cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Collection Methods for the 24-Hour Dietary Recall as Used in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.

Abstract Objective Identify practices for the collection of the 24-hour dietary recall (24HR) as used by the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) to assess the fidelity with which dietary data are collected. Methods An electronic survey sent nationally to all 75 EFNEP coordinators to assess methodology for collection, staff training, and coding of 24HR. Results A total of 67 surveys were returned, 53 of which were usable: 57% of programs used multiple collection periods (previous day vs previous 24 hours), 36% did not use a consistent number of passes in recall collection; only 17% exclusively used the validated 5-pass method; 88% trained paraprofessionals for ≤8 hours on recall collection and >6 different training programs were used; and 86% of programs used multiple coders. Conclusions and Implications The wide variation in reported collection, training, and coding practices raises concerns about the validity of the recall data and the appropriateness of combining data from multiple programs. To improve consistency, EFNEP could establish standardized methods for training, data collection, and data entry for the 24HR. These results may encourage the national program office to establish programmatic change that will support the fidelity of collection methods across all programs.
A Systematic Review of Metoidioplasty and Radial Forearm Flap Phalloplasty in Female-to-male Transgender Genital Reconstruction: Is the "Ideal" Neophallus an Achievable Goal?

Introduction:The complex anatomy and function of the native penis is difficult to surgically replicate. Metoidioplasty and radial forearm flap phalloplasty (RFFP) are the 2 most commonly utilized procedures for transgender neophallus construction.Methods:A MEDLINE search for metoidioplasty and RFFP
Habitat Selection By Bristle-Thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) Breeding Within The Southern Nulato Hills, Alaska

ABSTRACT Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis, hereafter ‘curlews') breed only on low Arctic tundra in the southern Nulato Hills of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Curlews use several distinct habitat types on the breeding grounds; however, quantified data of habitat use by curlews exist only for the Seward Peninsula. We investigated which available habitats on the breeding grounds were used most often by curlews in the Nulato Hills and compared availability with use to determine habitat selection using a land cover layer created in ArcGIS based on aerial photography and ground referenced locations. We also compared curlew habitat usage at our study site to habitats used on the Seward Peninsula. We used vegetation quadrats to determine plant composition within each habitat. We also determined percentage of habitat and plant composition within curlew territories. Curlews preferred shrub meadow tundra which consisted primarily of lichens (>50%), m...
Massive MIMO for dynamic spectrum access

This paper proposes the application of massive MIMO, combined with millimeter (mm)-wave technology, in dynamic spectrum access (DSA) systems. In the proposed system, secondary users transmit together with the primary users, while using beamforming to control interference. Simulation results show significant performance gains compared to traditional DSA due to increase of antenna numbers. Such system can be used under both line of sight (LOS) and scattering channel conditions.
Ontogenetic changes in foot strike pattern and calcaneal loading during walking in young children

The assumption that the morphology of the human calcaneus reflects high and cyclical impact forces at heel strike during adult human walking has never been experimentally tested. Since a walking step with a heel strike is an emergent behavior in children, an ontogenetic study provides a natural experiment to begin testing the relationship between the mechanics of heel strike and calcaneal anatomy. This study examined the ground reaction forces (GRFs) of stepping in children to determine the location of the center of pressure (COP) relative to the calcaneus and the orientation and magnitude of ground reaction forces during foot contact. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were analyzed for 18 children ranging in age from 11.5 to 43.1 months. Early steppers used a flat foot contact (FFC) and experienced relatively high vertical and resultant GRFs with COP often anterior to the calcaneus. More experienced walkers used an initial heel contact (IHC) in which GRFs were significantly lower but the center of pressure remained under the heel a greater proportion of time. Thus, during FFC the foot experienced higher loading, but the heel itself was relatively wider and the load was distributed more evenly. In IHC walkers load was concentrated on the anterior calcaneus and a narrower heel, suggesting a need for increased calcaneal robusticity during development to mitigate injury. These results provide new insight into foot loading outside of typical mature contact patterns, inform structure-function relationships during development, and illuminate potential causes of heel injury in young walkers.
A XOR data compiler: Combined with physical unclonable function for true random number generation

Mathematically generated random number could be weak, while the randomness created physical elements often have insufficient entropy. This paper describes a XOR compiler having the potential to be a true random numbers generator (TRNG), leveraging physical unclonable functions (PUF) designed with memory products. The initial randomness is created by testing only the cells of the memory arrays that are naturally unstable under repetitive measurements, and can easily switch back and forth between a “1” to a “0”, thereby generating a random data stream. The level of randomness of this data stream is then enhanced to generate the TRNG. In this paper we are presenting two complementary elements: i) how a fast XOR data compiler, while processing the data available from multiple ternary cells, can create an extremely high level of randomness; and ii) how a combinational probability model allows the quantification of the level of randomness of the TRNG. Deviations of absolute randomness of these TRNG in terms of probability to be non-random can be lower than 10−10 which is accepted as non-detectable for existing and computers of the foreseeable future.
The Ontogeny of a Neutrophil: Mechanisms of Granulopoiesis and Homeostasis.

SUMMARY Comprising the majority of leukocytes in humans, neutrophils are the first immune cells to respond to inflammatory or infectious etiologies and are crucial participants in the proper functioning of both innate and adaptive immune responses. From their initial appearance in the liver, thymus, and spleen at around the eighth week of human gestation to their generation in large numbers in the bone marrow at the end of term gestation, the differentiation of the pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell into a mature, segmented neutrophil is a highly controlled process where the transcriptional regulators C/EBP-α and C/EBP-e play a vital role. Recent advances in neutrophil biology have clarified the life cycle of these cells and revealed striking differences between neonatal and adult neutrophils based on fetal maturation and environmental factors. Here we detail neutrophil ontogeny, granulopoiesis, and neutrophil homeostasis and highlight important differences between neonatal and adult neutrophil populations.
Lateral hypothalamic orexin glucose-inhibited neurons may regulate reward-based feeding by modulating glutamate transmission in the ventral tegmental area.

Abstract Glucose inhibits ∼60% of lateral hypothalamic (LH) orexin neurons. Fasting increases the activation of LH orexin glucose-inhibited (GI) neurons in low glucose. Increases in spontaneous glutamate excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) onto putative VTA DA neurons in low glucose are orexin dependent (Sheng et al., 2014). VTA DA neurons modulate reward-based feeding. We tested the hypothesis that increased activation of LH orexin-GI neurons in low glucose increases glutamate signaling onto VTA DA neurons and contributes to reward-based feeding in food restricted animals. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) currents on putative VTA DA neurons were measured using whole cell voltage clamp recording in horizontal brain slices containing the LH and VTA. Decreased glucose increased the NMDA receptor current for at least one hour after returning glucose to basal levels (P
The Historical Development of Social Medicine as a Responsibility of the Physician

In our contemporary Western society, the essential role of the physician is generally considered to be one of healer of the sick. Therefore the education and training of the future physician is primarily directed towards the goal of curing the physically or mentally diseased person and returning the same to a healthy state. It has, however, been more and more accepted that to avoid such physical and mental dysfunction, preventive measures must be taken which also must include attention to social factors. This was recognized by the World Health Organization, which defined health as “not only the absence of disease, but the complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being.” Critics say that with this definition the physician would assume a dominant role in all aspects of human life and behavior and would become, so to speak, the high priest of society. And indeed, in antiquity and frequently in the Middle Ages, the healers were also the priests and chieftains. How then, through the centuries, has the question of the physician’s responsibility and competence for dealing not only with physical and mental diseases, but also with the underlying social causes, been answered? In ancient Greece, the god of health, Asklepios, had two competing and quarreling daughters, Hygeia and Panakeia. Hygeia was given the role of maintaining health through sound living and “prophylaxis” (hygiene, preventive medicine) while Panakeia was responsible for healing and curing illness (panaceas, curative medicine). 1 Originally meant to be equals, visits to her temple, sacrifices for and prayers to Panakeia appear much more frequently in our sources than those for Hygeia, indicating a greater demand by the people for assistance in healing their illnesses than willingness to change their lifestyles or social behavior aimed at avoiding the same. As described by Rosen 2 : “Health problems have always been intimately related to the political, economic and social conditions of particular groups of people; but in earlier periods these relationships were not the subject of systematic investigation. … Nonetheless, sporadic observations linking social and cultural factors or situations with the health of the members of a community were recorded in antiquity and in medieval times.” However, the imbalance between preventive and curative care persisted, and the healing of illness remained at the center of the physician’s activity. Only in the eighteenth century, largely through the fundamental work of Johann Peter Frank, 3 was widespread attention paid to the influence that poor lifestyle and
Towards a Performance-Based Conceptual Framework for Systematic Poes

This chapter suggests a more systematic and rigorous approach to POEs through the adoption of the performance concept in building evaluation. Reconceptualizing basic evaluation approaches can improve POE in fundamental ways, resulting in changes to current practice that will integrate previous improvements and proposed new ones. Increased methodological rigor and improved utility of POE results will benefit both the public and private sectors by enhancing the quality of their buildings.
Noise in Coherent Optical Information Processing

The noise appearing at the output of an information processing system poses one important limit to the accuracy with which the desired processing operations can be performed. The detailed statistical character of the noise, as well as its degree of severity, depend on many factors, including: (1) the quality of the input data to be processed; (2) the character of the mathematical data processing operations to be performed; (3) the physical embodiment of the data processing system (e. g., electronic, optical, digital, analog, etc.); and (4) the degree of accuracy with which the ideal processing operations are realized physically.
Cerebrovascular Imaging (CT, MRI, CTA, MRA)

There are a number of imaging modalities available for evaluating the vasculature of the head and neck, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages for evaluating various disease processes. Thus, the clinical scenario and clinical question must be considered in choosing the most appropriate imaging modality. This chapter will focus on MR and CT techniques for cerebrovascular imaging and will include discussion about both the technical aspects as well as imaging findings of various pathologic processes.
When love is not enough: The case of therapeutic love as a middle-level term in functional analytic psychotherapy.

Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is a therapeutic approach that addresses clients’ change through modifying contingencies of reinforcement of behavior that function to increase the likelihood that clients can access valued goals. This is done by differential reinforcement of clients’ behavior
Primary immunodeficiencies caused by mutations in actin regulatory proteins

The identification of patients with monogenic gene defects have illuminated the function of different proteins in the immune system, including proteins that regulate the actin cytoskeleton. Many of these actin regulatory proteins are exclusively expressed in leukocytes and regulate the formation and branching of actin filaments. Their absence or abnormal function leads to defects in immune cell shape, cellular projections, migration, and signaling. Through the study of patients' mutations and generation of mouse models that recapitulate the patients' phenotypes, our laboratory and others have gained a better understanding of the role these proteins play in cell biology and the underlying pathogenesis of immunodeficiencies and immune dysregulatory syndromes.
Analytical Analysis of Ac and Dc Side Harmonics of Three-level Active Neutral Point Clamped Inverter with Space Vector Modulation

This paper presents a comprehensive analytical analysis of the ac and dc side harmonics of the three-level active neutral point clamped (ANPC) inverter with space vector modulation (SVM) scheme. An analytical model to calculate the harmonics of a three-level converter with SVM is developed. The ac side output voltage harmonics and dc side current harmonics characteristics are calculated and analyzed. With the developed models, the impact of interleaving on both sides harmonics are studied which considers the modulation index, interleaving angle, and power factor. The analysis provides guideline for interleaving angle optimization to reduce the ac side power filter and dc side dc-link capacitor. The relationship between electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter corner frequency and switching frequency is also analytically derived which provides guideline for switching frequency and EMI filter design optimization. Two paralleled three-level ANPC inverters are constructed and experimental results are presented to verify the analytical analysis.
Color image retrieval and analysis using image color measures

Image color is an important property that contains essential information that can be utilized for conducting accurate image analyses as well as for searching and retrieving images from databases. The colors of an image may be distorted during image acquisition, transmission, and display due to a variety of factors including environmental conditions. Developing an effective and quantitative metric for evaluating the color quality of an image that agrees with human observers is challenging, yet essential for computer vision and autonomous imaging systems. The traditional colorfulness measures are not robust to noise and fail to distinguish different color tones. In this paper, a new nonreference color quality measure CQE, that combines a colorfulness measure and a Uni-Color Differentiation term is presented. This CQE is shown to satisfy the established properties of a good measure, namely: The CQE correlates well with the human perception, which means that the measure can evaluate the quality of images accurately compared to the human observer’s evaluation; The measure is robust to noise and distortions so that it can provide consistent and reliable measure values for a wide range of images; The measure is computationally efficient and can be used in real time applications. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the CQE measure in evaluating image color qualities for a variety of test images subjected to different environmental conditions, as well as showing its applicability for fast image retrieval for synthetic patches and natural images. Conducting image retrieval by simply searching for the value of the image’s CQE measure is fast, easy to implement, and invariant to image orientations.
Updates on the Treatment of Non- Aspergillus Hyaline Mold Infections

This review summarizes both the recent and relevant studies about the treatment of non-Aspergillus hyaline molds. Given the rarity of these infections, there have been no large randomized clinical trials regarding the most effective antifungal therapy. Although there are more data for the treatment of Fusarium and Scedosporium, there are limited data with case reports that address the other rare hyalohyphomycetes. As we develop improved diagnostic techniques and larger fungal registries, we may be able to determine efficacious treatment modalities. We hope that future research will focus on implementing clinical trials with the new antifungals and ongoing development of novel fungal agents.
433 MHz Lithium Niobate Microbalance Aptamer-Coated Whole Zika Virus Sensor With 370 Hz/ng Sensitivity

Three different microbalances were coated with aptamers with thiol termination designed to attach to the capsid proteins of the whole Zika virus. The first microbalance was a 5 MHz commercial AT-cut (QSense) quartz microbalance that showed 1 Hz/ng sensitivity with minimum detectable signal (MDS) of 1 ng. The second sensor was a 10 MHz AT-cut quartz sensor that was extracted from a communication filter. It had 10 Hz/ng sensitivity and MDS of 0.1 ng. The third sensor was a 433 MHz Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) sensor that was also extracted from a communication filter. It had 370 Hz/ng sensitivity and 2.7 pg MDS. These studies verify binding of the aptamers to the sensor surface and the Zika virus. They also clearly show the advantage of using the LiNbO3 high frequency microbalance.
Altering the Neisseria gonorrhoeae pilE Guanine Quadruplex Loop Bases Affects Pilin Antigenic Variation.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae possesses a programmed recombination system that allows the bacteria to alter the major subunit of the type IV pilus, pilin or PilE. An alternate DNA structure known as a guan...
Tinder Tales: An Exploratory Study of Online Dating Users and Their Most Interesting Stories

The present study examines the differences between users and non-users of mobile-based dating applications, along with individual user experiences. To better understand the typical online dating ap...
Resource Utilization by Organisms

“The annual produce of the land and labour of any nation can be increased in its value by no other means, but by increasing either the number of its productive labourers, or the productive powers of those labourers who had before been employed. The number of its productive labourers, it is evident, can never be much increased, but in consequence of an increase in capital, or of the funds destined for maintaining them. The productive powers of the same number of labourers cannot be increased, but in consequence either of some addition and improvement to those machines and instruments which facilitate and abridge labour; or of a more proper division and distribution of employment. In either case an additional capital is almost always required. It is by means of an additional capital only, that the undertaker of any work can either provide his workmen with better machinery, or make a more proper distribution of employment among them.” The quote is from The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith, 1776), and it introduces the idea of the relationship between reinvestment in capital and increased production.
O2C3: A unified model for emergency operations planning

The leadership in each jurisdiction of the world has been described as legally, morally, and politically responsible for ensuring that necessary and appropriate actions are taken to protect people and property from the consequences of emergencies and disasters. As emergencies often evolve rapidly and become too complex for effective improvisation, a government can successfully discharge its emergency management responsibilities only by taking action beforehand. This requires preparedness in advance of the disaster event. Accordingly, preparedness measures should not be improvised or handled on an ad hoc basis.
Mild Displacements of Boulders during the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquakes

Strong seismic waves from the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquakes displaced rocks in proximity to the M 7.1 mainshock fault trace at several locations. In this report, we document large boulders that were displaced at the Wagon Wheel Staging Area (WWSA), approximately 4.5 km southeast of the southern terminus of the large M 6.4 foreshock rupture (hereafter “the large foreshock”) and 9 km southwest of the nearest approach of the M 7.1 mainshock surface rupture. Some boulders appear to have slid along essentially flat surfaces, which suggest that dynamic stresses overcame the coefficient of friction. Other boulders appear to have rocked within their sockets. In both cases, we use simple mechanical models to estimate total peak dynamic accelerations between 0.5 and 1g⁠, commensurate with modified Mercalli intensity 9. It is unclear if the strongest shaking at this location occurred during the large foreshock or the M 7.1 mainshock. The inferred accelerations are higher than predicted mainshock ground motions at WWSA, although local high accelerations could have been generated by path, site, or source effects. Gaps between boulders and their sockets are easily visible in the immediate aftermath of earthquakes and provide a quick indication of strong shaking. More importantly, the gaps quickly fill with surficial organic debris, including seeds and leaves of the year, that quickly become entombed. Boulders may thus potentially be extracted to examine gap fillings associated with past earthquakes, providing a new datable paleoseismic method.
Abstract 210: Liver Expression of Proinflammatory Cytokines in Adiponectin Deficient Mice

Adiponectin is one of the few peptides secreted by fat known to have anti-inflammatory properties. Obesity in humans is associated with low levels of circulating adiponectin. Adiponectin deficiency...
Prolonged Duration of Viral Shedding of SARS-CoV-2: A Case Report

Author(s): Fong, Brandon; London, Kory S. | Abstract: Introduction: The literature on the clinical course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) suggests patients continue shedding viral particles typically for an average of 20 days until the body builds immunity against the infection. However, a few cases have shown prolonged duration in viral shedding and highlight the significant increased mortality in these patients. It has also been suggested that multiple strains of SARS-COV-2 exist, keying the possibility to reinfection.Case Report: We present a case of a 57-year-old male who presented twice over 37 days with symptoms related to SARS-COV-2, and only on his second visit was found to be in hypoxemic respiratory failure and cardiogenic shock. He also reportedly had a period of convalescence in between presentations.Discussion: This case highlights the still unclear disease course of SARS-COV-2 and the need for diligence in providing strong follow-up instructions and evaluation for sequelae of the infection.
Evaluating the concentration of ions in liquid crystal cells: hidden factors and useful techniques

Many of the liquid crystal devices are driven by electric fields. Ions, typically present in molecular liquid crystal materials in minute quantities, can compromise the performance of mesogenic materials (in the simplest case, through a well-known screening effect). Even highly purified liquid crystals can be contaminated with ions during their production and handling. Therefore, measurements of the concentration of ions became an important part of the material characterization of liquid crystals. Interestingly, even a brief analysis of existing publications can reveal a quite broad variability of the values of the concentration of ions measured by different research groups for the same liquid crystals. It reflects the complexity of ion generation mechanisms in liquid crystal materials and their dependence on numerous factors. In this paper, an overview of ion generation mechanisms in liquid crystals and modern ion measurement techniques is followed by the discussion of frequently overlooked factors affecting the measured values of the ion concentration. Ion-generating and ion-capturing properties of the alignment layers (or substrates) of liquid crystal cells are considered and used to evaluate a true concentration of ions in liquid crystals. In addition, practical recommendations aimed at improving the measurements of the ion density in liquid crystals are also discussed.
d -BAME: Distributed Blockchain-Based Anonymous Mobile Electronic Voting

Electronic voting (e-voting) presents a convenient and cost-effective alternative to current paper ballot-based voting. It provides many benefits such as increased voter turnout and accuracy in the decision-making process. While presenting many improvements, e-voting still faces serious security challenges that hinder its adoption, especially when designed to be run over mobile devices. In this article, we propose a novel remote e-voting model for large-scale elections by proposing the participation of two conflicting parties to ensure election integrity and accountability. Our scheme can be implemented in IoT devices such as smartphones, which we believe can significantly increase voter turnout of the election process. Our proposed work is secure and preserves voter privacy through secure multiparty computations performed by parties of differing allegiances. It also leverages a blockchain running smart contracts as a publicly accessible and tamper-resistant bulletin board to permanently store votes and prevent double voting. In our security and privacy analysis, we show that our proposed scheme is secure against potential security threats and provides voter anonymity. We show orthogonality between universal verifiability and coercion resistance in our proposed scheme, allowing an election to favor one over the other. Our performance analysis and smartphone simulation results show that the proposed scheme is practical for large-scale elections.
Association of Social Isolation With Disability Burden and 1-Year Mortality Among Older Adults With Critical Illness

Importance Disability and mortality are common among older adults with critical illness. Older adults who are socially isolated may be more vulnerable to adverse outcomes for various reasons, including fewer supports to access services needed for optimal recovery; however, whether social isolation is associated with post–intensive care unit (ICU) disability and mortality is not known. Objectives To evaluate whether social isolation is associated with disability and with 1-year mortality after critical illness. Design, Setting, and Participants This observational cohort study included community-dwelling older adults who participated in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) from May 2011 through November 2018. Hospitalization data were collected through 2017 and interview data through 2018. Data analysis was conducted from February 2020 through February 2021. The mortality sample included 997 ICU admissions of 1 day or longer, which represented 5 705 675 survey-weighted ICU hospitalizations. Of these, 648 ICU stays, representing 3 821 611 ICU hospitalizations, were eligible for the primary outcome of post-ICU disability. Exposures Social isolation from the NHATS survey response in the year most closely preceding ICU admission, which was assessed using a validated measure of social connectedness with partners, families, and friends as well as participation in valued life activities (range 0-6; higher scores indicate more isolation). Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the count of disability assessed during the first interview following hospital discharge. The secondary outcome was time to death within 1 year of hospital admission. Results A total of 997 participants were in the mortality cohort (511 women [51%]; 45 Hispanic [5%], 682 non-Hispanic White [69%], and 228 non-Hispanic Black individuals [23%]) and 648 in the disability cohort (331 women [51%]; 29 Hispanic [5%], 457 non-Hispanic White [71%], and 134 non-Hispanic Black individuals [21%]). The median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 81 (75.5-86.0) years (range, 66-102 years), the median (IQR) preadmission disability count was 0 (0-1), and the median (IQR) social isolation score was 3 (2-4). After adjustment for demographic characteristics and illness severity, each 1-point increase in the social isolation score (from 0-6) was associated with a 7% greater disability count (adjusted rate ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01-1.15) and a 14% increase in 1-year mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.25). Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, social isolation before an ICU hospitalization was associated with greater disability burden and higher mortality in the year following critical illness. The study findings suggest a need to develop social isolation screening and intervention frameworks for older adults with critical illness.
The Contentious Policies of Place and Space: The Maldives, Overpopulation, and Climate Concerns

One of the biggest long-term concerns that small low lying islands face is the threat of loss of physical integrity due to sea level rise. For the Maldives, this threat is very serious and has become an international issue when the former president went public in recent years with a plan to relocate the entire nation. However, before climate processes will displace inhabitants on a large scale, other factors will come into play. The multi-level government structures of the Maldives provide several opportunities for contention over policy and when it comes to continued population growth and development, and preferences differ at each level. No matter how terminal climate predictions are for some regions, potential responses cannot be taken out of the context of economic development and domestic political concerns. This paper explores the challenges of population and space for small island development using a case study of Maldivian policy preferences at the island, atoll, and national levels taken from interviews from the field. It explores the debate between government actors, constituent preferences, and national development concerns as they overlap climate change anxieties.
Enriching vocabularies by generalizing explanation structures

ABSTRACT A problem with learning systems is that often the language with which the user must express information to the system is too complex. This paper discusses techniques based on Explanation-Based Learning by Observation that allow the user to enter the information required by the system in a simplified form comfortable to him or her. A user enters a description of a specific problem and its solution in simple terms. The description is then repeatedly enriched by the system to create a general solution that applies to the current problem and conceptually similar ones. The learning system first formulates, using domain-specific knowledge, an explanation of the human's solution to the specific problem. Next, the goal stated by the user is generalized with respect to any domain information about possible gods of the actions performed by the user in the solution. Finally, the explanation is extended to apply to the generalized goal. If the user's solution implicitly contains iteration or recursion, an explicitly iterative or recursive concept is produced. Each step involves a reformulation that transforms the user's simple description into a more general form, allowing the system to learn a much more general concept. A system is being developed that applies these techniques in the domain of automatic programming.
An Investigation of Orbits Around the Triangular Lagrangian Points of Saturn

We numerically integrated orbits around the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points of Jupiter (Trojans), and Saturn (‘Bruins’): 40 Trojans and 350 Bruins, all of inclination less than 12°. Four Bruins remained stable until the integration was stopped at 412 Myrs. Properties of these stable orbits were: (1) proper eccentricities less than 0.028; (2) librations in true longitude about L4 and L5 of more than 80°; and (3) librations of the longitude of perihelion (ϖ) relative to Saturn’s perihelion, such that they were never close when the forced eccentricity was near 0.08. Orbits with librations in true longitude less than 80° were unstable, the time to instability being correlated with libration angle. No unstable region was found around Jupiter’s Lagrangian points, and stable Trojans may have longitudes of perihelion that either circulate or librate with respect to jupiter’s.
Measures and Iwasawa Power Series

This chapter gives a number of complements to Chapter 4. In §1 we extend the formalism of the associated power series to the change of variables $$x \leftrightarrow {\gamma ^x}$$ for x ∈ Zp and γ equal to a topological generator of 1+ pZp. a measure on 1+pZp then corresponds to a measure on Zp, and we give realations between their associated power series. This is then applied to express Bernoulli numbersBk, x as values of power series.
Some properties of the Gaussian kernel for one class learning

This paper proposes a novel approach for directly tuning the gaussian kernel matrix for one class learning. The popular gaussian kernel includes a free parameter, σ, that requires tuning typically performed through validation. The value of this parameter impacts model performance significantly. This paper explores an automated method for tuning this kernel based upon a hill climbing optimization of statistics obtained from the kernel matrix.
Anion Currents and Predicted Glutamate Flux through a Neuronal Glutamate Transporter

Kinetic properties of a native, neuronal glutamate transporter were studied by using rapid applications of glutamate to outside-out patches excised from Purkinje neurons. Pulses of glutamate activated anion currents associated with the transporter that were weakly antagonized by the transporter antagonist kainate. In addition, kainate blocked a resting anion conductance observed in the absence of glutamate. Transporter currents in response to glutamate concentration jumps under a variety of conditions were used to construct a cyclic kinetic model of the transporter. The model simulates both the anion conductance and the glutamate flux through the transporter, thereby permitting several predictions regarding the dynamics of glutamate transport at the synapse. For example, the concentration-dependent binding rate of glutamate to the transporter is high, similar to binding rates suggested for ligand-gated glutamate receptors. At saturating glutamate concentrations, transporters cycle at a steady-state rate of 13/sec. Transporters are predicted to have a high efficiency; once bound, a glutamate molecule is more likely to be transported than to unbind. Physiological concentrations of internal sodium and glutamate significantly slow net transport. Finally, a fixed proportion of anion and glutamate flux is expected over a wide range of circumstances, providing theoretical support for using net charge flux to estimate the amount and time course of glutamate transport.
The Self-Concept in Relation to Product Preference and Purchase Intention

Product preference was hypothesized to be a function of ideal congruity (and/or ideal social congruity). Purchase intention, on the other hand, was hypothesized to be a function of both ideal congruity and self-congruity (and/or ideal social congruity and social congruity). The data provided support to these hypotheses only with respect to some products. It was also hypothesized that the relationships between the congruity indices and product preference and purchase intention is moderated by product personalization (i.e., the extent to which a product is perceived as personality revealing). The pattern of results provided moderate support for this hypothesis.
The Community of Practice among Mathematics and Mathematics Education Faculty Members at an Urban Minority Serving Institution in the U.S.

Using narrative inquiry as a research method, four mathematics and mathematics education faculty members explored the integration of theoretical perspectives into their personal narratives as they developed a community of practice. Initially their focus was strictly on improving their students’ mathematical knowledge. As their community of practice matured, however, their work took on a larger meaning as they contributed to the institution’s strategic goal of raising the annual dollar amount of external funding and to the development of their personal and collective identities. This unusual level of inter-departmental collaboration has been recognized by the institution’s highest administrators, who have called upon its members to develop new, collaborative partnerships with regional school districts and community colleges.
Forming of Structural Clay Products

After preparation of the raw materials with regard to composition and particle size, structural clay products are usually formed in the plastic state. This means that water is added to the raw materials to produce the proper consistency and wet strength. In this process peculiar things happen that create the really unique plasticity of clays. We find that as water is added to dry clay there is as much or more of a change in the properties of the water as there appears to be in the alteration of the clay into a plastic, formable mass. For this reason it is necessary for us to pause here to look at the structure and properties of water before discussing the interactions between clay and water in an attempt to explain plasticity.
Photoperiod control of downstream movements of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts

This study provides the first direct observations that photoperiod controls the initiation of downstream movement in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts. Under simulated natural day length (LDN) conditions and seasonal increases in temperature, smolts increased their downstream movements five-fold for a period of 1 month in late spring. Under the same conditions, parr did not show changes in downstream movement behaviour. When given a shortened day length (10L:14D) beginning in late winter, smolts did not increase the number of downstream movements. An early increase in day length (16L:8D) in late winter resulted in earlier initiation and termination of downstream movements compared to the LDN group. Physiological status and behaviour were related but not completely coincident: gill Na(+) /K(+) -ATPase activity increased in all treatments and thyroid hormone was elevated prior to movement in 16L:8D treatment. The most parsimonious model describing downstream movement of smolts included synergistic effects of photoperiod treatment and temperature, indicating that peak movements occurred at colder temperatures in the 16L:8D treatment than in LDN, and temperature did not influence movement of smolts in the 10L:14D treatment. The complicated interactions of photoperiod and temperature are not surprising since many organisms have evolved to rely on correlations among environmental cues and windows of opportunity to time behaviours associated with life-history transitions. These complicated interactions, however, have serious implications for phenological adjustments and persistence of S. salar populations in response to climate change.
Fixed classifier pattern recognition using iteratively produced preprocessing

Pattern recognizers are often composed of two parts, the feature extractor and the classifier. This paper is a description of a pattern recognizer whereby the classifier learns first, and is then fixed, followed by learning by a preprocessor, which must learn how to predistort the input to the fixed classifier for proper recognition of the learning set. Learning the distortion is an iterative process whereby each vector of the training set must be examined for each iteration. Each iteration fixes the parameters for several fundamental distortions, and the use of a subset of all the distortions over all iterations constitutes a net distortion.
Isotope-coded Affinity Tag Approach to Identify and Quantify Oxidant-sensitive Protein Thiols

An approach is described for identifying and quantifying oxidant-sensitive protein thiols using a cysteine-specific, acid-cleavable isotope-coded affinity tag (ICAT) reagent (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). The approach is based on the fact that only free cysteine thiols are susceptible to labeling by the iodoacetamide-based ICAT reagent, and that mass spectrometry can be used to quantitate the relative labeling of free thiols. To validate our approach, creatine kinase with four cysteine residues, one of which is oxidant-sensitive, was chosen as an experimental model. ICAT-labeled peptides derived from creatine kinase were used to evaluate the relative abundance of the free thiols in samples subjected (or not) to treatment with hydrogen peroxide. As predicted, hydrogen peroxide decreased the relative abundance of the unmodified oxidant-sensitive thiol residue of cysteine-283 in creatine kinase, providing proof of principle that an ICAT-based quantitative mass spectrometry approach can be used to identify and quantify oxidation of cysteine thiols. This approach opens an avenue for proteomics studies of the redox state of protein thiols.
Contribution of unfolding and intermolecular architecture to fibronectin fiber extensibility.

The extracellular matrix contains components with remarkable mechanical properties, including fibronectin (Fn) fibers with extensibilities of >700% strain. We utilized what we consider a novel technique to quantify the extent of molecular unfolding that contributes to Fn fiber extension, and we compared this behavior with stochastic models of Fn fibers with different molecular arrangements. In vitro unfolding as a function of strain was measured by fluorescently labeling cysteines in modules FnIII7 and III15 in artificial Fn fibers. A calibration technique we also consider novel made it possible to demonstrate that 44% of cysteines in these modules were exposed in Fn fibers strained to 421% extension, up from 8% exposure without strain. In silico unfolding was measured by applying a constant strain rate to a fiber represented by a network of wormlike chain springs, each representing an individual Fn molecule. Unfolding rates were calculated with a tension-dependent stochastic model applied to FnIII modules in each molecule. A comparison of these approaches revealed that only a molecular arrangement permitting unequal mechanical loading of Fn molecules recapitulates in vitro unfolding. These data have implications for Fn-dependent mechanotransduction and give insight into how the molecular architecture of natural materials permits such remarkable extensibility.
Finite-Amplitude Instability of Non-Isothermal Flow in a Vertical Annulus

At large Prandtl number, the mixed-convection instability in a vertical annulus receives most of its energy from the thermal field. This is the thermal-buoyant instability. The evolution of this instability is determined by three parameters, the wave amplitude, the amplification rate, and Ra-Ra$_{\text{c}}$, the Rayleigh number difference measured from the neutral curve. A consistent weakly nonlinear instability theory must obey the orderings among these three parameters. We find that theories of Stuart and Stewartson & Stuart provide asymptotically identical results for the problem studied in this paper. On the other hand, most amplitude-expansion methods for this problem are inconsistent since their formulations do not consider the ordering between the wave amplitude and the amplification rate. Theoretical results confirm that the instability is supercritical, in agreement with experimental observations, and show that the velocity waves exchange energy with the thermal field at the same wavelength and in the direction of the body force. Predicted Nusselt numbers and friction coefficients agree well with experiment.
The body unbound: Empowered, heroism and body image

Within most superhero comics, superheroes start as established heroes who save others and planets in the ultimate battle of good versus evil; although characters do evolve and become stronger over time, they still are treated as heroes by fellow superheroes and citizens. Offering an alternative reading, this article explores the transformative narrative arc of a female character who begins as disempowered and struggles to become empowered. Through Adam Warren's graphic novels Empowered, this article argues that through rhetorics of (dis)empowerment and challenging the duality of strength and femininity/sexuality, a new version of superhero emerges: a vulnerable, human superheroine.
The Protective Functions of Social Support and Coping for Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Abuse

This study evaluated two alternate models exploring protective factors in the relationship between intimate partner abuse and health: one in which social support was proposed to mediate the violence-health relation, and a second in which coping was proposed to mediate this relation, while social support would moderate the abuse-coping relation. Women were administered questionnaires measuring coping, social support, violence, and health status. Relationship violence predicted mental health status only, although mental health did predict physical health. Coping was found to serve as a mediator between abuse and health. Implications for future research and clinical applications are discussed.
Partial Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Agonist Angiotensin Receptor Blockers

Background and Purpose: Although their primary mechanism of action is blood pressure lowering, emerging data suggest that select angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), which partiall