cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tianshui from 2005 to 2008 Flu Virus Type and Distribution Monitor Analytical Study

OBJECTIVE Through to the Tianshui 3 years influenza virus examination monitor research, understood continuously the Tianshui flu activity condition, grasps the Tianshui influenza pandemic and the distribution. Provide the scientific basis for Tianshui and even the national flu prevention and control. METHODS Altogether picks swallows cotton swab sample 1 819, the specimen vaccinates the MDCK cell and the chicken embryo carries on the virus isolation, uses the blood to congeal(HA)and the blood congeals suppresses (HI) the law to carry on the poisonous appraisal, separates in influenza virus one week delivers the national flu center laboratory to reexamine. RESULTS Separates influenza virus 247, armor 1(H1N1)36; Armor 3(H3N2)75; The Type B(B)136. CONCLUSION The Tianshui winter, the spring, the summer will have the different type, the different intensity flu activity, the winter, spring flu succeeding in the imperial civil service examinations, may separate the virus November to next year June, in January and in March separative rate will be highest, in June and in November virus separative rate will be lowest, will have the armor 1(H1N1), the armor 3(H3N2)and the Type B(B)flu activity, will explode the epidemic situation by the Type B primarily, flu case mainly will be 0~14 years old of case, indicated that my city flu prevention and control key crowd will be 0-14 year-old child.
Ovarian activity and hormonal patterns in gilts fed allyl trenbolone.

A study was conducted to establish the profile of reproductive hormones and the degree of ovarian activity in gilts fed either 2.5 or 15.0 mg of allyl trenbolone (AT) daily. Progesterone levels following regression of corpora lutea remained low (less than 1 ng/Ml) during progestin treatment. In gilts given 2.5 mg AT, plasma estradiol (E2) levels fluctuated between 7 and 13 pg/ml during treatment and began to decrease by day 2 after withdrawal of AT. Gilts given 15 mg of AT had lower (P less than .01) plasma concentrations of E2 (2.5 pg/ml) during treatment; concentrations began to increase the day after withdrawal of AT, reaching a maximum of 13.1 pg/Ml in 3.5 to 4.0 days. Luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were low (less than 1.5 ng/ml) during AT treatment. Daily feeding of AT prevented estrus in all gilts. A preovulatory surge of LH (4 ng/ml) was observed on the first day of the first post-treatment estrus. Gilts given 2.5 mg of AT daily had more (P less than .01) follicles of ovulatory size during treatment and a higher frequency of cystic follicles after withdrawal than gilts given 15 mg of AT daily. Estrus was effectively synchronized in gilts given 15 mg of AT daily, whereas the feeding of 2.5 mg AT daily resulted in an increased incidence of anestrus.
ATCT-25LONG-TERM REMISSION OVER 5 YEARS FOR PATIENT WITH RECURRENT GLIOBLASTOMA TREATED WITH CEDIRANIB/LOMUSTINE.

BACKGROUND: Cediranib is an orally available pan-VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Previously phase III study in patients with recurrent glioblastoma did not meet primary end of progressive-free survival (PFS) (J Clin Oncol. 2013 Sep 10; 31(26): 3212-3218) METHODS: We identified 1 patient, 53-year old Caucasian female, who developed tumor progression of left posterior frontal 1.2 x 1.5 cm in February, 2009 following surgery on 10/15/08 and concurrent temozolomide (TMZ) and radiation therapy from 11/8/08 -1/6/09 with one cycle of maintenance TMZ. She was enrolled in a randomized, phase III, placebo-controlled, partially blinded clinical trial of cediranib either as monotherapy or in combination with lomustine (CCNU) versus CCNU. RESULTS: She was randomized to receive a combination therapy with 1st cycle CCNU 190 mg and cederanib 20 mg/day on 4/13/09. Four weeks later, she developed grade 4 thrombocytopenia (17, 000) associated with gum bleeding and dizziness. She received a platelet transfusion. She continued with cediranib alone and 2nd reduced CCNU 100 mg was delayed till 6/16/09, 3rd CCNU on 2/2/2010. She developed hypertension, proteinuria and diarrhea from cediranib in April of 2010 and she continued with reduced dose to 15 mg/day alone without CCNU. However, she developed nephrotic syndrome and poorly controlled hypertension and was taken off this study in May 2010. At 6-week MRI showed 50% tumor regression (PR) and complete response at 24-weeks. With no enhancement seen on MRI on 6/4/15, she has been off therapy and in clinical remission over 5 years with high functional level and good quality of life (KPS 90%). CONCLUSION: This is a case report of successful therapy for recurrent glioblastoma with long term remission despite termination of therapy > 5 years from cediranib and limited CCNU dosage.
Mathematical Foundations of Imaging, Tomography and Wavefield Inversion: Surface scattering and diffraction

In this chapter we turn our attention to scattering from non-penetrable objects, or “surface scattering,” and “diffraction” from planar apertures. As was mentioned in the introduction to the previous chapter, the interaction of an incident wave with a non-penetrable scatterer occurs over the surface of the scattering obstacle and is thus defined by some type of boundary condition over this surface. In a similar vein diffraction of an incident wave from apertures cut into non-penetrable surfaces is also defined by some type of boundary condition over the aperture plus surface and thus can, in a certain sense, be considered to be a type of surface scattering. The formal solution to both types of problems is thus obtained in an identical fashion by converting the problem into a boundary-value problem, which is then easily solved using the theory developed in Chapter 2. The above prescription for “solving” surface scattering and aperture diffraction problems has one missing ingredient: determination of the boundary values required in the solution of the scattering or diffraction problem. This is the ingredient that distinguishes a scattering or diffraction problem from the purely mathematical boundary-value problem. In this chapter we will restrict our attention to non-penetrable objects over which the total field (incident plus scattered) satisfies homogeneous Dirichlet or Neumann conditions. By invoking this condition it is possible to represent the scattered field in terms of either the value of the normal derivative of the total field (the homogeneous Dirichlet case) or the total field itself (the homogeneous Neumann case) over the scatterer surface.
Why do Legislators Skip Votes? Position Taking Versus Policy Influence

A legislator’s duty is to vote on legislation, yet legislators routinely miss votes. Existing studies of absenteeism have focused on the US Congress, producing useful but partial explanations. We provide added insight by examining absenteeism in American state legislatures. Our data include 2,916,471 individual votes cast by 4392 legislators from 64 legislative chambers. This rich, multistate dataset produces insights that build on and sometimes conflict with Congressional research. We use a multilevel logistic model with nested and crossed random effects to estimate the influence of variables at five different levels. In particular, we investigate whether state legislators miss unimportant votes or important votes. Contrary to what Congressional studies have found, we find that state legislators avoid participating in close or major votes, favoring reelection concerns over policy influence. We also find that state-to-state variations in legislative professionalism—in particular, the length of the session—affect absenteeism, with shorter sessions leading to higher absenteeism.
Data-driven sensors clustering and filtering for communication efficient field reconstruction

A novel communication efficient scheme for reconstructing a field sensed by spatially scattered sensors is proposed. The field is formed by multiple sources, while a fusion center gathers the sensor measurements. The goal is to reconstruct the field at the fusion center using only the measurements of a small number of sensors. The framework entails learning the correlation structure of the field by determining clusters of correlated sensors observing the same set of sources. Combining moving-average filtering along with principal component analysis applied in the sensor data covariance the number of sources can be determined, while norm-one regularized canonical correlations are utilized to determine the different correlated clusters. A novel iterative interplay of regularized canonical correlations with principal component analysis is designed that determines correctly the correlated clusters as the number of training data goes to infinity. From each cluster only a head sensor transmits data to the fusion center, while the measurements of the remaining sensors are reconstructed using proper linear filters that learn the correlation pattern within a cluster via normalized least mean squares. The novel approach substantially reduces the communication cost. Extensive numerical tests demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in field recovery. HighlightsA communication efficient scheme for field reconstruction is proposed.PCA and moving-average filtering utilized to estimate the unknown number of sources.Iterative interplay of regularized CCA with PCA to cluster sensor data with overlapping content.Normalized least-mean squares combined with norm-one and norm-two regularized CCA to reconstruct sensor data.
Therapy with omeprazole modulates regulatory T cell/T helper 17 immune response in children with duodenal ulcers

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of omeprazole on the regulatory T cell (Treg) and T helper 17 (Th17)-mediated response in patients with duodenal ulcers (DUs). DU patients were randomly divided into omeprazole and colloid bismuth subcitrate treatment groups. The ratios of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were measured. Cytokine production and Foxp3+- and RORγt-positive cells were detected. The expressions of STAT3, p-STAT3, STAT5 and p-STAT5 were detected by Western blot. The results showed that DU patients had an imbalanced Treg/Th17 response, as reflected by the higher IL-17 level and Th17 ratio and lower IL-10 level and Treg proportion in serum compared with those in the healthy volunteers. The administration of omeprazole to the patients significantly increased Treg and IL-10 levels and reduced Th17 and IL-17 levels. Omeprazole markedly increased the number of Foxp3-positive cells, decreased the number of RORγt-positive cells and restored the balanced ratio of IL-10/IL-17 in the ulcer tissue. Interestingly, we observed a negative correlation between the ratios of Treg/Th17 and the pathological scores in damaged tissues. Of note, H. pylori-infected PBMCs showed decreased Treg and an increased Th17 proportion, which could be reversed by omeprazole. Finally, omeprazole increased the expression of p-STAT5 and reduced the level of p-STAT3 without any effects on the total expression of STAT5 and STAT3. Our data suggest that omeprazole treatment restores the equilibrium of the Treg/Th17-mediated response in DU patients. Moreover, the modulation of p-STAT3 and p-STAT5 expression by omeprazole induced balanced polarisation of Treg/Th17.
Rush Fracture Liaison Service for capturing "missed opportunities" to treat osteoporosis in patients with fragility fractures.

In spite of being a public health problem of pandemic proportions, osteoporosis continues to be underdiagnosed and undertreated especially in older adults with fragility fractures. Confirmation of this hypothesis resulted in the development of a novel Fracture Liaison Service (Rush FLS). Results of the first 12 months of operation revealed that patients with confirmed fragility fracture do not have a timely diagnosis at fracture occurrence or treatment of their disease. The Rush FLS is an effective fracture liaison model. Determining the prevalence of undiagnosed and untreated osteoporosis in fragility fracture patients, either admitted to an academic tertiary care center or treated and discharged from the center’s emergency department to be followed in the endocrinology bone clinic, using an innovative, educational, low-cost, physician-run Fracture Liaison Service (FLS). An automated alert was integrated into the electronic medical record at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC), triggered by historical and/or acute fracture(s) in patients 50 years or older, in patients that were either admitted to the hospital or in patients evaluated in the emergency department and discharged to be followed in the endocrinology bone clinic. We report the results of the first 12 months of operation in patients admitted to the hospital. First acute fragility fracture(s) were identified in 36% (80/223), only historical fragility fracture(s) in 28% (63/223) and both acute and historical fragility fracture(s) in 36% (80/223). The cumulative subgroup with historical fragility fractures with/without new fractures included 67% (96/143) without a previous diagnosis of osteoporosis. First acute fragility fracture group included 83.8% (67/80) without a previous diagnosis of osteoporosis. Rush FLS “captured missed opportunities” in 73.1% (163/223) of previously undiagnosed and 77.1% (172/223) of previously untreated osteoporosis patients. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) prior to FLS consult was confirmed in 30% (67/223). Vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxy vitamin D < 20 ng/ml) in 41.9% (78/186) including undetectable levels in 16.6% (31/186) and secondary hyperparathyroidism in 43.3% (78/180) were the most common laboratory confirmed secondary etiologies for bone loss. This study reported undiagnosed, uninvestigated, and untreated osteoporosis in the majority of fragility fracture patients seen by the Rush FLS in the first 12 months of operation.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The origins and conceptual foundations for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) are described. National programs aimed at building understanding and acceptance of SOTL are reviewed. To i...
Thomas Mann's Tonio Kröger: a study of the protagonist's emergence from the schizoid to the depressive position.

The protagonist of Thomas Mann's novella Tonio Kroger is examined in terms of object-relational theory. This approach is briefly compared with the interpretation that might be offered by structural theorists. Kroger, the son of an authoritarian and prototypical Germanic father and an artistic and sensuous mother from the south, is tormented by what he sees as his dual heritage. Unable to accept that he can be both an artist and a respectable member of bourgeois society, he employs splitting as a primary defense mechanism both intrapsychically and interpersonally, projecting these opposing ideologies onto others including Hans, Inge, and Lisabetta. Alternately idealizing and demonizing these characters, projections of his internal conflict, he is unable to achieve an integrated sense of himself or others, functioning primarily in the schizoid position. His emergence from the schizoid into the more mature depressive position, having been foreshadowed in a series of dream sequences, occurs at the end of the work when he comes to accept the view that artistic impulses and bourgeois discipline are not incompatible.
Omadacycline Enters the Ring: A New Antimicrobial Contender.

Omadacycline is a novel aminomethylcycline approved for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. This article reviews existing data pertaining to the biochemistry, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, in vitro activity, and current progress with omadacycline in clinical trials. Omadacycline inhibits protein synthesis by binding to the 30S subunit of the bacterial ribosome at the tetracycline-binding site with an affinity similar to glycylcyclines. It is able to bypass older tetracycline resistance mechanisms and demonstrates activity against bacterial strains that are tetracycline resistant. In addition, omadacycline displays broad-spectrum activity against gram-positive organisms (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci), gram-negative organisms, atypical organisms, and anaerobes. It has been evaluated against infections in adults both intravenously and orally. Dosage adjustments are not required for patients with renal impairment. Omadacycline displays a comparable efficacy and safety profile to standard-of-care agents, with the most common side effects observed being gastrointestinal. Currently available data for omadacycline suggest that this is a promising agent added to our antimicrobial armamentarium.
Conformations of an RNA Helix-Junction-Helix Construct Revealed by SAXS Refinement of MD Simulations

RNA is involved in a broad range of biological processes that extend far beyond translation. Many of RNA's recently discovered functions rely on folding to a specific conformation or transitioning between conformations. The RNA structure contains rigid, short basepaired regions connected by more flexible linkers. Studies of model constructs such as small helix-junction-helix (HJH) motifs are useful in understanding how these elements work together to determine RNA conformation. Here, we reveal the full ensemble of solution structures assumed by a model RNA HJH. We apply small-angle x-ray scattering and an ensemble optimization method to selectively refine models generated by all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The expectation of a broad distribution of helix orientations, at and above physiological ionic strength, is not met. Instead, this analysis shows that the HJH structures are dominated by two distinct conformations at moderate to high ionic strength. Atomic structures, selected from the molecular dynamics simulations, reveal strong base-base interactions in the junction that critically constrain the conformational space available to the HJH molecule and lead to a surprising re-extension at high salt. These results are corroborated by comparison with previous single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments on the same constructs.
Franz Liszt's Heir: Ferruccio Busoni and Weimar

When Franz Liszt died, the world lost an innovative composer, mentor, and pianist. Although his influence did not die with him, few of his successors can claim to have walked in his footsteps – to have lived and taught in the same rooms – and to have shared many of his ideals. Ferruccio Busoni did just that when the Grand Duke Carl Alexander invited him to hold piano master classes in Weimar in 1900 and 1901, just as he had invited Liszt to do nearly two decades earlier (1881–1885).This article shows how Liszt's activities in Weimar as Pedagogue and as Kapellmeister (1848–1861) became models for Busoni as he sought to position himself as a prominent ‘musical polymath’ at the turn of the century. Yet Busoni not only emulated Liszt, he also promoted him in an age when the older composer was considered of only tangential importance.By producing authoritative editions of Liszt's music, and perhaps more significantly, by emulating Liszt's activities as a transcriber and composer, Busoni enhanced piano sonority while extending Liszt's ideas about the future of music. In that way, he shared attitudes associated with the Zukunftsmusik movement, and his outlook was rooted in Liszt's compositions, as opposed to Richard Wagner's. At the same time, he helped foster a lineage of young musicians who patterned their careers and music after Liszt.Drawing on surviving memoirs, letters, scores, essays and concert programmes, this article thus explores Liszt's impact on Busoni and his mentees. It reveals a musician not only emulating Liszt, but also expanding upon his ideas and promoting them to others.
The oblique effect: The relationship between profiles of visuospatial preference, cognition, and brain connectomics in older adults

Abstract The oblique effect (OE) describes the visuospatial advantage for identifying stimuli oriented horizontally or vertically rather than diagonally; little is known about brain aging and the OE. We investigated this relationship using the Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO) in 107 older adults (∼age = 67.8 ± 6.6; 51% female) together with neuropsychological tests of executive functioning (EF), attention/information processing (AIP), and neuroimaging. Only JLO lines falling between 36 and 54 or 126–144° were considered oblique. To quantify the oblique effect, we calculated z-scores for oblique errors (zOblique = #oblique errors/#oblique lines), and similarly, horizontal + vertical line errors (zHV) and a composite measure of oblique relative to HV errors (zOE). Composite z-scores of EF and AIP reflected domains associated with JLO performance. Graph theory analysis integrated T1-derived volumetry and diffusion MRI-derived white matter tractography into connectivity matrices analyzed for select network properties. Participants produced more zOblique than zHV errors (p
Understanding Controller-Pilot Interaction Dynamics in The Context of Air Traffic Control:

LiteratureNew capabilities to modernize the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) include support of real-time information streams derived from many data sources across the NAS. As an emergent proper...
The spectre of Haiti: structural antiblackness, the far-right backlash and the fear of a black majority in Brazil

This article situates the far-right backlash in Brazil within the larger Latin American context, including its colonial legacy, leftist governments’ failure to deliver promises of inclusion, and th...
Sharp constants of approximation theory. III. Certain polynomial inequalities of different metrics on convex sets

Abstract Let V ⊂ R m be a centrally symmetric convex body and let V ∗ ⊂ R m be its polar. We prove limit relations between the sharp constants in the multivariate Markov–Bernstein–Nikolskii type inequalities for algebraic polynomials on V ∗ and the corresponding constants for entire functions of exponential type with the spectrum in V .
Non causa pro causa : o voto de direita e esquerda no Brasil

Resumo A maioria dos estudos sobre o voto no Brasil converge no diagnostico de que a escala direita-esquerda nao esta associada a escolha do eleitorado. Todavia, parte da literatura frequentemente ignora ou desafia tal consenso. Para resolver essa questao, este artigo replica e reanalisa dados de opiniao publica utilizados por estudos como evidencia de que o eleitorado votaria sim com base na escala direita-esquerda (1989-2014). Os resultados indicam que tais estudos incorrem em equivocos metodologicos que invalidam suas conclusoes. A associacao estatistica entre ideologia e voto e baixa de modo geral e apenas alta em um grupo reduzido de pessoas politicamente mais sofisticadas. Por fim, a analise de dados de painel nao encontra evidencia de que a associacao indique uma relacao causal mesmo entre os(as) mais sofisticado(as). Em suma, e preciso buscar novos horizontes na explicacao do voto no Brasil.
Translating ACE Research into Multi-tiered Systems of Supports for At-risk High-school Students

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire has provided the basis for a substantial body of research literature that illuminates the enduring social, emotional, academic, health, and life outcome effects of childhood trauma. Additional studies with children and adolescents suggest a strong neurodevelopmental dose-respondent association with high ACE scores and school academic and behavioral problems. As the national effort to include social-emotional learning (SEL) into Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS) moves forward in the public schools, the need for psychometrically sound instruments for data-based decision-making becomes critical. The current study investigated a potential relationship between the ACE Questionnaire to more psychometrically sound screening and broadband instruments (Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC)-3 Self-Report of Personality Form-Adolescent and BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) Student Form-Adolescent) that are standardized, norm-referenced, multi-gating in design, and commonly used in educational settings. Results indicate that 62% of the students with elevated ACE scores had at-risk scores on the BESS screener. In addition, elevated at-risk scores on the BESS for the students with self-reported elevated ACE scores correlated with multiple at-risk and clinically significant index and composite scores on the broadband BASC-3. The significant index and composite scores created a unique psychological profile of students with high ACE scores who were experiencing significant current distress along with little perceived social support. The results support the use of SEL screening measures that seamlessly and psychometrically link secondary- and tertiary-level diagnostic tools in a multi-gating format in MTSS.
Predicting ASD Diagnosis in Children with Synthetic and Image-based Eye Gaze Data

As early intervention is highly effective for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is imperative to make accurate diagnosis as early as possible. ASD has often been associated with atypical visual attention and eye gaze data can be collected at a very early age. An automatic screening tool based on eye gaze data that could identify ASD risk offers the opportunity for intervention before the full set of symptoms is present. In this paper, we propose two machine learning methods, synthetic saccade approach and image based approach, to automatically classify ASD given children's eye gaze data collected from free-viewing tasks of natural images. The first approach uses a generative model of synthetic saccade patterns to represent the baseline scan-path from a typical non-ASD individual and combines it with the real scan-path as well as other auxiliary data as inputs to a deep learning classifier. The second approach adopts a more holistic image-based approach by feeding the input image and a sequence of fixation maps into a convolutional or recurrent neural network. Using a publicly-accessible collection of children's gaze data, our experiments indicate that the ASD prediction accuracy reaches 67.23% accuracy on the validation dataset and 62.13% accuracy on the test dataset.
The elderly IBD patient in the modern era: changing paradigms in risk stratification and therapeutic management

The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rising in the elderly population. Compared with patients with onset during their younger years, patients with elderly onset IBD have a distinct clinical presentation, disease phenotype, and natural history. Genetics contribute less to pathogenesis of disease, whereas biological changes associated with aging including immunosenescence, dysbiosis, and frailty have a greater impact on disease outcomes. With the advent of an increasingly wider array of biologic and small-molecule therapeutic options, data regarding efficacy and safety of these agents in elderly IBD patients specifically are paramount, given the unique characteristics of this population.
Control and Management of Multiple Converters in a Residential Smart Grid

Power electronic systems are becoming a staple building block for electric grid networks. However, these systems have been largely designed to grid integrate in ad hoc configurations with little or no coordination of control. This work proposes a central controller and power electronic system hardware and software design for a residential system (photovoltaic, energy storage and residential building). This system supports auto-integration, plug and play capabilities, and optimal energy management to meet different use cases. Modelling and multi-day testing of the system have been conducted in a controller hardware-in-the-loop (C-HIL) testbed. Multiple use cases and pricing options have been considered as part of the simulation and testing. Results are presented of these systems as a proof of principle.
Impact of the Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten Program on Children’s Literacy, Language, and Mathematics Skills: Results From a Regression-Discontinuity Design:

The Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K Program (TN-VPK) is statewide full-day program that gives priority to children from low-income families. A regression-discontinuity design with a statewide probability...
Water exchange in reptile eggs: mechanism for transportation, driving forces behind movement, and the effects on hatchling size

The mechanism for water transport in reptile eggs is examined with particular interest in the phase water is in while being exchanged. Eggs were examined at various times during the incubation. A non-volatile dye was used as an indicator of liquid water movement. Presence of the dye after 48 hoiu-s of exposure may be indicative of liquid water movement. If the egg changes mass and no dye is present the water was considered to be exchanged in the vapor phase. Eggs exposed to the dye early during incubation took up the dye, while eggs exposed after day ten have dye levels very close to zero. It is therefore concluded that the majority of incubation is dominated by vapor water transport as the transport mechanism for water in reptile eggs. The role of water exchange in determining hatchling size was also assessed. Eggs were incubated xmder constant water potential conditions that would lead to differing amounts of water exchange. Hatchling size was then assessed using length and mass measurements and generating a size index using principle components. The hatchlings from eggs held on the substrate that yielded the highest water uptake were not the largest. The remaining treatments yielded hatchlings that were successively smaller on substrates that had increasingly limited water uptake. In addition to looking at constant water potentials, some eggs were exposed to shifted conditions dxiring three periods of incubation. The hatchlings from eggs encountering successively higher periods of unfavorable conditions were smaller. Eggs exposed to tuifavorable conditions diiring the first period of incubation produced hatchlings that were smaller than hatchlings from eggs
Possibilities for a Scanning Photoemission Microscope at the NSLS

Of the three main surface analysis techniques: SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry), XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) and AES (electron induced Auger Electron Spectroscopy), both SIMS and AES have lateral resolution in the 50 nm range [1]. Yet only XPS makes use of the wealth of chemical shift information. Recent publications on radiation damage [2,3] estimated (considering only microscopic causes of the damage) that for the sanie lateral resolution and induced damage, XPS is one to two orders of magnitude more sensitive then AES. This is mainly due to the intrinsic difference in the signal/background ratio of the two techniques, which is 10 to 100 for XPS and 0.1 to 1 for AES. Taking into account macroscopic damage, such as local heating and charging, the advantages of XPS are even greater, particularly for polymers and other radiation sensitive materials. Experimental investigation is required, however, to fully assess the advantages of an XPS microscope over other techniques.
Increasing Independence in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Video Self Modeling.

v List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter I: Introduction 1 Problem Statement 11 Rationale for the Study 12 Research Questions 13 Definition of Terms 14 Chapter II: Review of the Literature 18 Autism Spectrum Disorders 18 Assistive Technology and Visual Strategies 25 Promoting Independence 47 Conclusion 50 Chapter III: Methodology 53 Experimental Design 54 Research Study 57
Using Writing Process and Product Features to Assess Writing Quality and Explore How Those Features Relate to Other Literacy Tasks

This paper explores automated methods for measuring features of student writing and determining their relationship to writing quality and other features of literacy, such as reading rest scores. In particular, it uses the e-rater® automatic essay scoring system to measure product features (measurable traits of the final written text) and features extracted from keystroke logs to measure process features (measurable features of the writing process). These techniques are applied to student essays written during large-scale pilot administrations of writing assessments developed for ETS's CBAL™ research initiative. The design makes it possible to explore the factor structures of these product and process features and to examine how well they generalize beyond a single test session to predict underlying traits such as writing ability and reading level. Three product factors are identified, connected to fluency, accuracy, and content. The process factors are identified, corresponding to hesitancy behaviors, editing behaviors, and burst span (the extent to which text is produced in long bursts with only short internal pauses). The results suggest that writing process and product features have stable factor structures that generalize to predict writing quality, though there are some genre- or task-specific differences.
Rex transregulation of human T-cell leukemia virus type II gene expression

The Rex protein of the human T-cell leukemia virus type II (HTLV-II), Rex-II, plays a central role in regulating the expression of the structural genes of this retrovirus. Rex-II acts posttranscriptionally by inducing the cytoplasmic expression of the incompletely spliced viral mRNAs that encode the Gag and Env structural proteins and the enzymes derived from the pol gene. We now define a 295-nucleotide cis-acting regulatory element within the 3' long terminal repeat of HTLV-II that is required for the effects of Rex-II. This Rex-II response element (RexIIRE) corresponds to a predicted, highly stable RNA secondary structure and functions when present in the sense but not in the antisense orientation. The RexIIRE confers responsiveness not only to Rex-II but also to the Rex protein of HTLV-I. Deletion and substitution mutagenesis of the RexIIRE permitted identification of a small subregion within the larger element critically required for Rex-II responsiveness and further suggested that the structurally distinct RexIIREs generated from the 5' and 3' long terminal repeats of HTLV-II may differentially regulate the cytoplasmic expression of unspliced gag-pol and singly spliced env mRNAs. While the Rev protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 fails to function via the RexIIRE, the Rex-II protein, like Rex-I, can functionally replace the Rev protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 via its interaction with the Rev response element (RevRE).
HAMPI: a string solver for testing, analysis and vulnerability detection

Many automatic testing, analysis, and verification techniques for programs can effectively be reduced to a constraint-generation phase followed by a constraint-solving phase. This separation of concerns often leads to more effective and maintainable software reliability tools. The increasing efficiency of offthe-shelf constraint solvers makes this approach even more compelling. However, there are few effective and sufficiently expressive off-the-shelf solvers for string constraints generated by analysis of string-manipulating programs, and hence researchers end up implementing their own ad-hoc solvers. Thus, there is a clear need for an effective and expressive string-constraint solver that can be easily integrated into a variety of applications. To fulfill this need, we designed and implemented Hampi, an efficient and easy-to-use string solver. Users of the Hampi string solver specify constraints using membership predicate over regular expressions, context-free grammars, and equality/dis-equality between string terms. These terms are constructed out of string constants, bounded string variables, and typical string operations such as concatenation and substring extraction. Hampi takes such a constraint as input and decides whether it is satisfiable or not. If an input constraint is satisfiable, Hampi generates a satsfying assignment for the string variables that occur in it. We demonstrate Hampi's expressiveness and efficiency by applying it to program analysis and automated testing: We used Hampi in static and dynamic analyses for finding SQL injection vulnerabilities in Web applications with hundreds of thousands of lines of code.We also used Hampi in the context of automated bug finding in C programs using dynamic systematic testing (also known as concolic testing). Hampi's source code, documentation, and experimental data are available at http://people.csail.mit.edu/akiezun/hampi
A Teacher’s Checklist for Evaluating Treatment Intrusiveness

Teachers are frequently involved in developing and evaluating treatments for problematic behaviors. Along with other members of the interdisciplinary team, they must determine the level of intrusiveness that a treatment may have on a student. Several factors that influence the intrusiveness of treatment procedures are described. These factors were used to develop a checklist that could be used systematically by teachers to evaluate the intrusiveness of treatments recommended by treatment teams. After the checklist was administered to a group of preservice teachers, it was found to be capable of discriminating among several treatment options described in a series of case vignettes. The implications of incorporating such a checklist into the design and implementation of treatments for problem behavior are discussed. Les enseignants sont souvent impliques dans le developpement et l’evaluation de traitements des problemes de comportement. De concert avec d’autres membres d’une equipe interdisciplinaire, ils doivent determiner dans quelle mesure un traitement est intrusif pour l’eleve. L’article decrit plusieurs facteurs qui influencent le degre de discretion des procedures. A partir de ces facteurs, on a dresse une liste de verification dont pourraient se servir les enseignants de facon systematique pour evaluer a quel point les procedures recommandees par les equipes de traitement sont intrusives. La liste a ete presentee a un groupe de stagiaires et s’est averee capable de distinguer plusieurs options de traitement decrites dans une serie de vignettes d’etude de cas. S’ensuit une discussion portant sur les consequences d’incorporer une telle liste de verification dans la conception et la mise en œuvre de traitements pour les problemes de comportement.
Biomedical Digital Signal Processing: C Language Examples and Laboratory Experiments for the IBM PC

Introduction to computers in medicine electrocardiography signal conversion basics of digital filtering finite impulse response filters infinite impulse response filters integers filters adaptive filters signal averaging data reduction techniques other time and frequency domain techniques QRS filters ECG monitoring systems VLSI in digital signal processing configuring the PC for UW digiscope data acquisition and control routines data acquisition and control - some hints UW digiscope user's manual signal generation finite length register effects commercial DSP systems.
Inverse control of quantum-mechanical systems: some application studies

Applies the invertibility of a quantum mechanical systems concept to design open loop controls of molecular systems. The inverse quantum-mechanical control of molecules is studied using the equation of motion for the expectation value of an operator. With this method a requisite external field is obtained to exactly track a prescribed molecular objective expectation value as a function of time. Applications to diatomic molecules are formulated. While the method is directly applicable as a test of physical intuition, it can in principle be used to design fields for specific objectives including reactive selectivity. Results are presented for energy tracking in the hydrogen fluoride molecular system. The numerical calculations show that seemingly benign objective tracks may give rise to singularities in the field. However, these singularities do not present problems in the evolution of the dynamical quantities and instead provide useful hints for designing robust fields. >
Evolutionary bayesian network dynamic planner for game RISK

Many artificial intelligence problems are susceptible to a goal-directed solution. For some problems, such as dynamic planning and execution, a goal-directed approach may be the only option. Using information available about a desirable state or a measure of acceptability of possible future states, a goal-directed approach determines routes or plans to reach these desirable states. These problems can be categorized as game problems. One such game is RISK. RISK is complex, multi-scaled, and provides a good application for testing a variety of goal-directed approaches. A goal-directed hybrid evolutionary program that plays the RISK game effectively has been developed. This approach advances an understanding of: (1) how to use Bayesian probability to prune combinatorial explosive planning spaces; (2) how to incorporate temporal planning cost in an objective function; and (3) provides a procedure for mapping a problem (i.e., data and knowledge) into a dynamic planning and execution framework.
Creating a dynamometer for experimental validation of power take-off forces on a wave energy converter

Simulation tools are designed to represent subsets of the real world. To be effective, these tools must be experimentally validated with real world measurements. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have been tasked by the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) with the creation of a time-domain equation-of-motion simulator for the evaluation of wave energy converters, called WEC-Sim. A project for the experimental validation of WEC-Sim features has resulted in the development of custom instrumentation designed to characterize the forces affecting the power take-off (PTO) of the model wave energy converter (WEC). This paper describes the development of this instrument, a dynamometer, including the original project requirements, model specification, component choice, and capabilities. The inclusion of the dynamometer in the experimental model has a disruptive influence on the hydrodynamic operation. Prior to the laboratory experiments, the instrument is simulated using WEC-Sim output as a driving force to verify the dynamometer design in a virtual environment. The results of these simulations are reported here, demonstrating the process used to validate the design prior to physical implementation.
Fluorimetric coupled enzyme assay for lysoplasmalogenase activity in liver

We developed a continuous spectrofluorimetric assay of lysoplasmalogenase activity with the use of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase as a coupling enzyme. In this method the disappearance of NADH is measured spectrofluorimetrically. The excitation and emission monochromators were set at 340 and 460 nm respectively. The assay is 10 times as sensitive as the previous u.v. spectrophotometric method. We could detect approx. 0.02 nmol of aldehyde produced/min per ml.
Suppression of sucrose intake by continuous near-celiac and intravenous cholecystokinin infusions in rats

We compared suppression of intake of 30% sucrose produced by continuous aortal (near celiac) and intravenous infusions of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8). Adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats received 21-min infusions of saline or 100-1,600 ng CCK-8. Sucrose was available for 20 min, beginning 1 min after onset of infusions. Significant reductions in intake were produced by near-celiac infusions of 400, 800, and 1,600 ng CCK-8, but only the two highest doses affected intake when infused intravenously. In a second experiment, which replicated previous observations, near-celiac bolus infusions of 70 ng CCK-8 significantly reduced sucrose intake but intravenous infusions did not. Behavioral observations indicated that although bolus infusions produced immediate disruption of feeding, suggesting an aversive effect, effects of continuous CCK-8 infusions on temporal intake patterns were consistent with enhancement of satiety. These data provide further evidence that CCK-8 acts on a site within the upper gastrointestinal tract to produce satiety.
Instability of relativistic-electron helical trajectories in combined uniform axial and helical wiggler magnetic fields

The stability is investigated of helical trajectories of relativistic electrons in combined axial guide and helical wiggler magnetic fields appropriate for studies of free-electron lasers without using the frequently invoked assumption of evaluating the wiggler field on the laser axis. This is the first analysis of such trajectories which is free of this approximation. It is found that the helical trajectories are unstable with the possible exception of one value of the orbital radius. The instabilities are of two types corresponding to different properties of the eigenvalues of the matrix associated with the linearization of the equations of motion. These properties, in turn, depend upon the relative signs and magnitudes of the physical parameters that occur in the problem. At the exceptional radial value the trajectories can be either unstable or linearly stable depending upon the values of these parameters. For the linearly stable situations it is not known whether the trajectories are nonlinearly stable or unstable. We also prove that the trajectories of one of the instability types are of a particular kind called conditionally stable. This type of unstable trajectory has the property that it is approached by some (but not all) solutions of the equations of motion as time approaches positive or negative infinity. This type of instability is found to be more severe for larger values of the orbital radius. Even so, it still appears to be significant for small radii, of the order of $\frac{1}{100}$ of the wiggler wavelength.
Impaired Nutrient Utilization Associated with Pale Bird Syndrome in Broiler Chicks

Abstract Energy utilization and lipid absorption were studied in chichens having the symptoms of the pale bird syndrome (PBS). Chicks with PBS and also ones that appeared “normal” were taken from a commercial farm and compared to control chicks raised at the University of Georgia (UGA). The PBS chicks utilized dietary energy and absorbed lipids substantially less than the normal birds from the commercial farm. Differences in lipid absorption alone did not account for the discrepancy in metabolizable energy between the two groups, suggesting that absorption of non-lipid dietary components was also affected. Both of the commercial groups of chicks showed a lesser ability to utilize dietary energy and absorb lipid than the UGA control chicks, indicating that the normal chicks may also have been affected by the disease.
A structured parent interview for identifying young children with autism

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Parent Interview for Autism (PIA), a structured interview for gathering diagnostic information from parents of young children with autism. Internal consistency was evaluated in a sample of 165 children under 6 years old, and test-retest reliability and construct validity were evaluated in subsamples of the original group. Results revealed internal consistency and test-retest reliability above. 60 for 9 of the 11 dimensions constituting the PIA, as well as significant correlations between the PIA and other measures of autism. Six of the PIA dimensions differentiated a group of young children with autism from a developmentally comparable group with mental retardation. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.