cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Processing.org: a networked context for learning computer programming

Processing is a programming language and environment built for the electronic arts and design communities. It was created to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context and to serve as a software sketchbook. The software exports Java applets which may be posted on the Internet and shared. Processing.org is the online hub for the international community of people using the software. It hosts examples, reference, a public exhibition, and a forum.
PACED RESPIRATION AND HEART RATE CONTROL

Five human subjects were presented with a high frequency tone on each short inter-heartbeat interval (IBI) and a low frequency tone on each long IBI. They were instructed to produce high tones in the presence of one visual stimulus and low tones in the presence of another under conditions of paced and unpaced respiration. The results indicated that control of heart rate is not dependent upon respiratory mediation.
Darunavir: a second-generation protease inhibitor.

Purpose. The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, clinical efficacy, adverse events, dosage and administration, and place in therapy of darunavir are reviewed. Summary. Darunavir is the most recent protease inhibitor (PI) to receive approved labeling from the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Darunavir is unique among currently available PIs because it maintains antiretroviral activity against a variety of multidrug-resistant HIV strains. Darunavir is well absorbed, and the bioavailability of darunavir increases by 30% when given with food. Darunavir is approximately 95% bound to plasma proteins. Darunavir is metabolized by and inhibits cytochrome P-450 (CYP) isoenzyme 3A4; therefore, darunavir is prone to CYP3A4-mediated drug–drug interactions. Two trials have demonstrated the clinical efficacy of darunavir in HIV-positive patients previously treated with antiretrovirals. One trial demonstrated a 2 log10 decrease in plasma HIV RNA levels, compared with a decrease of <1 log10 in the control group. Average increases in CD4+ T-cell counts for darunavir and control groups were 124 and 20 cells/mm3, respectively. Adverse events reported from preliminary safety data indicate that darunavir has a similar safety profile to other currently available PIs. The recommended adult dosage of darunavir is 600 mg (two tablets) combined with ritonavir 100 mg every 12 hours with food. Darunavir should be used with caution in patients with hepatic dysfunction. No dosage adjustment is necessary for patients with mild or moderate renal dysfunction. Conclusion. Darunavir is a new HIV PI that retains virological activity in the presence of multiple protease mutations. As such, darunavir appears to be a useful component of optimized combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected patients previously treated with antiretrovirals.
STUDIES ON VITAL STAINING : I. SOME PROBLEMS IN COLORIMETRY. THE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MIXTURES OF COLORED SUBSTANCES IN SOLUTION.

1. A spectrophotometric method is discussed which permits quantitative analysis of colored substances present in mixtures. 2. Special attention is given to the analysis of mixtures of two dyes which are being used in a series of studies on vital staining. 3. It is shown that the method can be applied to quantitative analysis of mixtures of naturally occurring animal pigments or to mixtures of these with various other colored substances. 4. Certain limitations of the method and certain necessary precautions are discussed.
Moving finite element analysis for the elastic beams in contact problems

Abstract The contact problem of a linear elastic beam with a rigid barrier is considered, in which the contact surface is assumed to be frictionless. The problem contains the characteristic of moving boundaries as the contact regions expand or reduce in size when the external loads alter. Starting from the variational principles, we derived the interface equations as well as the governing equation. In addition to matching the deflections and the slopes with the rigid barrier at the marginal nodes of the contact regions, the interface equations also have to be satisfied there. In essence, the interface equations are designed to locate the unknown and moving marginal nodes. Although it is confined within the framework of small deformation and linear elastic material behavior, the problem exhibits high nonlinearity due to the moving nature of the marginal nodes. In this paper, we present a moving finite element analysis employing incremental procedures and an iterative numerical scheme to tackle the problem. A fixed number of two-node beam elements are used in the moving finite element analysis and the size of the elements varies as the loads alter. A couple of examples, whose exact solutions are obtainable, are chosen to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed numerical algorithm.
High-resolution structure of an archaeal zinc ribbon defines a general architectural motif in eukaryotic RNA polymerases

Abstract Background: Transcriptional initiation and elongation provide control points in gene expression. Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II subunit 9 (RPB9) regulates start-site selection and elongational arrest. RPB9 contains Cys 4 Zn 2+ -binding motifs which are conserved in archaea and homologous to those of the general transcription factors TFIIB and TFIIS. Results: The structure of an RPB9 domain from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus celer was determined at high resolution by NMR spectroscopy. The structure consists of an apical tetrahedral Zn 2+ -binding site, central β sheet and disordered loop. Although the structure lacks a globular hydrophobic core, the two surfaces of the β sheet each contain well ordered aromatic rings engaged in serial edge-to-face interactions. Basic sidechains are clustered near the Zn 2+ -binding site. The disordered loop contains sidechains conserved in TFIIS, including acidic residues essential for the stimulation of transcriptional elongation. Conclusions: The planar architecture of the RPB9 zinc ribbon – distinct from that of a conventional globular domain – can accommodate significant differences in the alignment of polar, non-polar and charged sidechains. Such divergence is associated with local and non-local changes in structure. The RPB9 structure is distinguished by a fourth β strand (extending the central β sheet) in a well ordered N-terminal segment and also differs from TFIIS (but not TFIIB) in the orientation of its apical Zn 2+ -binding site. Cys 4 Zn 2+ -binding sites with distinct patterns of polar, non-polar and charged residues are conserved among unrelated RNAP subunits and predicted to form variant zinc ribbons.
Cultural Preference and the Expository Writing of African-American Adolescents.

Research by linguists and educators confirms the observation that aspects of the African-American experience are reflected in the grammatical, phonological, lexical, and stylistic features of African-American English and in the patterns of language use, including narrative, found in African-American speech communities. This study goes beyond prior research to investigate and characterize what Hymes refers to as the preferred patterns for the “organization of experience” among African-American adolescents. The results of the study revealed that, although subjects from several ethnic backgrounds stated a preference for using vernacular-based organizational patterns in informal oral exposition, African-American adolescents, in contrast to a group of Hispanic-American, Asian-American, and European-American adolescents, reported a strong preference for using vernacular-based patterns in academic writing tasks as they got older. These findings suggest that the organization of expository discourse is affected by...
The description and classification of evolutionary mode: A computational approach

The incorporation of the random walk model into stratophenetic analysis marked a turn- ing point by presenting a potential null model for microevolutionary patterns. Random walks are derived from a family of statistical fractals, and their statistics can be reconstructed using appro- priate techniques. This paper lays the foundation for the explicit and uniform description of evo- lutionary mode in stratophenetic series using random walk null models and the information con- tained within incompletely preserved time series. The method relies upon the iterative analysis of subseries of an original stratophenetic series by measuring the presence of deviations from statistical randomness as the lineage evolves. This mea- sure, and its probability of significance (evaluated using a randomization test), forms the dimen- sions of a descriptive space for microevolutionary modes. Each stratophenetic series can then be viewed as a journey through this space. Computer simulation of various evolutionary modes dem- onstrates that different modes, for example stasis and gradualism, have differing trajectories and occupy different regions of the microevolutionary space. The method is applied to two published foraminiferal stratophenetic series, the Mio-Pliocene Globorotalia plesiotumida-tumida punctuated transition and an anagenetic trend in the Late Cretaceous Contusotruncana fornicata-contusa lineage. An anagenetic trend is strongly supported in the latter example, whereas transformation of the Globorotalia species seems to result from the fluctuating effectiveness of constraining processes.
Mapping Language Function in the Brain: A Review of the Recent Literature

Advocates of brain-based learning have argued that instructional methods, to be successful, must be based on an understanding of how the brain processes information. In the past most descriptions of neurocognitive function were largely speculative, relying on theoretical constructions of how we believed the brain to work. Recent advances in functional imaging -Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging- have, however, opened the brain to empirical study. This article will consider the potential importance of brain study for composition instruction, briefly describe functional imaging techniques, and review the findings of recent brain-mapping studies investigating the neurocognitive systems involved in language function. In short, understanding how language systems are organized in the brain represents the first step in our attempts to create brain-compatible instructional methods in the composition classroom. Following a review of the recent literature, the article will consider the possible implications of this information for pedagogical practice.
Cross-diffusion in a colloid-polymer aqueous system

Abstract The thermodynamic behavior of colloid–polymer systems has been extensively investigated. However, relatively few studies have been reported on the corresponding transport properties. We have measured the four multicomponent diffusion coefficients for a ternary colloid–polymer-water system by Rayleigh interferometry at 25 °C. The colloidal particles and polymer coils in our system are the tyloxapol micelles and polyethylene glycol (molecular weight of 2.0 kg mol−1) respectively. Both solutes are neutral and preferentially interact with water. Our investigation focused on the behavior of the two cross-diffusion coefficients in dilute solutions. These coefficients characterize how the concentration gradient of colloidal particles (polymer coils) affects the diffusion rate of polymer coils (colloidal particles). Our data were used to extract two fundamental parameters describing the thermodynamic and kinetic factors responsible for cross-diffusion. The comparison of our experimental results with a proposed reference model based on the hydrodynamic volume of particles indicates that excluded-volume thermodynamic interactions and solute hydration represent the main contributions to cross-diffusion coefficients. The role of the aggregation number of micelles and the effect of polydispersity on cross-diffusion parameters were also examined.
Resolving kinematic redundancy with constraints using the FSP (full space parameterization) approach

A solution method is presented for the motion planning and control of kinematically redundant serial-link manipulators in the presence of motion constraints such as joint limits or obstacles. Given a trajectory for the end-effector, the approach utilizes the recently proposed full space parameterization (FSP) method to generate a parameterized expression for the entire space of solutions of the unconstrained system. At each time step, a constrained optimization technique is then used to analytically find the specific joint motion solution that satisfies the desired task objective and all the constraints active during the time step. The method is applicable to systems operating in a priori known environments or in unknown environments with sensor-based obstacle detection. The derivation of the analytical solution is first presented for a general type of kinematic constraint and is then applied to the problem of motion planning for redundant manipulators with joint limits and obstacle avoidance. Sample results using planar and 3D manipulators with various degrees of redundancy are presented to illustrate the efficiency and wide applicability of constrained motion planning using the FSP approach.
Monocular occlusion cues alter the influence of terminator motion in the barber pole phenomenon.

The influence of monocular occlusion cues on the perceived direction of motion of barber pole patterns is examined. Unlike previous studies that have emphasized the importance of binocular disparity, we find that monocular cues strongly influence the perceived motion direction and can even override binocular depth cues. The difference in motion bias for occluders with and without disparity cues is relatively small. Additionally, although ‘T-junctions’ aligned with occluders are particularly important, they are not strictly necessary for creating a change in motion perception. Finally, the amount of motion bias differs for several stimulus configurations, suggesting that the extrinsic:intrinsic classification of terminators is not all-or-none. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PATHOGEN REVERSES COMPETITION BETWEEN LARVAL AMPHIBIANS

Ecologists have often suggested that the presence of pathogens that differentially affect interacting species may affect the outcome of interactions, yet few experimental studies have documented pathogen-mediated interactions using a natural host–parasite system. We studied the effects of a pathogenic water mold, Saprolegnia ferax, on competitive interactions between the Cascades frog Rana cascadae and the Pacific treefrog Hyla regilla. Previous studies have shown that outbreaks of Saprolegnia infection in the Cascade mountains of Oregon, USA, result in high embryonic mortality for Rana but not for Hyla. Thus, we examined how infections of Saprolegnia during amphibian embryonic development could influence larval recruitment and competitive interactions between larval Rana and Hyla. We manipulated the presence of Saprolegnia and embryonic Hyla and Rana in replicated artificial ponds and determined mean survivorship to hatching per pool from daily observations during embryonic development. Pools were then f...
Assembly Dynamics of FtsZ Rings in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli and Effects of FtsZ-Regulating Proteins

FtsZ is the major cytoskeletal component of the bacterial cell division machinery. It forms a ring-shaped structure (the Z ring) that constricts as the bacterium divides. Previous in vivo experiments with green fluorescent protein-labeled FtsZ and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching have shown that the Escherichia coli Z ring is extremely dynamic, continually remodeling itself with a half time of 30 s, similar to microtubules in the mitotic spindle. In the present work, under different experimental conditions, we have found that the half time for fluorescence recovery of E. coli Z rings is even shorter (∼9 s). As before, the turnover appears to be coupled to GTP hydrolysis, since the mutant FtsZ84 protein, with reduced GTPase in vitro, showed an ∼3-fold longer half time. We have also extended the studies to Bacillus subtilis and found that this species exhibits equally rapid dynamics of the Z ring (half time, ∼8 s). Interestingly, null mutations of the FtsZ-regulating proteins ZapA, EzrA, and MinCD had only modest effects on the assembly dynamics. This suggests that these proteins do not directly regulate FtsZ subunit exchange in and out of polymers. In B. subtilis, only 30 to 35% of the FtsZ protein was in the Z ring, from which we conclude that a Z ring only 2 or 3 protofilaments thick can function for cell division.
Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Ion Channels

▪ Abstract Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels were first discovered in rod photoreceptors, where they are responsible for the primary electrical signal of the photoreceptor in response to light. CNG channels are highly specialized membrane proteins that open an ion-permeable pore across the membrane in response to the direct binding of intracellular cyclic nucleotides. CNG channels have been identified in a number of other tissues, including the brain, where their roles are only beginning to be appreciated. Recently, significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying their functional specializations. From these studies, a picture is beginning to emerge for how the binding of cyclic nucleotide is transduced into the opening of the pore and how this allosteric transition is modulated by various physiological effectors.
Contingent Valuation: Theoretical Advances and Empirical Tests Since the NOAA Panel

Beyond a simple cost-effectiveness role, and for many policy issues where all the goods or impacts at issue are not readily priced in the market, the relevance of economics depends to a large degree on the ability to use contingent valuation (CV) and other closely related stated preference approaches. The government's use of CV as a tool to place a monetary value on damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill brought forth strong industry objections to the use of CV. In response, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of the trustee agencies in the Exxon Valdez case, commissioned a blue ribbon panel chaired by Kenneth Arrow and Robert Solow to review the use of CV in natural resource damage assessment proceedings. The panel's report (Arrow et al.) and transmittal letter to the NOAA general counsel concluded, "CV studies can produce estimates reliable enough to be the starting point for a judicial or administrative determination of nat-
The Use of Global and Mesoscale Meteorological Model Data to Predict the Transport and Dispersion of Tracer Plumes over Washington, D.C.

Abstract The data from a yearlong tracer dispersion experiment over Washington, D.C., in 1984 were used to evaluate Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) dispersion model calculations using coarse global meteorological reanalysis data [NCEP–NCAR and 40-Yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40)] and calculations using meteorological data fields created by running a high-resolution meteorological model [fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)]. None of the meteorological models were optimized for urban environments. The dispersion calculation using the ERA-40 data showed better performance than those using the NCEP–NCAR data and comparable performance to those using MM5 data fields. Calculations with MM5 data that used shorter-period forecasts were superior to calculations that used forecast data that extended beyond 24 h. Daytime dispersion model calculations using the MM5 data showed an underprediction bias not evident in calculations using the ERA-40 data...
Ethical Issues in Australian Marketing Research Services

Abstract The study focuses on Australian marketing research professionals' perceptions toward ethics in the marketing research profession and research services. These perceptions are specifically related to the ethical environment, ethical guidance, and leadership responsibility, factors leading to unethical marketing research practices and ethical climate characteristics. Overall findings underscore the importance of the role of management in setting the ethical tone and developing an appropriate frame of reference for ethical conduct and guidance in Australian marketing research.
Designing interfaces for multi-user, multi-robot systems

The use of autonomous robots in organizations is expected to increase steadily over the next few decades. Although some empirical work exists that examines how people collaborate with robots, little is known about how to best design interfaces to support operators in understanding aspects of the task or tasks at hand. This paper presents a design investigation to understand how interfaces should be designed to support multi-user, multi-robot teams. Through contextual inquiry, concept generation, and concept evaluation, we determine what operators should see, and with what salience different types of information should be presented. We present our findings through a series of design questions that development teams can use to help define interaction and design interfaces for these systems.
Team care: An analysis of verbal behavior during patient rounds in a rehabilitation hospital

Abstract Patient rounds are an important aspect of multidisciplinary team care. Team perceptions of ideally functioning rounds were compared with the actual communication patterns in rounds in a physical rehabilitation hospital. Perceptions of the patients' needs in the content areas of physical, psychosocial, and support systems were also compared with the actual distribution of content in rounds. Physicians spoke more (41%) and made more authoritative statements (62%) than did staff from any other discipline. The physicians participated far more than was perceived as ideal in all areas but the physical. Patients contributed only 9% of the discussion and less than 1% of authoritative statements. The physical content area was overemphasized (65%) and the psychosocial area was underemphasized (14%) when compared with the perceived needs of the patients. Interpretations of these findings and implications for investigation of the impact of team care are discussed.
Standing surface waves of finite amplitude

Gravity waves on the surface of an inviscid incompressible fluid of finite depth are considered. The waves are assumed to be periodic in time and in the horizontal direction. The surface profile, potential function, pressure and frequency of the motion are determined (to third order) as series in powers of the amplitude divided by the wavelength. It is found that the frequency increases with amplitude for depths less than a certain multiple of the wavelength and decreases with increasing amplitude for greater depths. Graphs of the surface profile and of the pressure as a function of depth are included.
Quantile Regression: Analyzing Changes in Distributions Instead of Means

While multiple regression has been a popular statistical choice for postsecondary researchers, it can only tell us the effect of an independent variable on the mean of y. In many applications, however, we would like to know the effect across the entire distribution of y, not just the mean of y. Quantile regression provides one way of telling us this effect, although the interpretation can vary depending upon whether conditional or unconditional quantile regression is used.This chapter reviews conditional and unconditional quantile regression, with an emphasis on the latter as estimated via the recentered influence function, assuming exogeneity of the independent variables, and the instrumental variables quantile treatment effect estimator, assuming endogeneity of treatment. Issues around interpretation, estimation, sensitivity analyses, and presentation of results are discussed, using the 2004 National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty to estimate male-female salary differentials and the effect of faculty unions on faculty salaries.
Breast Cancer Genetic Counseling: A Surgeon's Perspective.

As surgeons who care for patients with breast cancer, the possibility of a cancer diagnosis being related to a hereditary predisposition is always a consideration. Not only are we as surgeons always trying to identify these patients and families, but also we are often asked about a potential hereditary component by the patients and their family members. It is therefore critical that we accurately assess patients to determine who may benefit from genetic testing. Importantly, the potential benefit for identifying a hereditary breast cancer extends beyond the patient to other family members and the risk may not be only for the development of breast cancers, but for other cancers as well. As a surgeon with additional training in clinical cancer genetics, I have perhaps a unique perspective on the issue and feel that a review of some of the more practical considerations is important.
Disturbing effect of a magnetic object on the absolute measurement of the magnetic field

Ground magnetic surveys are carried out over small areas on a previously defined target. Many observations are spoiled by a magnetic object the observer is carrying while observing. It is not easy to estimate far away a magnetic object should be kept from the point of measurement. To investigate this, a theoretical formulation of the magnetic field for a small magnetic object in an external magnetic field was calculated having a look at the influence of an arbitrary shaped magnetic body at any point in space in the presence of an external field H. The nuclear precession (proton) magnetometer was used for the field work. An estimation of anomalies for given weight for round and elongated bodies was considered. The result shows distances for some common objects at which an anomaly is 1nT with safety pin having the least the distance of 0.6m and Autobus the highest distance of 76.0m. However, the best way of avoiding the disturbance due to a magnetic body is checking the surroundings of the measurement point with a proton magnetometer.
Effect of Relativistic Transformation Methods on the Solutions of the Damped Wave Conduction and Relaxation Equation in Semi-Infinite Medium

The expression for transient temperature during damped wave conduction and relaxation developed by Baumeister and Hamill by the method of Laplace transforms was further integrated. A Chebyshev polynomial approximation was used for the integrand with modified Bessel composite function in space and time. Telescoping power series leads to more useful expression for transient temperature. By the method of relativistic transformation the transient temperature during damped wave conduction and relaxation was developed. There are three regimes to the solution. A regime comprising of Bessel composite function in space and time and another regime comprising of modified Bessel composite function in space and time. The temperature solution at the wave front was also developed. The solution for transient temperature from the method of relativistic transformation is compared side by side with the solution for transient temperature from the method of Chebyshev economization. Both solutions are within 12% of each other. For conditions close to the wave front the solution from the Chebyshev economization is expected to be close to the exact solution and was found to be within 2% of the solution from the method of relativistic transformation. Far from the wave front, i.e., close to the surface the numerical error from the method of Chebyshev economization is expected to be significant and verified by a specific example. The solution for transient surface heat flux from the parabolic Fourier heart conduction model and the hyperbolic damped wave conduction and relaxation models are compared with each other. For τ> 1/2 the parabolic and hyperbolic solutions are within 10% of each other. The parabolic model has a “blow-up” at τ→0 and the hyperbolic model is devoid of singularities. The transient temperature from the Chebyshev economization is within an average of 25% of the error function solution for the parabolic Fourier heat conduction model. A penetration distance beyond which there is no effect of the step change in the boundary is predicted using the relativistic transformation model.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Optical Characterization of Focused Ion Beam Implanted AlGaAs/GaAs Multiple Quantum Well Structures

Raman and both cw and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been used to characterize 3.5nm/3.5nm Alo.30Gao.70As/GaAs multiple quantum well structures that have been patterned by focused ion beam (FIB) implantation followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Raman scattering is used to characterize a FIB-delineated optical waveguide structure by identifying the appropriate RTA conditions that provide for removal of ion implantation induced damage in order to produce compostionally mixed regions that possess crystalline order. Spatially and temporally resolved PL spectra provide information on the degree of compositional mixing, exciton lifetime, and lateral transport. Anisotropic diffusion of excitons is observed in samples patterned with parallel line structures.
Hydrocarbon Liquid Rocket Engine Technology Impact Forecasting

In order to reinstate a manned presence in space, the U.S. must develop an affordable and sustainable launch capability. Hydrocarbon-fueled rockets have drawn interest from numerous major government and commercial entities because they offer a low-cost heavylift option that would allow for frequent launches. However, the development of effective new hydrocarbon rockets would likely require new technologies in order to overcome certain design constraints. The use of advanced design methods, such as the Technology Impact Forecasting method, enables the designer to identify key areas in need of improvement, allowing one to dial in a proposed technology and assess its impact on the system. Through this analysis, a conceptual design for a hydrocarbon-fueled F-1 derivative engine that meets all imposed requirements was achieved - resulting in an affordable engine, unparalleled in performance, which can satisfy today’s needs of a heavy lift launch vehicle.
Teaching Management by Management Exception

In an evaluation of the personalized system of instruction (PSI), PSI-exposed students performed significantly better and retained more knowledge for extended periods than did students taught by a ...
Case Report: Adrenal Hemangioblastoma in Von Hippel–Lindau Disease as a Cause of Secondary Erythrocytosis

Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHLD) is an inherited disorder with protean manifestations including tumors that may cause secondary erythrocytosis: cerebellar hemangioblastoma, renal cell carcinoma, and pheochromocytoma. The case of a woman with VHLD whose secondary erythrocytosis resolved after removal of an adrenal hemangioblastoma is reported. This is the first reported case of adrenal hemangioblastoma in VHLD. Furthermore, it appears that adrenal hemangioblastoma is a cause of secondary erythrocytosis.
Examining Culture's Impact on the Learning Behaviors of International Students from Confucius Culture Studying in Western Online Learning Context.

There is a lack of shared understanding of how culture impacts learning in online environment. Utilizing document analysis, the authors in this research study culture’s impact on the learning behaviors of student sojourners from Confucius culture studying in Western online learning context. The shared understandings of Confucius culture and Western culture are compared, contrasted, and synthesized through Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. The learning behaviors of student sojourners from Confucius culture are examined from the following three dimensions: teacher-student relationship, curriculum development, and teaching and learning pedagogy. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Effect of doxazosin on the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia: Results from three double-blind placebo-controlled studies

The urinary symptoms characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) can have a considerable impact on patients' quality of life. Symptom score assessment is now used in BPH, although a number of different instruments are available. Controlled clinical trials with selective alpha 1 adrenoceptor antagonists such as doxazosin, prazosin and terazosin have shown these agents to be effective in the treatment of BPH. The effects of doxazosin on the severity and bothersomeness of BPH symptoms were determined in three multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies, involving a total of 609 normotensive and hypertensive patients. Doxazosin was initiated at a dosage of 0.5 or 1 mg once daily, with a final dose range of up to 12 mg once daily. The duration of active treatment was 12 to 14 weeks. Significant improvements were seen in symptom severity and bothersomeness with doxazosin compared with placebo, in both patient populations. The onset of symptomatic improvement was rapid, occurring within two weeks of treatment initiation, and efficacy was sustained throughout the treatment period. A long-term, open label extension of these studies has demonstrated sustained efficacy during 48 months of follow-up. Since symptom relief is the primary goal of therapy in BPH, and since doxazosin's effects are rapid in onset and sustained in duration, it appears that doxazosin is an effective agent for the treatment of symptomatic BPH in both normotensive and hypertensive men.
SU-F-R-36: Validating Quantitative Radiomic Texture Features for Oncologic PET: A Digital Phantom Study

Purpose: Radiomic texture features derived from the oncologic PET have recently been brought under intense investigation within the context of patient stratification and treatment outcome prediction in a variety of cancer types; however, their validity has not yet been examined. This work is aimed to validate radiomic PET texture metrics through the use of realistic simulations in the ground truth setting. Methods: Simulation of FDG-PET was conducted by applying the Zubal phantom as an attenuation map to the SimSET software package that employs Monte Carlo techniques to model the physical process of emission imaging. A total of 15 irregularly-shaped lesions featuring heterogeneous activity distribution were simulated. For each simulated lesion, 28 texture features in relation to the intensity histograms (GLIH), grey-level co-occurrence matrices (GLCOM), neighborhood difference matrices (GLNDM), and zone size matrices (GLZSM) were evaluated and compared with their respective values extracted from the ground truth activity map. Results: In reference to the values from the ground truth images, texture parameters appearing on the simulated data varied with a range of 0.73–3026.2% for GLIH-based, 0.02–100.1% for GLCOM-based, 1.11–173.8% for GLNDM-based, and 0.35–66.3% for GLZSM-based. For majority of the examined texture metrics (16/28), their values on the simulated data differed significantly from those from the ground truth images (P-value ranges from <0.0001 to 0.04). Features not exhibiting significant difference comprised of GLIH-based standard deviation, GLCO-based energy and entropy, GLND-based coarseness and contrast, and GLZS-based low gray-level zone emphasis, high gray-level zone emphasis, short zone low gray-level emphasis, long zone low gray-level emphasis, long zone high gray-level emphasis, and zone size nonuniformity. Conclusion: The extent to which PET imaging disturbs texture appearance is feature-dependent and could be substantial. It is thus advised that use of PET texture parameters for predictive and prognostic measurements in oncologic setting awaits further systematic and critical evaluation.
From Community College to University: Institutionalization and Neoliberalism in British Columbia and Alberta

Abstract This qualitative investigation of higher education institutional development addresses new universities that were former community colleges in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Stemming from an original study conducted nearly two decades earlier, this investigation’s data were collected from the same institutions and from similar sources: institutional documents, government policies, and interviews from faculty and administrators; thus, qualifying as a longitudinal qualitative investigation. This investigation explains institutional instability and identity change as a result of new government policies and institutional norms during the period of 2000-2013. Future research can monitor the influence of neoliberal practices on the development of these new model higher education institutions in the Canadian context. Resume Cette etude qualitative sur l’expansion des institutions d’enseignement superieur porte sur l’etude de nouvelles universites qui etaient autrefois des c olleges communautaires des provinces de la Colombie-Britannique et de l’Alberta. Issues d’une enquete menee il y a environ deux decennies, les donnees de cette etude ont ete recueillies aupres de ces memes institutions et s’appuient sur des sources similaires : documents institutionnels, politiques gouvernementales et entretiens avec le corps professoral et les administrateurs, donnant ainsi un caractere longitudinal a l’etude. Celle-ci explique l’instabilite de ces institutions et leur changement d’identite, consequences de nouvelles directives gouvernementales et de normes institutionnelles des annees 2000 a 2013. De futures recherches pourront suivre l’influence des pratiques neoliberales sur le developpement de ces nouvelles institutions d’enseignement superieur dans un contexte canadien.
Facebook engagement on college students' interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning

In recent years college students have incorporated social-networking sites, and more specifically Facebook, into their daily lives. Facebook has received empirical attention; attention focused on what students are doing on Facebook, who its users are, and, more recently, why students access Facebook. However, researchers who have assessed motivations for accessing Facebook have emphasized how motivations are associated with certain activities, and have not simultaneously and directly examined how activities and motivations are associated with both maladaptive and adaptive factors of students’ interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning. The purpose of the present study was to examine how Facebook engagement is associated with college student functioning. Data were collected from 208 undergraduate students attending a large Midwestern university and were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression (HMR), simultaneous multiple regression (SMR), and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). The results indicated that the Facebook motivation to cope was negatively associated with conscientiousness; the motivation to enhance was positively associated with life-satisfaction and negatively associated with loneliness and identity distress; and the motivation to conform was negatively associated with social connectedness and positively associated with identity distress. Further, the results indicated that the Facebook activity of social comparison was negatively associated with social connectedness; the activity of linking was positively associated with life-satisfaction and negatively associated with loneliness; and the activity of posting self-in-focus photos (i.e., “selfies”) was negatively associated with social connectedness and life-satisfaction and positively associated with loneliness and identity distress. Finally, two Facebook Engagement variables were identified by CCA. The first, Common Facebook Engagement, was positively associated with identity distress. The second, Passive Social Monitoring, was positively associated with social connectedness and life-satisfaction. Overall, the findings suggest that counseling psychologists who work with college students could gain insight into college students’ interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning by assessing both Facebook activities and motivations at intake and throughout the therapeutic process. Additionally, in accordance with the Self-Determination Theory of motivation, it may be helpful for counseling psychologists to be aware that college students’ intrinsic motivation to access Facebook is likely positively associated with their interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning.
Achieving high-quality care at the end of life in the acute hospital setting

With more than half (58%) of deaths in England taking place in hospitals, it is crucial that we continue to both improve the quality of end-of-life care (EoLC) in the acute sector and make the best use of available resources. The National End of Life Care Programme (NEoLCP) recently published a practical guide that will help nurses and doctors work with hospital managers and board members to achieve just that. The Route to Success in End of Life Care — Achieving Quality in Acute Hospitals (NEoLCP, 2010) follows the six steps in the EoLC pathway for acute hospitals ( Figures 1 and 2 ). For each step it sets out a series of questions and points that clinicians, senior managers and trust board members should consider when assessing how their own hospital cares for those nearing the end of life and their families. Figure 1. Delivering quality and productivity excerpt from The Route to Success in End of …
On Stress-Induced Tribochemical Reaction Rates

A number of recent experiments have demonstrated that normal and shear stresses are able to accelerate the rates of chemical reactions of adsorbates on surfaces, yielding an approximately exponential increase in reaction rate with force. It seems that such mechanochemical reactions play a central role in tribochemistry and the consequent formation of anti-wear or friction-reducing films from lubricant additives. It is thus appropriate to summarize the theories that can be used to analyse such tribochemical data. The models have a strong parallel with those used to analyse sliding friction, the Prandtl/Tomlinson model. It is found that the force-dependent activation barrier for chemical reactions varies as $$E_{\text{act}} (F) = E_{\text{act}} + AF + BF^{2}$$ . The linear variation in activation barrier with force, the so-called Bell equation, and the quadratic dependence, the so-called Hammond effect, are analysed using model reaction energy profiles, which reveal a dependence of the parameters A and B on the shape of the energy profile. The influence of contact pressure and sliding velocity is also discussed. The above models assume that the normal and shear stresses are coplanar with the thermal reaction coordinate for the tribochemical processes, and the effects of this not being the case are also discussed. Finally, the existing results of tribochemical reactions of oxygen-functionalized graphene and zinc dialkyl dithiophosphates are also analysed using these models.
Reading Comprehension Deficits in Adolescents: Addressing Underlying Language Abilities.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to discuss reading comprehension deficits in adolescents in relation to their word reading skills and lexical and syntactic development. Although reading comp...
The impact of hyperoxia on brain activity: A resting-state and task-evoked electroencephalography (EEG) study

A better understanding of the effect of oxygen on brain electrophysiological activity may provide a more mechanistic insight into clinical studies that use oxygen treatment in pathological conditions, as well as in studies that use oxygen to calibrate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals. This study applied electroencephalography (EEG) in healthy subjects and investigated how high a concentration of oxygen in inhaled air (i.e., normobaric hyperoxia) alters brain activity under resting-state and task-evoked conditions. Study 1 investigated its impact on resting EEG and revealed that hyperoxia suppressed α (8-13Hz) and β (14-35Hz) band power (by 15.6±2.3% and 14.1±3.1%, respectively), but did not change the δ (1-3Hz), θ (4-7Hz), and γ (36-75Hz) bands. Sham control experiments did not result in such changes. Study 2 reproduced these findings, and, furthermore, examined the effect of hyperoxia on visual stimulation event-related potentials (ERP). It was found that the main peaks of visual ERP, specifically N1 and P2, were both delayed during hyperoxia compared to normoxia (P = 0.04 and 0.02, respectively). In contrast, the amplitude of the peaks did not show a change. Our results suggest that hyperoxia has a pronounced effect on brain neural activity, for both resting-state and task-evoked potentials.
Autonomous Driving on Vehicle Test Tracks: Overview, Implementation and First Results

Abstract This paper presents the implementation of the co-operative project “Autonomous Driving” which had been set up for the automation of vehicle test drives on the Volkswagen proving ground. The components of the vehicle, its operating principle and some first test results will be focused here. An overview as well as a description of the motivation and concept were already given in an earlier paper [7]. As part of the concept, ordinary cars can be transformed into automatically driven cars within a few hours by skilled persons. Within the project, two test vehicles were equipped with sensors, computers and actuators (driving robots). The vehicles can be driven by a robot while the sensor system observes the entire surroundings in order to be able to avoid obstacles. Vehicle guidance is controlled by satellite navigation (DGPS) as well as visual lane detection. Furthermore, the vehicle control can be overruled by an electronic copilot in case of an emergency. First evaluation results from driving tests by satellite navigation control and visual lane detection control in a special proving ground environment will be presented as a video demonstration.
The local nature of tone-association patterns*

A computational notion of locality, based on forbidden substructures of a fixed size, is applied to autosegmental representations, and tone-association patterns are argued to be local. This is significant for phonological theory, for two reasons. First, this notion of locality provides for an explicit theory of tonal well-formedness that is superior to previous explanations in that it makes clear, restrictive typological predictions. Second, it provides a clear path for understanding how these patterns can be learned. A brief survey of major tone-association patterns shows that association generalisations which are edge-based (Mende and Hausa), quality-specific (Kukuya) or positional (Northern Karanga Shona) are all local in this way. This is contrasted with previous explanations of the typology, which require global reference to the directionality of association, and can thus overgenerate.
Attribute description service for large-scale networks

An analysis of requesting resources from large-scale networks reveals a fundamental challenge. As the network grows, more and more resources become available, and so finding resources that fit experimental test criteria becomes difficult and time consuming. For example, the National Science Foundation sponsors GENI--an experimental network with a goal to gain enough resources to model the Internet at scale. Currently, GENI contains relatively few contributed resources donated from businesses and academia, and so matching resources to tests is rather simple. However, experimenters plan to conduct network experiments that are very complex and difficult to accurately model by using the vast numbers of resources expected in GENI. When GENI reaches its final state, finding the right resources that fit experimental test criteria out of many thousands of donated resources may be as difficult as conducting the experiment itself. This dilemma underscores the importance of establishing an attribute description service that promotes a standardized language for all interactions between the end users and the large-scale network.