cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impacts of information and communication failures on optimal power system operation

This paper focuses on recognizing the ways in which information and communication network failures cause a loss of control over a power system's operation. Using numerical evidence, it also assesses the specific impacts of such failures on the optimal operation of a power system. Optimal power flow (OPF) is the most prominent method for implementing optimal operation. In OPF, it is assumed that all power appliances are accessible through the communication and information network, and all power devices are set as the output of OPF; nevertheless, the loss of control and operation of the power system's apparatuses may seriously impact the real-time operation of the bulk power system. The control and operation of the power system is dedicated to a modern communication network, in that intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) are connected to apparatuses of the power network. Data communication among IEDs enables both automatic and remote manual control of the power system. Although such a network offers new advantages and possibilities not previously achievable, it intrinsically has its own source of failures, such as the failure of physical components, loss of integrity, software failures and data communication faults.
User Impact on Selection, Digitization, and the Development of Digital Special Collections

Libraries and archives digitize their special collections in an effort to increase access to rare and unique items. To ensure that resulting digital collections meet user needs, institutions have made assessment, consultation, and user participation integral to digitization initiatives and the selection process. Institutions must also build digital collections that reflect their priorities. This article examines user impact on selection and the process of developing useful and usable digital special collections that balance user and institutional interests while satisfying the needs of key stakeholders.
Particle characterization and splat formation of plasma sprayed zirconia

A process map study has been carried out to examine the role of process variables on the properties of deposit formed in thermal spray. In the past, droplet size, temperature, and velocity have been widely used to interpret the status of in-flight particles. However, the limitation of those parameters on describing the molten fraction of refractory ceramics limits these parameters' qualifications and validation on examining the causes of the resulting deposit. In this study, a group parameter, melting index, is used to interpret the molten state of particles, which also reflects the thermal energy of the particles. The kinetic energy and fluidity of particles are characterized through their Reynolds number. Splat morphological features such as flattening and fragmentation are characterized against the group parameters. Deposition rate test confirms the significance of the concept of melting index. It is highlighted in this paper that particle group parameters, i.e., melting index and Reynolds number describe the particle in-flight status very well and can be used to predict the deposit behaviors.
Word identification and sentence verification of two synthetic speech systems by individuals with intellectual disabilities

This study compared the performance of a group of individuals with intellectual disabilities with a matched control group on word recognition and sentence verification tasks. Two text-to-speech systems (i.e., DECTalk™ and RealVoice™®) were used to present synthetic speech stimuli. A pretest was administered to exclude subjects who were unable to obtain perfect scores when experimental stimuli were presented via natural speech. Results revealed that DECTalk male and female synthetic voices were significantly (p < .01) superior to the RealVoice synthesizer across groups. Additionally, performance of individuals with intellectual disabilities was significantly (p < .05) poorer than that of nondisabled individuals on the sentence verification task. Data analyzed on practice effects indicated significant interaction (p < .05) between voice and task. The results of this study should be of interest to clinicians and researchers in recognizing the differences between individuals with cognitive disabilities and no...
Virtualization and its effect on operating system

Virtual Machines were derived under one simple core idea, which was to gain the ability to run multiple Operating Systems that allow time-sharing of a single computer between several multitasking Operating Systems. Virtual Machines (VMs) provide the occurrence of what is known as server consolidation, where different services that used to be bind to an individual machine to avoid interference can now be run in separate VMs all located on the same physical machine. Using VMs in this manner helps a company save money and improve in resource utilization, but at what cost to the performance of the Operating System? We tested the boot time of a single guest OS machine, using an optimization tool developed by Microsoft called BootVis, under various levels of VM implementation and different Host Operating Systems and see the effect of VM on the boot time of an operating system.
Psychosis in Alzheimer disease: postmortem magnetic resonance spectroscopy evidence of excess neuronal and membrane phospholipid pathology.

Abstract Background: The presence of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer Disease subjects (AD+psychosis, AD+P) is a marker for a phenotype characterized by more severe cognitive impairment and a more rapidly deteriorating course. Although AD+P has been inconsistently associated with more severe neuropathology, no prior studies have examined measures of neuronal and synaptic integrity. Objective: To determine whether AD+P is associated with evidence of disrupted neuronal and synaptic integrity, as indicated by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measurement of N-acetyl- l -aspartate and the membrane breakdown products, glycerophosphocholine and glycerophosphoethanolamine. Methods: 31 P and 1 H MRS studies of perchloric acid extract from postmortem brain of AD subjects with and without a history of psychotic symptoms. All subjects were characterized for the presence of comorbid cortical Lewy body pathology and for history of neuroleptic use. Brain tissue from dorsolateral prefrontal, superior temporal, inferior parietal, and occipital cortex, amygdala, and cerebellum were examined in all subjects. Statistical analysis accounted for correlated observations across brain regions within-subjects. Results: AD+P subjects demonstrated significant elevations of glycerophosphoethanolamine and significant reductions of N-acetyl- l -aspartate. Between group differences were greatest in neocortical brain regions. Conclusion: Excess impairment of neocortical neuronal and synaptic integrity may provide the structural substrate underlying AD+P. Confirmation of these findings using in vivo MRS measures is indicated.
Male hormonal contraception: an update on research progress.

New male contraceptive options are needed to provide couples with additional well-tolerated, effective, and reversible contraceptive choices. Research and development of new male hormonal contraceptives have produced many exciting possibilities over the past 20 years. Two large, multicenter, World Health Organization (WHO) trials demonstrated that high-dosage testosterone provides effective suppression of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and spermatogenesis. In men whose sperm counts suppress to ≤3 million/ml, high-dosage testosterone provides contraceptive efficacy similar to female oral contraceptives.
VARIATIONS: a digital music library system at Indiana University

The field of music provides an interesting context for the development of digital library systems due to the variety of information formats used by music students and scholars. The VARIATIONS digital library project at Indiana University currently delivers online access to sound recordings from the collections of IU’s William and Gayle Cook Music Library and is developing access to musical score images and other formats. This paper covers the motivations for the creation of VARIATIONS, an overview of its operation and implementation, user reactions to the system, and future plans for development.
The critical period for alteration in cortical binocularity resulting from divergent and convergent strabismus

Abstract Kittens were reared with unilateral convergent (esotropia) or divergent (exotropia) strabismus which was surgically induced at different ages during the first 3 months. Visual field testing at ages 3–4 1 2 months showed no loss of the nasal field in esotropic kittens and a slight loss of the nasal field in exotropic kittens. Recording from single units in area 17 showed that early surgically induced strabismus results in a loss of binocularity of cortical cells and an increase in the size of the receptive fields of the cells. However, the critical periods for the two effects differ, with the critical period for the loss of cortical binocularity ending before the critical period for the abnormally large receptive fields. A special group of complex cells, the complex-spot cells, was relatively resistant to the loss of binocularity caused by strabismus. In both esotropic and exotropic animals the normal eye dominated more units than the operated eye. Although the major effects of esotropia and exotropia in cortical physiology were similar, some differences were found between the two groups. In the esotropic cats, the few binocularly driven units had receptive fields significantly larger than the monocularly driven units. In contrast, in the exotropic cats there was no significant differences in receptive field size of monocularly and binocularly driven units. In esotropic animals complex cells driven by the strabismic eye had larger receptive fields than complex cells driven by the unoperated eye. This difference did not occur in exotropic animals. In addition, the overall percentage of binocularly driven units was higher in exotropic (25%) than in esotropic (13%) animals. These results suggest that functional abnormalities in the visual cortex are slightly more severe in esotropic animals than in exotropic ones.
Methane emissions by goats consuming Sericea lespedeza at different feeding frequencies

Abstract Twenty-four yearling Boer (87.5%) × Spanish wethers (32.5 ± 0.36 kg body weight) were used in a 32 d experiment to assess effects of frequency of feeding condensed tannin (CT)-containing Sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata) on ruminal methane emission. Fresh SL (153 g/kg CT) was fed at 1.3 times the metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance every day (1SL), other day (2SL), fourth day (4SL), and eighth day (8SL), with alfalfa (Medicago sativa) offered at the same level on other days. Ruminal fluid for microbial assays was collected 1 d after SL feeding and at the end of the feeding interval (short and long interval samples, respectively). Dry matter intake was not affected by frequency of SL feeding. Daily ruminal methane emissions increased at a decreasing rate (Linear and Quadratic; P
An Investigation of the Heaving Mechanism Related to Chromite Ore Processing Residue

Significant heaving has been observed over time at chromite ore processing residue (COPR) deposition sites in Maryland and New Jersey. Confined swell tests were employed in order to investigate the geochemical mechanisms that lead to the manifestation of heave in COPR. Ettringite, a known heave culprit in cement and soil-related literature, was identified in numerous samples across the sites and was therefore considered as the primary heaving mechanism in COPR. In addition, other possible mechanisms, such as brownmillerite hydration to hydrogarnets, carbonation reactions, calcium aluminum chromium oxide hydrate (CAC) formation, and change of hydration state were also investigated. The confined swell tests were conducted under wet/dry cycles. Sulfate, carbonate, and chromate solutions were introduced to the samples during wet cycles in order to validate the different heaving hypotheses associated with phase transformations. The test results showed that swell development occurred only in COPR upon 0.7 mole/l sulfate addition. Furthermore, x-ray diffraction analyses confirmed the formation of ettringite in the COPR sample following the addition of sulfate. Conversely, carbonation reactions led to no height change or even to consolidation, while the formation of hydrogarnets and CACs could not be established. It was, therefore, demonstrated that ettringite formation is a thermodynamically powerful reaction and also a viable expansion and failure mechanism in COPR.
PARTIAL DISTINGUISHABILITY IN FEMTOSECOND OPTICAL SPONTANEOUS PARAMETRIC DOWN-CONVERSION

Quantum interference is observed using femtosecond parametric down-conversion in the absence of spectral filtering of the down-converted light. The well-known symmetric dip observed in cw polarization-interferometry experiments becomes less pronounced and substantially asymmetric under such pulsed excitation. We show that this asymmetry arises from the partial distinguishability of contributions from space-time segments within the down-conversion crystal. We develop a theory that achieves agreement with experiment by coherently adding intrasegment contributions while incoherently adding intersegment contributions.
Pharmacology of Stone Disease

Kidney stone disease remains a major health and economic burden on the nation. It has been increasingly recognized that nephrolithiasis can be both a chronic or systemic illness. There have been major limitations in the development of new drugs for the prevention and management of this disease, largely due to our lack of understanding of the complex pathophysiologic mechanisms involving the interaction of three major target organs: the kidney, bone, and intestine. We also do not yet understand the molecular genetic basis of this polygenic disorder. These limitations are coupled with the incorrect perception that kidney stone disease is solely an acute illness, and the lack of reliable tests to assess outcome measures. All of these factors combined have diminished the willingness of the pharmaceutical industry to engage in the development of novel drugs.
Hitting the Target: Emerging Technologies in the Search for Kinase Substrates

Through phosphorylation, protein kinases can alter the activity, localization, protein association, and stability of their targets. Despite the importance to our understanding of all aspects of cell biology, progress toward identifying bona fide substrates of specific protein kinases has been slow. Traditionally used techniques to identify true kinase substrates, such as genetics, yeast two-hybrid screens, and biochemical purification, are often laborious and unreliable. However, several new approaches have recently been developed and used successfully to identify genuine in vivo substrates of certain protein kinases. These methods include screening for phosphorylation of proteins from phage expression libraries, peptide library screens to determine optimal motifs favored by specific kinases, the use of phospho-motif antibodies, and an approach that uses structurally altered kinases and allele-specific adenosine triphosphate analogs and kinase inhibitors. We describe these approaches and discuss their utility and inherent caveats.
Hydrothermal polychalcogenide chemistry. Stalibilization of [Mo9Se40]8-, a cluster of clusters, and [Mo3Se18]η2η-, a polymeric polyselenide. Novel phases based on trinuclear [Mo3Se7]4+ building blocks

A polymeric Mo polyselenide, K 2 Mo 3 Se 18 , and a large molecular cluster Mo polyselenide, K 8 Mo 9 Se 40 .4H 2 O, were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The reaction of Mo, K 2 Se 4 , and H 2 O in a 1:1.5:22.2 ratio in a vacuum-sealed Pyrex tube at 135 o C for 3 days yielded black platelike crystals of K 2 Mo 3 Se 18 (I)
Confidentiality in the community mental health center.

In complex therapeutic settings the extent of confidentiality must be defined for each relationship. This paper discusses certain conditions leading to a break in confidentiality and makes recommendations for: specific focus on confidentiality in training programs; a tribunal to assist therapists confronted with difficult decisions; and regularly featured discussions in journals.
Persisting circadian rhythm in hepatic glycogen of mice during inanition and dehydration.

Persisting circadian rhythm in hepatic glycogen level of mice during starvation and dehydration
In Vitro Effects of Sulfonylurea on Glucose Transport and Translocation of Glucose Transporters in Adipocytes From Streptozocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The in vitro effects of the sulfonylurea glyburide on insulin binding and action were comparedin adipocytes from control and nonketotic streptozocininduced diabetic rats. Adipose tissue from control and diabetic animals was maintained in the absence or presence of 2 μg/ml glyburidefor 20 h. Insulin binding and insulin-stimulated glucose transport were examined in adipocytes prepared from this tissue. As expected, insulin binding was increased in adipocytes from diabetic animals. Exposure of tissue to glyburide did not influence insulin binding in either control or diabetic cells. Glucose transport activity of diabetic cells, assessed with 2-deoxyglucose, was decreased 30–40% in both the absence (basal) and presence of insulin compared with controls. Glyburide potentiated insulin9s effects in both control (15–20%) and diabetic (30–40%) adipocytes. As a result, glucose transport activity in glyburide-treated diabetic cells was restored to a level similar to that of control cells not exposed to the drug. The mechanism by which glyburide potentiatedglucose transport activity was examined with the D-glucose-displaceable cytochalasin B-binding technique to measure glucose-transporter concentration in membranes prepared from control and diabetic adipocytes exposed to the drug. Adipocytes from this model of diabetes are known to have a decreased cellular content of glucose transporters. The concentration of glucose transporters was decreased by 31% in plasma membranes from insulin-treated diabetic cells. There were corresponding decreases in diabetic microsomal and total membrane fractions. There was also a 40% decrease in the translocation of transporters from the microsomes to the plasma membrane in response to insulin in diabetic cells. Glyburide exposure increased the concentration of transporters in plasmamembranes from insulin-treated control and diabetic cells by 18 and 33%, respectively. Glyburide exposure also increased the concentration of glucose transporters in total adipocyte membrane preparations from diabetic but not control animals. Glyburide potentiates insulin-stimulated glucose transport in both control and diabetic adipocytes. In control cells, this effect is due to an increase in the efficiency of the translocation process. In diabetic cells, both cellular transporter content and the translocation process are increased by glyburide.
High field properties of nickel-zinc ferrites at 1-10 MHz

The design of compact and efficient magnetic components for 1-10 MHz power conversion has been hindered by the lack of permeability and loss data for nickel-zinc ferrites. A technique for measuring permeability and loss density in magnetic materials at high-frequency and high-flux levels is described. Data is presented for eight commercially available nickel-zinc ferrites at 25 degrees C, operating at frequencies between 1 and 10 MHz, and at flux levels up to 300 G. Loss density was found to increase with frequency and flux level. High-loss density limits practical flux levels to less than 300 G. The higher permeability materials generally displayed higher loss. Indiana General Q1 ferrite was found to have the lowest loss in response to a purely AC excitation; DC offset increased loss density. >
A Protein Kinase, Interacting with Two Calcineurin B-like Proteins, Regulates K+ Transporter AKT1 in Arabidopsis

Potassium is an essential mineral element for plant growth and development. Although it is known that plants absorb and transport K+ through membrane transporters, it remains unclear how these transporters are regulated. Here we show that the protein kinase CIPK23, encoded by the LKS1 gene, regulates K+ uptake under low-K+ conditions. Lesion of LKS1 significantly reduced K+ uptake and caused leaf chlorosis and growth inhibition, whereas overexpression of LKS1 significantly enhanced K+ uptake and tolerance to low K+. We demonstrate that CIPK23 directly phosphorylates the K+ transporter AKT1 and further find that CIPK23 is activated by the binding of two calcineurin B-like proteins, CBL1 and CBL9. We propose a model in which the CBL1/9-CIPK23 pathway ensures activation of AKT1 and enhanced K+ uptake under low-K+ conditions.
Associations of diabetes mellitus and other cardiovascular disease risk factors with decline in the ankle–brachial index

We compared the associations of diabetes mellitus (DM) and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors with decline in the ankle–brachial index (ABI) over 4 years in participants with and without peripheral artery disease (PAD). A total of 566 participants, 300 with PAD, were followed prospectively for 4 years. Mean (SD) baseline ABI values were 0.70 (0.13) for participants with both PAD and DM, 0.67 (0.14) for participants with only PAD, 1.10 (0.13) for participants with only DM, and 1.10 (0.10) for participants with neither PAD nor DM. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline ABI, the corresponding ABI change from baseline to 4-year follow-up were −0.02, –0.04, +0.05, and +0.05, respectively. Compared to participants with neither PAD nor DM, participants with only PAD showed significantly more ABI decline (p <0.01), while the decline in participants with both PAD and DM was borderline non-significant (p = 0.06). After adjustments for baseline ABI, age, sex, African American ethnicity, and other CV...
Seasonal dynamics of habitat use by an airbrathing catfish (Claris liocephalus) in a papyrus swamp

I examined the effects of extreme hypoxia and water level fluctuations on the distribution and movement of an air-breathing clariid catfish, Clarias liocephalus, in a papyrus swamp in western Uganda. Monthly records of the distribution and relative abundance of C. liocephalus across 28 swamp stations were used to examine seasonal trends in habitat use and movement. My results suggest that dissolved oxygen did not directly limit use of, or dispersal through, the papyrus swamp. C. liocephalus were found at most stations in the dry season, and there was no significant relationship between the number of stations used per month and mean monthly dissolved oxygen levels. In addition, there was no evidence for a significant effect of oxygen on the relative abundance of fish among stations during the driest months, or during peak flood conditions. However, relative abundance was positively correlated with water depth during the dry season. Fish from deeper habitats exhibited fewer injuries and lower rates of disappearance than fish from shallower waters. This may reflect the risk of aerial predation for surfacing fish. A comparison of habitat use and movements of C. liocephalus with the only other fish species found in the papyrus swamp, Barbus neumayeri, supports the idea that respiratory mode can affect the use of hypoxic papyrus swamps. B. neumayeri, is a small water-breathing cyprinid that uses aquatic surface respiration in response to severe hypoxia. The air-breathing capabilities of C. liocephalus permitted more widespread use of swamp waters than B. neumayeri. This study demonstrates that an understanding of the respiratory mode of fish species may be useful in predicting patterns of habitat use.
Plasma homocysteine measurements after carotid artery manipulation and clamping in a rat CEA model.

Objective The effect of a rat carotid endarterectomy (CEA) on homocysteine and the metabolic enzymes methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) was studied. Methods Rats were placed into 7 groups: (1) no anesthesia (NA), (2) anesthesia only (AO), (3) skin opened and closed (O/C), (4) skin opened with exposure of the carotid artery and closed (O/E/C), (5) carotid isolated and clamped (CO), (6) open CEA, and (7) open femoral endarterectomy (FEA). End points included homocysteine, hepatic MTHFR, and CBS activity. Results Homocysteine in the NA, AO, O/C, O/E/C, and FEA were low and not different. CEA produced a 6-fold increase in homocysteine when compared with non-CEA groups. Specifically, CEA produced an increase in homocysteine versus the AO group at 2 weeks (11.3 ± 0.7 vs 2.1 ± 0.9 μmol/L;P Conclusions CEA resulted in elevated levels of homocysteine; however, when broken down into its component parts, no elevation was observed except for a small increase with the CO procedure. Manipulation of the femoral artery did not raise homocysteine levels. The increase in homocysteine is possibly due to the combination of vessel wall damage and changes in cerebral blood flow dynamics.
English Letter Frequencies and Their Applications: Part I

This article presents data regarding the relative frequencies of single letters in English, organized by word length and letter position. Derived from a parsimonious sample of English word use patterns presented by Whissell in 1998, the data accurately represent letter frequencies found in modern English. These data provide a resource for various applications, including reading research and practice.
Thioredoxin-Interacting Protein Mediates Nuclear–to–Plasma Membrane Communication: Role in Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor 2 Signaling

Objective— Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) are both regulated by changes in cellular reduction-oxidation (redox) state and localize to the nucleus basally in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Previously we showed a novel mechanism for PARP1 inhibition–mediated HUVEC survival through activation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) signaling in response to stress-induced apoptosis. In addition, we showed TXNIP translocation to the plasma membrane (PM) and activation of VEGFR2 in response to physiological stimuli. Because TXNIP is an α-arrestin that regulates VEGFR2 signaling, we hypothesized that PARP1 regulates TXNIP localization and function that might affect HUVEC stress-induced apoptosis. Methods and Results— HUVEC treated with 10 μmol/L PARP1 inhibitor (PJ34) were protected from TNF (10 ng/mL) or H2O2 (300 μmol/L) mediated cell death. HUVEC transfected with TXNIP siRNA lost the protective effect of PARP1 inhibition, suggesting a protective role for TXNIP. Using immunofluorescence, cell fractionation analysis, and plasma membrane sheet assay, TXNIP was shown to translocate to the plasma membrane after PARP1 inhibition. TXNIP translocation was associated with activation of VEGFR2 signaling. Functionally, TXNIP-PARP1 interaction was decreased on PJ34 treatment, suggesting PARP1 as a novel regulator of TXNIP localization and function. Conclusion— These findings demonstrate a novel regulatory mechanism of TXNIP by PARP1 to mediate activation of plasma membrane signaling and cell survival.
T2095 Assessment of “Gene-Environment” Interaction in Cases of Familial and Sporadic Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. This study characterizes one of the largest national registries of familial PC (FPC) and sporadic PC (SPC), focusing on demographics, clinical factors, self-reported environmental and occupational lifetime exposures, and survival status.
PITUITARY CELLULAR HYPERSENSITIVITY IN IDIOPATHIC HYPOPITUITARISM

SUMMARY Lymphocyte transformation in response to a saline extract of human pituitary was used to evaluate anti-pituitary immunity in patients with idiopathic hypopituitarism. Nine normal subjects and three children with idiopathic hypopituitarism were studied. Lymphocytes of one patient were significantly reactive to pituitary extract (beyond the 95% tolerance limits of the normal subjects) at five and eleven months after the diagnosis of hypopituitarism. The anti-pituitary hypersensitivity appeared organ specific since there was no lymphocyte reactivity to human thyroid extract in this patient. The presence of alopecia universalis, dystrophic nails and a primary immunodeficiency state suggests an autoimmune basis of his hypopituitary state. Due to hypogammag-lobulinaemia and the lack of pituitary cell antibodies in this child, a humoral role in the development of his hypopituitarism is not supported.
The Redesigned BaBar Event Store - Believe the Hype

As the BaBar experiment progresses, it produces new and unforeseen requirements and increasing demands on capacity and feature base. The current system is being utilized well beyond its original design specifications, and has scaled appropriately, maintaining data consistency and durability. The persistent event storage system has remained largely unchanged since the initial implementation, and thus includes many design features which have become performance bottlenecks. Programming interfaces were designed before sufficient usage information became available. Performance and efficiency were traded off for added flexibility to cope with future demands. With significant experience in managing actual production data under our belt, we are now in a position to recraft the system to better suit current needs. The Event Store redesign is intended to eliminate redundant features while adding new ones, increase overall performance, and contain the physical storage cost of the world's largest database.
The Relationships between Culture and Service Quality Perceptions Basis for Cross-Cultural Market Segmentation and Resource Allocation

The authors argue that perceptions of service quality vary across cultural groups, as defined by each culture’s position on Hofstede’s dimensions. They explicitly map the relationship between service quality perceptions and cultural dimension positions and draw the implications for international service market segmentation. They also test the hypotheses constituting their theoretical analysis. They show that the importance of SERVQUAL dimensions is correlated with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. They also used the correlation coefficients to compute a Cultural Service Quality Index that could be used to segment international service markets and allocate resources across segments.
Oblivious Routing in On-Chip Bandwidth-Adaptive Networks

Oblivious routing can be implemented on simple router hardware, but network performance suffers when routes become congested. Adaptive routing attempts to avoid hot spots by re-routing flows, but requires more complex hardware to determine and configure new routing paths. We propose onchip bandwidth-adaptive networks to mitigate the performance problems of oblivious routing and the complexity issues of adaptive routing. In a bandwidth-adaptive network, the bisection bandwidth of network can adapt to changing network conditions. We describe one implementation of a bandwidth-adaptive network in the form of a two-dimensional mesh with adaptive bidirectional links, where the bandwidth of the link in one direction can be increased at the expense of the other direction. Efficient local intelligence is used to reconfigure each link, and this reconfiguration can be done very rapidly in response to changing traffic demands. We compare the hardware designs of a unidirectional and bidirectional link and evaluate the performance gains provided by a bandwidth-adaptive network in comparison to a conventional network under uniform and bursty traffic when oblivious routing is used.
Octogenarians Develop Infrapopliteal Arterial Occlusive Disease in the Absence of Traditional Risk Factors

Background With increasing longevity, a growing proportion of patients who present with lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (LE-PAD) are ≥80 years old. While smoking and diabetes mellitus (DM) have traditionally been the main risk factors associated with PAD, we noted a pattern of severe infrapopliteal PAD in patients ≥80 years old in the absence of these traditional risk factors. As recognition of patterns of disease affects decisions regarding diagnostic and therapeutic approach, we sought to confirm this observation. Methods A single-center retrospective review was performed on all patients who underwent lower extremity arteriography between March 2007 and September 2009. Arteriograms were scored in a blinded fashion. Any infrapopliteal PAD was defined as one or more infrapopliteal arteries with either >50% stenosis or total occlusion. Severe infrapopliteal PAD was defined as 2 or more infrapopliteal arteries with >50% stenosis or total occlusion. Fisher's exact test and 2-sample t -test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used for analysis. Results Two hundred ninety-seven patients comprised the study population. Eighty-two percent (= 145/176) of those ≤70 years old versus 96% (= 46/48) of those ≥80 years old had any infrapopliteal PAD ( P = 0.02). Thirty percent of patients ≥80 years old with infrapopliteal PAD had no history of DM or smoking, while only 5% of younger patients had infrapopliteal PAD in the absence of DM or smoking ( P P = 0.022). Conclusions A significant proportion of patients ≥80 years of age with PAD develop arterial disease in the infrapopliteal pattern in the absence of the traditional risk factors of smoking and DM. Our data also showed that this pattern of disease is significantly associated with tissue loss and critical limb ischemia, particularly in patients ≥80 years of age. Primary care providers need to be educated to suspect ischemic etiology for foot pain and ulcers in elderly patients not otherwise thought to have risk factors associated with PAD. Vascular specialists need to anticipate this pattern of disease when planning interventions. As smoking becomes less prevalent and as the population ages, octogenarians with severe infrapopliteal arterial occlusive disease will become a larger proportion of the patients treated by vascular specialists.
The Evolution of Local Government Budgeting in Poland: From Accounting to Policy in a Leap and a Bound

The evolution of U.S. public budgeting has been described by Schick (1966) as a progression from a control orientation to a management and then a planning orientation. Lee (1992) has tracked the evolution of central budgeting staff largely from a group of accountants to a more varied set of backgrounds, dominated by public administration and general liberal arts educations. As Poland decentralizes fiscal and administrative responsibilities and powers to gminas (local self-governments), the gmina councils are beginning to view the budget as more than a financial accounting tool proscribed and prescribed by the central government. They are beginning to see the potential for using the budget as a policy and management tool. The evolutionary transformation of budgeting, which took fifty years in the United States, may take only five years in Poland. The evidence for this metamorphosis is based on interviews with several gmina city budgeters, with special attention devoted to the city of Lublin.
Literacies and Quechua oral language: Connecting sociocultural worlds and linguistic resources for biliteracy development

This article presents partial findings of an ethnographic study in a Quechua rural community in the Peruvian Andes. It discusses the uses of hegemonic Spanish literacy practices in the school. These were characterized by emphasis on formal issues over meaning; students’ lives, cultural, and linguistic resources were ignored. However, there were spontaneous uses of literacy by children that resisted the school’s dominant literacy practices. Local literacy practices in other social contexts included the use of oral Quechua in order to make meaning of written text. These are cultural resources that teachers may use in the classroom. The article offers a discussion of ‘hybrid literacy practices’ as possibilities for connecting sociocultural worlds and linguistic resources for biliteracy and academic development.
Reducing The Risk Of ACL Injury In Female Athletes

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is located behind the kneecap (patella) and connects the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia). Stabilizing the knee joint is the primary responsibility of the ACL. Injuries that affect the ACL are three to five times more common in females than males. This is a result of anatomical, biomechanical, strength, and hormonal differences. The probability of potentially devastating tears to the ACL may be reduced in female athletes by an alternative warm-up program that focuses on muscle flexibility, strength, motor skill, and balance enhancement. Once the ACL has been torn, it becomes impossible to reattach or stitch the ligament back together. The blood supply in this area of the body is diminished and the tissue becomes nonviable. Reconstruction of the ACL involves attaching the ligament to another tendon from the hamstring, just below the knee. Although reconstruction and treatment of ACL injuries are available, much unnecessary pain, money, and time may be wasted during these procedures. It is important to be aware of the prevention methods available to reduce the possibility of potentially devastating tears to the ACL. These prevention methods include proper warm-up and avoiding activities that cause pain. Other preventive measures include incorporating balance exercises along with stretching and strengthening muscles near the ACL. Appropriate rest and recovery time are other important factors that may prevent ACL injuries. Quality footwear, strapping, or taping may provide an additional level of support to the knee joint and ACL.
Suppression of Cytosolic NADPH Pool by Thionicotinamide Increases Oxidative Stress and Synergizes with Chemotherapy

NAD+ kinase (NADK) is the only known cytosolic enzyme that converts NAD+ to NADP+, which is subsequently reduced to NADPH. The demand for NADPH in cancer cells is elevated as reducing equivalents are required for the high levels of nucleotide, protein, and fatty acid synthesis found in proliferating cells as well as for neutralizing high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We determined whether inhibition of NADK activity is a valid anticancer strategy alone and in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs known to induce ROS. In vitro and in vivo inhibition of NADK with either small-hairpin RNA or thionicotinamide inhibited proliferation. Thionicotinamide enhanced the ROS produced by several chemotherapeutic drugs and produced synergistic cell kill. NADK inhibitors alone or in combination with drugs that increase ROS-mediated stress may represent an efficacious antitumor combination and should be explored further.
Can Natural History Museums Capture the Future

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/7/611.
The Effect of Oxygen on the Thermal Stability of Si1−xGex Strained Layers Grown by Limited Reaction Processing

Si 1−x Ge x layers containing 2×10 20 oxygen atoms/cm 3 exhibit an enhancement in thermal stability when compared to similar films (comparable Ge content and thickness) with 2 orders of magnitude less oxygen. X-ray measurements of the lattice constants in the strained films indicate that the oxygen does not substantially change the amount of strain in the layers. A prediction of the effect of oxygen based on solid solution strengthening theory is shown to be consistent with experimental annealing results. In addition, experimental measurements of slower misfit dislocation velocities in the layers with high oxygen content compared to those measured in films with low oxygen content, support the idea of solid solution strengthening. It is therefore likely that oxygen impedes the kinetics of dislocation formation.
Andrology: Testosterone therapy and sexual health in hypogonadal men.

Sexual health, even into older age, is important to many people. A new paper reports that older men with hypogonadism who take testosterone experience significant improvements in sexual activity, erectile function and libido. Testosterone therapy has long been a matter of interest (and controversy) for physicians, and this study is a landmark one that is worthy of further discussion.
International Counseling Traits: Identifying Counseling Traits Ranked most Important by International Counseling Professionals through Q-Sort Analysis

Research has shown an increase in the study and discussion of international counseling throughout the past decade in the mental health domain. The counseling profession continues to take steps to address the lack of access to and the quality of counseling support throughout the world. A Q-sort methodology was utilized in order to capture an understanding of what might be identified as the most important traits for counselors to consider when counseling in international settings. A uniquely constructed Q-sort model developed from a careful review of the literature resulted in 35 items that were evaluated by 43 participants in two phases of analysis. The results from the Q-sort led to fuller consideration of the 12 counseling traits ranked highest. Three core themes that emerged from the data included: valuing people, personal character, and multicultural intentionality. Discussion about the highest ranked traits and core themes provides consideration of research implications and future studies in international counseling as a whole.
Successful interposition synthetic graft between aorta and right coronary artery: Angiographic follow-up to sixteen months

A knitted Dacron filamentous vascular prosthesis, 4 cm. long and 3.5 mm. in diameter, was used as an interposition graft between the aorta and right coronary artery in a 65-year-old woman on Oct. 25, 1974. The prosthesis was used to transplant the right coronary artery incident to removal of a saccular aneurysm of the ascending aorta. Concomitant mitral valve replacement and tricuspid annuloplasty were performed. The graft was demonstrated patent by angiograms 2 weeks, 7 months, and 16 months after the operation, and the patient continues to be clinically well 17 months postoperatively. The literature records the successful use of aorta-coronary Dacron prostheses in 2 other patients, both children with coronary anomalies. One of these grafts closed after a while: the second was demonstrated patent by angiograms 8 years after implantation. These cases demonstrate that prostheses can function in the aorta-coronary position, and the reports of saphenous vein failures indicate the need for a reasonable substitute when a patient's saphenous veins are absent or inadequate. In all 3 cases, the prostheses were quite short and were used as interposition grafts between the ascending aorta and the proximal end of the coronary artery. Our review did not reveal successful use of a synthetic graft for aorta-coronary bypass.
Biomaterials and 3D Printing Techniques for Neural Tissue Regeneration

Nerve regeneration involves a series of complex physiological phenomena. Larger peripheral nerve injuries must be surgically treated, typically with autografts harvested from elsewhere in the body. Central nervous injuries and diseases are more complicated, as there are inhibitive factors resulting in less than ideal repair. Currently, many researches in peripheral nerve regeneration are focused on developing alternatives to the autograft, while efforts for treating central nervous injuries and diseases are devoted to creating a permissive microenvironment for neural regeneration and therapeutic delivery. In recent years, neural tissue engineering has emerged as one of the very promising strategies for treating various nervous system injuries and diseases. Particularly, advancement in both biomaterials and 3D biomimetic scaffolds fabrication techniques such as 3D printing has inspired this field into a new era. This book chapter will focus on the two key pillars and discuss their current progress for improving neural regeneration.
A defense of parrying responses to the generality problem

The generality problem is commonly seen as one of the most pressing issues for process reliabilism. The generality problem starts with the following question: of all the process types exemplified by a given process token, which type is the relevant one for measuring reliability? Defenders of the generality problem claim that process reliabilists have a burden to produce an informative account of process type relevance. As they argue, without such a successful account, the reasonability of process reliabilism is significantly undermined. One way for the reliabilist to respond is to attempt to construct such a theory of type relevance. But another way of responding is to argue that, if finding an account of type relevance is a burden for the reliabilist, then it is also a burden for everyone (or, mostly everyone) else. Thus, the generality problem doesn’t present some unique reason to reject process reliabilism. I call this latter strategy a parrying response. In this essay, I examine the contemporary parrying responses of Michael Bishop and Juan Comesana, which have both faced recent criticism. I respond to these critics, and argue that parrying responses are far stronger than defenders of the generality problem have appreciated.
Development of a simultaneous PET/MRI scanner

A combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scanner would be a great benefit to nuclear medicine. The anatomical detail given by MRI and spectroscopy available with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) complement the quantitative physiological imaging obtained with PET. Such a device has not become a reality because of the incompatibilities of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and their associated electronics with MRI's high magnetic fields, as well as significant constraints on PET camera size due to the limited patient port of MR scanners. Recent advances in solid-state electronics have opened the possibility of replacing photomultiplier tubes with avalanche photodiodes (APDs) that are compact and do not share the vulnerabilities of PMTs to magnetic fields. Currently, we are planning to build a miniature PET tomograph using only solid-state electronics to give a combination MRI/PET scanner for small animals. This technology, once developed, can be extended to human scanner designs.
Catholic Political Theology: The “Two Cities” and “Two Swords,” and Beyond

Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God: the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self…. In the one, the princes and the nations it subdues are ruled by the love of ruling; in the other, the princes and the subjects serve one another in love, the latter obeying, while the former take thought for all…. Of the two first parents of the human race …. Cain was the first-born, and he belonged to the city of men; after him was born Abel, who belonged to the city of God…. It is recorded of Cain that he built a city, but Abel, being a sojourner, built none. For the city of the saints is above, although here below it begets citizens, in whom it sojourns till the time of its reign arrives, when it shall gather together all in the day of the resurrection. —St. Augustine, The City of God 14:28, 15:1