cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Public support for policies to improve the nutritional impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

OBJECTIVE To determine public attitudes towards federal spending on nutrition assistance programs and support for policies to improve nutritional impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Common-mode rejection ratio redefined

Redefining the common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR), a set of equations is derived for the common-mode gain and the CMRR of differential amplifiers. The results, which are consistent with practice and simulation, show that an amplifier's CMR may exceed the CMR of the active device(s) by intentional unbalancing of the circuit.
Training teachers to attend to their students’ oral reading fluency

(1991). Training teachers to attend to their students’ oral reading fluency. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 30, Fluency in Oral Reading, pp. 211-217.
Application of Latent Trait Models to Identifying Substantively Interesting Raters

Historically, research focusing on rater characteristics and rating contexts that enable the assignment of accurate ratings and research focusing on statistical indicators of accurate ratings has been conducted by separate communities of researchers. This study demonstrates how existing latent trait modeling procedures can identify groups of raters who may be of substantive interest to those studying the experiential, cognitive, and contextual aspects of ratings. We employ two data sources in our demonstration—simulated data and data from a large-scale state-wide writing assessment. We apply latent trait models to these data to identify examples of rater leniency, centrality, inaccuracy, and differential dimensionality; and we investigate the association between rater training procedures and the manifestation of rater effects in the real data.
Achievements in rotary head magnetic recording

The principal achievements since 1980 in rotary head recording on magnetic tape are outlined. These developments are related to fundamental improvements in recording media, heads, the design of tape transports, and signal processing. The D-1 and D-2 video tape recorders (VTRs), the Hi-Band 8-mm video cassette recorder (VCR), and the rotary digital audio tape (R-DAT) recorders are discussed. The future of rotary head recorders for consumer digital VCRs, professional high-definition TV (HDTV) VTRs, and consumer HDTV VCRs is assessed. >
A Theoretical Study of p-Type Doping of ZnO: Problems and Solutions

We present results of a comprehensive set of first-principles total-energy calculations of native and impurity-defect complexes in ZnO and use these results to elucidate the problems that occur in efforts to achieve p-type doping. The analysis naturally leads to new approaches that are likely to overcome the difficulties. The results provide detailed explanations of recent puzzling observations made in attempts to produce p-type ZnO.
The Effects of Stereotypes on the Achievement Gap: Reexamining the Academic Performance of African American High School Students.

This study investigated whether African American high school freshman students experience stereotype threat when taking a test that is seen as a predictor of their success on a high-stakes test. The authors conceptually replicated a previous study by Kellow and Jones (2005) using a true experimental design, as opposed to a quasi-experimental design. White students scored statistically significantly higher than African American students when told that their test performance would be predictive of their performance on a statewide, high-stakes standardized test. The following potential mediators of stereotype threat were included in the study and the effects of each are discussed: (a) perceptions of ability and expectancy for success, (b) achievement goal orientation, (c) anxiety, and (d) perceptions of stereotype threat. The results suggest that African American students are at a disadvantage compared to White students when their knowledge and skills are measured using a high-stakes standardized test. Impli...
Evaluation of K–H3O jarosite as thermal witness material

K–H3O jarosite undergoes distinct stepwise thermal decomposition involving parallel and sequential sub-reactions. From jarosite decomposed partially under unknown temperature–time conditions, it is possible in principle to recover these temperature–time conditions if the residual decomposition of the material is determined and if the kinetics of the decomposition are known. The present study evaluates the use of a synthetic K–H3O jarosite as a temperature witness material. A flow furnace experiment was designed to expose aerosolized jarosite to temperatures upto 1,200 K for times of 10 s and less. After exposure, partially decomposed particles were recovered, and the residual decomposition was determined by TG. In parallel, the partial decomposition in the flow furnace as well as the residual decomposition was calculated based on a previously published kinetic decomposition model. Sensitivity analysis shows that the residual decomposition must be determined with a resolution better than 1.5 mass% in order to resolve a 100 K temperature difference in the a priori unknown exposure conditions. The sensitivity is greatest in the temperature regions where (OH)– groups are lost, and diminishes rapidly at higher or lower temperatures. Considering properties of the decomposition model, this suggests that multiple parallel reactions are necessary to achieve reasonable temperature (and time) resolution in forensic analysis using thermal decomposition of materials.
Empowering Self-Defense Training:

The purpose of self-defense training is to expand people’s options, yet it is often framed as a solely physical, and limiting, response to violence. I draw on my own experience as a self-defense instructor and that of others in the self-defense movement to argue that an empowerment approach to self-defense training contributes to the anti-violence movement in multiple ways: providing a pathway to increase women’s and girls’ safety and their potential for becoming powerful and effective social change agents right now, providing an informed and embodied understanding of violence, and offering comprehensive options to recognize, prevent, and interrupt violence.
Using HTML and JavaScript in introductory programming courses

Students with little or no computer programming experience prior to entering college often have difficulty keeping up with the fast pace of college-level programming courses, even at the introductory level. For the past several years we have developed a curriculum for teaching fundamental language concepts to this population of individuals using the programmable features of a variety of software packages --- thus giving students nontrivial results with relatively little syntactic "overhead." These "pre-programming" courses prepare students to succeed in subsequent language sequences, or they can serve to provide computer literacy credits for non-technical majors.Here we report on a course designed to exploit students' burgeoning interest in the World Wide Web (WWW), where we used HTML and JavaScript to teach programming concepts. These languages allow students at different skill levels to work side by side, learning common abstract ideas while implementing them at different levels of complexity, motivated by the rewarding and exciting interactive environment of the WWW.
Optimality of variational data assimilation and its relationship with the Kalman filter and smoother

The known properties of equivalence between four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation and the Kalman filter as well as the fixed-interval Kalman smoother point to particular optimal properties of 4D-Var. In the linear context, the 4D-Var solution is optimal, not only with respect to the model trajectory segment over the assimilation time interval, but also with respect to any model state at a single observation time level; in the batch processing (cycling 4D-Var) method, the information in 4D-Var is fully transferred from one batch to the next by the background term; 4D-Var allows the processing of observations in subsets, while the final solution is optimal as all observations are processed simultaneously. These properties hold even for models that are imperfect, as well as not invertible. Various properties of equivalence of 4D-Var to the Kalman filter and smoother result from these optimality properties of 4D-Var. Further, we show that the fixed-lag Kalman smoother may also be constructed in an optimal way using a multiple batch-processing 4D-Var approach. While error covariances are crucial for the equivalence, practical techniques for evaluating error covariances in the framework of cycling 4D-Var are discussed.
Stability analysis of information based control for biochemical source localization

The paper proposes an improved model and its approximation for a diffusion of a biochemical agent in the air. Based on the model, a new motion control algorithm based on the Fisher information matrix (FIM) for detecting and localizing a biochemical source is proposed. We show that the location of the biochemical source is an equilibrium point of the system under such control. Simulations with a single moving sensor show that the biochemical source is located with a high degree of accuracy while the trajectory of the sensor converges to the source
Formation of the redundant nuclear envelope in monkey spermatids

Development of redundant nuclear envelope was observed in Erythrocebus patas and Macaca mulatta spermatids. As the acrosome forms around the anterior part of the nucleus, the underlying nuclear envelope becomes more dense in appearance. Changes which lead ultimately to formation of the redundant nuclear envelope of mature spermatozoa involve only the posterior region of the envelope which does not lie beneath the acrosome. The first recognized change is separation of the nuclear envelope from underlying chromatin by an intervening band of lightly stained nuclear material, around the posterior quarter of the nucleus. The separation increases and the bulged region of the nuclear envelope is drawn caudally as nuclear condensation progresses. The caudally extended region of the nucleus is comprised of nuclear material of low electron density and pores are present in the envelope of the extended areas. The chromatin aggregates in late spermatids becomes homogeneous in appearance when the nucleus flattens into a paddle shape. Nuclear protrusions are present at both posterior corners of the flattened nucleus at this stage of spermiogenesis but only one protrusion is well developed. Membrane remnants of the extended nuclear envelope remain in mature spermatozoa as the redundant nuclear envelope.
An unusual presentation of two simultaneous primary melanomas.

Peer ReviewedTitle:An unusual presentation of two simultaneous primary melanomasAuthor:Wu, Jashin J., University of California, IrvineHuang, D BWoodruff, CTyring, S KPublication Date:05-01-2006Publication Info:Postprints, UC IrvinePermalink:http://escholarship.org/uc/item/3230z7rtAdditional Info:This is an electronic version of an article published in the International Journal of Dermatology45: 580 /582, 2006.
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli : identification of a gene cluster coding for bundle-forming pilus morphogenesis

Sequence flanking the bfpA locus on the enteroadherent factor plasmid of the enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strain B171-8 (O111:NM) was obtained to identify genes that might be required for bundle-forming pilus (BFP) biosynthesis. Deletion experiments led to the identification of a contiguous cluster of at least 12 open reading frames, including bfpA, that could direct the synthesis of a morphologically normal BFP filament. Within the bfp gene cluster, we identified open reading frames that share homology with other type IV pilus accessory genes and with genes required for transformation competence and protein secretion. Immediately upstream of the bfp gene cluster, we identified a potential replication origin including genes that are predicted to encode proteins homologous with replicase and resolvase. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of DNA from six additional EPEC serotypes showed that the organization of the bfp gene cluster and its juxtaposition with a potential plasmid origin of replication are highly conserved features of the EPEC biotype.
Case of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Staphylococcus aureus enterocolitis.

Purpose A case of Staphylococcus aureus enterocolitis (SEC) misdiagnosed as toxin-negative Clostridium difficile is reported. Summary An 82-year-old white man weighing 50 kg (body mass index, 16.8 kg/m2) was transported from an assisted living facility to the emergency department with the chief complaints of weakness, nausea, and diarrhea for one week and one bright-red stool on the morning of admission. Before hospital admission, he was treated for a urinary tract infection with ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily for 10 days. Stool cultures were negative for C. difficile but positive for S. aureus . The antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist recommended treatment with vancomycin 125 mg orally every 6 hours for staphylococcal colitis. Oral vancomycin was discontinued after three doses on the morning of hospital day 8 after a gastroenterology consultation. Within 48 hours of the discontinuation of oral vancomycin, the patient had eight stools per day. Vancomycin was reinitiated and the patient’s symptoms began to again improve. On hospital day 19, the patient was discharged with a prescription for 7 more days of therapy with vancomycin (to complete a 15-day course) and a diagnosis of toxin-negative C. difficile , despite having symptoms consistent with SEC and an enteric culture positive for S. aureus. Conclusion An 82-year-old man was transferred from an assisted living facility to the hospital with profuse diarrhea and dehydration. Enteric cultures were positive for methicillin-resistant S. aureus with multiple negative C. difficile toxin B assays. Appropriate therapy was delayed and the patient potentially misdiagnosed with toxin-negative C. difficile when the clinical symptoms and diagnostic testing were consistent with SEC.
Preparation and Thermal Studies of a Cerium (III) Sulfite-Sulfate-Hydrate

Several thermochemical cycles for splitting water utilizing the Ce(III)-Ce(IV) couple have been demonstrated (1). Many of these cycles employ a Ce(III) compound which decomposes to gaseous products plus CeO2 as the solid high temperature product. Recycle entails recombination of reagents except for one mol of H2O which is split into H2 and 1/2 O2 in separate reactions. CeO2 requires a reducing agent for formation of the Ce(III) compound which is subsequently decomposed. We investigated sulfurous acid as a reducing agent and report here some experimental results, and results on the characterization of the stable compound which is formed, Ce2(SO3)2SO4 ·4H2O. A method for synthesis of this new compound from Ce(III) carbonate and Ce(III) sulfate is reported also.
Habitat fragmentation in coastal southern California disrupts genetic connectivity in the cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)

Achieving long-term persistence of species in urbanized landscapes requires characterizing population genetic structure to understand and manage the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on connectivity. Urbanization over the past century in coastal southern California has caused both precipitous loss of coastal sage scrub habitat and declines in populations of the cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus). Using 22 microsatellite loci, we found that remnant cactus wren aggregations in coastal southern California comprised 20 populations based on strict exact tests for population differentiation, and 12 genetic clusters with hierarchical Bayesian clustering analyses. Genetic structure patterns largely mirrored underlying habitat availability, with cluster and population boundaries coinciding with fragmentation caused primarily by urbanization. Using a habitat model we developed, we detected stronger associations between habitat-based distances and genetic distances than Euclidean geographic distance. Within populations, we detected a positive association between available local habitat and allelic richness and a negative association with relatedness. Isolation-by-distance patterns varied over the study area, which we attribute to temporal differences in anthropogenic landscape development. We also found that genetic bottleneck signals were associated with wildfire frequency. These results indicate that habitat fragmentation and alterations have reduced genetic connectivity and diversity of cactus wren populations in coastal southern California. Management efforts focused on improving connectivity among remaining populations may help to ensure population persistence.
Visual currencies: Reflections on Native photography

edited by Henrietta Lidchi and Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie National Museums Scotland, 2009, 128 pages, 40 colour & 20 B&W ISBN: 978 1 905267 12-5 Price $27.50 Reviewed by Joanna Cohan Scherer, Smiths...
INDEX SELECTION FOR WEED SUPPRESSIVE ABILITY IN SOYBEAN

glycine], and trifluralin (a,a,a-trifluoro-2,6-Dinitro-N, N-dipropyl-p-toluidine) are prone to leaving the site of The economic and environmental costs of weed management in application through surface runoff, potentially adversely soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) have led to interest in developing weed suppressive soybean varieties to enhance traditional herbicide affecting water quality (USDA/NRCS, 1998). Besides and tillage-based approaches. We evaluated 104 inbred progeny from herbicides, growers rely on cultivation as a weed manthree crosses among elite soybean lines to determine optimal selection agement tool. Cultivation, however, disturbs the soil, criteria for weed suppressive ability (WSA). We grew the lines in aggravating erosion losses and increasing the sediment 1996 and 1997 at Becker, MN, an irrigated sandy site, and Rosemount, load of surface waters. These costs bring together farmMN, a rainfed silt loam site, in a split-plot, with and without white ers and environmentalists in calling for more diverse, mustard (Brassica hirta Moench). We measured soybean height 7 wk ecologically sound options to manage weeds (Liebman after emergence (WAE), light interception 5 and 7 WAE, specific and Dyck, 1993). Diverse options may be even more leaf area 7 WAE, and date of full bloom. We harvested aboveground important if over-emphasis on a few management methmustard biomass 8 WAE and calculated each soybean line’s WSA as ods leads to shifts in weed species or evolution within the difference between mustard biomass when grown in competition with that line and the overall mean mustard biomass. We estimated weed populations toward resistance to these methods, genetic correlations between soybean morphological traits, WSA, and reducing their efficiency (Jordan and Jannink, 1997). the agronomic traits lodging, maturity date, and yield. Soybean early Two traits inherent to the crop genotype contribute height’s heritability (h 2
A hybrid filter for image enhancement

We present a new hybrid filter design methodology. Our hybrid filter consists of a nonlinear impulsive noise filter and a fuzzy weighted linear filter. This hybrid filter can efficiently remove large amounts of mixed Gaussian and impulsive noise while preserving the image details. The performance and robust stability of the proposed filter are compared to linear filters and nonlinear filters theoretically and experimentally.
Inertial Attitude and Position Reference System Development for a Small UAV

Copyright © 2007 by D. Jung and P. Tsiotras. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.
ContagAlert: Using Contagion Theory for Adaptive, Distributed Alert Propagation

Large-scale distributed systems, e.g., Grid or P2P networks, are targets for large-scale attacks. Unfortunately, few existing systems support propagation of alerts during the attack itself while also suppressing disruptive alerts from faulty or malicious sources. This paper proposes the "ContagAlert" protocol, which uses contagion spreading behavior to spread alerts. ContagAlert rapidly propagates alerts during attacks while also suppressing disruptive alerts. The core contagion protocols in the system are completely localized, but result in desired behavior at the network scale. We analyze and evaluate our protocol with synthetic simulations and in both Internet worm and DoS attack scenarios.
Techniques of Neutralization and Persistent Sexual Abuse by Clergy: A Content Analysis of Priest Personnel Files From the Archdiocese of Milwaukee

The sexual abuse problem in the Catholic Church has received considerable attention by the media in recent years and growing attention from empirical researchers. Despite this growth, there is a lack of theoretical research that uses neutralization techniques to examine clergy offending. Using Sykes and Matza's theory, this study examines the techniques of neutralization used by accused priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Priests' personnel files, which were made publicly available by the Archbishop of Milwaukee in July 2013, were analyzed retrospectively through a qualitative content analysis of all direct statements and correspondences from the accused. The findings indicate that many priests denied responsibility or injury in an effort to justify their sexually abusive behaviors, but that no discernible patterns of technique use emerged. The need for continued research using recently released personnel files from other dioceses is also discussed.
The Making of Austria's Prussian Policy, 1848–1852

In defining the tradition of Austria's German policy between 1815 and 1870, Helmut Rumpler wrote recently that it was both consistent and contradictory. On the one hand it was characterized by a struggle against the establishment of Prussian hegemony in Germany while, on the other, it sought co-operation with Berlin based upon the unspoken but clear assumption of a shared or dualistic supremacy within the German Confederation. Far from wanting to weaken Prussia or significantly to diminish the role Berlin would play in either German or European affairs, Vienna was painfully aware of the importance of a strong Prussia for the maintenance of Austria's position as a European power. The problem of Prussia for Austrian policy was therefore the need to find ways to reconcile the necessity of opposing Prussia's ambitions with the equally obvious need to secure her co-operation and support. The dilemma facing Vienna was one of devising policies consistent with the fact that Prussia was at the same time Austria's most dangerous rival and her most important ally.
On the Path to Enable Multi-scale Biomolecular Simulations on PetaFLOPS Supercomputer with Multi-core Processors

Biological processes occurring inside cell involve multiple scales of time and length; many popular theoretical and computational multi-scale techniques utilize biomolecular simulations based on molecular dynamics. Till recently, the computing power required for simulating the relevant scales was even beyond the reach of fastest supercomputers. The availability of petaFLOPS-scale computing power in near future holds great promise. Unfortunately, the bio-simulations software technology has not kept up with the changes in hardware. In particular, with the introduction of multi-core processing technologies in systems with tens of thousands of processing cores, it is unclear whether the existing biomolecular simulation frameworks will be able to scale and to utilize these resources effectively. While the multi-core processing systems provide higher processing capabilities, their memory and IO subsystems are posing new challenges to application and system software developers. In this preliminary study, we attempt to characterize computation, communication and memory efficiencies of bio-molecular simulations on a Cray XT3 system, which has recently been upgraded to dual-core Opteron processors. We identify that the application efficiencies using the multi-core processors reduce with the increase of the simulated system size. Further, we measure the communication overhead of using both cores in the processor simultaneously and identify that the MPI communication performance can be as low as 50% as compared to the single-core execution times. We conclude that not only the biomolecular simulations need to be aware of the underlying multi-core hardware in order to achieve maximum performance but also the system software needs to provide processor and memory placement features in the high-end systems. Our results on a stand-alone dual-core AMD system confirm that combinations of processor and memory affinity schemes can result in over 12% performance gains.
Detection of intracranial hemorrhage: comparison between gradient-echo images and b(0) images obtained from diffusion-weighted echo-planar sequences.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) is commonly used as the initial and sole imaging examination for the detection of acute cerebral infarction, yet it remains controversial whether MR can detect hyperacute ( METHODS: All MR studies performed for clinically suspected or radiographically confirmed acute infarction or hemorrhage from 2/1/98 to 8/15/99 were retrospectively interpreted by one neuroradiologist in a blinded fashion. The sensitivity of hemorrhage detection, conspicuity of lesions, and diagnostic certainty were compared between the b0 EPI and GRE sequences. RESULTS: We found 101 acute infarcts, of which 13 were hemorrhagic, as evidenced by the presence of hypointensity within the infarction on the GRE sequence. This finding served as the reference standard for detection of hemorrhage. Hemorrhage was diagnosed with confidence in only seven cases (54%) on b0 images; 22 acute hematomas were hypointense on GRE images whereas 19 were hypointense on b0 images (86%); 17 chronic hematomas were depicted on GRE images and 12 on b0 scans (63%). Punctate hemorrhages and linear cortical staining were detected on 37 GRE studies but on only four b0 studies. Hemorrhage was always more conspicuous on the GRE sequences. CONCLUSION: b0 images from a DWI sequence failed to detect minimally hemorrhagic infarctions and small chronic hemorrhages associated with microangiopathy. GRE scans were more sensitive than b0 images in the detection of these hemorrhages and should be included in emergency brain MR studies for acute infarction, especially when thrombolytic therapy is contemplated.
Skeletal muscle regeneration by fibromodulin reprogrammed cells

INTRODUCTION: Morbidly obese patients are denied access to kidney transplantation (KT) due to increased risk of complications. Surgical site infection risk in such patients increases to 40% from 5% in normal weight recipients, which is directly correlated with worse outcomes. The robot-assisted approach to kidney transplantation in patients with class III obesity (BMI 40 kg/m) was designed to reduce wound complications.
Nanoindentation and Tensile Behavior of Copper Films

The mechanical properties of ~ 10 mm thick electroplated copper films were investigated by both nanoindentation of supported films and microtensile testing of free-standing films. By utilizing both techniques to examine the same films, the results could be directly compared to one another. Nanoindentation yield strength was found to be 5 – 15 % lower than in the microtensile case. Differences were attributed to grain size differences and, for annealed films, the presence of internal stresses in supported films only. Data from both techniques generally followed the Hall-Petch trend.
No Money, Mo’ Problems: Why Unpaid Law Firm Internships are Illegal & Unethical

Unpaid internships appear to be on the rise in law firms, as in other sectors of the economy. The practice of law firms offering unpaid internships in lieu of paid employment substantially harms law students and law school graduates, who face an increasingly tight market for paid legal employment. This article argues that unpaid internships for law students in private firms are illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). It further argues that illegally hiring law students as unpaid interns is conduct involving dishonesty and misrepresentation, and that lawyers who engage in this practice should be subject to discipline under the ethics rules of the legal profession. While law students collectively have an interest in ending this illegal and exploitative practice, they have a disincentive against taking action themselves, lest they hurt their prospects in the already perilous postgraduate job market. To address this collective action problem, This article urges an institutional response. First, the U.S. Department of Labor should exercise its authority under the FLSA to bring enforcement actions against employers whose use of unpaid interns violates the law. Second, state bar authorities should take disciplinary action against lawyers and firms whose practices regarding unpaid law student interns entail dishonesty and misrepresentation. In addition, this article concludes by suggesting that the American Bar Association should also help educate lawyers and law students about the problems with unpaid internships, and should discourage the practice through its law school approval standards.
Chondrodysplastic dwarfism, cleft palate and micrognathia in a neonate, a new syndrome?

We describe a female infant with lethal, short-limb dwarfism, micrognathia, hydrocephalus with occipital encephalocele and a generalized spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia who probably has the same condition that was described by Rolland et al. (1972) and by Langer et al. (1976). This may be a recessively inherited syndrome.
The Role of Patients’ Stories in Emergency Medicine Triage

Emergency medicine is a communicative activity, and characteristics such as incomplete information, time pressure, and the potentially serious consequences of errors complicate effective communication and decision making. The present study examined the triage process as an interpretive activity driven in part by the patient's story. Of four identified communication processes in the emergency department (ED), the "handoff" of patients between shifts has been identified as especially problematic since missing contextual details from patients' stories increased the probability of errors. The problematic nature of patient handoffs led to our interest in triage, the initial site of interpretation and decision making. Triage distinguishes patients with emergent medical conditions requiring immediate care from those who can more safely wait for medical attention. We report results from 110 hours of observing the triage process and semistructured interviews with 16 triage nurses in a Level I Trauma Center in an urban teaching hospital in the southeastern United States. Field notes and interview transcripts were analyzed and coded to explore decision rules and information sources used in triage decision making. Triage nurses generally discounted patients' stories in favor of information from visual cues and vital signs. Patients' stories tended to influence the triage process only in certain cases when the story contained information that was not readily apparent, such as a recent organ transplant. Triage nurses' reliance on "gut feeling," however, might be a kind of narrative sense-making that combines observable and measurable clinical facts with the narrative competence to utilize intuition and past experience.
How Do We Integrate Students’ Vocational Goals into Introduction to Sociology Curricula, and What Are the Effects of Doing So?

President Obama’s America’s College Promise proposal has brought renewed attention to community colleges’ capacity to connect the college and career aspirations of today’s undergraduates. Despite this capacity, however, community colleges have historically offered students two distinct educational pathways: a liberal education transfer-oriented program or a terminal vocational program. In the face of this long-standing and ideological divide, some community college instructors have taken to integrating students’ liberal and vocational learning in individual courses, an act that requires a willingness to define "liberal" and "vocational" learning in broad terms. Through a preliminary qualitative case study and content analysis of students’ assignments, this research explores the nature and impacts of said integration in two spring 2015 sections of Introduction to Sociology at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York.
Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor blockade and low-dose heparin during percutaneous coronary revascularization

BACKGROUND Blockade of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor with abciximab (a monoclonal-antibody Fab fragment directed against the receptor) has been shown to diminish ischemic complications among patients undergoing high-risk coronary angioplasty or directional atherectomy but increases bleeding complications. The widespread applicability of this treatment is unknown, particularly in view of the observed risk of hemorrhage. METHODS In a prospective, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned patients undergoing urgent or elective percutaneous coronary revascularization at 69 centers to receive abciximab with standard-dose, weight-adjusted heparin (initial bolus of 100 U per kilogram of body weight); abciximab with low-dose, weight-adjusted heparin (initial bolus of 70 U per kilogram); or placebo with standard-dose, weight-adjusted heparin. The primary efficacy end point was death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or urgent revascularization within 30 days of randomization. RESULTS The trial was terminated at the first interim analysis, with 2792 of the planned 4800 patients enrolled. At 30 days, the composite event rate was 11.7 percent in the group assigned to placebo with standard-dose heparin; 5.2 percent in the group assigned to abciximab with low-dose heparin (hazard ratio, 0.43; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.60; P<0.001); and 5.4 percent in the group assigned to abciximab with standard-dose heparin (hazard ratio, 0.45; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.32 to 0.63; P<0.001). There were no significant differences among the groups in the risk of major bleeding, although minor bleeding was more frequent among patients receiving abciximab with standard-dose heparin. CONCLUSIONS Inhibition of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor with abciximab, together with low-dose, weight-adjusted heparin, markedly reduces the risk of acute ischemic complications in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary revascularization, without increasing the risk of hemorrhage.
Protein carboxymethylation in murine neuroblastoma; Effect of methyltransferase inhibitors

The C-1300 murine neuroblastoma (MNB) was initially observed in the spinal cord of albino A/J mice (Dunham and Stewart, 1953). This spontaneously arising neurogenic tumor has generally been maintained in vivo by subcutaneous implantation of disaggregated cells or tissue fragments into recipient animals (Arima, et al, 1973) and in vitro, via isolation of discrete clones, using tissue culture techniques (Augusti-Tocco and Sato, 1969). Recent studies in our laboratory have further defined the biological characteristics of MNB (Pons, et al, 1981) and its apparent usefulness in elucidating the mechanism of action and efficacy of potential chemotherapeutic agents.
Lung transplantation. Hypothermic storage for 24 hours in a colloid hyperosmolar solution.

We studied the effects of a colloid hyperosmolar solution in preservation of lungs for transplantation in dogs. Fresh allografts were compared to lungs stored (4 to 7° C.) in Ringer's lactate for 3 hours and in modified silica gel fraction (MSGF) for 8, 16, and 24 hours before transplantation. Lungs preserved in Ringer's lactate for 3 hours were significantly damaged, and there were no long-term survivors in recipient dogs (1.2 ± 0.4 days) (mean ± S.E.). In contrast, the recipients of lungs preserved in MSGF for periods of up to 24 hours lived as long as the recipients of fresh allografts flushed with Ringer's lactate or MSGF (24 hour stored MSGF grafts = 10.5 ± 3.1 days, survival, mean ± S.E.; fresh Ringer's lactate grafts = 8.5 ± 2.3 days, mean ± S.E.; fresh MSGF grafts = 13.6 ± 3.8 days, mean ± S.E.). Arterial blood gas measurements and chest roentgenograms were good methods of assessing the condition of preserved lung allografts. No significant differences were observed between the fresh and MSGF-preserved grafts. Pneumonia and rejection were the most frequent causes of death for both the fresh and MSGF-preserved allograft recipients. We demonstrate that a colloid hyperosmolar solution (MSGF) is a good method for 24 hour hypothermic storage of lung allografts for transplantation.
Concurrent left and right ventricular hypertrophy in dog models of right ventricular overload

In two pressure and volume overload models of canine right ventricular hypertrophy, we have demonstrated significant hypertrophy of both the left and the right ventricles. The extent of hypertrophy-was correlated positively to the extent of the increase in plasma epinephrine in both volume and pressure overload models. Attenuation or ablation of plasma epinephrine through the administration of propranolol, a β-adrenergic blocker, or by denervation of the adrenal medulla prevented the hypertrophy process. No hemodynamic parameter was altered consistently in a parallel manner to hypertrophy. This is the first report of concurrent right and left ventricular hypertrophy in response to pressure or volume overload of the right ventricle. These studies further implicate epinephrine as a major trophic hormone of the heart.
A Kronecker Product Structured EEG Covariance Estimator for a Language Model Assisted-BCI

Electroencephalography EEG recorded from multiple channels is typically used in many non-invasive brain computer interfaces BCIs for inference. Usually, EEG is assumed to be a Gaussian process with unknown mean and covariance, and the estimation of these parameters are required for BCI inference. However, relatively high dimensionality of the feature vectors extracted from the recorded EEG with respect to the number of supervised observations usually leads to a rank deficient covariance matrix estimator. In our typing BCI, RSVP Keyboard, we solve this problem by applying regularization on the maximum likelihood covariance matrix estimators. Alternatively, in this manuscript we propose a Kronecker product structure for covariance matrices. Our underlying hypothesis is that the a structure imposed on the covariance matrices will improve the estimation accuracy and accordingly will result in typing performance improvements. Through an offline analysis we assess the classification accuracy of the proposed model. The results represent a significant improvement in classification accuracy compared to an RDA approach which does not assume any structure on the covariance.
The Circadian Rhythm Gene Arntl2 Is a Metastasis Susceptibility Gene for Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer

Breast cancer mortality is primarily due to metastasis rather than primary tumors, yet relatively little is understood regarding the etiology of metastatic breast cancer. Previously, using a mouse genetics approach, we demonstrated that inherited germline polymorphisms contribute to metastatic disease, and that these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could be used to predict outcome in breast cancer patients. In this study, a backcross between a highly metastatic (FVB/NJ) and low metastatic (MOLF/EiJ) mouse strain identified Arntl2, a gene encoding a circadian rhythm transcription factor, as a metastasis susceptibility gene associated with progression, specifically in estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer patients. Integrated whole genome sequence analysis with DNase hypersensitivity sites reveals SNPs in the predicted promoter of Arntl2. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated substitution of the MOLF promoter, we demonstrate that the SNPs regulate Arntl2 transcription and affect metastatic burden. Finally, analysis of SNPs associated with ARNTL2 expression in human breast cancer patients revealed reproducible associations of ARNTL2 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) SNPs with disease-free survival, consistent with the mouse studies.
Localization of wireless sensor networks with a mobile beacon

Wireless sensor networks have the potential to become the pervasive sensing (and actuating) technology of the future. For many applications, a large number of inexpensive sensors is preferable to a few expensive ones. The large number of sensors in a sensor network and most application scenarios preclude hand placement of the sensors. Determining the physical location of the sensors after they have been deployed is known as the problem of localization. We present a localization technique based on a single mobile beacon aware of its position (e.g. by being equipped with a GPS receiver). Sensor nodes receiving beacon packets infer proximity constraints to the mobile beacon and use them to construct and maintain position estimates. The proposed scheme is radio-frequency based, and thus no extra hardware is necessary. The accuracy (on the order of a few meters in most cases) is sufficient for most applications. An implementation is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach.
Community Interactive Processes and Rural Adolescents’ Educational Achievement: Investigating the Mediating Effects of Delinquency and Self-Esteem

The study reported in this paper examines the effects of community interactive processes on rural adolescents’ educational achievement. Specifically, the paper explored the direct effects of community interactive processes on rural adolescents’ educational achievement and the indirect effects via self-esteem and delinquency. The method of structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from a nationally representative panel study of rural adolescent boys and girls in 10th grade through 12th grade. The results make a compelling case that communities are conduits for boosting self-esteem, facilitating normative behaviors and academic performance in rural adolescents.
Closed-loop regulation of user state during a boundary avoidance task

Pilot induced oscillations (PIOs) are potentially catastrophic events that occur during flight when pilots attempt to control an aircraft close to a performance or physical boundary. PIO-like behavior is typically observed in boundary avoidance tasks (BAT), which simulate tight performance or physical boundaries and induce high cognitive workload. Our previous research linked the occurrence of PIO-like behavior to network level activity in the brain, where higher states of arousal reduce the flexibility of decision making networks such that less environmental information was incorporated to dynamically adjust action. This led us to hypothesize that down regulating arousal via closed-loop audio feedback of a user state could improve piloting performance by enabling increased decision flexibility. Here we show our initial results testing this hypothesis, where we use a hybrid brain computer interface (hBCI) to dynamically provide feedback to a “pilot” that facilitates their ability to reduce their state of arousal. We conduct a systematic comparison relative to control and sham conditions and test to see if this feedback increases the time a “pilot” can fly before a catastrophic PIO. We find that hBCI feedback, which includes central nervous system components consistent with theta activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), enables prolonged flight relative to closed-loop control and sham feedback. We also find that this feedback induces changes in pupil diameter which are absent in openloop conditions and closed-loop conditions when feedback is not veridical. Pupil diameter has been reported as a surrogate measure of activity in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system which is also linked to a circuit that includes the ACC. We conclude that the feedback we induce with our hBCI provides preliminary evidence that self-regulation of LC-NE/ACC is possible and can be used to dynamically increase decision flexibility when under high cognitive workload.
Defining the contribution of neuroinflammation to Parkinson’s disease in humanized immune system mice

Reactive microglia have been associated with the histological changes that occur in Parkinson’s disease brains and mouse models of the disease. Multiple studies from autopsy brains have verified the presence of microgliosis in several brain regions including substantia nigra, striatum, hippocampus and various cortical areas. MPTP injections in rodents have also shown striato-nigral microgliosis correlating with the loss of dopaminergic neurons. However, consistent data with respect to cytokine and immune cell changes during Parkinson’s disease have not been fully defined. In order to improve understanding of the role of neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease, we employed the MPTP injection model using humanized CD34+ mice along with age-matched C57BL/6 mice. NSG mice engrafted with hu-CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells were injected with MPTP to quantify cytokine changes, neuron loss, gliosis, and behavioral dysfunction. The mice were also treated with or without the calcineurin/NFAT inhibitor, FK506, to determine whether modulating the immune response could attenuate disease. MPTP injections produced impairment of motor performance, increased microgliosis, elevated brain cytokine levels, and reduced tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra and striatum of both humanized CD34+ mice and C57BL/6 mice with a strikingly different profile of human versus mouse cytokine elevations observed in each. Interestingly, FK506 injections significantly attenuated the MPTP-induced effects in the humanized CD34+ mice compared the C57BL/6 mice. In addition, analyses of human plasma from Parkinson’s disease donors compared to age-matched, healthy controls demonstrated an increase in a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines in female patients similar to that observed in MPTP-injected female CD34+ mice. This study demonstrates for the first time, induction of Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms in female humanized CD34+ mice using MPTP. The profile of cytokine changes in the serum and brains of the humanized CD34+ mice following MPTP injection differed significantly from that occurring in the more commonly used C57BL/6 strain of mice. Moreover, several cytokine elevations observed in the MPTP injected humanized CD34+ mice were similarly increased in plasma of PD patients suggesting that these mice offer the more relevant model for the inflammatory aspects of human disease. Consistent with this, the effects of MPTP on loss of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity, loss of motor strength, and increase in proinflammatory cytokines were attenuated using an immunosuppressant drug, FK506, in the humanized CD34+ but not the C57BL/6 mice. Collectively, these findings suggest that MPTP injected, humanized CD34+ mice represent a more accurate model for assessing inflammatory changes in PD.
Homophobic masculinity and vulnerable femininity: SNL’s portrayals of Trump and Clinton

Satire is an important tool for critique in the post-truth era. Journalists eager to call attention to the absurdity of reality in the US presidential election seized on Saturday Night Live’s (2016...