cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Problem of Revealing How Students Think: Concept Inventories and Beyond

A common refrain heard from many college and university biology instructors is that undergraduate science students do not seem to possess the same scientific habits of mind as their instructors, nor do they seem to have command of fundamental principles and concepts that structure the expertise of their instructors (Hestenes et al., 1992 ; Khodor et al., 2004 ; Wilson et al., 2006 ; Michael, 2007 ; D'Avanzo, 2008 ). In short, even our advanced undergraduate students do not seem to be scientifically literate—they cannot “ask and answer their own biologically relevant questions” (Wright, 2005 ). If we as university biology instructors are to make progress on the challenge of transforming our novice undergraduates into expert biological thinkers who are scientifically literate, then we all need tools that can aid us in revealing student thinking and in analyzing what we do in the classroom that supports or hinders the development of this scientific literacy in students. This is where classroom assessment—gathering evidence on students' thinking—is a key part of teaching at any level (Angelo and Cross, 1993 ; Atkin et al., 2001 ; Black and Wiliam, 1998 ; Huba and Freed, 2000 ; Sundberg, 2002 ; Tanner and Allen, 2004 ). However, there are a myriad of approaches to collecting assessment evidence from students: minute papers to gain quick insight into student thinking, reflective journal writing to promote metacognition and reveal confusions, and concept mapping to examine the structure of students' knowledge, to name just a few. Each of these many assessment approaches to monitor student thinking has its advantages and drawbacks, and some tools seem to work best for some topics or in the hands of some instructors. Here, we give an introduction to a relatively recent addition to the assessment tools in biology—the concept inventory—address its promising attributes and potential drawbacks, and raise the question of what concept inventories may actually measure. Finally, we consider potential alternative approaches to gaining insight into how students think about biology that come from the chemistry education and physics education research literatures.
Use of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Indices to Assess Aquatic Health in a Mixed-Landuse Watershed

ABSTRACT Seven family-level metrics were determined from benthic macroinvertebrate samples collected monthly across four different landuse sites in the Cazenovia Creek watershed in western New York. We evaluated which metrics were most appropriate for, and effective in, discerning differences among the sites. Dramatic and consistent seasonal differences in metric scores were observed across all sites. All metric scores indicated markedly better biological health during winter months than during summer months. The biological impairment designation was highest in the summer at the suburban and agricultural sites. Coefficients of variation were considerably greater at the lower stream order sites. The metrics that were most appropriate and effective in assessing benthic assemblage health in this study were: richness, percent model affinity, family-level biotic index, and Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera index. These indices correlated with a low amount of redundancy in a Pearson matrix, had significant d...
Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Environmental Science

This study examined the role of gender in the areas of environmental education that included environmental knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and comfort levels in the outdoors. The current study was part of a larger study designed to explore the effects of a treatment that consisted of 14 weeks of outdoor lessons conducted in the schoolyard as compared with a control group of students who had 14 weeks of traditional classroom environmental education lessons. This follow-up study focused on gender and its effect on each of the areas studied. Researchers found significance in boys' and girls' attitudes toward the environment. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to offer an in-depth view of students' environmental attitudes. The results from this study can have implications for science educators in an effort to capitalize on boys' and girls' interests in science to help them learn about environmental issues and to recruit both boys and girls into science careers.
The single-channel basis for the slow kinetics of synaptic currents in vertebrate slow muscle fibers

The time course of synaptic currents is significantly longer in slow than in fast twitch muscle fibers. To examine the underlying basis for these slow synaptic currents, single-channel recordings were made from the synapses of slow muscle fibers. Our analysis indicates that low conductance acetylcholine receptor (AChR) channels predominate in innervated slow fibers. The high level of expression of low conductance channels is in contrast to fast twitch fibers, in which these channels are expressed in significant numbers only in embryonic or denervated muscle. Analysis of the distribution of open durations for the low conductance channel class suggests that the open time of this AChR class is the major determinant in shaping the slow time course of synaptic current decay. The predominant contribution of low conductance channel openings to synaptic currents of slow muscle fibers indicates a well-defined physiological role for this class of AChRs.
Cultural swarms II: virtual algorithm emergence

Cultural algorithms (CA) (Reynolds 1994) is an evolutionary model derived from the cultural evolution process. CA has two major components, a population components and a belief component. In a previous paper it was show that certain problem solving phases emerged during the optimization process in a dynamic problem solving environment (Reynolds and Saleem 2003). These phases were labeled coarse grained, fine grained and backtracking respectively. I understand how these phases emerged as a result of the interaction of the five knowledge sources influenced individuals in the population component. It was demonstrated in a companion paper (Reynolds 2003) how individuals in an EP population exhibited swarm-like behavior while under the belief space during the search for an optimum in a cones-world environment. In this paper we examine the behavior of the cultural algorithm at the meta-level and demonstrate how, at that level, an algorithmic interaction of knowledge sources emerge. This interaction in terms of best-first search.
Moral Distress of Staff Nurses in a Medical Intensive Care Unit

• BACKGROUND Moral distress is caused by situations in which the ethically appropriate course of action is known but cannot be taken. Moral distress is thought to be a serious problem among nurses, particularly those who practice in critical care. It has been associated with job dissatisfaction and loss of nurses from the workplace and the profession. • OBJECTIVES To assess the level of moral distress of nurses in a medical intensive care unit, identify situations that result in high levels of moral distress, explore implications of moral distress, and evaluate associations among moral distress and individual characteristics of nurses. • METHODS A descriptive, questionnaire study was used. A total of 28 nurses working in a medical intensive care unit anonymously completed a 38-item moral distress scale and described implications of experiences of moral distress. • RESULTS Nurses reported a moderate level of moral distress overall. Highest levels of distress were associated with the provision of aggressive care to patients not expected to benefit from that care. Moral distress was significantly correlated with years of nursing experience. Nurses reported that moral distress adversely affected job satisfaction, retention, psychological and physical well-being, self-image, and spirituality. Experience of moral distress also influenced attitudes toward advance directives and participation in blood donation and organ donation. • CONCLUSIONS Critical care nurses commonly encounter situations that are associated with high levels of moral distress. Experiences of moral distress have implications that extend well beyond job satisfaction and retention. Strategies to mitigate moral distress should be developed and tested. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2005;14:523-530)
Skeletal muscle pathology in aids : an autopsy study

A survey of skeletal muscle pathology in 92 autopsied cases of AIDS revealed microscopic alterations in 64 cases. There were 40 cases of disuse atrophy, 8 of denervation atrophy, 2 of cryptococcal myositis, 1 of Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAI) infection and 2 of necrotizing myopathy associated with hyperkalemia. A second group of cases with changes of unknown etiology was found. These were tentatively ascribed to the direct or indirect action of HIV. This category includes 8 cases of inflammatory myopathy, 8 of necrotizing myopathy in absence of a known etiological factor, 3 of extreme atrophy and 4 of "regenerating" myopathy.
NIS vs SAGES: a comparison of national and voluntary databases.

Background Surgical outcomes are increasingly examined in an effort to improve quality and reduce medical error. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) is a retrospective, claims-derived and population-based database and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Outcomes Project is a prospective, voluntary and specialty surgeon database. We hypothesized that these two sources of outcome data would differ in regard to a single, commonly performed procedure.
An Uncertain Prescription: Are Tax Exemptions for Nonprofit Hospitals an Efficient Way to Fund Indigent Care?

Tax exemptions were introduced originally to compensate nonprofit hospitals for providing medical care to the poor. The fact that nonprofit hospitals traditionally provided the only place where the poor could turn for medical care does not imply that nonprofit hospitals are the only guarantors of medical care for today's indigent. Tax exemptions for nonprofit hospitals are just one of several alternatives that offer care to the poor. In this article, we propose that the net contribution of a nonprofit hospital to the community be assessed by examining whether the community would be better off if the nonprofit hospital were stripped of the legal provisions that differentiate it from its for-profit counterparts.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Cyber Forum: Public vs. Private in Cyberspace Speech

Public and private forums have long occupied a special position in civic life. The explosive growth of cyberspace forums, which host many forms of discourse and human interaction, compels a careful review of the legal doctrine applied to this complex arena. The article draws on the first-litigated cases addressing rights of access to cyber forums, the Cyber Promotions cases. In Part I, the article reviews the applicability of the public forum doctrine in cyberspace and summarizes the Cyber Promotions cases. Although the Cyber Promotions courts rejected public forum claims for rights of access to private forums asserted by commercial speakers, the rulings do not preclude a right of access claim from succeeding under federal constitutional law, or alternative legal doctrines, in public or private cyber forums. The forums for which access was sought in the Cyber Promotions cases were privately owned, not publicly owned. Therefore, Part II investigates the more tenuous potential legal significance of access rights in privately owned speech forums in cyberspace. It examines federal constitutional law, state law, antitrust doctrines, common carrier doctrines, and public policy rationales that might support a right of access to private cyber forums. Claims for access rights provided through these means must be balanced by the substantial countervailing interests of the forum provider. Part III draws on the remarks of the Cyber Promotions courts that the speech at issue in those cases was "commercial speech." First, the article analyzes the scope and function of commercial speech in public forums outside of cyberspace, and finds that the enhanced protection for speech in public forums is at cross-purposes with reduced protection for commercial speech. Therefore, it is unlikely that a court would extend public forum protection in cyberspace--at least in the first instance--to commercial speech. Finally, Part IV observes that the Cyber Promotions cases represented the conjunct of two independently weak claims of access: access to private forums, and access for commercial speech. Recognizing that each claim is by itself tenuous, it advises caution on the part of zealous commercial speakers who would assert rights in private forums in cyberspace. While such rights may exist, courts are reluctant to recognize them without more sympathetic facts. A wiser litigation strategy would bring less sympathetic cases only after development of the law in more sympathetic ones. Just as Rome's forums were not built in a day, cyberspace's forums will not be either.
Influence of a Spring on Fish Communities and Habitat in an Ozark Stream

ABSTRACT: Springs influence water temperature and flow of streams; however, little information exists on the effects of springs on fish communities and their potential as refugia. This study examined the impacts of a spring on a wadeable stream. Fish, water quality, and physical habitat data were collected seasonally in 2011–2012 upstream and downstream of Double Spring, located on Terrell Creek within Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Missouri. Downstream of the spring, stream width was similar among seasons, and temperature, dissolved oxygen, and depth were less variable than upstream throughout the year. Temperature was significantly higher and dissolved oxygen was significantly lower at the upstream reach in summer, which completely dried by fall. During spring and winter, temperature and dissolved oxygen did not vary between reaches. The fish community differed between the upstream and downstream sites, particularly in summer when community similarity (Bray-Curtis) was 30.2%. Species richness and ...
Metal-ion-complexing properties of 2-(pyrid-2'-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline, a more preorganized analogue of terpyridyl. A crystallographic, fluorescence, and thermodynamic study.

Some metal-ion-complexing properties of the ligand 2-(pyrid-2'-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline (MPP) are reported. MPP is of interest in that it is a more preorganized version of 2,2';6,2''-terpyridine (tpy). Protonation constants (pK(1) = 4.60; pK(2) = 3.35) for MPP were determined by monitoring the intense π-π* transitions of 2 × 10(-5) M solutions of the ligand as a function of the pH at an ionic strength of 0 and 25 °C. Formation constants (log K(1)) at an ionic strength of 0 and 25 °C were obtained by monitoring the π-π* transitions of MPP titrated with solutions of the metal ion, or 1:1 solutions of MPP and the metal ion were titrated with acid. Large metal ions such as Ca(II) or La(III) showed increases of log K(1) of about 1.5 log units compared to that of tpy. Small metal ions such as Zn(II) and Ni(II) showed little increase in log K(1) for MPP compared to the tpy complexes, which is attributed to the presence of five-membered chelate rings in the MPP complexes, which favor large metal ions. The structure of [Cd(MPP)(H(2)O)(NO(3))(2)] (1) is reported: monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 7.4940(13) A, b = 12.165(2) A, c = 20.557(4) A, β = 96.271(7)°, V = 1864.67(9) A(3), Z = 4, and final R = 0.0786. The Cd in 1 is seven-coordinate, comprising the three donor atoms of MPP, a coordinated water, a monodentate, and a bidentate NO(3)(-). Cd(II) is a fairly large metal ion, with r(+) = 0.96 A, slightly too small for coordination with MPP. The effect of this size matching in terms of the structure is discussed. Fluorescence spectra of 2 × 10(-7) M MPP in aqueous solution are reported. The nonprotonated MPP ligand fluoresces only weakly, which is attributed to a photoinduced-electron-transfer effect. The chelation-enhanced-fluorescence (CHEF) effect induced by some metal ions is presented, and the trend of the CHEF effect, which is Ca(II) > Zn(II) > Cd(II) ~ La(III) > Hg(II), is discussed in terms of factors that control the CHEF effect, such as the heavy-atom effect.
Suicide in Rural Areas: An Updated Review of the Literature

Suicide is a significant public health concern at a global level and occurs at a greater rate in rural compared with urban areas. A review of the literature on rural suicide indicates that a growing body of empirical, theoretical, and prevention work has been conducted on the topic, with an increasing number of countries represented and articles written. From an ecological perspective, current data and models suggest that our approach to understanding and preventing rural suicide must be multifaceted, addressing the individual level (e.g., traditional risk factors such as psychiatric illness), as well as the microsystem (e.g., family and peer relations), mesosystem (e.g., the interconnectedness between microsystems), exosystem (e.g., the rural community), and macrosystem (e.g., social norms) levels. Geographic and interpersonal isolation, agricultural or otherwise hazardous vocational demands, environmental and governmental policies, availability of means, lack of access to care and rural ideologies appear to contribute to suicide risk. Interventions must be community-driven, culturally acceptable and feasible within the context of available resources to be effective. Prospective research on risk and protective factors for rural suicide is required, as is development, implementation and assessment of interventions that are originated by, implemented in, and sensitive to the needs of rural communities. Language: en
Abstract 18329: Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity Improves Following Moderate-intensity Continuous Training but not High-intensity Interval Training in Older Men and Postmenopausal Women

Introduction: Aortic pulse wave velocity (AoPWV), a measure of arterial stiffness, increases with age and is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease. Higher levels of habitual physical activity are associated with reduced AoPWV, but the effect of well-controlled aerobic training interventions in healthy older adults remains unclear. We hypothesized that moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) will both improve AoPWV in healthy older adults. Methods: Thirty five sedentary older men and postmenopausal women, free of overt cardiovascular disease (age, 65±1 yrs, body mass index, 27.7±0.8 kg/m 2 ; systolic and diastolic blood pressures, 116±2 and 69±1 mmHg, respectively; mean±SE) participated in this intervention. Subjects were randomized to MICT (n=13), HIIT (n=12) or non-exercise control group (CONT; n=10). Isocaloric MICT and HIIT were performed on Airdyne bicycles 4 days/week for 8 weeks under supervision. MICT consisted of 47 min of cycling at 70% of maximal heart rate, while HIIT consisted of 40 min of cycling at alternating intensities of 90% and 70% of maximal heart rate. AoPWV, aortic systolic and diastolic blood pressures were evaluated using applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor) before and after the intervention. Results: AoPWV improved by 0.52 m/s in MICT (9.26±0.39 vs. 8.75±0.35 m/s, pre- vs. post-intervention; P 0.05) or CONT (8.82±0.75 vs. 9.26±0.70 m/s, P>0.05). Aortic systolic blood pressure (MICT: 106±2 vs. 107±3 mmHg; HIIT: 115±3 vs. 113±4 mmHg; CONT: 109±5 vs. 110±4 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (MICT: 69±2 vs. 69±2 mmHg; HIIT: 70±2 vs. 70±2 mmHg; CONT: 68±2 vs. 69±2 mmHg) did not change with the intervention (P>0.05). Body mass index remained unchanged in all groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: MICT Airdyne exercise leads to arterial destiffening, however, HIIT does not lead to improved arterial stiffness in healthy older men and postmenopausal women.
The levels of IL-4,IFN-γ and GM-CSF in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with asthma

Objective To determine the levels IL-4,IFN-γand GM-CSF in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) from patients with asthma for studying pathogenesis of asthma.Method The PBMCs were isolated from the venous blood of 15 patients with asthma and healthy individuals.The levels of IL-4,IFN-γand GM-CSF in the supernatant of PBMCs cultured were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The IL-4 and GM-CSF level in the mononuclear cells of the asthma group was significantly higher than that of the normal group(P0.01),while the levels of IFN-γwere significantly lower than those of the normal group(P0.01).Conclusion IL-4,IFN-γand GM-CSF secreted by lymphocytes might be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.
An Integrated Prediction Method of Torpedo Flow Noise

Based on boundary layer theory and radiated noise theory of boundary layer transition,the conventional torpedo flow noise prediction models are analyzed and compared,and an integrated prediction method of torpedo flow noise is hence presented.This new method improves the Liepmann analogy based on displacement thickness monopole sound source model by using Krane dipole sound source model,and considers the effects of pressure gradient and the loss of noise diffraction on boundary layer transition.Calculation results show that the transition in an adverse pressure gradient results in higher radiated noise in comparison with the transition in a zero pressure gradient,and the noise prediction by the integrated prediction method coincides with the measured one.
Improved parameter estimation of the log-logistic distribution with applications

In this paper, we deal with parameter estimation of the log-logistic distribution. It is widely known that the maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) are usually biased in the case of the finite sample size. This motivates a study of obtaining unbiased or nearly unbiased estimators for this distribution. Specifically, we consider a certain ‘corrective’ approach and Efron’s bootstrap resampling method, which both can reduce the biases of the MLEs to the second order of magnitude. As a comparison, the commonly used generalized moments method is also considered for estimating parameters. Monte Carlo simulation studies are conducted to compare the performances of the various estimators under consideration. Finally, two real-data examples are analyzed to illustrate the potential usefulness of the proposed estimators, especially when the sample size is small or moderate.
Kaczmarz algorithm revisited

In 1937, Stefan Kaczmarz proposed a simple method, called the Kaczmarz algorithm, to solve iteratively systems of linear equations Ax = b in Euclidean spaces. This procedure employs cyclic orthogonal projections onto the hyperplanes associated with such a system. In the case of a nonsingular matrix A, Kaczmarz showed that his method guarantees convergence to the solution of Ax = b. The Kaczmarz algorithm was rediscovered in 1948 and became an important tool in medical engineering. We briefly discuss generalizations of this method and its ramifications, including applications in computer tomography, image processing and contemporary harmonic analysis.
Identification and characterization of a novel Fusobacterium nucleatum adhesin involved in physical interaction and biofilm formation with Streptococcus gordonii.

To successfully colonize the oral cavity, bacteria must directly or indirectly adhere to available oral surfaces. Fusobacterium nucleatum plays an important role in oral biofilm community development due to its broad adherence abilities, serving as a bridge between members of the oral biofilm that cannot directly bind to each other. In our efforts to characterize the molecular mechanisms utilized by F. nucleatum to physically bind to key members of the oral community, we investigated the involvement of F. nucleatum outer membrane proteins in its ability to bind to the pioneer biofilm colonizer, Streptococcus gordonii. Here, we present evidence that in addition to the previously characterized fusobacterial adhesin RadD, the interaction between F. nucleatum ATCC 23726 and S. gordonii V288 involves a second outer membrane protein, which we named coaggregation mediating protein A (CmpA). We also characterized the role of CmpA in dual-species biofilm formation with S. gordonii V288, evaluated growth-phase-dependent as well as biofilm expression profiles of radD and cmpA, and confirmed an important role for CmpA, especially under biofilm growth conditions. Our findings underscore the complex set of specific interactions involved in physical binding and thus community integration of interacting bacterial species. This complex set of interactions could have critical implications for the formation and maturation of the oral biofilms in vivo, and could provide clues to the mechanism behind the distribution of organisms inside the human oral cavity.
Maternofetal transport of vitamin B 12 : role of TCblR/ CD320 and megalin.

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes megaloblastic anemia and neurologic disorder in humans. Gene defects of transcobalamin (TC) and the transcobalamin receptor (TCblR), needed for cellular uptake of the TC-bound B12, do not confer embryonic lethality. TC deficiency can produce the hematologic and neurologic complications after birth, whereas TCblR/CD320 gene defects appear to produce mild metabolic changes. Alternate maternofetal transport mechanisms appear to provide adequate B12 to the fetus. To understand this mechanism, we evaluated the role of TC, TCblR/CD320, and megalin in maternofetal transport of B12 in a TCblR/CD320-knockout (KO) mouse. Our results showed high expression of TCblR/CD320 in the labyrinth of the placenta, embryonic brain, and spinal column in wild-type (WT) mice. Megalin expression was about the same in both WT and KO mouse visceral yolk sac, brain, and spinal column. Megalin mRNA was down-regulated in the KO embryonic spinal cord (SC) and kidneys. Megalin expression remained unaltered in adult WT and KO mouse brain, SC, and kidneys. Injected dsRed-TC-B12 and TC-57CoB12 accumulated in the visceral yolk sac of KO mice where megalin is expressed and provides an alternate mechanism for the maternofetal transport of Cbl during fetal development.-Arora, K., Sequeira, J. M., Quadros, E. V. Maternofetal transport of vitamin B12: role of TCblR/CD320 and megalin.
A quantitative approach to determine a corporate's optimal seat upgrading policy of air travels

This paper proposes a constraint-free model and a budget-constrained model to determine the optimal air travel policy in terms of the seat upgrading. The approach strikes a balance between cost-saving and the boosted productivity by upgrading the employees to higher classes. We specify a benefit function based on the Hensher Equation's core idea and leverage economics assumptions of the marginal productivity of labor. The study fills the blank of the literature in terms of modelling framework, and the usage of a large multinational company's booking records to solve for an exemplary optimal travel policy.
Islam, Terrorism, and Revolution in Russia

This chapter shows how Islam is framed within the broader Russian vision of terrorism and, ultimately, affect the Russian counterterrorism doctrine, especially vis-a-vis the international community. The chapter also highlights the close connections of ultra-nationalists with Islamic political thinkers, discusses their shared interests, and explores their sympathies for the current regime.
Universally Designed Motor Skill Intervention for Children with and without Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a six-week Universal Design for Learning motor skill intervention (SKIP-UDL) on the fundamental motor skills (FMS) of young children with and without disabilities. Participants ages 3-5, (N = 69; females = 43%; Mage = 4.6, SD = .51, disability = 42%) completed the study. An ANOVA with repeated measures showed a significant main effect for time, F(1, 19) = 164.89, p < .001, η2 = .89, group, F(2, 18) = 6.610, p = .007, η2 = .42, as well as a group x time interaction, F(2, 18) = 38.52, p < .001, η2 = .67. Children in the SKIP-UDL disability and no disability groups remediated FMS delays by the end of the six-week SKIP-UDL. In contrast, the FMS of the children in the control group remained relatively constant from pre-test to post-test.
Implication of Polyamines in Apoptosis of Immunoresponse Cells

In many diseases, including host response to pathogens, dysregulation of the immune system is a hallmark. An important component of such events is alterations in apoptosis of immune cells. This may include failure of apoptosis, but most commonly involves loss of immune function from death of immune cells. We will review the role of polyamines in immune cell apoptosis and provide specific insights based on our laboratory’s work on the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection and the central role of polyamines in the associated apoptosis of macrophages.
Research on the operating mode of the power supply for a telecom base station based on the peak & valley model of the power grid

With the development of mobile communication technology, communication system requires significantly more electricity, according to statistics, in the year 2015 a company mobile base station's power charge reached ¥750 million Yuan. Considering the implementation of the peak and valley price mechanism in some areas, and how battery technology has developed, this paper presents the peak and valley operating mode of a communication base station power supply system, and analyzes and evaluates the operation benefit. The controller of base station power can set the peak and valley time freely according to the peak and valley price model and the battery capacity, and support single peak operation and multi-peak operating mode. The Battery's power is used as much as possible during peak period, battery power is used preferentially during the flat hump period, and the power grid charges the battery and power communication base station in the valley period. This can greatly reduce the peak period electricity consumption, is conducive to lower operating costs and stable operation of the power grid. With the application of a hybrid energy system in a communication base station, the hybrid power supply system is introduced to reduce the demand for battery capacity and reduce the grid's power consumption. The research shows that the operating mode based on the grid peak and valley model can greatly reduce operating costs, and because of the introduction of solar energy, it achieves an energy-saving emission reduction, and also helps to further expand economic benefits.
Visualizing the palisades of Vogt: Limbal registration by surface segmentation

In this paper, a novel fully-automated algorithm is presented that enables the visualization of the Palisades of Vogt (POV) imaged using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The algorithm segments the anterior limbal surface in each B-scan of a volume, uses it to guide the registration of individual B-scans to a reference B-scan, and creates an aligned 3D volume of the imaged limbal region. Accurate registration enables the extraction of cross-sections from below the ocular surface, thereby revealing intricate POV structural detail. Validation was performed across all imaged datasets. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed approach is the first fully automated approach to register the limbal surface of the eye for the express purpose of visualization of the POV.
Children's food patterns--a review: II. Family and group behavior.

Several themes have been presented in this review of research on children's food habits. Even though each of these themes helps advance the study of children's food behavior, how are the findings related and how does the nutritionist apply the findings in education programs? A theoretical model is needed that can be used with families anywhere in the world--those that have problems feeding children, as well as those that do not. The model should also provide solutions for many problems of food behavior and help nutritionists decide on alternatives for nutrition education programs. Such a model would adapt the themes presented in this article into conceptual abstractions with cross-cultural utility in explaining how food habits change. For example, many of the themes in this article could represent family solidarity (e.g., cooperation, communication, cohesiveness, and organization) (32, 70, 77, 126). Familiarity, adult and peer models, positive reinforcement, discipline, parent-child stimulation, family organization, and parental relationships suggest different ways to measure the family situation. In other words, each of these themes illustrates ways to develop cultural specific measure of one concept--family solidarity (32). In the information-processing model, family solidarity is considered the influencing variable to explain food habits (32). By this model, just presenting information does not guarantee its use. Rather, the use of nutrition information depends on the family situation. If family members share information and decide to use it, then food problems will be solved.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Early growth of sugar pine from an elevational transect.

Mise en evidence de la variabilite genetique au cours de la croissance en pepiniere chez Pinus lambertiana, pour des plants provenant de graines prelevees le long d'un transect d'altitude (Sierra Nevada occidentale)
Dual-Modality Preclinical PET/MRI Instrumentation

Multimodality imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is emerging as an extremely valuable tool for investigating disease and physiological processes in small animal models. MRI has high spatial resolution but low sensitivity for detecting low abundance molecules and PET has very high sensitivity for the detection of radiotracers but poor spatial resolution. The combination of these two molecular imaging techniques offers synergistic advantages over any either modality alone. A fused anatomical and functional image affords complementary information that clearly improves our understanding. Images acquired simultaneously offer distinct advantages over sequential image acquisition since this gives “perfect” coregistration and observing the same process from two different vantage points can ensure the correlation of information that is impossible in separate experiments.
Sleep Deprivation and Epilepsy

Publisher Summary The relationship of seizures to sleep has been noticed since as far back as the last century. Sleep may not only activate clinical seizures, but may also lead to activation of interictal epileptiform discharges (EDs). Sleep also alters the morphology of EDs; for example, the typical 3 per second spike and slow-wave complexes of patients with childhood absence epilepsy are replaced by either single spike-wave discharges or poly spike and wave configuration. Children with symptomatic generalized epilepsy and multifocal independent spike discharges show bilateral synchrony between frontal and temporal sharp wave foci that often occur with a repetition of 1.5–2.5 Hz. In many cases, the associated factors like physical and emotional stress, fatigue, and alcohol use are also present. Seizure control in patients with epilepsy who also have sleep apnea may improve after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), positional treatment, or tracheostomy, highlighting the clinical importance of treating associated disorders that cause sleep disruption. This chapter reiterates that frequent nocturnal seizures disrupt sleep continuity and can result in daytime sleepiness and increased seizures in the daytime.
TVA Practice in Flood Frequency and Risk Analysis

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a government corporation established in 1933 with broad regional resource development responsibilities. In carrying out its responsibilities TVA has constructed dams and fossil and nuclear power plants, operates and maintains its dams including their safety evaluation, and maintains a program of floodplain management activities with communities, industries, and individuals. This paper describes the flood frequency and risk analysis procedures used by TVA in these activities. Discussed are (1) TVA’s conclusions about the most accurate methods to compute flood frequency at ungaged locations including use of limited site historic flood data obtained through TVA’s flood documenting activities, (2) the procedures and data used by TVA to estimate the PMF to ensure estimates are realistic and compatible with meteorological experience, (3) approaches TVA has used to define flood frequencies of extreme events up to and including the PMF, and (4) risk analysis as applied by TVA in community planning and dam safety evaluations. Recommendations as to additional procedures needed to enhance the engineer’s capability for improved flood frequency and risk analysis are made.
Abstract WP389: A Critical Analysis of Stent Retriever and Suction Catheter Thrombectomy Device Cost-Effectiveness Studies

Background: Although comprehensive economic evaluation reporting standards exist for medical devices (MDs), the quality of reporting in cost analysis studies remains unknown for neurosurgical devic...
Abstract 039: Low Levels of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity is Associated With Fewer Years Lived Free of Cardiovascular Disease: The Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project

Background: Quantifying the associations of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) with years lived free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) allows for contextualization of the populat...
Chiral Gravitons in Fractional Quantum Hall Liquids

We elucidate the nature of neutral collective excitations of fractional quantum Hall liquids in the long-wavelength limit. We demonstrate that they are chiral gravitons carrying angular momentum -2, which are quanta of quantum motion of an internal metric, and show up as resonance peaks in the system's response to what is the fractional Hall analog of gravitational waves. The relation with existing and possible future experimental work that can detect these fractional quantum Hall gravitons and reveal their chirality is discussed.
Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging in Recurrent Salivary Gland Cancers

1263 Purpose: We evaluated the prognostic value of total body metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) measured using FDG-PET/CT in patients with recurrent salivary gland cancer (RSGC). Methods: Between January 2002 and December 2015, 80 RSGC patients were enrolled in the study. We determined the maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax), MTV (volume encompassed by a 42% isocontour around the voxel with the highest PET uptake), and TLG (calculated by multiplying MTV by mean SUV). TMTV and TLG values are defined as the sum of MTVs and TLGs of all lesions, respectively. We correlated PET findings with progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: Among the 80 patients, sixty-one patients had progressive disease or died, and 56 patients died during the study period. The median PFS and OS time were 14.1 months (range, 0.1-54.4) and 20.7 months (range, 0.1-98.2), respectively. The median SUVmax was 7.4 ± 7.1 (range, 2.2-40.9), TMTV was 29.0 ± 96.5 (range, 1.7-690.1), and median TLG was 91.3 ± 696.5 (range, 2.3-43,15.8). Univariate Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis investigated the association between clinical parameters; metabolic parameters; and PFS and OS. Univariate Cox analysis of PFS and OS demonstrated that histology, TMTV, and TLG were associated with significantly lower PFS and OS rates. Clinical parameters and SUVmax were not associated with PFS and OS (p > 0.05). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis identified histology (p = 0.003; hazard ratio, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.33- 3.89) and TLG (p 91.3 g/mLcm3 were 53.2% and 35.1%, and for adenocarcinoma and non-adenocarcinoma were 20.5% and 60.4%, respectively. The 18 months OS rates for patients with TLG ≤91.3 g/mLcm3 and >91.3 g/mLcm3 were 62.0% and 47.4%, respectively. Conclusions: TLG on restaging FDG-PET predicted PFS and OS in patients with RSGC; patients with predicted poor outcome may benefit from alternate, escalated treatment strategies.
Teaching Elementary Children with Autism

Teachers’ perception of self-efficacy may have a significant impact on their ability to accept the challenges inherent in including children with autism in their classrooms. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to identify perceived challenges and needs of 31 graduate students in a university course of which 14 of the 23 students were actively teaching in rural schools located in southeast Alabama. Five faculty members used the resulting NGT data to draft six recommendations for improving the teacher preparation program at Troy University.
Online Search Strategies Of Educational Administrators For Determining The Credibility Of Information Gleaned From A Website

Based on a survey of 158 educational leaders situated in public schools, the level of educational leadership, whether a school superintendent or a principal in a secondary, middle-school, or elementary school, was not a significant factor in operational online strategies utilized or benchmarks relied upon for determining the credibility of information obtained from a website. he No Child Left Behind legislation, directed from the Federal level, has resulted in the need for educational leaders to access credible data for making crucial decisions in regards to what is working and what is not in terms of student learning. In this regard, the reporting in the literature on effective and successful schools by educational leaders provides a rich source of data for those seeking solutions to instructional deficiencies in local school districts. In order to respond to questions of assessment about current curricula and instructional methodology, educational leaders are continuously searching for credible data sources about alternatives for addressing the issues that surround attempts to improve student performance in their schools. The World Wide Web offers information and data from all over the world. Because so much information is available, and because information can easily be generated from „anonymous sources,‟ it is necessary to develop skills to assess what is found. When using sources from an academic library, the books, journals and other resources have typically been evaluated by scholars, publishers and librarians. Such resources, therefore, have been subjected to some degree of scrutiny, in one way or another, before they are made available to the public. However, when accessing sites on the World Wide Web, none of this applies. There are few, if any, „information filters.‟ Because anyone can write a Web page, or set up a „blog,‟ documents of the widest range of quality, written by authors of the widest range of authority, are readily available. Excellent resources reside along side the most dubious.
The utilization of CTA in management of gastrointestinal bleeding in a tertiary care center ED. Are we using it enough

Abstract Background Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common patient presentation to the Emergency Department (ED) and the source can be difficult to diagnose. Procedure Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a new but validated modality with high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis and treatment of GI bleeds, especially in differentiating arterial from venous bleeding. With high reported validity of CTA, some studies have suggested its ability to better triage patients in the ED and impact ED workflow and resource utilization. We evaluated the use of CTA use an academic tertiary care center ED for GI bleeding. Findings Retrospective chart review of 1493 patient (2012–2015), one - way ANOVA, and one-tail t-test, found CTA is used significantly less (0.7%) compared to classical endoscopy (75.7%, p Conclusion We concluded that in light of its validation against these other diagnostic modalities, CTA may be underutilized in the care of patients with GI bleeding and should be studied further to study its impact on early risk stratification, treatment, and resource utilization.
Tipología sintáctica y expresión de la posesión sustantival en los textos luso-hispanorrománicos del siglo VIII

Los textos ibericos cuya composicion se atribuye al siglo VIII documentan un estado de variacion en la expresion de la posesion sustantival. Este estado se caracteriza por la coexistencia de dos formulas sintacticas: (a) una estructura heredada del latin en la cual la posesion nominal se senala mediante los marcadores casuales del paradigma genitivo; (b) vayan los sustantivos declinados en el genitivo, o bien en el acusativo/ablativo o incluso nominativo, una estructura innovadora encabezada por la preposicion DE. Nuestros datos revelan que la estructura heredada del latin es la mas frecuente. Se discuten las causas que subyacen a esta distribucion. Asimismo, se emprende una comparacion entre los documentos no originales y el unico documento original del corpus del estudio en lo tocante a la expresion de la posesion sustantival. Con base en el postulado de la existencia del continuo tipologico OV-VO propuesto por Lehmann y Vennemann, asi como en el recuento de la incidencia de los ordenes OV y VO en nuestro corpus, proponemos que el estado de variabilidad en la expresion de la posesion en el terreno de los sustantivos, segun se refleja en los textos, apunta a que, en el paso del latin al iberorromance, el cambio OV > VO se encontraba en curso. Desde la perspectiva de la tipologia sintactica, en el dominio peninsular, el latin, lengua estructuralmente OV, estaba dando paso ya al iberorromance, de estructura VO, hacia el mismo siglo VIII.
Managing Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome in Older Adults

In this review, the current literature regarding pharmacotherapy treatment strategies available for the management of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in older adults is addressed. The focus is on those treatments described by the American Urologic Association guidelines, organized according to clinical phenotype. Symptoms at presentation can vary with age, with older adults being more likely to experience nocturia, urinary incontinence, and Hunner's lesions than their younger counterparts. As such, treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome should follow an individualized multimodal plan based on the patient's unique phenotype(s), starting with the most conservative options and escalating as needed. The side-effect profile and medication interactions should be reviewed, especially when treating older adults, requesting the aid of pharmacists or the primary care physician as needed to safely provide treatment.