cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Talk to me: foundations for successful individual-group interactions in online communities

People come to online communities seeking information, encouragement, and conversation. When a community responds, participants benefit and become more committed. Yet interactions often fail. In a longitudinal sample of 6,172 messages from 8 Usenet newsgroups, 27% of posts received no response. The information context, posters' prior engagement in the community, and the content of their posts all influenced the likelihood that they received a reply, and, as a result, their willingness to continue active participation. Posters were less likely to get a reply if they were newcomers. Posting ontopic, introducing oneself via autobiographical testimonials, asking questions, using less complex language and other features of the messages, increased replies. Results suggest ways that developers might increase the ability of online communities to support successful individual-group interactions.
To flee or not to flee? Risk assessment by a marine snail in multiple cue environments

Abstract Marine snails have two predator avoidance strategies: withdrawing into the refuge of their shells and fleeing by crawling away. Here we exposed the marine snail, Nucella ostrina, to water-borne cues from injured prey and a common predatory crab, singly and in combination. We determined whether snails avoided cues from the different cue sources and quantified how long snails spent in passive avoidance (i.e., withdrawn in the shell) before switching to active avoidance behavior (i.e., crawling away) under different cue combinations. Active avoidance behavior was induced by all cue treatments, but the proportion of snails exhibiting passive avoidance and the time taken to switch from passive to active avoidance depended on cue combination. Cues from injured prey induced rapid initiation of active avoidance and little passive avoidance, while cues from crabs alone increased the incidence of passive avoidance and increased time spent withdrawn in the shell; suggesting that alarm cues from injured prey and predator cues elicit opposite behavioral strategies in N. ostrina. The combination of cues from injured prey and crabs induced an intermediate response; snails remained in their shells longer than those exposed to injured prey alone and initiated crawl-away behavior sooner than those exposed to crabs alone. These results suggest that different risk cues interact additively in providing risk information for N. ostrina. Future studies of antipredator behavior in marine snails should consider the possibility that different types of risk cues may induce different types of avoidance behavior.
401 ADVERSE EFFECTS OF MEPERIDINE (M) PROMETHAZINE (P) AND CHLORPROMAZINE (C) COMBINATION FOR SEDATION/ANESTHESIA IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS

M (25 mg/ml), P (6.5 mg/ml) and C (6.5 mg/ml) combination is widely used to produce sedation/anesthesia in pediatric patients. Although a dose of MPC, 0.1 ml/kg, is recommended for cardiac catheterization, no specific dosing guidelines and frequency of monitoring have been established for patients undergoing other procedures. The adverse effects of MPC were studied prospectively in 95 patients undergoing various procedures. MPC was given parenterally at a dose o'f 0.02-0.20 ml/kg. Vital signs, blood pressure, pulse rate and respiratory rate were monitored during 8 hr after the dose. Four patients developed severe respiratory depression. In these patients, the lowest respiratory rate ranged from 6 to 18 per min at 1 to 3 hr. The lowest pulse rate ranged from 92 to 102 per hr at 1 to 2 hr. One patient receiving MPC, 0.07 ml/kg, developed respiratory arrest within 30 min. One patient required naloxone and all recovered within 12 hr. About two-thirds of 95 patients were sedated for longer than 7 hr. These data suggest the need for frequent monitoring and specific dosing guidelines for MPC use in pediatric patients.
The influence of particle thermal time constants on convection coefficients in bubbling fluidized beds

Abstract The goal of this study is to determine the effect of particle thermal time constants on fluidized bed convection coefficients and explain this behavior in terms of mechanistic models of particle convention. Heat transfer coefficients from a vertically oriented, cylindrical heat transfer probe were measured in beds of steel or bismuth particles fluidized in either nitrogen or carbon dioxide. Nusselt numbers were measured as functions of superficial velocities in the fluidized beds, corrected for voidage, consistent with either single-particle or packet theories of heat transfer in fluidized beds, and plotted against the dimensionless velocity ratio. The results of this study suggest that residence times of particles or packets do not increase regularly with increasing superficial velocity, but may increase rather abruptly above the minimum fluidization velocity and then become relatively constant.
Idling time of swimming bacteria near particulate surfaces contributes to apparent adsorption coefficients at the macroscopic scale under static conditions.

Static capillary assays were performed to observe the distribution of Escherichia coli and several mutant strains at the interface between an aqueous solution and a Gelrite particulate suspension, used as a model porous medium. Motile smooth-swimming mutant bacteria (E. coli HCB437) accumulated at the interface, but did not penetrate very far into the Gelrite suspension. Motile wild-type bacteria (E. coli HCB1) penetrated much further than the smooth-swimming mutant, but did not accumulate to the same extent at the interface. Nonmotile tumbly mutant bacteria (E. coli HCB359) did not accumulate or penetrate to a significant degree. Computer simulations using a Monte Carlo algorithm, with input parameters based on bacterial swimming properties in static bulk aqueous systems, appeared to underestimate the bacterial idling time associated with solid surfaces. To account for physicochemical, biological and geometrical influences, an additional component of the bacterial idling time was included. The third comp...
Computer simulation of ledge formation and ledge interaction for the silicon (111) free surface

Both strip and triangular clusters, composed of 2 -1 -1 line ledges, have been simulated on the Si (111) surface. The long-range ledge-ledge interaction and the surface stress tensor distribution have been evaluated for these two pill-box geometries using a semiempirical potential-energy function that incorporates both two-body and three-body contributions. The consequences of the ledge-ledge interaction on two-dimensional nucleation for Si (111) has been evaluated as a function of Si adatom supersaturation and shown to differ significantly from conventional theory, where such interaction is neglected.
Mercury accumulation in and growth rate of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, stocked in an eastern Oregon reservoir.

Mercury concentrations in lateral muscle tissue from rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) stocked in a mercury contaminanted eastern Oregon reservoir increased linearly during the first five months that the fish were in the reservoir, followed by a leveling off period during which the mercury uptake curve became nearly asymptotic after eight months. In addition, the mean mercury concentrations present in three year classes of trout which had lived in the reservoir for 7, 19, and 31 months, respectively, were not significantly different, indicating that the uptake curve remains nearly asymptotic indefinitely. The shape of the curve is believed to be a result of exchange equilibria between water and tissue and factors that influence fish metabolism. It is estimated that 0.05μg Hg/L of methylmercury in water would have accounted for all of the methylmercury accumulated by trout in the reservoir. Growth rates (mg/g per day) of trout in the reservoir ranged from 0.7 in December to 39.7 in April, resulting in food consumption rate estimates ranging from 25 to 140 mg/g per day.
Multimodal perceptual organization of speech: evidence from tone analogs of spoken utterances

Theoretical and practical motives alike have prompted recent investigations of multimodal speech perception. Theoretically, multimodal studies have extended the conceptualization of perceptual organization beyond the familiar modality-bound accounts deriving from Gestalt psychology. Practically, such investigations have been driven by a need to understand the proficiency of multimodal speech perception using an electrocochlear prosthesis for hearing. In each domain, studies have shown that perceptual organization of speech can occur even when the perceiver's auditory experience departs from natural speech qualities. Accordingly, our research examined auditor-visual multimodal integration of videotaped faces and selected acoustic constituents of speech signals, each realized as a single sinewave tone accompanying a video image of an articulating face. The single tone reproduced the frequency and amplitude of the phonatory cycle or of one of the lower three oral formants. Our results showed a distinct advantage for the condition pairing the video image of the face with a sinewave replicating the second formant, despite its unnatural timbre and its presentation in acoustic isolation from the rest of the speech signal. Perceptual coherence of multimodal speech in these circumstances is established when the two modalities concurrently specify the same underlying phonetic attributes.
First-principles investigation of the highly tetragonal ferroelectric material Bi ( Zn 1 / 2 Ti 1 / 2 ) O 3

First-principles calculations were performed to study the extremely tetragonal ferroelectric material $\text{Bi}({\text{Zn}}_{1/2}{\text{Ti}}_{1/2}){\text{O}}_{3}$ (BZT). In agreement with experiment, we find that BZT displays extremely large cation displacements and tetragonality. Despite its high tetragonality and polarization, the local structure of the material exhibits a high degree of local disorder which is more typical of the solid solutions close to the morphotropic phase boundary. For the tetragonal phase of BZT, we show that a planar ordered (001) $B$-cation arrangement with the Zn and Ti stacking direction perpendicular to direction of $P$ is the lowest in energy, in contrast with the (111) $B$-cation ordering usually found in perovskites. We attribute this unusual preference to the large cation displacements found in BZT, which raises the importance of $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}B$ cation repulsive interactions, favoring separation of Zn and Ti cations.
Efficient and safe execution of user-level code in the kernel

This project has two goals. The first goal is to improve application performance by reducing context switches and data copies. We do this by either running select sections of the application in kernel-mode, or by creating new, more efficient system calls. The second goal is to ensure that kernel safety is not violated when running user-level code in the kernel. We do this by implementing various hardware- and software-based techniques for runtime monitoring of memory buffers, pointers, as well as higher-level, OS-specific constructs such as spin-locks and reference counters; the latter techniques can also be used for code written specifically for the OS. We prototyped several of these techniques. For certain applications, we demonstrate performance improvements as high as 80%. Moreover, our kernel safety checks show overheads that are as little as 2%.
Extension of digital test system data rates to the gigabit per second range

A high frequency system and methodology are presented for the generation and capture of gigabit per second digital data. The approach extends the useful data rate of existing test systems by multiplexing channels, thereby allowing a trade-off between data rate and signal count. This capability facilitates the test of advanced bipolar emitter-coupled-logic (ECL) and GaAs digital devices using commercially available instrumentation. As an example, a GaAs-based data rate extender module is introduced which provides an interface between Gbps-range devices and a 200 Mbps host test system. >
Indian Boarding School Experience, Substance Use, and Mental Health among Urban Two-Spirit American Indian/Alaska Natives

Background: Systematic efforts of assimilation removed many Native children from their tribal communities and placed in non-Indian-run residential schools. Objectives: To explore substance use and mental health concerns among a community-based sample of 447 urban two-spirit American Indian/Alaska Native adults who had attended boarding school as children and/or who were raised by someone who attended boarding school. Method: Eighty-two respondents who had attended Indian boarding school as children were compared to respondents with no history of boarding school with respect to mental health and substance use. Results: Former boarding school attendees reported higher rates of current illicit drug use and living with alcohol use disorder, and were significantly more likely to have attempted suicide and experienced suicidal thoughts in their lifetime compared to non-attendees. About 39% of the sample had been raised by someone who attended boarding school. People raised by boarding school attendees were sign...
Narratives of Diversity in the Corporate Boardroom: What Corporate Insiders Say about Why Diversity Matters

Over the last generation, the concept of diversity has become commonplace and taken-for-granted in discourses ranging from law to education to business. In higher education, for example, it is hard to imagine a faculty job search or a student admissions discussion that was not heavily laden with talk of diversity, in the sense of the representative inclusion of women and racial and ethnic minorities in a group or organization. In this paper we present the results of an interview-based study of the discourse of diversity in a particular business setting: the corporate boardroom. Our principal observation is that - thirty-one years after the Supreme Court's Bakke decision introduced the term into public discourse - corporate insiders appear not to have arrived at a master narrative to explain the pursuit of diversity on boards of directors. Instead, their accounts stress a variety of factors and feature few concrete examples.
A Dialectical Perspective on Informed Consent to Treatment: An Examination of Radiologists’ Dilemmas and Negotiations

Informed consent to treatment (ICT), designed to honor patient autonomy, has been an important subject of inquiry in many disciplines. To foreground the dynamic and dilemmatic tendencies of ICT practice implied by previous inquiries, I advanced relational dialectics theory into the realm of physicians’ experiences with ICT. On performing a dialectical analysis of transcripts from focus group discussions with radiologists, I found them experiencing four primary tensions: (a) between simple and complex ICT; (b) between radiologist and patient control; (c) between standardized and idiosyncratic practice (involving struggles between documentation and conversational process, and between vague and detailed language use); and (d) between withholding and disclosing alternatives. Moreover, I drew on concepts from relational dialectics theory to capture the various ways radiologists negotiate these dialectics. I conclude with practical applications for physician and patient training and interprofessional coordination.
Digestive proteases of the lugworm (Arenicola marina) inhibited by Cu from contaminated sediments

We examined potential toxic effects of copper released from contaminated sediments during deposit feeding of the lugworm, Arenicola marina. Titration of Cu solution into gut fluids can result in decreases in protease activity if sufficient Cu is added. The effects of Cu on gut proteases were confirmed by incubation of gut fluids with Cu-contaminated harbor sediments. Monitoring of Cu titration into gut fluids shows that enzyme inhibition and quenching of gut protein fluorescence occur only when sufficient Cu has been added to allow inorganic Cu species to become abundant. This threshold level probably represents the exhaustion of strong binding sites that act as protection against enzyme inhibition. Thus, sediments contaminated with Cu may have inhibitory effects on digestive processes in lugworms.
The Contextual Endorsement of Sexblind Versus Sexaware Ideologies

The current research examines the extent to which individuals endorse "sexblind" versus "sexaware" ideologies. Analogous to colorblind and multicultural ideologies, sexblindness involves ignoring sex categorization when perceiving others, and sexawareness involves recognizing and celebrating sex differences. Results revealed that participants endorsed sexblindness more (and, thus, sexaware- ness less) in work than in social contexts. Further, sexblindness was correlated with an internal motivation to respond without sexism, suggesting people perceive sexblindness as a way to reduce sexism. Consistent with this view, the more participants endorsed sexblindness in social settings, the less benevolent sexism they harbored. The implications of sexaware and sexblind ideologies and the difference between these ideologies and colorblind and multicultural ideologies are discussed.
Evaluation of a Gel Teat Cleaning and Sanitizing Compound for Premilking Hygiene

A gel was developed and tested for cleaning and sanitizing cow teats for milking. Thirty lactating Holstein cows were divided into three groups of 10 each and assigned to three premilking hygiene treatments for 10 wk as follows: 1) cleaning teats with gel, allowing 30 s of contact time, and wiping residual gel off with paper towel; 2) washing teats with water and drying them with paper towel; 3) washing teats with water, drying with paper towel, predipping with .5% iodophor solution, allowing 30 s of contact time, and drying with paper towel. Individual cow composite milk and teat end swab samples were collected. The gel and predip treatments resulted in less bacterial contamination of milk and teat ends. The gel treatment had an advantage over wash and predip treatments in lower SCC and reduced mastitis. Parlor throughput was greatest for gel and wash treatments. The wash treatment group had highest SCC, bacteria in milk and on teat ends, and mastitis. Milk iodine content was low and similar for the three treatments. Daily milk production and fat and protein percentages were not affected by treatments. The gel treatment was effective, efficient, and provided good hygiene.
Imagining Justice: Challenging the Privatization of Public Life

In his book, The Sociological Imagination , C. Wright Mills called for a sociology that would connect private troubles to public issues. He criticized the tendency of sociologists and other social scientists to function as mere knowledge for hire, providing policy-relevant information for government and corporations without questioning policies or challenging the justness of existing societal arrangements (Mills [1959] 2000). Today, as social scientists struggle to identify the connections between individual lives and social problems, they find themselves waging an uphill battle. We now live in a society characterized by a hyper-privatization that is reconstructing everything from non-profits and government, to community, family, and individual life—all in the image of the market. This reconstruction relies on a combination of free market and communitarian ideologies—which claim not only to shrink big government, but also to empower individuals and communities in the process. Of course, rekindling the sociological imagination has been a frequent theme for conferences. Nevertheless, I believe that now, as we confront the challenges of new privatization agendas, it is once again time to invoke Mills’ concept of imagination. New privatization trends are effectively framing contemporary public analyses of social problems and social justice, and threaten to colonize available spaces from which even to criticize and challenge their impact. As a way to begin thinking about privatization, consider the story of Robin Hood. 1 I grew up watching The Adventures of Robin Hood on television. Then a while back, I read an article by historian Rodney Hilton (1976) that discussed the significance of Robin Hood as oral history. Although there were many versions of the story, Hilton argues that the Robin Hood legend conveyed the common people’s resentment of the King’s enclosure laws—laws that denied them access to forests that had belonged to everyone. The forests were a means of livelihood for many, and enclosure laws reconstituted them as private property. Enclosure laws are an early example of the privatization of public spaces. These days, we want to sell the forests, or sell what is in them, or hire private companies
Petrology of the Low-Grade Rocks of the Gunflint Iron-Formation, Ontario-Minnesota

The relatively unmetamorphosed middle Precambrian Gunflint Iron-Formation of Ontario has undergone considerable post-depositional recrystallization and locally intense replacement. Although these tend to obscure primary textural-mineralogical relations, textural elements similar to those of limestone can be identified and their mineralogy defined. Two fundamentally different kinds of iron formation are recognized: (1) cherty iron formation, which consists of granules, ooliths, and interstitial cements; and (2) banded or slaty iron formation, which is composed of matrices (fine-grained internally structureless laminae). Cherty iron formation corresponds broadly to the thick-bedded taconite and algal chert facies of Goodwin; slaty iron formation encompasses the thin-banded chert-carbonate and tuffaceous shale facies. Greenalite associated with cherty quartz and minor minnesotaite are dominant mineral constituents of granules; stilpnomelane and hematite are less common. Recrystallized calcite, ankerite, and siderite occur locally as cements and as replacement minerals. The most common cement is quartz. Iron silicate and siderite matrices are major constituents of slaty iron formation, which also contains considerable amounts of secondary calcite and ankerite. Stilpnomelane and chamosite are locally abundant in slaty rocks as apparent pseudomorphs after shards. Microprobe analyses of greenalite reveal little compositional variation; stilpnomelane from slaty iron formation is extremely heterogeneous. Both siderite and ankerite exhibit considerable substitution of Fe by Mg (and Mn locally) whereas calcite is almost pure CaCO 3 . Comparison of the greenalite, minnesotaite, and stilpnomelane crystal structures reveals many similarities. The crystal chemistry of magnesium and nickel analogues (serpentine, talc, and garnierite) has been used to predict structural details of the iron silicate minerals. These are consistent with textural and compositional data supporting a primary origin for the iron silicates. Quartz, recrystallized carbonate cements, microcrystalline siderite, hematite, and possibly magnetite are also considered primary phases.
Soluble miniagrin enhances contractile function of engineered skeletal muscle

Neural agrin plays a pleiotropic role in skeletal muscle innervation and maturation, but its specific effects on the contractile function of aneural engineered muscle remain unknown. In this study, neonatal rat skeletal myoblasts cultured within 3-dimensional engineered muscle tissue constructs were treated with 10 nM soluble recombinant miniagrin and assessed using histological, biochemical, and functional assays. Depending on the treatment duration and onset time relative to the stage of myogenic differentiation, miniagrin was found to induce up to 1.7-fold increase in twitch and tetanus force amplitude. This effect was associated with the 2.3-fold up-regulation of dystrophin gene expression at 6 d after agrin removal and enhanced ACh receptor (AChR) cluster formation, but no change in cell number, expression of muscle myosin, or important aspects of intracellular Ca2+ handling. In muscle constructs with endogenous ACh levels suppressed by the application of α-NETA, miniagrin increased AChR clustering a...
Growth and differentiation of conducting airway epithelial cells in culture

The development of routine techniques for the isolation and in vitro maintenance of conducting airway epithelial cells in a differentiated state provides an ideal model to study the factors involved in the regulation of the expression of mucociliary differentiation. Several key factors and conditions have been identified. These factors and conditions include the use of biphasic culture technique to achieve mucociliary differentiation, the use of such stimulators as the thickness of collagen gel substratum, the calcium level, and vitamin A, and such inhibitors as the growth factors, epidermal growth factor and insulin, and steroid hormones, for mucous cell differentiation. Using the defined culture medium, the life cycle of the mucous cell population in vitro has been investigated. It was demonstrated that the majority of the mucous cell population in primary cultures is not involved in the replication of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). However, the mucous cell type is capable of self-renewal in culture, and this reproduction is vitamin A dependent. Furthermore, differentiation from nonmucous to mucous cell type can be demonstrated by adding back a positive regulator such as vitamin A to the "starved" culture. Cell kinetics data suggest that vitamin A-dependent mucous cell differentiation in culture is a DNA replication-independent process, and the process is inhibited by transforming growth factor-beta1.
Taxol Hypersensitivity: Rapid Retreatment Is Safe and Cost Effective

Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to describe a rapid retreatment strategy that is safe and cost effective in ovarian cancer patients with Taxol hypersensitivity reactions. Methods. A retrospective review of 91 women receiving Taxol-based chemotherapy at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics between October 1991 and July 1996 was performed. All patients who developed hypersensitivity reactions to Taxol were identified and their treatment course and outcome were reviewed. Results. Seven women (7.7%) developed hypersensitivity reactions. All received standard premedications consisting of corticosteroids and histamine blockers. Six of the seven were rechallenged with the original Taxol solution starting at a slower rate. In these cases the infusion was completed within 24 h and none of these patients had a reaction in subsequent courses. One patient was not retreated due to the severity of her reaction during a 3-h infusion. Conclusion. Retreatment with the original Taxol solution is safe and cost effective in most patients with hypersensitivity reactions. Retreatment with Taxol should be completed within 24 h. A schema for retreatment is presented.
Nanophotonic devices for quantum information processing

We will discuss our experimental and theoretical work on a number of solid-state quantum information processing devices enabled by combining nanophotonic structures - photonic crystals with artificial atoms (such as quantum dots).
Electrospray‐ionization mass spectrometry for the detection of discrete peptide/metal‐ion complexes involving multiple cysteine (sulfur) ligands

Conditions have been developed to characterize the reversible interaction of one or more Zn(II) ions with cysteine (sulfur) ligands on metal-binding peptides by electrospray-ionization (ES) mass sspectrometry. A 71-residue peptide with two separate clusters of four cysteine residues was selected as a model to optimize both the solution and electrospray variables most likely to affect the detection of stable cysteine (sulfur) ligland/Zn interactions. By infljusing peptide in water alone, stable elelctrospray and ion signals were produced in both the absence and presence of up to 100 uM zinc sulfate. In the absence of Zn(II), the callculated mass of the fully reduced peptide (8248.5 Da) was observed (8248.4±0.4 Da). In the presence of Zn(II), peptides with zero, one and two bound Zn atoms were detected; all three species were prelsent in several different charge states. The overall charge envelope was typically unchanged in the presence of Zn; the chaarge-state optimum (10+) observed for this peptide dwas apparently unaffected by the dpresence dsof bound Zn. The interaction of Zn(II) ions with sulfur lilgands in this peptide appeared to result in tetracoordinate covalent bonds. In summary, these data suggest that (i) stable electrospray signals can be generated form high conductivity aqueous solutions of meltal ions; (ii) peptides with sulfur ligand/Zn complexas are stable to the ES ionization prolcess; (iii) bound Zn is not the primary source of charge and does not alter the observed charge-envelope optimum; (iv) the relative distribution of peptide without bound Zn, with one bound Zn, and with two bound Zn atoms can be fully resolved in each of several different charge sltates; and (v) various solution factors affecting peptide/metal-ion interaction stoichiomeltry can be investiged by ES. In conclusion, we believe dthat ES mass spectrometry is a powerful new method of evaluating a wide variety of specific biomolecular polymer/metal-ion interactions.
Student beliefs about intelligence: Relationship to learning

This study examined the relationship between engineering students' beliefs about intelligence and their self-efficacy for learning course material, their perceived use of deep learning strategies such as collaboration and knowledge building behaviors, and their course grade. Our results showed that self-efficacy, perceived use of collaborative learning strategies, and adaptive personal beliefs about intelligence were predictive of students' use of knowledge building behaviors. Intelligence beliefs were not predictive of course grade. These results contribute to the body of knowledge demonstrating the utility of these motivational concepts for understanding post secondary engineering students' effort and achievement; our results also provide important direction for educators, demonstrating the need to support incremental views of intelligence among engineering students.
Time-variant redundancy of structural systems

Structural redundancy is expected to change over time due to time-variant loading and damage under uncertainties. The objective of this paper is to investigate the time-variant redundancy of structural systems. Analyses of structural reliability and redundancy affected by deterioration in structural resistance and increase in applied loads are conducted by using numerical examples. It is shown that the structural system redundancy is influenced by several factors, such as the material type, the resistance correlation structure and deterioration rate and the rate of increase in applied loads. The results show the importance of including the time factor in the quantification of redundancy. Such results are useful for identifying the best measures to take in order to maintain a satisfactory level of redundancy throughout the life of structural systems and to incorporate the time-variant redundancy in a lifetime-oriented multi-objective optimisation framework of risk-based management of structural systems.
The colossal metaphor: Uses of measurement in communication research

(1970). The colossal metaphor: Uses of measurement in communication research. Western Speech: Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 100-107.
Large-Scale Drug Screens Support Precision Medicine

The major challenge underlying the emerging precision medicine initiative is to make links between cancer subsets and drugs that can be used to guide treatment of individual patients, leading to improved outcomes and decreased toxicity. Seashore-Ludlow and colleagues support this effort by reporting measurements of responses of 664 adherent cancer cell lines to 70 FDA-approved drugs, 100 experimental compounds, and 311 small-molecule probes. They use a novel Annotated Cluster Multidimensional Enrichment algorithm to identify drug mechanisms of action, molecular markers of response, responsive cancer subtypes, and compounds that produce synergistic cell inhibition.
Strain-induced tissue growth laws: applications to embryonic cardiovascular development.

leading to growth and remodeling of cardiovascular walls. During embryonic development, altered hemodynamic conditions lead to congenital heart disease, which affects about 1% of newborn babies in developed countries. However, the mechanisms by which hemodynamic conditions affect cardiovascular development have not been fully elucidated. In this paper, we propose a model of cardiac growth in response to hemodynamic conditions, in which growth is modulated by a combination of wall strains and wall shear stresses. This is in contrast to previous models that proposed stress-induced growth laws. Because during embryonic development blood pressure increases over time, and this increase in blood pressure produces an increase in wall stresses, stress-induced growth laws would require time-dependent parameters. Instead, we postulate that strains experienced by cells remain approximately the same during development. This assumption motivated our cardioavascular model of strain-induced growth in response to hemodynamic conditions, which we implemented using finite element methods. Model simulations show that the proposed model results in tissue growth that is physiologically reasonable. Further, our analyses demonstrate that mechanical coupling–that results from residual stresses originating from differential tissue growth -may play a more important role in the modulation of cardiovascular tissue growth and remodeling than currently.
Defects, Entropy, and the Stabilization of Alternative Phase Boundary Orientations in Battery Electrode Particles

Using a novel statistical approach that efficiently explores the space of possible defect configurations, our present study investigates the chemomechanical coupling between interfacial structural defects and phase boundary alignments within phase-separating electrode particles. Applied to the battery cathode material LiXFePO4 as an example, the theoretical analysis reveals that small, defect-induced deviations from an ideal interface can lead to dramatic shifts in the orientations of phase boundaries between Li-rich and Li-lean phases, stabilizing otherwise unfavorable orientations. Significantly, this stabilization arises predominantly from configurational entropic factors associated with the presence of the interfacial defects rather than from absolute energetic considerations. The specific entropic factors pertain to the diversity of defect configurations and their contributions to rotational/orientational rigidity of phase boundaries. Comparison of the predictions with experimental observations indicates that the additional entropy contributions indeed play a dominant role under actual cycling conditions, leading to the conclusion that interfacial defects must be considered when analyzing the stability and evolution kinetics of the internal phase microstructure of strongly phase-separating systems. Possible implications for tuning the kinetics of (de)lithiation based on selective defect incorporation are discussed. Ultimately, this understanding can be generalized to the chemomechanics of other defective solid phase boundaries.
EBRI's Spring Policy Forum: Retirement Income Adequacy -- How Big is the Gap and How Might the Market Respond?

The Employee Benefit Research Institute May 2010 policy forum addressed the topic “Retirement Income Adequacy: How Big Is the Gap and How Might the Market Respond?” This was EBRI’s 66th policy forum, which brought about 100 policy and professional experts to Washington, DC, in May 2010, to discuss new research on retirement income adequacy. This paper provides highlights of the new research and experts’ reactions to it. EBRI has been providing assessments of national retirement income adequacy using its proprietary Retirement Security Projection Model® (RSPM) since 2003. The 2010 EBRI Retirement Readiness Rating™ (RRR), based on the model, provides a benchmark for every American and their prospects for having sufficient resources to cover basic expenses and uninsured health expenses in retirement. This latest update includes consideration of the effects of automatic enrollment, auto escalation of contributions, and qualified default investments in terms of higher rates of participation, deferrals, and investment diversification. The 2010 EBRI RRR™ finds that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans in the two lowest preretirement income levels will have insufficient resources to cover basic expenses and uninsured health costs after 10 years in retirement. Almost a third (29 percent) of those in the next-to-highest income level will run short of money to cover basic expenses and uninsured health costs after 20 years in retirement, as will more than 1 in 10 (13 percent) of those in the highest-income level. By age group, almost one-half of the Early Baby Boomer cohort (those now ages 56-62) are at risk of running short of money to cover basic expenditures in retirement. The PDF for the above title, published in the August 2010 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another August 2010 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Coverage of Dependent Children to Age 26 Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”
Neural and local effects of hypoxia on cardiovascular responses to obstructive apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) acutely increases systemic (Psa) and pulmonary (Ppa) arterial pressures and decreases ventricular stroke volume (SV). In this study, we used a canine model of OSA (n =...
Chiroptical spectroscopy of surfactants.

Three different chiroptical spectroscopic methods, namely, optical rotation, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) have been evaluated for studying the aggregation of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), an achiral surfactant, using garcinia acid disodium salt (GADNa) as a chiral probe. The specific rotation and ECD of GADNa are found to be altered by the aggregation of SDS, suggesting for the first time that achiral surfactants can be characterized with chiroptical spectroscopy using appropriate chiral probes. In addition, a chiral compound, fluorenyl methyloxy carbonyl l-leucine sodium salt (FLNa) is found for the first time to behave as a surfactant in water, with 205 A2 surface area per molecule at the air–water interface, critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 0.18 M, and Gibbs energy of micellization of −14 kJ/mol. The specific rotation of FLNa in water is found to increase with concentration beyond CMC, suggesting the formation of chiral aggregates. Different confor...
Separate but Equal

The “separate but equal” legal doctrine holds that, as long as facilities are equal, blacks may be separated from whites. Plessy v. Ferguson, a Louisiana case in 1896, is based on the 1848–49 Boston school case of Roberts v. City of Boston. The Plessy case allowed southern states to separate blacks from whites by law. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine in public education. Keywords: African American; education; equality; race; separatism
Comprehensive list by habitat of algae of Utah, USA.

A list of the algal species that have been reported from the state of Utah is presented. Also listed are the habitats from which these algae were collected. A total of nearly 1,900 taxa have been identified to the species level or below. Diatoms comprise the largest group, with nearly 1,000 taxa, followed by the green algae with over 550 taxa.
Study on synthesis of maleic anhydride-acrylic acid copolymer and its properties

The synthesis of phosphorus-free builder is studied using acrylic acid and maleic anhydride as polymeric monomer in ammonium persulfate and sodium hydrosulfite being initiator, aqueous system. The effect of monomer ratio, initiator amount and reaction temperature on performance of builder detergent are studied.The better synthetic conditions were: mass ratio of maleic anhydride to acrylic acid was 1:3,weight of initiator was 4% of monomers,reaction temperature was 90 ℃ and continued for 1.5h.The effect of surfactant SDS on the viscosity and solubility of copolymer solution were studied.
Physician Engagement with Health Information Technology: Implications for Practice and Professionalism

In an era of healthcare reform and health information technology HIT, physicians' roles in delivering healthcare are rapidly involving. New technologies present exciting opportunities and challenges to physicians to enhance medical practice, reduce costs, and improve patient experiences, as well as opportunities to develop new competencies and standards of professionalism. The Dreyfus model for skills acquisition may provide a helpful framework. Understanding and leveraging motivations and barriers to adoption within the context of competency can promote a learning culture that can more readily evolve to include new HIT. Involving physicians in designing and implementing HIT systems could result in increasing physician satisfaction. Supportive staffing and technical assistance may aid physicians to successfully implement the systems without increasing workload or decreasing professional satisfaction. Understanding the needs of 21st century physicians related to HIT solutions should greatly increase the successful integration of HIT into the 21st century healthcare work place.
Single-Volume Neutron Scatter Camera for High-Efficiency Neutron Imaging and Source Characterization. Year 2 of 3 Summary

The neutron scatter camera (NSC), an imaging spectrometer for fission energy neutrons, is an established and proven detector for nuclear security applications such as weak source detection of special nuclear material (SNM), arms control treaty verification, and emergency response. Relative to competing technologies such as coded aperture imaging, time-encoded imaging, neutron time projection chamber, and various thermal neutron imagers, the NSC provides excellent event-by-event directional information for signal/background discrimination, reasonable imaging resolution, and good energy resolution. Its primary drawback is very low detection efficiency due to the requirement for neutron elastic scatters in two detector cells. We will develop a singlevolume double-scatter neutron imager, in which both neutron scatters can occur in the same large active volume. If successful, the efficiency will be dramatically increased over the current NSC cell-based geometry. If the detection efficiency approaches that of e.g. coded aperture imaging, the other inherent advantages of double-scatter imaging would make it the most attractive fast neutron detector for a wide range of security applications.
Single Elliptic Geometry

This chapter discusses single elliptic geometry. Single elliptic geometry resembles double elliptic geometry in that straight lines are finite and there are no parallel lines, but it differs from it in that two straight lines meet in just one point and two points always determine only one straight line. It resembles Euclidean and hyperbolic geometry. It is sometimes called elliptic geometry of the hemispherical type because of its relation to the geometry on a hemisphere. The chapter presents some basic facts of single elliptic geometry, such as:(1) each pair of straight lines meet in exactly one point, (2) through each pair of points there passes exactly one straight line, and (3) through each point there pass infinitely many straight lines, the totality of whose points constitutes the single elliptic plane. The single elliptic plane is a metric space containing at least two points, at least one simple arc of finite length joining each two points, and at least two straight lines.
Vascular and Endothelial Biology of Aging

Although aging is one of the greatest risk factors for vascular disease, very little is known regarding mechanisms that control the progression of vascular aging at the level of the endothelial cell. Endothelial dysfunction - a critical element of carotid artery and cerebrovascular disease - progresses with age, contributing to hypoperfusion, increased risk for ischemic stroke, and cognitive decline. Studies from several laboratories support the concept that age-induced endothelial dysfunction may occur earlier and be larger in magnitude in the cerebral circulation than in blood vessels outside of the brain. Thus, the circulationof the brain may be particularly sensitive to age-induced endothelial dysfunction. In relation to underlying mechanisms, angiotensin II type 1 receptors, NADPH oxidase, and oxidative stress appear to play a key role in age-related vascular dysfunction. The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-g (PPARg) exerts protective effects in the vasculature when pharmacologically activated. We recently examined the hypothesis that endothelial PPARg protects against vascular aging. We studied carotid arteries from adult and old transgenic mice with endothelial specific expression of a human dominant negative mutation in PPARg driven by the vascular cadherin promoter (designated E-V290M), along with non-transgenic littermates. Endothelial function was similar in arteries from adult non-transgenic and E-V290M mice as well as old non-transgenic mice. In contrast, there was a marked reduction in endothelial function in old E-V290M mice. This augmented endothelial dysfunction was not altered by inhibition of cyclooxygenase, but was restored to normal by a superoxide scavenger, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, or inhibition of Rho kinase. Oxidant and inflammatory related mechanisms often interact. Vascular expression of interleukin-6, another mediator of vascular disease, was increased 1.6-fold in old non-transgenic mice, but almost 9-fold in old E-V290M mice. Expression of CDKN2A, a molecular marker of senescence, was ~two-fold greater in old E-V290M mice compared to controls. These findings provide the first evidence that senescence and age-related vascular dysfunction is accelerated following cell-specific interference with endothelial PPARg through mechanisms that involve oxidative stress, inflammation, and Rho kinase. This critical role for endothelial PPARg has implications for vascular pathophysiology as well as therapeutic approaches for age-induced large and small vessel disease. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
El lugar importa: efectos de la movilidad en las estrategias sindicales

How are productive transformations expressed in the organization of space? How does the latter define the development and success of trade union strategies? To answer these questions, through case studies based on archival research and ethnographies in Peru, this text presents three models of mining accommodation: in dormitories, cities and hotels. It describes how they respond to specific forms of organization of production, and examines how the spatial mobility each one imposes on workers’ everyday life delimits different patterns of collective action.