensive schema with consideration for all four of the multiplicities in the same project, demonstrates that a law in motion perspective can bear new fruit. To do this, my article combines analysis of some of the research in Law & Society that exemplifies these trends and my own research on employment civil rights litigation to interrogate the necessity of a “multiple” approach for our “multiple futures.”
Substance use history in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia versus primary progressive aphasia

As older adults are prone to cognitive disorders, the interaction of the fields of substance use and misuse and cognitive neuroscience is an emerging area of research. Substance use has been reported in some subtypes of frontotemporal dementia, such as behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. However, characterization of substance use in other subtypes of frontotemporal dementia, such as primary progressive aphasia, is unknown. The objective of this baseline analysis was to explore whether any measures of substance use history differed significantly among behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (n = 842) and primary progressive aphasia (n = 526) in a large national dataset. The National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center's Uniform Data Set study is a national dataset that collects data on patients with various cognitive disorders and includes some questions on substance use. Each substance use variable was used as the outcome and the frontotemporal dementia subtype as the predictor. Total years smoked cigarettes, age when last smoked cigarettes, average number of packs/day smoked when participants smoked, and any recent, remote, or combined recent/remote history of alcohol abuse or drug abuse did not significantly differ between the behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia subtypes (all p-values > .001). A significantly greater percentage of participants smoked in the last 30 days in the behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia subtype (10.4%, n = 834) compared to the primary progressive aphasia subtype (3.3%, n = 517; p < .001). Clinical providers in both the dementia and substance use fields are encouraged to screen for and monitor substance use in all frontotemporal dementia subtypes.
Association of human and bovine β2-microglobulins with detergent solubilized HLA-A,B antigens

The association of human and bovine beta 2-microglobulins with detergent solubilized HLA-A,B antigens was analyzed by a direct binding assay using radiolabeled beta 2-microglobulin and an immunoadsorbent containing a monoclonal antibody to the HLA-A,B heavy chains. Binding of beta 2-microglobulin to HLA-A,B heavy chains could be saturated with respect to the amount of membrane glucoprotein in the system and reached steady state after 6 h at 37 degrees C. Inhibition of [125I]beta 2-microglobulin binding to HLA-A,B heavy chains by beta 2-microglobulin purified from human urine or bovine colostrum resulted in identical inhibition curves and apparent dissociation constants of 1 X 10(-8) M. This evidence suggests that beta 2-microglobulins from different species have similar binding sites for HLA-A,B heavy chains.
How to develop a Standard Operating Procedure for sorting unfixed cells

Written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are an important tool to assure that recurring tasks in a laboratory are performed in a consistent manner. When the procedure covered in the SOP involves a high-risk activity such as sorting unfixed cells using a jet-in-air sorter, safety elements are critical components of the document. The details on sort sample handling, sorter set-up, validation, operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance, personal protective equipment (PPE), and operator training, outlined in the SOP are to be based on careful risk assessment of the procedure. This review provides background information on the hazards associated with sorting of unfixed cells and the process used to arrive at the appropriate combination of facility design, instrument placement, safety equipment, and practices to be followed.
Interleukin-2 associated linear IgA bullous dermatosis

Linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) in adults is characterized by subepidermal bullae associated with a linear deposition of IgA at the basement membrane zone. Its cause is unclear, although it appears to have an immune-mediated basis. The development of LABD in a cancer patient undergoing immunotherapy has been described in the French literature. We describe a similar case of LABD arising in a patient while undergoing interleukin-2 immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma.
Treadmill exercise is not an effective methodology for producing the dark-cutting condition in young cattle,

Holstein steer calves (n = 25) were used to evaluate the effects of treadmill exercise (TME) on blood metabolite status and formation of dark-cutting beef. Calves were blocked by BW (156 +/- 33.2 kg) and assigned randomly within blocks to 1 of 5 TME treatments arranged in a 2 x 2 factorial design (4 or 8 km/h for a duration of 10 or 15 min) with a nonexercised control. Venous blood was collected via indwelling jugular catheters at 10, 2, and 0 min before TME and at 2-min intervals during exercise. Nonexercised steers were placed on the treadmill but stood still for 15 min. Serum cortisol levels, as well as plasma concentrations of glucose, lactate, and NEFA, were similar (P > 0.05) before TME. Serum cortisol concentrations were unaffected (P > 0.05) during the first 6 min of TME, but between 8 and 15 min of TME, cortisol concentrations were greater (P 0.05) plasma glucose levels, plasma lactate concentrations in steers exercised at 8 km/h increased (P 0.05) differences in the color, water-holding capacity, shear force, or incidences of dark-cutting carcasses associated with preslaughter TME. It is apparent that preslaughter TME, at the speeds and durations employed in this study, failed to alter antemortem or postmortem muscle metabolism and would not be a suitable animal model for studying the formation of the dark-cutting condition in ruminants.
Evidence that 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) is a T-lymphocyte immunomodulatory agent.

Abstract This study was designed to characterize the effects of the anti-psoraiatic compound 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) on human lymphocyte function in vitro . Normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with an optimal (1%) or a suboptimal (0.05%) concentration of phytohemagglutinin (PHA). At the optimal concentration of PHA, 8-MOP (140 μM) caused a delay in lymphocyte proliferation, interleukin-2 (IL-2) production/accumulation and IL-2 receptor expression. Addition of exogenous IL-2 to cultures stimulated with an optimal concentration of PHA did not overcome the delay of lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 receptor expression. At the suboptimal concentration of PHA, 8-MOP (140 μM) caused a sustained inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation, IL-2 production/ accumulation and IL-2 receptor expression. Addition of exogenous IL-2 under these conditions restored the magnitude of lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 receptor expression. However, the responses displayed the delayed lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 receptor expression typical of cells incubated with 8-MOP and an optimal concentration of PHA.
Passive distance sensing through measurements of mode splitting in coupled magnetic resonators

The monostatic backscattered magnetoquasistatic field measured at the terminals of a resonant loop due to a nearby resonant loop can be modeled using coupled mode theory. Due to close proximity of the monostatic resonant loop and the nearby resonant loop, the backscattered energy is distributed over a set of two orthogonal modes of positive energy that can be described using classical coupled mode theory. The center frequencies of the two orthogonal modes are separated by an amount known as the coupled mode frequency split, which is strongly dependent on coupling and thus distance. Measurements of this frequency split is inverted for passive distance measurements with an RMS distance error of 1.5 cm for distances up to 1 m.
Tropism in Bacterial Infections: Urinary Tract Infections

AbstractPurpose: Tropism describes the phenomenon by which commensal and pathogenic bacteria are restricted to certain hosts, tissue and cell types. This review was done to shed light on the initiating factors in bacterial disease, more particularly those responsible for urinary tract infections.Materials and Methods: The literature was reviewed on the tropism of several common bacterial infections with an extensive evaluation of tropism at the molecular level in urinary tract infections.Results: Interaction of bacteria with certain tissues cells and molecules is described. Initially, bacterial adhesion occurs via bacterial fimbriae in the case of gram-negative bacteria, while gram-positive bacteria adhere more frequently via extracellular polysaccharides. Urinary tract infections occur most frequently because of adherence via P-fimbriae of Escherichia coli. P-fimbriae are important in cystitis as well, while type 1 fimbriae and nonfimbrial adhesins may also be responsible for its initiation.Conclusions: ...
Interior elastodynamics inverse problems: shear wave speed reconstruction in transient elastography

We review and present new results on the transient elastography problem, where the goal is to reconstruct shear stiness properties using interior time and space dependent displacement measurements. We present unique identifiability of two parameters for this inverse problem, establish that a Lipschitz continuous arrival time satisfies the eikonal equation, and present two numerical algorithms, simulation results, and a reconstruction example using a phantom experiment accomplished by Mathias Fink's group (the Laboratoire Ondes et Acoustique, ESPCI, Universite Paris VII). One numerical algorithm uses a geometrical optics expansion and the other utilizes the arrival time surface.
Improving listening comprehension through a whole‐schema approach

Is listening comprehension directly related to reading comprehension or are they one and the same? Does one skill precede the other or do they emerge simultaneously within the learner? How can classroom teachers enhance the listener's understanding? Evidently, organized prior knowledge #opschema#cp is crucial to the comprehension of both readers and listeners. #opStevens, 1982; Anderson, Reynolds, Schallert & Goetz, 1977; and Bransford, Nitsch & Franks, 1977#cp. The implications of schema theory for the improvement of reading comprehension have become well established and documented within the field of reading instruction #opSchwellwer, Brewer & Dahl, 1976; Bransford & McCarrell, 1974; Bransford & Johnson, 1973; and Frame, 1972#cp. One can seldom open an educational journal today without being confronted with an article or research summary relating the impact of organized prior knowledge upon the reader's overall level of comprehension. In order to discuss schema's relationship to listening comprehension,...
Inverse Reliability Analysis with EGRA

focusing the training data in the vicinity of the limit state. The algorithm is naturally amenable to forward reliability analysis, since the limit state contour for which it searches is known a priori. This work presents an extension of the method for solving the inverse reliability analysis problem by continuously updating the state of knowledge about the target limit state as the surrogate model is built. Additional discussion is presented on assessing convergence of the analysis based on reliability condence bounds due to surrogate model uncertainty. The approach is demonstrated on a small collection of example problems.
Preparation, structure, dynamics, and energetics of amorphous silicon: A molecular-dynamics study.

The preparation of amorphous silicon by molecular-dynamics simulations employing the Stillinger-Weber Si potential, via direct slow cooling from the melt, is described. It is shown that previous failures to obtain amorphous Si using these interaction potentials are of kinetic origin, i.e., related to the quench rate employed. The amorphous silicon sample which we prepared exhibits structural and dynamical properties in good agreement with available experimental data for the static structure factor and phonon density of states. Detailed analyses of the structure, including distributions of bond and dihedral angles and ring statistics, and energetics, including the determination of effective temperatures for n-fold-coordinated atoms (n=3--5) and estimates of the formation energy of coordination defects (i.e., n\ensuremath{\ne}4) are presented. The lack of medium-range order, measured via correlation between dihedral angles associated with adjacent bonds, is discussed.
Hepatic "stem" cells: coming full circle.

Activation, proliferation, and differentiation of a distinct phenotype of cells, called oval cells, are observed after severe hepatic injuries in which the proliferation of existing hepatocytes is inhibited. Under those conditions, oval cells can act as bipotential progenitors of the two types of epithelial cells within the liver, hepatocytes and bile ductular cells. Oval cells are also believed to play a role in the hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma development; although circumstantial data are available, no direct evidence exists to support this theory. Oval cells have usually been thought to be the progeny of an hepatic stem cell, native to the liver. Recently, however, we, as well as others, have obtained clear evidence that in the rodents, hepatic oval cells, or at least a fraction of them, can derive from a precursor cell of bone marrow origin. The rodent data have been supported by recent findings that human bone marrow cells are capable of becoming hepatocytes and cholangiocytes as well. Having shown that oval cells can be derived from an extrahepatic source, we now have the technology to address many unanswered questions in oval cell origin, fate, and physiology through the use of sex-mismatched bone marrow transplants.
Identification and isolation of subpopulations of pleural cells by multiparameter flow cytometry.

Multiparameter flow cytometry was used to identify and sort subpopulations of cells from pleural cell populations harvested from the rat without employing special stains or fluorochrome-labeled monoclonal antibodies. Cell parameters measured included electronic volume, axial light loss, 90° light scatter, and blue autofluorescence. Various bivariate combinations of these parameters were used to distinctly resolve pleural macrophages, eosinophils, mast cells, and lymphocytes. These subpopulations were separately sorted viably according to their unique electrooptical phenotypic characteristics in>90% purity. Our multiparameter flow cytometric approach, accordingly, provides a means by which pleural cell subpopulations may be easily obtained for subsequent in vitro study. Moreover, the general strategy for identifying and isolating these subpopulations may be usefully extended to the identification and isolation of subpopulations of cells occurring in other complex cell mixtures.
Dynamic Traffic Equilibrium: Theoretical and Experimental Network Game Results in Single-Bottleneck Model

The existence of equilibrium solutions in single-bottleneck models with homogeneous travelers having the same preferred arrival times is explored from both theoretical and experimental frameworks. First, an equal payoff solution obtained in past studies is proved not to be in dynamic user equilibrium (DUE). Necessary conditions for DUE are presented, and the nonexistence of DUE in a single-bottleneck model with homogeneous commuters is proved. Second, a multiplayer online experimental network game that emulates the single-bottleneck model is discussed. The game is played online by real players and is repeated 21 times, each under no-information and online-information settings. The experimental setup and the results are described with insights from graphical plots and analysis. Specific emphasis is placed on the system's dynamic evolution in each game and the pattern of a user's decision making. It is anticipated that these results will provide important insight into the underlying behavioral decision maki...
Fast low-temperature consolidation of bulk nanometric ceramic materials

Abstract Dense zirconia and ceria ceramics with grain sizes approaching 10 nm have been obtained using a high-pressure modification of the field activated sintering (spark plasma sintering). Pressures up to 1 GPa and sintering times of 5 min have been used. The densification has been performed at temperatures as low as 930 °C for fully-stabilized zirconia, 815 °C for samaria-doped ceria, and 675 °C for pure ceria. Relative densities greater than 98% were achieved for all materials. The method overcomes the deleterious effect of powder agglomeration, producing fine grain size for these ceramics in bulk form.
In-situ measurement of the rate of235U fission induced by lunar neutrons

The depth profile of the neutron-induced fission rate of U-235 was directly measured to a depth of 350 g/sq cm by the Apollo 17 Lunar Neutron Probe Experiment. The fission rate rises sharply from the surface to a broad maximum from 110 to 160 g/sq cm and drops off at greater depths. The shape of the theoretical depth profile of Lingenfelter et al (1972) fits the measured capture rates well at all depths. The absolute magnitude of the experimental fission rates are (11 plus or minus 17)% lower than those calculated theoretically. The excellent agreement between theory and experiment implies that conclusions drawn previously by interpreting lunar sample data with the theoretical capture rates will not require revision. In particular, lunar surface processes, rather than uncertainties in the capture rates, are required to explain the relatively low neutron fluences observed for surface soil samples compared to the fluences expected for a uniformly mixed regolith.
An emerging role for misfolded wild-type SOD1 in sporadic ALS pathogenesis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that targets motor neurons, leading to paralysis and death within a few years of disease onset. While several genes have been linked to the inheritable, or familial, form of ALS, much less is known about the cause(s) of sporadic ALS, which accounts for approximately 90% of ALS cases. Due to the clinical similarities between familial and sporadic ALS, it is plausible that both forms of the disease converge on a common pathway and, therefore, involve common factors. Recent evidence suggests the Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) protein to be one such factor that is common to both sporadic and familial ALS. In 1993, mutations were uncovered in SOD1 that represent the first known genetic cause of familial ALS. While the exact mechanism of mutant-SOD1 toxicity is still not known today, most evidence points to a gain of toxic function that stems, at least in part, from the propensity of this protein to misfold. In the wild-type SOD1 protein, non-genetic perturbations such as metal depletion, disruption of the quaternary structure, and oxidation, can also induce SOD1 to misfold. In fact, these aforementioned post-translational modifications cause wild-type SOD1 to adopt a “toxic conformation” that is similar to familial ALS-linked SOD1 variants. These observations, together with the detection of misfolded wild-type SOD1 within human post-mortem sporadic ALS samples, have been used to support the controversial hypothesis that misfolded forms of wild-type SOD1 contribute to sporadic ALS pathogenesis. In this review, we present data from the literature that both support and contradict this hypothesis. We also discuss SOD1 as a potential therapeutic target for both familial and sporadic ALS.
The noncoplanar 7Li(p, pd)5He and 7Li(p, pt)4He reactions at Ep = 200 MeV, and evidence for deuteron clustering in 7Li

Abstract The 7Li(p, pd)5He reaction was studied at 200 MeV, at the quasi-free angle pair θ p θ d = 64° −47.4° , for noncoplanarity angles from 0° to 16°. Data were fitted with DWIA calculations, which gave a spectroscopic factor Cd of 1.1 for deuterons in 7Li if entrance-channel absorption was neglected, and 1.4 if it was not. The Cd deduced from plane-wave analysis (by comparison with 6Li(p, pd) data) is 0.9. The deuteron cluster momentum distribution is characterized, at small momentum, by an FWHM of 140 MeV/c. At large momentum there is an excess of measured cross section over predictions, as is true also for 6Li(p, pd) at intermediate energies. Cross sections for 7Li(p, pt)4He at the same experimental conditions are very small but are consistent with unit spectroscopic factor for t + α; these cross sections show the expected minimum at zero relative cluster momentum, and are adequately fitted by DWIA predictions.
Substituent Dependent Dimensionality in Luminescent Zinc Isophthalate Coordination Polymers Containing Bis(3‐pyridylmethyl)piperazine

Divalent zinc coordination polymers containing bis(3-pyridylmethyl)piperazine (3-bpmp) and isophthalate ligands have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. {[Zn(ip)(H3-bpmp)]ClO4·4H2O}n (1, ip = isophthalate) has twofold parallel interpenetrated (4,4) grid cationic coordination polymer nets, with unligated perchlorate ions and intriguing infinite water molecule chains. {[Zn2(NO2ip)3(H23-bpmp)(H2O)5]·3H2O}n (2, NO2ip = 5-nitroisophthalate) exhibits a supramolecular lattice built from 1D chain motifs, revealing a significant dependence of topology on the steric bulk of the dicarboxylate ligand. Luminescent properties for 1 and 2 are also reported.
Impact response of elasto-plastic granular and continuum media: A comparative study

A comparative study of the impact response of three-dimensional ordered granular sphere packings and continuum half-spaces made of elastic-perfectly plastic materials is conducted. Energy dissipation and plastic zone volume are characterized, and scaling laws with respect to material properties, size and loading variables are derived for both continuum and discrete (granular) systems. Due to stress concentration at contacts, energy dissipation in granular systems occurs at much smaller impact loads than in continuum systems. At higher impact loads, the fraction of energy dissipated and the extent of plastic zone are much larger in the discrete system than in the continuum case. Though the size of plastic zone is much larger in discrete systems, the volume of material involved in dissipating a fraction of impact energy is comparable for continuum and granular systems. 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Administration Ethics and Judgments of Utility: Reconciling the Competing Theories:

Administrative ethics in the 20th century is marked in part by the adoption of classic utilitarian decision-making techniques that try to maximize good effect in the lives of the citizenry. However despite a plethora of widely used quantitative techniques spawned by utilitarianism, the practical foundations of this ethical theory have been called into question with various discoveries by organization theorists that in actuality the classic theory is not a good general description of what successful managers do. This new model is often referred to as "satisficing." The new model also has a serious problem: No theory of satisficing has yet provided an understanding of how any decision making that is merely satisfactory can also be wholly ethical. This paper explores this tension and resolves it to some degree by arguing that the two theories are complementary, not competitive. We do this by relating each theory to patterned, or rule-guided, behavior and by examining how each contributes in its own way to a ...