cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interactive and Collaborative Professional Development for In-Service History Teachers

ABSTRACTThis article advances a continuing line of inquiry into an innovative teacher-support program intended to help in-service history teachers develop professional teaching knowledge for inquiry-based history instruction. Two prior iterations informed our design and use of professional development materials; they also informed the implementation schedule of experiences our materials intended to support. We asked: Can interactive and collaborative professional development encounters promote in-service history teachers' professional teaching knowledge? Following the thirteen-month study, no participant fully adopted the wise-practice pedagogy we advocated: problem-based historical inquiry. Findings do suggest, however, interactive experiences and sustained collaboration may help teachers raise their aspirational goals for planning powerful instruction. Throughout the study, teachers' collaboratively planned lessons became increasingly informed by our support program, and several participants' practice m...
Resident Workflow and Psychiatric Emergency Consultation: Identifying Factors for Quality Improvement in a Training Environment.

Quality improvement to optimize workflow has the potential to mitigate resident burnout and enhance patient care. This study applied mixed methods to identify factors that enhance or impede workflow for residents performing emergency psychiatric consultations. The study population consisted of all psychiatry program residents (55 eligible, 42 participating) at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles. The authors developed a survey through iterative piloting, surveyed all residents, and then conducted a focus group. The survey included elements hypothesized to enhance or impede workflow, and measures pertaining to self-rated efficiency and stress. Distributional and bivariate analyses were performed. Survey findings were clarified in focus group discussion. This study identified several factors subjectively associated with enhanced or impeded workflow, including difficulty with documentation, the value of personal organization systems, and struggles to communicate with patients’ families. Implications for resident education are discussed.
Highly relativistic radiation belt electron acceleration, transport, and loss: Large solar storm events of March and June 2015

Two of the largest geomagnetic storms of the last decade were witnessed in 2015. On 17 March 2015, a coronal mass ejection-driven event occurred with a Dst (Disturbance Storm Time Ring Current Index) value reaching 223 nanoteslas. On 22 June 2015 another strong storm (Dst reaching 204 nanoteslas) was recorded. These two storms each produced almost total loss of radiation belt high-energy (E (Energy) greater than or approximately equal to 1 millielectronvolt) electron fluxes. Following the dropouts of radiation belt fluxes there were complex and rather remarkable recoveries of the electrons extending up to nearly 10 millielectronvolts in kinetic energy. The energized outer zone electrons showed a rich variety of pitch angle features including strong butterfly distributions with deep minima in flux at alpha equals 90 degrees. However, despite strong driving of outer zone earthward radial diffusion in these storms, the previously reported impenetrable barrier at L (L-shell magnetic field line value) approximately equal to 2.8 was pushed inward, but not significantly breached, and no E (Energy) greater than or approximately equal to 2.0 millielectronvolts electrons were seen to pass through the radiation belt slot region to reach the inner Van Allen zone. Overall, these intense storms show a wealth of novel features of acceleration, transport, and loss that are demonstrated in the present detailed analysis.
The personalities of politicians: A big five survey of American legislators

Abstract This study uses the Big Five framework to investigate personality differences between politicians and the general public and between politicians themselves based on ideology and party identification. A 50-item Big Five questionnaire was taken by 2586 respondents at the Open Psychology data website and 278 American state legislators. The author finds that politicians are more Extraverted, Agreeable, Emotionally Stable, and Conscientious than the general public. At the same time, they are slightly lower on Intellect/Imagination. All results are statistically significant for all traits and both sexes, except with regards to females and Intellect. When comparing politicians to one another and controlling for demographic variables, Republicans score higher on Conscientiousness and lower on Intellect and Agreeableness. These findings hold for a smaller sample when ideology is the dependent variable, although only Intellect/Imagination reaches statistical significance. Conservative ideology is also associated with Emotional Stability. The results show important differences between politicians and the public, and reveal personality differences among elites that are in some ways analogous to the results we find in more representative samples.
The Missing Role of Economics in FTC Privacy Policy

The FTC has been in the privacy game for almost twenty years. In that time span, the digital economy has exploded, dramatically increasing the importance of privacy regulation to the economy. Unfortunately, the sophistication of the FTC’s privacy policy has yet to keep pace with its stature. Privacy stands today where antitrust stood in the 1970s. Antitrust’s embrace of economics helped transform it into a coherent body of law that almost all agree has been a boon for consumers. Privacy regulation at the FTC is ripe for a similar revolution. We examine the history of FTC privacy enforcement and policy making, with special attention paid to the lack of economic analysis, and we show the unique ability of economic analysis to ferret out conduct that is likely to threaten consumer welfare, and provide a framework for FTC privacy analysis going forward. Specifically, the FTC needs to be more precise in identifying privacy harms and to develop an empirical footing for both its enforcement posture and prophylactic measures that it urges firms to adopt, such as “privacy by design” and “data minimization.” The sooner that the FTC begins to incorporate serious economic analysis and rigorous empirical evidence into its privacy policy, the sooner consumers will begin to reap the rewards.
A New Feature for Cross-Day Psychophysiological Workload Estimation

Classification of operator functional state for workload estimation using electroencephalograph (EEG) has proven difficult in cross-day scenarios due to non-stationarity of the feature and target distributions. This study analyzes multi-day data collected from a Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB) workload study using a new feature generation methodology which examines not just the average power, but also the variability of the power distribution in the clinical frequency bands over a 10 second sliding temporal window. High versus low workload levels were predicted for day five of the study based on training three traditional classifiers–Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), random forest, and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN)–on the first four days' results. Frequency-domain power distribution variance was statistically significant between conditions, suggesting it as a salient feature. Including variance as a feature enabled a crossday workload classification accuracy improvement of 5.8% above models only using mean power. Furthermore, the individual classifiers were combined into a time-smoothed composite classifier which capitalized on the differences in features selected in the models to improve overall classification accuracy to greater than 80%.
Placental pericytes and cytomegalovirus infectivity: Implications for HCMV placental pathology and congenital disease.

Problem Placental pericytes are essential for placental microvascular function, stability, and integrity. Mechanisms of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) pathogenesis incorporating placental pericytes are unknown. Method of Study HCMV-infected placental tissue was stained by dual-labeled immunohistochemistry. Primary placental pericytes, cytotrophoblasts, and villous fibroblasts were exposed to HCMV; and infectivity was analyzed by microscopy and immunofluorescence. Cytokine expression was examined by Luminex assay. A HCMV-GFP recombinant virus was used to examine replication kinetics. Results Immunohistochemistry showed HCMV in trophoblast and the villous core with T-cell and macrophage infiltration. Primary HCMV isolate from a patient (SBCMV)- infected pericytes showed dysregulation of proinflammatory and angiogenic cytokines when compared to control cells. A tri-cell model of the villous floor showed a unique expression profile. Finally, we show pericytes infected in vivo with HCMV in placental tissue from a congenitally infected child. Conclusion Placental pericytes support HCMV replication, inducing proinflammatory and angiogenic cytokines that likely contribute to viral dissemination, placenta inflammation, and dysregulation of placental angiogenesis.
Cross-Cultural Perspective of E-Commerce Website Usability Requirements: Through the Lens of Individual’s Perception

Although website usability is one of the prominent factors that determine the success of web-based businesses, extant research on website usability does not focus on the diversity of the users who actually use the website. Drawing on Hofstede’s cultural values and Nisbett’s cognitive style framework, this study proposes that individuals perceive website usability differently. The results from our online survey suggest that users who are more exposed to Western culture are more responsive to personalized and customizable features in B2C fashion websites, since their level of individualism is strongly associated with all aspects of the MUG usability requirements.
The affordable care act and insurance coverage for persons with diabetes in the United States.

Diabetes remains one of the leading causes of death in the US (1), and has been on the rise worldwide for decades (2). Diabetes causes a multitude of medical ailments, including hypertension, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, neuropathy, and blindness (3).
Microflow Analysis Based on Seqential and Bead Injection

While use of the continuous forward flow is essential for success of chromatographic separations, its use for automation of the reagent-based assays has numerous drawbacks. This is why the first generation of flow injection (FI) methodology is presently being replaced by sequential injection (SI) that uses reversed/stop/forward flow format, and by bead injection (BI) that employs micro spheres as reagent carriers as well as sensing and separation medium. This communication introduces these two novel concepts as well as the device for their implementation into the toolbox of µTAS technology. The device, nicknamed “ Lab-on-Valve” is a multipurpose central sample processing unit (CSPU) served by a conventional sized peripherals. The performance of the system, configured for UV-VIS and fluorescence spectroscopy is characterized by dye injection and its performance is demonstrated on enzymatic reaction rate assay of glucose and Bioligand Interaction assay of anti-mouse IgG with recombinant protein G.
TURBULENT DIFFUSION OF SMALL PARTICLES SUSPENDED IN TURBULENT JETS

Abstract The dispersion of liquid droplets in plane two-dimensional air jets has been measured and compared with similar results in the literature. From careful measurements of the concentration flux profiles the corresponding turbulent transport coefficient is determined. The results show that within most ranges of interest turbulent transport increases with particle size. The results are not only compared with each other, but also with an analysis based on the assumption of nonrotating spherical rigid particles acted upon by viscous drag given by Stokes' law. The approximate analysis predicts the same trend as noted in the experiments.
Understanding the 2011 Upper Missouri River Basin floods in the context of a changing climate

Abstract Study Region Upper Missouri River Basin. Study Focus The semi-arid Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) has experienced notable volatility in high and low streamflow extremes in recent decades, punctuated by the record 2011 flood. This study provides a new perspective into the relative importance of precipitation and antecedent moisture conditions in driving extreme streamflow. Ensemble streamflow simulations demonstrate that precipitation is largely the dominant driver for high streamflows. Applying the observed atmospheric forcing in 2011 with initial conditions of antecedent hydrologic conditions from 64 historic years consistently produces large streamflow events exceeding the 85th percentile of historical peak flows. This study attributes the individual roles of atmospheric conditions and antecedent soil moisture on extreme streamflow production. It uses a novel modeling framework that provides a greater understanding for the role that heterogeneity in basin-scale hydrologic features have in extreme streamflow generation. New hydrologic insights for the region A detailed analysis of the record 2011 flood event shows that streamflow generated over the region’s easternmost sub-basin is acutely sensitive to antecedent moisture. Yet, the 2011 record streamflow cannot be explained by a single factor or as the result of long-term trends, with the basin responding to several independent factors; significantly high (p
Neurological Emergencies in the Immunocompromised Population

Neurological emergencies are a significant source of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Immunodeficiency can be attributed to congenital and acquired causes. Congenital immunodeficiencies can either be combined with involvement of both cellular and humoral immunity or restricted to impairment of either type. Common combined immunodeficiency syndromes include ataxia telangiectasia, Wiskott Aldrich syndrome, and DiGeorge syndrome whereas X linked agammaglobulinemia and common variable immunodeficiency are characterized by isolated impaired humoral immunity. As opposed to rare patients with congenital immunodeficiencies, acquired immunodeficiencies are much more common. Acquired immunodeficiency is seen in HIV patients, diabetics, and in various patients treated with immunosuppressive, cytotoxic, and antirejection medications (e.g., transplant recipients, patients with autoimmune disorders, and cancer). These people are at increased risk of various neurologic emergencies including opportunistic CNS infections, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), epilepsy, and stroke.
IEEE 802.11bd & 5G NR V2X: Evolution of Radio Access Technologies for V2X Communications

With the rising interest in autonomous vehicles, developing radio access technologies (RATs) that enable reliable and low-latency vehicular communications has become of paramount importance. Dedicated short-range communications (DSRCs) and cellular V2X (C-V2X) are two present-day technologies that are capable of supporting day-1 vehicular applications. However, these RATs fall short of supporting communication requirements of many advanced vehicular applications, which are believed to be critical in enabling fully autonomous vehicles. Both the DSRC and C-V2X are undergoing extensive enhancements in order to support advanced vehicular applications that are characterized by high reliability, low latency, and high throughput requirements. These RAT evolutions-the IEEE 802.11bd for the DSRC and NR V2X for C-V2X-can supplement today's vehicular sensors in enabling autonomous driving. In this paper, we survey the latest developments in the standardization of 802.11bd and NR V2X. We begin with a brief description of the two present-day vehicular RATs. In doing so, we highlight their inability to guarantee the quality of service requirements of many advanced vehicular applications. We then look at the two RAT evolutions, i.e., the IEEE 802.11bd and NR V2X, outline their objectives, describe their salient features, and provide an in-depth description of key mechanisms that enable these features. While both, the IEEE 802.11bd and NR V2X, are in their initial stages of development, we shed light on their preliminary performance projections and compare and contrast the two evolutionary RATs with their respective predecessors.
Abstract P6-16-02: Cost-effectiveness of endocrine therapy or radiation treatment alone or in combination for standard- and good-risk DCIS

Introduction: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) accounts for 20% of breast cancer cases in the United States and is potentially overtreated leading to high expenditures and low-value care. We conducted a first-of-its-kind cost-effectiveness analysis evaluating all available treatment strategies for both standard- and good-risk DCIS. Methods: We created a Markov model with six different post-operative treatment strategies: observation, tamoxifen (TAM), aromatase inhibitor (AI), radiation treatment (RT), RT + TAM, and RT + AI. Baseline recurrence rates were modeled using NSABP B17 for standard-risk DCIS and RTOG 9804 for good-risk DCIS. Relative risk reductions and adverse event rates for each treatment strategy were derived from meta-analyses of large randomized trials. Both hypofractionated and conventionally fractionated RT regimens were separately used as model inputs. A Medicare payer perspective was utilized with a lifetime horizon for two cohorts of women, aged 40 and 60 years old. The willingness-to-pay threshold was assumed at $100,000/quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) evaluated the robustness of base-case results. Results: TAM or AI alone, for women 40 or 60 years of age, respectively, led to lower costs and lower QALYs compared to observation, due to disutility of treatment symptoms for five years. RT alone (either hypofractionated or conventionally fractionated) was cost-effective compared to observation for standard-risk but not good-risk patients, as shown in the Table. In all scenarios, RT + TAM and RT + AI strategies were dominated; that is, these strategies had higher costs and lower QALYs than a combination of alternative strategies. Results were most sensitive to cost and utility of RT, such that either decreased cost or increased utility rendered RT alone cost-effective for younger, good-risk patients. PSA results indicated that the probability of hypofractionated RT being cost-effective was 82.2% for age 60, standard-risk patients, but only 3.9% for age 60, good-risk patients (Table). Conclusion: RT in combination with TAM/AI, although the most commonly recommended treatment for DCIS, represents low-value care. Similarly, AI or TAM alone is often recommended for patients with good-risk DCIS, yet neither appears to be an optimal treatment strategy. Given the current emphasis on value-based practice, our results suggest that the medical community should promote RT alone for standard-risk DCIS and observation or RT alone for good-risk DCIS based upon patient age and preference for RT. Citation Format: Apar Gupta, Bruce G Haffty, Sachin R Jhawar, Mutlay Sayan, Zeinab Abou Yehia, James B Yu, Shiyi Wang. Cost-effectiveness of endocrine therapy or radiation treatment alone or in combination for standard- and good-risk DCIS [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-16-02.
Cybernetic Psychology and Mental Health: A Circular Logic Of Control Beyond The Individual

This book explores the cultural importance of cybernetic technologies and their relationship to human experience through a critical theoretical lens. Bringing several often-marginalized histories of cybernetics, psychology, and mental health into dialogue with one another, Beck questions common assumptions about human life such as that our minds operate as information processing machines and our neurons communicate with one another. Rather than suggest that such ideas are either right or wrong, however, this book analyzes how and why we have come to frame questions about ourselves in these ways, as if our brains were our own personal computers. Here, the rationality underlying information theories in psychology is followed to its logical conclusion, only to find it circles back to where it began: engineered methods of human control. After tracing a series of recent developments in this vein across fields related to mental health, Beck highlights emerging psychosocial alternatives by incorporating recent work of scholars and activists who have already begun creating collective support networks in radical ways. Their work overlaps fruitfully with ideas from those, including Gilbert Simondon and Fernand Deligny, who foresaw many of the current problems with how information theories have been coupled with psychology and mental health care. This book is fascinating reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students across psychology, mental health programs, and digital media studies, and academics and researchers with a theoretical interest in the philosophy of technology. It’s also an interesting resource for professionals with a practical interest in organizing care services under the data-driven imperatives of contemporary capitalism.
Simulating spatial crime patterns: What do we learn in standard ecological studies of crime?

Abstract Objectives Given the spatial nature of offender and target behavior, what do standard ecological studies of crime aggregating measures to different geographic units actually tell us? Methods This study used a simple stylized simulation model of crime patterns based on offenders, an exponential distance decay function based on Euclidean distance to capture their typical mobility patterns when committing offenses, and immobile targets. Results There were four key results. First, although a measure of targets can explain much of the variance in micro-level models, knowing where offenders live, and their typical distances traveled to offending, greatly improved the model performance. Second, accounting for the typical spatial movement of offenders before aggregating to larger units produces better results based on explanatory power. Third, the explanatory power of targets alone was much weaker when aggregating to larger units despite the fact that the simulated model of crime events was entirely based on micro processes, highlighting that variance explained is distinct from causal processes. Fourth, knowing how offenders behave in target-rich versus target-poor environment impacts the results considerably. Conclusions The findings demonstrated the consequences of a spatially explicit model of offender and target behavior for ecological studies of crime that aggregate measures to geographic units that are either at the micro-, meso-, or macro-level.
Stiffness of the interface between a colloidal body-centered cubic crystal and its liquid

Equilibrium interfaces were established between body-centered cubic (BCC) crystals and their liquid using charged colloidal particles in an electric bottle. By measuring a time series of interfacial positions and computing the average power spectrum, their interfacial stiffness was determined according to the capillary fluctuation method. For the (100) and the (114) interfaces, the stiffnesses were 0.15 and 0.18 [Formula: see text] (σ: particle diameter), respectively, and were isotropic in the plane of the interface. For comparison, similar charged colloids were used to create an interface between a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal and its liquid. Its stiffness was significantly larger: 0.26 [Formula: see text] This result gives experimental support to the explanations offered for the preferential nucleation of BCC over FCC in metallic alloys.
Bayesian Methods In Finance

This chapter surveys Bayesian Econometric methods in finance. Bayesian methods provide a natural framework for addressing central issues in finance. In particular, they allow investors to assess return predictability, estimation and model risk, formulated predictive densities for variances, covariances and betas. This can be done through decision theoretic problems, such as option pricing or optimal portfolio allocation. Bayesian predictive distributions are straightforward to calculate and summarize the investor’s future views for return distribution and expected utility computation. Nonlinear functionals, such as market efficiency measures and Sharpe ratios, are easily dealt with from a Bayesian perspective. A central theme in this chapter is the use of simulation-based estimation and prediction via Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and particle filtering (PF) algorithms. We provide detailed applications of these methods to the central issues in finance. ∗Nick Polson is at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. Eric Jacquier is the corresponding author at HEC Montreal and MIT Sloan School of Management, email: jacquier@mit.edu. Eric Jacquier acknowledges financial support from the HEC professorship in derivatives products. The chapter has benefited from comments from the handbook editors, discussions with Shirley Miller and Maia Cullen, and editing by Linda Tracey of Inkslingers. I am especially grateful to John Geweke and Herman Van Dijk for their innumerable insights and support. There is a rich body of Bayesian work in finance, and, as this chapter has no encyclopedic ambition, a number of excellent papers are not discussed, with no implication on their quality; apologies where they are due. A general acknowledgement is owed to Arnold Zellner whose foundational work and mentoring are at the source of most everything discussed in this chapter.
Pre-operative neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles and survival in newly diagnosed ovarian cancer: what is the optimal number? A Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Team Ovary study

Objective Although trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer use 3 neoadjuvant cycles, real-world practice varies. We sought to evaluate the influence of increasing pre-operative cycles on survival, accounting for surgical outcomes. Methods We identified 199 women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer recommended for neoadjuvant chemotherapy who underwent interval debulking surgery from July 2015 to December 2018. Non-parametric tests were used to compare clinical characteristics by neoadjuvant cycles. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate differences in progression-free and overall survival. The log-rank test was used to assess the relationship of covariates to outcome. Results The median number of neoadjuvant cycles was 4 (range 3–8), with 56 (28%) women receiving ≥5 cycles. Compared with those receiving 3 or 4, women with ≥5 neoadjuvant cycles received fewer or no post-operative cycles (p 0.05). Complete gross resection rates were similar among those receiving 3, 4, and ≥5 neoadjuvant cycles (68.5%, 70%, and 71.4%, respectively, p=0.96). There were no significant differences in progression-free or overall survival when comparing 3 versus 4 neoadjuvant cycles. However, more cycles (≥5 vs 4) were associated with worse progression-free survival, even after adjustment for BRCA status and complete gross resection (HR 2.20, 95% CI 1.45 to 3.33, p Conclusions Despite maximal cytoreduction, patients receiving ≥5 neoadjuvant cycles have a poorer prognosis than those receiving 3–4 cycles. Future studies should focus on reducing surgical morbidity and optimizing novel therapies in this high-risk group.
Sanctions and Third-party Compliance with US Foreign Policy Preferences: An Analysis of Dual-use Trade:

Ostensibly bilateral US foreign policy actions, such as sanctions, can influence third-party compliance with US policy preferences. US sanctions simultaneously signal US preferences and demonstrate...
Suppression of hydrolytic degradation in labile polymer networks via integrated styrenic nanogels.

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to demonstrate an approach with potential to increase the life of dental restorative polymers in water, by maintaining their strength and toughness with varied content of inert or reactive styrenic pre-polymeric additives. It was hypothesized that addition of styrene-co-divinylbenzene nanogels to a conventional dimethacrylate resin (e.g. TEGDMA) would reduce its susceptibility towards hydrolytic degradation, while maintaining equivalent mechanical properties. Methods Polymerization kinetics and functional group conversions were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Triple-detection gel permeation chromatography was used for nanogel particle characterization. A goniometer was used to measure water contact angle on experimental and control photocured polymers. Hydrolytic degradation and mass loss evaluation was performed after extended water storage of an intentionally hydrolytically degradable polymer. Resin viscosity was determined rheometrically and polymer mechanical properties were evaluated using three-point flexural testing with TEGDMA-nanogel formulations. Results The polymer network with highest level of nanogel loading (50 wt%) and the highest level of internal nanogel crosslinking (50 mol%) had the lowest degree of equilibrium swelling ratio and mass loss. The flexural modulus and ultimate strength of polymerized TEGDMA and styrenic nanogel-modified TEGDMA were not statistically different (p > 0.05). Significance Due to improved shielding throughout the bulk of methacrylate-based polymers, including an example with an intentionally hydrolytically labile network structure, and a dramatic decrease of water uptake while maintaining equivalent mechanical properties, styrenic nanogel additives especially in high loading levels provide an excellent alternative to eliminate the adverse effects of water and presumably salivary fluids.
Ecological Intervention for Stuttering in School-Age Children: A Collaborative Approach for School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists and Mental Health Providers

Purpose Stuttering can have a significant detrimental effect on the overall well-being of children, including anxiety, stigma, and adverse impact on the development of healthy social relationships....
Do Larger (More Accurate) Deep Neural Network Models Help in Edge-assisted Augmented Reality?

Edge-assisted Augmented Reality (AR) which offloads compute-intensive Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based AR tasks to edge servers faces an important design challenge: how to pick the DNN model out of many choices proposed for each AR task for offloading. For each AR task, e.g., depth estimation, many DNN-based models have been proposed over time that vary in accuracy and complexity. In general, more accurate models are also more complex; they are larger and have longer inference time. Thus choosing a larger model in offloading can provide higher accuracy for the offloaded frames but also incur longer turnaround time, during which the AR app has to reuse the estimation result from the last offloaded frame, which can lead to lower average accuracy. In this paper, we experimentally study this design tradeoff using depth estimation as a case study. We design optimal offloading schedule and further consider the impact of numerous factors such as on-device fast tracking, frame downsizing and available network bandwidth. Our results show that for edge-assisted monocular depth estimation, with proper frame downsizing and fast tracking, compared to small models, the improved accuracy of large models can offset its longer turnaround time to provide higher average estimation accuracy across frames under both LTE and 5G mmWave.
Biomechanics of pollen pellet removal by the honey bee.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) carry pollen back to their hive by mixing it with nectar and forming it into a pellet. The pellet must be firmly attached to their legs during flight, but also easily re...
A Possible Physiological Role for Glyceroneogenesis in Rat Adipose Tissue

Abstract Pyruvate decreased the rate of free fatty acid release from rat epididymal adipose tissue incubated in vitro by increasing free fatty acid esterification. The magnitude of the pyruvate effect, tested in tissues from fasted, adrenalectomized, or diabetic rats, closely correlated both with the rate of glyceride-glycerol labeling from radioactive pyruvate and with the activity of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase. The addition of 25 mm pyruvate to adipose tissue from 24-hour fasted rats produced a 2-fold increase in free fatty acid esterification. At a lower concentration (0.25 mm) pyruvate had no effect on free fatty acid esterification but butyrate added in equimolar concentrations caused a 50% increase in esterification of free fatty acids in tissue from fasted animals. These findings support the role of P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase as a regulatory enzyme in the glyceroneogenic sequence and suggest that glyceroneogenesis is important in adipose tissue for the maintenance of free fatty acid esterification. The role of the adrenals and of insulin in regulating the activity of rat adipose tissue P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase is also presented. Diabetes increased the activity of this enzyme in adipose tissue and liver but adrenalectomy superimposed upon diabetes caused a further increase in adipose tissue P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase activity and a reduction in the activity of the hepatic enzyme. Both insulin and triamcinolone reduced the activity of adipose tissue P-enolpyruvate carboxykinase in adipose tissue from diabetic-adrenalectomized rats but only when the two hormones were administered simultaneously was the level of the enzyme reduced to normal.
1,2-Diacylglycerols, but not phorbol esters, activate a potential inhibitory pathway for protein kinase C in GH3 pituitary cells. Evidence for involvement of a sphingomyelinase.

It has been suggested that sphingoid bases may serve as physiologic inhibitors of protein kinase C. Because 1,2-diacylglycerols, but not phorbol esters, enhance sphingomyelin degradation via a sphingomyelinase in GH3 pituitary cells (Kolesnick, R. N. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 16759-16762), the effects of phorbol esters, 1,2-diacylglycerols, and sphingomyelinase on protein kinase C activation were assessed. Under basal conditions, the inactive cytosolic form of protein kinase C predominated. 1,2-Diacylglycerols stimulated transient protein kinase C redistribution to the membrane. 1,2-Dioctanoylglycerol (200 micrograms/ml) reduced cytosolic protein kinase C activity to 67% of control from 72 to 48 pmol.min-1.10(6) cells-1 and enhanced membrane-bound activity to 430% of control from 6 to 25 pmol.min-1.10(6) cells-1 after 4 min of stimulation. Thereafter, protein kinase C activity returned to the cytosol. In contrast, the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), stimulated redistribution to the membrane without return to the cytosol. Exogenous sphingomyelinase reduced membrane-bound protein kinase C activity to 30% of control, yet did not alter cytosolic activity. Sphingomyelinase, added after phorbol ester-induced redistribution was completed, restored activity to the cytosol. In these studies, TPA (10(-8) M) reduced cytosolic activity to 62% of control and elevated membrane-bound protein kinase C activity to 650% of control. Sphingomyelinase restored cytosolic activity to 84% of control and reduced membrane-bound activity to 297% of control. Similarly, the free sphingoid bases, sphingosine, sphinganine, and phytosphingosine, reversed phorbol ester-induced protein kinase C redistribution. Since 1,2-diacylglycerols activate a sphingomyelinase and sphingomyelinase action can reverse protein kinase C activation, these studies suggest that a pathway involving a sphingomyelinase might comprise a physiologic negative effector system for protein kinase C. Further, the failure of phorbol esters to activate this system might account for some differences between these agents.
Synthesis of the two d-2-pentuloses.

Abstract The syrupy mixture of eight pentoses obtained by boiling a solution of either d -xylose (1) or d -arabinose (2) in pyridine for 4.5 h was freed of the four d -aldopentoses. The resulting mixture of four d -pentuloses was resolved by condensation with acetone, followed by partition between solvents or by distillation; in this way, crystalline 2,3-O-isopropylidene-β- d -O-isopropylidene- d -erythro-pentulofuranose (14) from 2. Each of the isomerizations yielded a small proportion of the epimeric d -2-pentulose, but the proportions of the d -3-pentuloses were much lower. The diacetal 14 was partially hydrolyzed, with dilute acid, to 3,4-O-isopropylidene- d -erythro-pentulofuranose (17), the α- d anomer of which was obtained in crystalline form. The structure of 17 was proved by oxidation with periodate, to give the known, crystalline 2,3-O-isopropylidene- d -erythrono-1,4-lactone. The anomers of the 1,3,4-triacetate and 1,3,4-tribenzoate of methyl d -erythro-pentulofuranoside were prepared, and characterized by specific optical rotation and n.m.r. spectroscopic evidence.
Axial compressive load response of the 90° flexed human tibiofemoral joint

National Accident Sampling System (NASS) data, for the years 1993-1995, suggest a high frequency of tibiofemoral joint fractures among automotive accident victims. In addition, the NASS data also suggests that these injuries may be attributable to direct axial loading via the floor pan and/or the foot controls. The current study involved impact experiments on human tibiofemoral joints (aged 71.4 + or - 11.2) directed in a superior direction along the axis of the tibia with the joint flexed at 90 degrees. One joint from each cadaver was impacted sequentially at increasing velocities to establish a range of loads and impact energies needed to cause gross fracture. The contralateral joints were impacted only once at a lower velocity that generated fracture and non-fracture data. The location of damage on the tibial plateau and femoral condyles coincided with the location of highest tibiofemoral contact pressure. Repeated impacts resulted in tibiofemoral fracture to the medial and lateral tibial plateau, medial femoral condyle, and femoral notch for a maximum load of 8.0 + or - 1.8 kN. Single impact experiments resulted in a 33% frequency of fracture at 5.8 + or - 1.5 kN. A microscopic analysis of the remaining eight single impact joints indicated occult damage at the cartilage/subchondral bone interface for a load of 7.1 + or - 2.4 kN. These damages were consistent with the location of gross fracture. The location of these micro-cracks were also consistent with the location of occult bone trauma in a limited number of motor vehicle accident MRI trauma patients referred to Michigan State University. This study helps establish impact injury thresholds for the flexed human tibiofemoral joint that will be relevant to the automotive industry.
Integrating a realistic information technology project into an introductory computer science course at West Point

Teaching Information Technology (IT) is an important first and sometimes only opportunity to expose undergraduate students to technology and concepts that will be a part of their daily lives and future careers. This paper describes and compares the integration and use of a real world Information Technology project into an introductory level computer science course at West Point over 3 semesters. The real world problem posed to the students was to set up a deployable network using commercial of the shelf (COTS) equipment and a limited budget. Specific requirements for the system to be developed were given such as the number of users, system functionality and connectivity. The project was to address the following components of an Information System. During the first semester this project was used, it was handed out during lesson 8 of 40 lessons. During the second semester when this project was given to freshmen for the first time, the project was assigned later, during lesson 26. The motivation for assigning the project later was to reinforce material covered in the course. During the third semester, a hands-on introduction of new equipment such as personal digital assistants (PDA's) as well as network components was added before the project was assigned. One of the objectives was to provide a better understanding of the technology used in creating the system for the project as well as a better understanding of the parts of an Information System. The project was successful in all three iterations. The cadets, who were given the project later in the semester, when it was used to reinforce previous classroom lessons, developed the more detailed and potentially successful systems. Overall, the IT project was successful in the goals of introducing and reinforcing basic IT principles and applying this knowledge to a real world problem. This type of IT project can be used in all introductory, undergraduate computer science courses to reinforce the material taught as well as generate excellent discussion and questions on important IT concepts.
Antileishmanial Activity of Disulfiram and Thiuram Disulfide Analogs in an Ex Vivo Model System Is Selectively Enhanced by the Addition of Divalent Metal Ions

Current treatments for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis are toxic, expensive, difficult to administer, and limited in efficacy and availability. Disulfiram has primarily been used to treat alcoholism. More recently, it has shown some efficacy as therapy against protozoan pathogens and certain cancers, suggesting a wide range of biological activities. We used an ex vivo system to screen several thiuram disulfide compounds for antileishmanial activity. We found five compounds (compound identifier [CID] 7188, 5455, 95876, 12892, and 3117 [disulfiram]) with anti-Leishmania activity at nanomolar concentrations. We further evaluated these compounds with the addition of divalent metal salts based on studies that indicated these salts could potentiate the action of disulfiram. In addition, clinical studies suggested that zinc has some efficacy in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis. Several divalent metal salts were evaluated at 1 μM, which is lower than the normal levels of copper and zinc in plasma of healthy individuals. The leishmanicidal activity of disulfiram and CID 7188 were enhanced by several divalent metal salts at 1 μM. The in vitro therapeutic index (IVTI) of disulfiram and CID 7188 increased 12- and 2.3-fold, respectively, against L. major when combined with ZnCl2. The combination of disulfiram with ZnSO4 resulted in a 1.8-fold increase in IVTI against L. donovani. This novel combination of thiuram disulfides and divalent metal ions salts could have application as topical and/or oral therapies for treatment of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.
A management system for decompositions in stochastic programming

This paper presents two contributions: A set of routines that manipulate instances of stochastic programming problems in order to make them more amenable for different solution approaches; and a development environment where these routines can be accessed and in which the modeler can examine aspects of the problem structure. The goal of the research is to reduce the amount of work, time, and cost involved in experimenting with different solution methods.
Parting company with the chromosome segregation and aneuploidy series

Mitosis is one of the basic puzzles in biology that is attractive for scientists to study owing to the elegant movement of the chromosomes on the spindle. But this basic biology is also at the foundation of many diseases, most notably cancer, in which cell division is out of control. It is clear that cancer cells are often aneuploid, but it is not clear whether this aneuploidy is the cause or the effect of the cancer. The mitotic spindle and the proteins within provide many potential drug targets. We know that tubulin has been an invaluable target for cancer chemotherapy, and we are only beginning to discover new drugs that block mitosis in different ways and with greater specificity. However, these drugs will benefit not only the patient, but also the cell biology community as a whole. Small-molecule inhibitors have the ability to perturb protein function rapidly and reversibly, enabling the dissection of the mitotic process. The wealth of information that has been obtained from small-molecule inhibitors such as monastrol or hesperadin illustrates the potential power of these tools [10xThe small molecule Hesperadin reveals a role for Aurora B in correcting kinetochore-microtubule attachment and in maintaining the spindle assembly checkpoint. Hauf, S. et al. J. Cell Biol. 2003; 161: 281–294Crossref | PubMed | Scopus (772)See all References, 11xSmall molecule inhibitor of mitotic spindle bipolarity identified in a phenotype-based screen. Mayer, T.U. et al. Science. 1999; 286: 971–974Crossref | PubMed | Scopus (1210)See all References].Although we now have a putative list of all of the components that function in the spindle, we are faced with the challenge of figuring out precisely what these proteins do and how their activities are controlled temporally and spatially within the spindle. The development of high-resolution imaging has enabled us to visualize the dramatic movements of chromosomes and microtubules on the spindle, but this technology has to be continually improved and automated to enable the examination of many spindles after knockout of individual components. Automated tracking systems are also needed to analyze the resulting large data sets. By contrast, one can also envisage the reductionist approach, in which the individual components of the spindle are combined to begin to reconstruct the spindle from individual parts. Although currently the assembly of the entire spindle is perhaps an unreasonable aspiration, it should be possible to engineer subassemblies of the spindle that can carry out limited sets of motions. These would then enable us to decipher how the perturbation of each part affects the more complex complete assembly.Finally, deciphering mitosis is not only a challenge in cell biology, but also one that requires input from physics, math and engineering. Despite recent rapid progress, it will ultimately take a multidisciplinary approach to understand this interesting and elegant process.
EfficientL2 approximation by splines

LetS N k (t) be the linear space ofk-th order splines on [0, 1] having the simple knotst i determined from a fixed functiont by the rulet i=t(i/N). In this paper we introduce sequences of operators {Q N } N ? =1 fromC k [0, 1] toS N k (t) which are computationally simple and which, asN??, give essentially the best possible approximations tof and its firstk?1 derivatives, in the norm ofL 2[0, 1]. Precisely, we show thatN k?1(?(f?Q N f) i ??dist2(f (1),S N k?1 (t)))?0 fori=0, 1, ...,k?1. Several numerical examples are given.