cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A New Family Approach to Therapy for the Learning Disabled Child

Recommendations for a treatment mode for learning disabled children and their parents were derived from a questionnaire compiled during a three year period. Recognizing that several approaches in use were ineffective, a new program format was developed. Our revised procedure was based on the family's contracting for service, and it focused on the major reinforcers in a child's life space — i.e., parents, teachers, and peers. Remediation and behavior modification techniques were used, the goal being increased independent functioning of the children. Relating skills also were developed, that is, synchronizing feelings with words. Positive results were observed in both remediation and socialization.
Improved wavelet-based multiresolution edge detection in noisy images

We used the multiresolution property of the discrete wavelet transform to detect edges in noisy images. In our approach, we used wavelets corresponding to 1st and 2nd derivatives to generate noisy wavelet coefficients. Then, we compared the wavelet coefficients as a function of scale to reduce the effects of noise. In addition, our approach considered the change in edge position as a function of scale. We analyzed 1D experimental result and compared 2D results of noisy images to a more common edge detection method. Our results lead to improved edge detection result in noisy images.
Strategic Transnationalism: The Indian Diasporic Elite in Contemporary Bahrain

This paper provides an ethnographic window into the lives of the middle and upper classes of the substantial Indian diaspora in Bahrain. Like all the Gulf States, Bahrain hosts an extraordinarily large contingent of guest workers. Through a variety of historical conjunctures, Indians have long predominated in the flow of foreigners to the small island. In this paper I consider the experiences of the elite minority of that diaspora. While many aspects of their day-to-day experiences differ from those of their impoverished diasporic countrymen and countrywomen, I argue that they also face a variety of noteworthy vulnerabilities and dilemmas unique to their class position. In the final accounting, members of this Indian diasporic elite deploy a strategic transnationalism against the systemic vulnerabilities rendered by the sponsorship system currently in place in Bahrain.
The Pathology of the Reproductive Tract of Laying Pullets Affected with Newcastle Disease

Abstract NEWCASTLE disease causes a sudden and drastic drop in egg production (Beach, 1942; Lorenz et al., 1944; Berg et al., 1947) and a mortality of from 0 to 5 percent (Beach, 1942; Platt, 1948) in layers. The greatest loss among laying birds frequently results from reduced production and impaired egg shell and albumen quality (Lorenz et al., 1944; Berg et al., 1947; Knox, 1950; Parnell, 1950; Quinn, 1950). According to Platt (1948) egg production returns to normal within 4 to 5 weeks regardless of whether the infection is of natural origin or a result of vaccination. The pathogenesis of temporary cessation of egg laying and abnormalities of eggs has not yet been explained. Fukushima and his co-workers (1932 (1933) were probably the first to describe histopathologic lesions in chickens naturally infected with Newcastle disease. The North American equivalent of Newcastle disease, also known as avian pneumoencephalitis, was studied by Beach …
FROM SYMMETRY TO COMPLEXITY: ON INSTABILITIES AND THE UNITY IN DIVERSITY IN NONLINEAR SCIENCE

Throughout this paper I will argue that dynamical and structural instabilities are the sources of complexity and pattern formation. The argument can be accomplished by defending two theses. First, ...
Storage of G-CSF-mobilized granulocyte concentrates.

Background Current standards limit granulocyte storage to 24 hours. Since G-CSF inhibits granulocyte apoptosis, it may be possible to store G-CSF-mobilized granulocytes for longer periods while maintaining cell viability and function. However, G-CSF mobilization increases the yield of granulocytes several times, and the resulting higher cell concentrations may diminish viability during storage and significant levels of pyrogenic cytokines may be produced. Study design Ten granulocyte donors were given dexamethasone (8 mg PO), G-CSF (5 microg/kg SQ), or both and on the next day granulocyte concentrates were collected using a blood cell separator. Component cell counts, cell viablilities, pH, and IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF levels were measured at 2 to 4 (2), 20 to 28 (24), and 44 to 52 hours (48 hours). Results Significantly more granulocytes were collected when donors were given G-CSF (4.2 +/- 2.3 x 10(10)) or G-CSF plus dexamethasone (6.4 +/- 2.5 x 10(10)) compared with that collected with dexamethasone alone (2.2 +/- 1.2 x 10(10)); p = 0.03 and p = 0.002, respectively. Storage had little effect on WBC count. Slight but significant increases in IL-1beta and IL-8 occurred after 24 and 48 hours as compared to the levels at 2 hours' storage. Levels of IL-6 and TNF did not change. The pH dropped significantly with time in granulocytes mobilized with each regimen. Granulocytes mobilized with G-CSF plus dexamethasone were acidic immediately after collection, and pH was below 6.0 after 24 hours. To assess the effect of cell concentrations on pH, serial dilutions were performed on 13 granulocyte concentrates in autologous plasma prior to storage. The pH remained above 7.0 only when dexamethasone-mobilized granulocytes were diluted 1-in-8 and when the G-CSF plus dexamethasone-mobilized granulocytes were diluted 1-in-16. Conclusions To optimize storage pH, mobilized granulocyte concentrates require a 1-in-8 to 1-in-16 dilution, which is operationally impractical. Clinical-grade granulocyte preservative solutions are needed to maintain pH during storage.
3rd Geneva aging workshop 2002: cancer, apoptosis and aging

The topics of the 3rd Geneva Aging Workshop were cancer, apoptosis, and aging. As the risk for cancer is increasing with age, synergies that could emerge from this encounter could yield significant insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying both the etiology of cancer and the aging process. Several pathways that play a role in aging are thought to have an impact on the initiation and progression of cancer, with apoptosis being the key player. Which are the factors that are correlated with age-dependent cancer incidence? The regulators of apoptosis and genetic pathways that lead to apoptosis were discussed. This included genes that are clearly involved in aging, such as WS and BS, and genes that act in repair, such as BRCA1 and BARD1. The functions of telomere shortening and telomerase, extra cellular matrix, or epigenetic changes were presented in the light of their influence on aging and cancer risk.
Dirac surface states

Abstract A recent criticism of the Dirac surface state classification is answered, and a rejustification of this type of state is presented.
Lying and nonverbal behavior: Theoretical issues and new findings

Conceptual issues about deceit, in specific why lies fail and when and how behavior may betray a lie, provides the basis for considering the type of experimental situations which may be fruitful for the study of deceit. New evidence, integrating past reports with new unpublished findings, compare the relative efficacy of facial, bodily, vocal, paralinguistic and textual measures in discriminating deceptive from honest behavior. The findings show also that most people do not rely upon the most useful sources of information in judging whether someone is lying.
Issues in screening and surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Individuals with chronic viral hepatitis and other forms of liver disease are at risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). When HCC presents with clinical symptoms, the tumor is typically very far advanced and the patient has few therapeutic options. Thus, screening and surveillance for HCC would appear to very appropriate. However, there is no definitive evidence that surveillance improves patient outcomes and current techniques lack sensitivity and specificity. Nonetheless, serial measurement of α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in serum and hepatic ultrasound have become routine practice, despite a lack of evidence of their overall benefit. Clearly, better methods are needed for early diagnosis of HCC. Improved technology will ultimately have to be tested for improved patient outcome before becoming widely recommended.
The Effect of Source Microstructure on the Close-Space Sublimation of CdTe Thin Films for Solar Cell Applications

The microstructure of CdTe sources grown on bare 7059 and SnO2-coated 7059 glass substrates used in the close-space sublimation (CSS) growth of CdTe films, is affected by nucleation conditions during their fabrication. For CdTe sources grown on bare glass substrates, denser source microstructures with smaller grains are promoted by low-temperature nucleation conditions. Growth rates of CdTe films deposited using these source plates are inversely proportional to the packing density of the grains. CdTe sources grown on glass undergo significant texture changes during their use in subsequent CSS deposition. CdTe sources grown on SnO2-coated glass substrates exhibit dense structures both with and without low-temperature nucleation and increased grain size with low-temperature nucleation. These source plates show less texture change associated with thermal annealing than their bare-glass counterparts, however, they are much more susceptible to CdO formation during subsequent CSS deposition processes in which oxygen is present. Source oxidation results in a decrease of the (111)/(220) x-ray diffraction intensity. Analysis of the (111)/(220) intensity ratio with and without source oxidation suggests the preferential formation of CdO on the (111) planes. In general, source oxidation appears to be a inversely proportional to the grain size of the source material.
Combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy for head and neck malignancies: quality of life issues.

BACKGROUND The standard of care for locally advanced head and neck carcinoma usually has been surgery followed by radiation therapy. Patient survival using this approach has been reported to be poor. The disfiguration resulting from surgery and the long-term morbidity of postoperative radiation often results in considerable distress. Concurrent chemotherapy and radiation was introduced to improve outcome. Excellent local control and survival results often have been reported in Phase II and Phase III studies. The acute toxicity of combined chemotherapy and radiation is significant. However, organ preservation may improve quality of life. This review article summarizes the findings from published series of surgery, postoperative radiation, radiation therapy alone, and chemoradiation with regard to quality of life issues for patients with locally advanced head and neck carcinoma. METHODS A literature search was used to identify quality-of-life studies of postoperative radiation, radiation therapy alone, and chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced head and neck carcinoma. Factors affecting long-term quality-of-life issues in each treatment modality were identified, compared, and evaluated. RESULTS Speech disorder, dysphagia, pain, and depression were found to be the common side effects affecting quality of life regardless of the treatment modality. Xerostomia is the major complication affecting patients undergoing radiation or chemoradiation. CONCLUSIONS Acute side effects of combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy usually were found to resolve after treatment. Long-term morbidity is substantial because of xerostomia and severe dysphagia. However, preliminary studies suggest that because of organ preservation, patients may achieve a better quality of life after chemoradiation compared with the conventional use of surgery and postoperative radiation. Cancer 2002;94:1131–41. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10257
Actinomycetes and their products: a look at the future.

As a person interested in history and accustomed to introspection, I find difficult the task of indulging in the hazardous intellectual exercise of predicting the future course of that field of microbiology which has kept me busy for about 40 years. When my wife and I were introduced to the study of actinomycetes by the late Selman A. Waksman, I was left under the impression that the leading authority in that field at that time considered that little was left to be done. Novelties were received with reserve. I would not want, 40 years later, to show the same reluctance to recognize the seemingly endless diversity of nature and the power of the human mind in observing nature and at experimentation. During the four decades of our involvement with actinomycetes, a large number of new taxa have been described and the process does not seem to taper off. In some cases, new names were given to organisms, as far as we can tell, previously undescribed. In other cases, as the properties of the various groups of actinomycetes were better understood, as new criteria became available, more logical groups were proposed, with the creation of new taxa. The meandering of the thoughts of the taxonomists constantly rearranges the flow of microbial taxonomy, which, in final analysis, is a reflection of the state of present knowledge and techniques in the field of microbiology. What will be the future of actinomycetic taxonomy? Will new forms of actinomyce~es be discovered? My own opinion is that everything is finite in this universe; thus, at one given moment there are only so many different 'species' of actinomycetes lurking in the crevices of soil particles or inhabiting any other ecological available niches. In a static world, it would be only a question of time before all the 'species' would be discovered and the more we discover the fewer would be left to be described. However, we also know that bacteria, including actinomycetes, are rather
Permethrin Insecticide and Soil Sample Handling Techniques of State Regulatory Agencies

The goal of this project was to examine soil sample handling procedures of each state regulatory agency that regulates pesticides, and to offer a standardized soil sampling protocol. In the United States, the pesticide user industry is large for both agricultural and non-agricultural uses. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulates pesticide use on a federal level. Each state has established a “state lead agency” (SLA) that is responsible for state regulation of pesticides. In the absence of mandatory federal protocols for sample collection by SLAs, each state is free to take environmental samples pursuant to administrative or criminal investigations as they see fit. A comparative study of common sampling practices was performed to evaluate the impact of handling methods on results. Soil was treated with permethrin insecticide and placed in two types of storage containers: opaque bags that block ultraviolet light, and clear glass jars that do not. Soil samples were placed in a com...
Studies on schistosomiasis. XVI. The effect of immune serum upon egg production by Schistosoma mansoni in mice

Data are presented concerning egg production by Schistosoma mansoni in the mouse host after the administration of homologous immune serum during the 29th to 49th days of infection. Estimates of egg production and distribution in the tissues were made to the 54th day of infection. There were no statistically significant differences in worm development, egg production, or distribution of eggs between host groups receiving immune serum, normal serum, or physiological saline. The average daily production of eggs per mature female worm was estimated to range from 202 to 274. The great majority of eggs occurred in the liver and small intestine.
Multinational corporation advertising and cultural imperialism: A content analysis of Indian television commercials

This paper addresses the question as to what degree Western cultural imperialism can be considered to be propagated through TV advertising in India. It discusses dependency theory with respect to cultural imperialism, and presents a brief history of the entry and growth of multinational corporations in India. Furthermore, the study examines the use of cultural values and the application of Western icons in advertisements of multinational corporations and solely Indian owned businesses. The results highlight specific differences and the varying degree of importance attached to different cultural values in India and the West. Finally, it argues that cultural imperialism is a dated concept for today's media, and calls for a re‐evaluation of dependency theory in the light of new technological advances.
The Home Literacy Environment and Latino Head Start Children's Emergent Literacy Skills.

This study examined children's early literacy skills in both English and Spanish at entry to preschool to investigate the pattern of association among these skills and their families' home language and literacy practices. The participants were 392 primarily Latino immigrant (85%) families and their children. Mothers completed questionnaires about their families and their home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills were measured in English and Spanish at the outset of the preschool year. Project assistants interviewed mothers in their homes and tallied the presence of literacy-related materials. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the 3 preliteracy skills were significantly associated within and across English and Spanish, suggesting the possible transfer of these early preliteracy skills across languages. For the English language HLE, parents' literacy-related behaviors, sibling-child reading, and families' literacy resources were all associated with children's English oral language skills, and their English print knowledge was associated with their home resources. For the Spanish language HLE, only parents' literacy-related behaviors were related to children's Spanish oral language and print knowledge skills. There were no significant cross-linguistic relations between any aspect of the English HLE and children's Spanish preliteracy skills, whereas parents' literacy-related behaviors in Spanish were negatively associated with children's English oral language and phonological awareness skills. Given the importance of oral language and vocabulary in promoting children's literacy, these results indicate that parents can support this skill in both languages, but their relative impact seems to be within rather across language.
Discourse production following injury to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Individuals with damage to the prefrontal cortex, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in particular, often demonstrate difficulties with the formulation of complex language not attributable to aphasia. The present study employed a discourse analysis procedure to characterize the language of individuals with left (L) or right (R) DLPFC lesions. All participants were 30-35 years post-onset of injury and presented with persistent discourse impairments. The discourse performance of the R DLPFC group was not significantly different from either the L DLPFC group or the non-injured comparison group. Individuals from the L DLPFC group demonstrated specific difficulties with narrative coherence and inclusion of critical story components. Both measures were significantly different from the comparison group. The discourse ability of the DLPFC groups was significantly correlated with measures of working memory. Findings support the use of discourse analysis for examining language impairments in individuals with PFC lesions.
Nonmedical Application of Computed Tomography to Power Capacitor Quality Assessment

The work shown here is a result of a brief series of experiments. It is felt that an integrated series of electrical and visual nondestructive tests at regular intervals during the useful life of these power capacitors will yield insights that will lead to better future designs.
Novel and emerging approaches to combat adolescent obesity.

Overweight and obesity continue to be health concerns facing today’s adolescent population. Along with metabolic and physical problems associated with obesity, today’s obese adolescents also face many psychological issues such as high rates of depression, anxiety, and social discrimination. Obesity is commonly recognized as having many causes, such as genetic, lifestyle and environmental. There are four major modalities for management of overweight and obesity in adolescents: dietary management, increasing physical activity, pharmacological therapy, and bariatric surgery. The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of novel and emerging approaches for preventing and managing adolescent obesity. It was found that while not always the case, theory driven approaches are being better utilized in newer interventions especially by those directed toward prevention. New theories that are being used are the theories of reasoned action, planned behavior, intervention mapping, and social marketing. Schools are found to be the most common place for such interventions, which is appropriate since virtually all children attend some form of private or public school. Limitations found in many studies include the underuse of process evaluations, the low number of studies attempted, environmental or policy changes, and that not all studies used a similar control group for comparison.
“Lifestyle” Interventions for Promoting Physical Activity: A Kilocalorie Expenditure-Based Home Feasibility Study

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine in cooperation with the President's Council of Physical Fitness and Sports recommended short periods of daily kilocalorie (calorie) expenditure with moderate-intensity physical activities to complement the currently existing recommendations. In this study the feasibility (adherence and safety) of employing calorie expenditure as the basis for prescribing a home-based walking program to healthy, community-dwelling men and women was examined. This was a 16-week pretest-posttest feasibility study of a home-based calorie-expenditure walking program conducted in an outpatient clinic in an academic medical center. Participants included 20 healthy, elderly, community-dwelling men and women. A 16-week home-based walking program was individually prescribed as a weekly amount of calorie expenditure increasing from an initial 300 calories per week to 1,200 calories per week (approximately 30 minutes of walking daily) during the final 6 weeks of the study. Adherence to the program was recorded individually in a diary (kept daily and reviewed at each visit), body weight, and walking pace. All but one participant were able to complete this 16-week program (95 percent adherence). That a calorie-based approach to promote physical activity among the elderly has a high adherence rate is suggested by these findings. Additional studies are necessary to define the potential role for this approach in promoting physical activity and improving health outcomes among the elderly.
Sources of carbon for dicarboxylic acids in rat lung mitochondria

Abstract In view of previous work which demonstrated negligible pyruvate carboxylase activity, the present experiments were undertaken to investigate the potential roles of glutamate and the purine nucleotide cycle in replenishment of four-carbon units in rat lung mitochondria. 1. 1. Lung mitochondrial preparations were able to form citrate from 2-oxoglutarate, and, in the presence of 2-hydroxymalonate, the addition of L-glutamate resulted in net citrate formation. 2. 2. The rate of oxidation of [l- 14 C] glutamate and [l- 14 C] 2-oxoglutarate to 14 CO 2 measured in these preparations was further increased in uncoupled mitochondria. 3. 3. Significant purine nucleotide cycle activity was observed in mitochondria-free lung tissue preparations. Additionally, significant net accumulation of ammonia, malate and fumarate was observed in the complete system; whereas when aspartate or GTP were omitted, no detectable fumarate and only low levels of ammonia and malate formation were observed. 4. 4. It is concluded that the limited ability to oxidize glutamate and the demonstration of purine nucleotide cycle activity provides at least 2 potential mechanisms for the maintenance of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates in lung mitochondria.
The discriminative effects of the κ-opioid hallucinogen salvinorin A in nonhuman primates: dissociation from classic hallucinogen effects

Rationale The widely available hallucinogen salvinorin A is a unique example of a plant-derived compound selective for κ-opioid receptors and may produce effects distinct from those of other compounds with classic hallucinogenic or dissociative properties which are also abused in humans.
Effect of modification of the surface on the hydrogen permeability of reactor steels and their welded joints

We study the characteristics of hydrogen permeability of 10Kh9VFA and 12Kh18N10T reactor steels in the intact state and in the presence of welds and analyze the influence of oxidation and irradiation with protons on these characteristics. It is shown that the proton irradiation increases the thermal stability and the degree of protection against the penetration of hydrogen into the oxidized specimens. To determine the contribution of the welds to the solubility of hydrogen, we apply, for the first time, a combined approach, namely, the diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in the weld is found according to the changes in the electric resistance in the process of hydrogenation and the hydrogen permeability of the welded joint is determined from the ratio of the areas of the base metal and the weld. It is shown that the oxide films with structures of chromium spinel formed on the surface of steels decrease their hydrogen permeability by 1.5–2 orders of magnitude.
Why is there anything except physics

In the course of defending his view of the relation between the special sciences and physics from Jaegwon Kim’s objections Jerry Fodor asks “So then, why is there anything except physics?” By which he seems to mean to ask if physics is fundamental and complete in its domain how can there be autonomous special science laws. Fodor wavers between epistemological and metaphysical understandings of the autonomy of the special sciences. In my paper I draw out the metaphysical construal of his view and argue that while in a sense it answers Fodor’s question it is immensely implausible.
THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS FOR SEVERE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Pulmonary hypertension occurs as a consequence of numerous and varied conditions, all of which result in an elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in understanding the factors which contribute to the progressive nature of pulmonary vascular disease, and in identifying new treatments for pulmonary hypertension. The majority of these therapeutic options are pharmacologic, but for specific circumstances, surgical therapy may be a consideration. This article discusses nonspecific therapies for all patients with pulmonary hypertension, vasodilator therapy (including screening for vasodilator responsiveness, standard oral agents, and newer intravenous or inhalational therapies) and surgical options applicable to specific situations.
Structural and Dynamic Studies of Zinc, Gallium, and Cadmium Complexes of a Dicarboxylate Pendant-Armed Cross-Bridged Cyclen

Inadvertently, the wrong X-ray structure was reported1 for the Zn-CB-DO2A complex. Instead, the structural data for a related zinc complex was actually presented. The first paragraph of the section X-ray Structural Data and Figure 5 on page 3312, Table 1 on page 3313, the last two sentences of the paragraph [Zn·1](NaClO4)1.5 and Table 3 on page 3314, and the paragraph X-ray Crystallography on page 3315 should be replaced as follows (in addition, a corrected X-ray CIF file was deposited with the CCDC):
Narrative skill in boys with fragile X syndrome with and without autism spectrum disorder

We examined recalled narratives of boys with fragile X syndrome with autism spectrum disorder (FXS-ASD; N=28) and without ASD (FXS-O; N=29), and compared them to those of boys with Down syndrome (DS; N=33) and typically developing boys (TD; N=39). Narratives were scored for mentions of macrostructural Story Grammar elements (Introduction, Relationship, Initiating Events, Internal Response, Attempts/Actions, and Ending). We found that narrative recall is predicted by short-term memory and nonverbal mental age levels in almost all groups (except TD), but not by expressive syntax or caregiver education. After adjusting for these covariates, there were no differences between the three groups with intellectual disability (ID). The FXS-ASD group, however, had significantly poorer performance than the TD group on the overall Story Grammar score, and both the FXS-O and FXS-ASD groups had lower Attempts/Actions scores than the TD group. We conclude that some form of narrative impairment may be associated with FXS, that this impairment may be shared by other forms of ID, and that the presence of ASD has a significantly detrimental effect on narrative recall.
Nonstandard Work Schedules, Perceived Family Well-Being, and Daily Stressors.

Data from two studies assessed the effects of nonstandard work schedules on perceived family well-being and daily stressors. Study 1, using a sample of employed, married adults aged 25 – 74 (n = 1,166) from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States, showed that night work was associated with perceptions of greater marital instability, negative family-work, and work-family spillover than weekend or daytime work. In Study 2, with a subsample of adults (n = 458) who participated in the National Study of Daily Experiences, weekend workers reported more daily work stressors than weekday workers. Several sociodemographic variables were tested as moderators. Both studies demonstrated that nonstandard work schedules place a strain on working, married adults at the global and daily level.
American Muslim Political Participation Following 9/11: Religious Belief, Political Resources, Social Structures, and Political Awareness

Using a nationwide survey of American Muslims conducted in 2004, we evaluate models of political participation, specifically the influence of religious characteristics, political resources, social structures, and political awareness on Muslims' reported political participation. American Muslims reported extremely high rates of political participation in comparison to the general public and in this regard are model citizens. Using path analysis, our findings concluded that religious beliefs were negatively associated with political participation, while measures of religious resources were positively related to participation. Social structures had mixed influence in most cases statistically indistinguishable from zero. Political resources and measures of political awareness, specifically feelings of anxiety following 9/11, were positively associated with participation.
Joint iterative decoding of LDPC codes for channels with memory and erasure noise

This paper investigates the joint iterative decoding of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and channels with memory. Sequences of irregular LDPC codes are presented that achieve, under joint iterative decoding, the symmetric information rate of a class of channels with memory and erasure noise. This gives proof, for the first time, that joint iterative decoding can be information rate lossless with respect to maximum-likelihood decoding. These results build on previous capacity-achieving code constructions for the binary erasure channel. A two state intersymbol-interference channel with erasure noise, known as the dicode erasure channel, is used as a concrete example throughout the paper.
Disparities in Medicare services: potential causes, plausible explanations, and recommendations.

Race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with the use of M e d i c a re services. In this ar ticle, the author juxtaposes disparities in health outcome measures (including death rates for h e a rt disease, cancer, and stroke) with disparities in the use of elective services expected to improve health, and with disparities in the use of non-elective services associated with poor management of chronic disease. This approach is intended to provide information for judging (a) the re a s o n a b l e n e s s of the explanations of f e red for disparities in M e d i c a re utilization and (b) the re c o mmendations made to effect change.
Charge deposition modeling of thermal neutron products in fast submicron MOS devices

Ground-based thermal neutron reaction products (/spl alpha/, /sup 7/Li) appear to be an important terrestrial SEE concern for modern submicron technologies. We address some interesting spatial and temporal characteristics of neutron products. Accurate modeling of the temporal behavior of these products may be required for high-speed devices. In addition, we introduce a simulation methodology that determines device sensitivity to neutron reaction products as a function of neutron nuclear reaction location and the resulting ion track orientation.
Using Multi-Robot Systems for Engineering Education: Teaching and Outreach With Large Numbers of an Advanced, Low-Cost Robot

This paper describes the experiences of using an advanced, low-cost robot in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. It presents three innovations: It is a powerful, cheap, robust, and small advanced personal robot; it forms the foundation of a problem-based learning curriculum; and it enables a novel multi-robot curriculum while fostering collaborative team work on assignments. The robot design has many features specific to educators: It is advanced enough for academic research, has a broad feature set to support a wide range of curricula, and is inexpensive enough to be an effective outreach tool. The low cost allows each student to have their own robot for the semester, so they can work on activities outside the classroom. This robot was used in three different classes in which it was the foundation for an innovative problem-based learning curriculum. In particular, the robot has specialized sensors and a communications system that supports novel multi-robot curricula, which encourage student interaction in new ways. The results are promising; the robot was a big success in graduate, undergraduate, and outreach activities. Finally, student assessments indicate a greater interest and understanding of engineering and other STEM majors, and class evaluations were consistently above average.
ApoA-1 mimetic restores adiponectin expression and insulin sensitivity independent of changes in body weight in female obese mice

BACKGROUND: We examined the ability of the apolipoprotein AI mimetic peptide L-4F to improve the metabolic state of female and male ob mice and the mechanisms involved. METHODS: Female and male lean and obese (ob) mice were administered L-4F or vehicle for 6 weeks. Body weight was measured weekly. Fat distribution, serum cytokines and markers of cardiovascular dysfunction were determined at the end of treatment. RESULTS: L-4F significantly decreased serum interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-a and IL-1b. L-4F improved vascular function, and increased serum adiponectin levels and insulin sensitivity compared with untreated mice. In addition, L-4F treatment increased heme oxygenase (HO)-1, pAKT and pAMPK levels in kidneys of ob animals. pAKT and pAMPK levels were significantly reduced in the presence of an HO inhibitor. Interestingly, L4F did not alter body weight in female mice, but caused a significant reduction in males. CONCLUSIONS: L-4F treatments reduced cardiovascular risk factors and improved insulin sensitivity in female ob mice independent of body fat changes. Reduced inflammatory cytokine levels accompanied by increased HO activity, serum adiponectin and improved insulin sensitivity suggest that L-4F may promote the conversion of visceral fat to a healthier phenotype. Therefore, L-4F appears to be a promising therapeutic strategy for treating both cardiovascular risk factors and insulin resistance in obese patients of either gender. Nutrition and Diabetes (2012) 2, e33; doi:10.1038/nutd.2012.4; published online 12 March 2012
Framing effect on the public's response to crisis: Human interest frame and crisis type influencing responsibility and blame

Abstract This study investigated the effects of a human interest frame and types of crisis in news coverage of a corporate crisis on people's responses to the crisis. To examine the effects, this study used 2 (human interest frame versus non-human interest frame) × 2 (an accident versus a transgression) mixed factorial design. The results indicate that the human interest frame influenced participants’ emotional response to the crisis and the emotional response influenced by the human interest frame was a significant predictor of blame and responsibility in a transgression crisis.
Assumed Stress Finite Element Analysis of Through-Cracks in Angle-Ply Laminates

In the present paper a new assumed stress finite element method, based on a complementary energy method, is developed for the analysis of cracks in angle-ply laminates. In this procedure, the fully three-dimensional stress state (including transverse normal and shear stresses) is accounted for; the mixed-mode stress and strain singularities, whose intensities vary within each layer near the crack front, are built into the formulation a priori; the interlayer traction reciprocity conditions are satisfied a priori; and the individual cross-sectional rotations of each layer are allowed; thus resulting in a highly efficient and cost-effective computational scheme for practical application to fracture studies of laminates. Results obtained from the present procedure, for the case of an uncracked laminate under bending and for the case of a laminate with a through-thickness crack under far-field tension, their comparison with other available data, and pertinent discussion, are presented. N accurate three-dimensional stress analysis of angle-ply laminates with cracks and/or holes, as opposed to the use of simpler "classical laminates plate theories," is often times mandatory to understand 1) the complicated feature of the often-observed non-self-similar crack growth in sym- metric angle-ply laminates; 2) the subcritical damage in the form of matrix crazing, splitting, and delamination that is observed to precede final failure in a laminate; and 3) to more clearly understand the hole-size effects in a laminate. Quasi-three-dimensional analyses of cracked angle-ply laminates, with the assumption of 1) zero transverse normal stress in the laminate, 2) perfect bonding between lamina, and 3) each laminate being treated as a homogeneous anisotropic medium, were recently reported by Wang et al. ! The procedures in Ref. 1 -do not account, a prior, for the mixed- mode stress and strain singularities near the crack front, and hence involve expensive computations using very fine finite element meshes of conventional, polynomial-based elements. From these very-fine-mesh finite element solutions, even though one may obtain high stress-gradient solutions in the limit, it is often inconvenient to extract the results for mixed- mode stress intensity factors near the crack front. Also, the finite element that is used in Ref. 1 is the multilayer assumed- stress hybrid element originally developed by Mau et al.2 for the analysis of uncracked laminates. In the procedure of Ref. 2, a stress field is assumed independently in each layer and interlayer traction reciprocity conditions are enforced through the method of Lagrange multipliers, which necessarily complicates the formulation and results in expensive com- putations. Also, since the stresses are independently assumed in each layer, the computational procedure in Refs. 1 and 2 become prohibitively expensive for a large number of layers. Finally, it is noted that the effects of transverse normal stress a33 (x3 being the thickness-coordinate of the laminate) are ignored in Refs. 1 and 2.
A proposed reinforcement survey schedule for special needs children

The development of a reinforcement survey schedule for special needs children is described. A reliability study of the two-part scale is presented. Results of the test-retest procedure with 96 children aged five to twelve indicated that the scale wasreliable over a period of seventeen days, with a Kendall correlation of 0.8825 on the Food Reinforcer Scale and 0.8623 of the Non-food Reinforcer Scale (both p<0.001). Suggested uses of the scale include: assessment, clinical settings, home programs and research.
Territory, Contiguity, and International Conflict: Assessing a New Joint Explanation

Beginning with two prominent explanations of international conflict—one based on contiguity and the other on territory—I develop a new joint account that provides two important advancements over the prior explanations. I then test the expectations of this joint account on dispute and war onset for all dyad years from 1919 to 1995. I find strong support for its predictions at the dispute stage and partial support at the war stage, including marked evidence of contingency between contiguity and territory. The results also show territory to be a more consistent engine of conflict than contiguity, especially at the war onset stage. Further, the findings provide insights into the effects of contiguity among nonterritorial disagreements, as well as the effects of territorial strife among noncontiguous pairs. Thus, this investigation clarifies the relative importance of both territory and contiguity within any geography-based explanation of conflict behavior, and therefore has broadly interesting implications.
Variation in prokaryotic community composition as a function of resource availability in tidal creek sediments.

In anaerobic coastal sediments, hydrolytic and/or fermentative bacteria degrade polymeric material and produce labile intermediates, which are used by terminal metabolizers to complete the conversion of organic material to CO2. We used molecular approaches to evaluate the response of two bacterial terminal metabolizer groups from a coastal tidal creek sediments, sulfate reducers and methanogens, to controlled changes in carbon resource supply. Tidal creek sediment bioreactors were established in April and August 2004. For each date, intact sediment sections were continuously supplied with flowthrough seawater that was either unamended or amended with the high-molecular-weight polysaccharide dextran. Biogeochemical data indicate that the activity of fermenting bacteria and the terminal metabolizers was limited by organic carbon supply during both experiments, with a significant increase in net volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and rates of sulfate reduction and methanogenesis following dextran addition. Community composition (measured by using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and functional gene [dsrA, mcrA] clone libraries) changed from April to August. However, community composition was not different between amended and unamended cores within each month, despite the change in resource level. Moreover, there was no relationship between community richness and evenness with resource level. This lack of variation in community composition with C addition could be attributed to the dynamic environment these sediment communities experience in situ. Fluctuations in VFA concentrations are most likely very high, so that the dominant bacterial species must be able to outcompete other species at both high and low resource levels.
Connecting The Ivory Tower To Main Street: Setting Research Priorities For Real-World Impact

Health care decisionmakers face increasing pressure to use health care resources more efficiently, but the information they need to assess policy options often is unavailable or not disseminated in a useful form. Findings from stakeholder meetings and a survey of private-sector health care decisionmakers in California begin to identify high-priority issues, the perceived adequacy of current information, and preferred formats and other desired attributes of research. This is a first step in establishing a systematic approach to linking the information priorities of private-sector decisionmakers with those who fund and conduct research.
A semantic differential mood scale

A set of bipolar semantic differential type adjective scales were constructed to assess five mood states. The response format chosen serves to control for response bias, reduces the number of items by half, and measures both positive and negative affect. Each of the six bipolar mood states hypothesized was defined by seven five-point items. Two studies were conducted on samples of high school boys (N = 210); both confirmed the presence of five mood factors: Cheerful-Depressed, Energetic-Tired, Good natured-Grouchy, Confident-Unsure, and Relaxed-Anxious. The mood state factors isolated were compared with the scales in the Eight State Questionnaire and Bipolar POMS.
Environmental and Biotic Controls over Aboveground Biomass Throughout a Tropical Rain Forest

The environmental and biotic factors affecting spatial variation in canopy three-dimensional (3-D) structure and aboveground tree biomass (AGB) are poorly understood in tropical rain forests. We combined field measurements and airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) to quantify 3-D structure and AGB across a 5,016 ha rain forest reserve on the northeastern flank of Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii Island. We compared AGB among native stands dominated by Metrosideros polymorpha found along a 600–1800 m elevation/climate gradient, and on three substrate-age classes of 5, 20, and 65 kyr. We also analyzed how alien tree invasion, canopy species dominance and topographic relief influence AGB levels. Canopy vertical profiles derived from lidar measurements were strong predictors (r 2 = 0.78) of AGB across sites and species. Mean AGB ranged from 48 to 363 Mg ha−1 in native forest stands. Increasing elevation corresponded to a 53–84% decrease in AGB levels, depending upon substrate age. Holding climate constant, changes in substrate age from 5 to 65 kyr corresponded to a 23–53% decline in biomass. Invasion by Psidium cattleianum and Ficus rubiginosa trees resulted in a 19–38% decrease in AGB, with these carbon losses mediated by substrate age. In contrast, the spread of former plantation tree species Fraxinus uhdei corresponded to a 7- to 10-fold increase in biomass. The effects of topographic relief at both local and regional scales were evident in the AGB maps, with poorly drained terrain harboring 76% lower biomass than forests on well-drained relief. Our results quantify the absolute and relative importance of environmental factors controlling spatial variation in tree biomass across a rain forest landscape, and highlight the rapid changes in carbon storage incurred following biological invasion.