cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular connectivity II: Relationship to water solubility and boiling point

The connectivity index, easily computed by arithmetic and based upon the degree of connectedness at each vertex in the molecular skeleton, is shown to give highly significant correlations with water solubility of branched, cyclic, and straight-chain alcohols and hydrocarbons as well as with boiling points of alcohols. These correlations are superior to those based on well-founded theory relating to solvent cavity surface area. An empirical modification to the connectivity index gave an improved correlation for both solubilities and boiling points.
Structure of the gene encoding CD34, a human hematopoietic stem cell antigen

CD34 is a cell surface antigen of unknown function expressed in humans in hematopoietic stem cells, vascular endothelium, and blasts from 30% of patients with acute myeloid and lymphocytic leukemia. To begin to investigate the cis-acting elements required for this tissue-specific expression, the human CD34 locus was isolated and its genomic structure and transcriptional start site were characterized. The human CD34 gene spans 26 kb and has 8 exons, a structure quite similar to that of the murine gene. The start site of CD34 transcription was determined to be 258 bp upstream of the translational start site using RNase protection. These experiments also indicated that the 5' untranslated region has extensive secondary structure. In addition, fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to map the CD34 locus to band 1q32.
224 CONSTRUCTION OF GENE TARGETING VECTORS FOR RAG-1 AND RAG-2

Gene targeting in mammalian cells has become a routine technique and is currently used to study gene function, create biomedical models, and generate potential tissue sources for xenotransplantation. Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a condition characterised by the absence of T cells and a lack of B cell function. Severe combined immunodeficiency affects ~1 out of every 100 000 infants. Autosomal recessive SCID can occur due to a mutation within the recombination activating genes (RAG-1/RAG-2) that play a role in recombination of immunoglobulins and T-cell receptors. Gene targeting has been used to create mouse models to study the effects of a RAG-1 or RAG-2 deficiency on the immune system. In 1992, Mombaerts et al. generated a homozygous mouse model of RAG-1 deficiency, whereas Shinkai et al. generated a homozygous mouse model of RAG-2. Both models resulted in the absence of mature T or B lymphocytes; which was concluded to be due to the lack of the ability to initiate the V(D)J recombination process. Because of the anatomical and physiological similarities between humans and pigs, a swine model of both RAG-1 and RAG-2 deficiency would have utility. We hypothesise that disruption of RAG-1, RAG-2, or both in swine will result in a SCID phenotype. A first step in the creation of a swine SCID model is to assemble targeting vectors. The objective of this work was to construct targeting vectors. To accomplish this goal, genomic DNA from porcine fetal fibroblasts was used to amplify a 6840-bp PCR product including the porcine RAG-1 gene. This fragment was cloned into TOPO pCR-XL (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). So that a mammalian G418 resistance cassette could be used for selection of targeting events, this plasmid was modified to remove the endogenous AphII gene (provides G418 resistance). The pKW4 contains LoxP (locus of X-ing over) sites that flank a G418 resistance cassette (based on mammalian codon usage), which is driven by a phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter (Lorson et al. 2011). This cassette was inserted into the RAG-1 gene to create the targeting construct pAB6. For RAG2, a 9466-bp PCR product i ncluding the RAG-2 gene was amplified and cloned into TOPO pCR-Blunt II (Invitrogen). The LoxP flanked G418 resistance cassette from pKW4 was inserted into the second exon of the RAG-2 gene sequence, creating the targeting construct pAB13. Further, diagnostic screening strategies were developed and validated to discriminate gene-targeting events from random integration. We report here 2 targeting vectors and validated screening methods for gene targeting in porcine fetal fibroblasts that have been validated for cloning. These vectors will be applied toward an effort to create a porcine SCID model. The implications of such a model include evaluation of basic immune function, evaluation of the innate immune system in vaccine efficacy, and organ transplantation.
Boundary conditions in shallow water models - An alternative implementation for finite element codes

Finite element solution of the shallow water wave equations has found increasing use by researchers and practitioners in the modelling of oceans and coastal areas. Wave equation models, most of which use equal-order C 0 interpolants for both the velocity and the surface elevation, do not introduce spurious oscillation modes, hence avoiding the need for artificial or numerical damping. An important question for both primitive equation and wave equation models is the interpretation of boundary conditions. Analysis of the characteristics of the governing equations shows that for most geophysical flows a single condition at each boundary is sufficient, yet there is not a consensus in the literature as to what that boundary condition must be or how it should be implemented in a finite element code. Traditionally (partly because of limited data), surface elevation is specified at open ocean boundaries while the normal flux is specified as zero at land boundaries. In most finite element wave equation models both of these boundary conditions are implemented as essential conditions. Our recent work focuses on alternative ways to numerically implement normal flow boundary conditions with an eye towards improving the mass-conserving properties of wave equation models. A unique finite element formulation using generalized functions demonstrates that boundary conditions should be implemented by treating normal fluxes as natural conditions with the flux interpreted as external to the computational domain. Results from extensive numerical experiments show that the scheme does conserve mass for all parameter values. Furthermore, convergence studies demonstrate that the algorithm is consistent, as residual errors at the boundary diminish as the grid is refined.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species suppress inducible plant responses and alter defensive strategies following herbivory

In a greenhouse experiment using Plantago lanceolata, plants grown with different arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal species differed in constitutive levels of chemical defense depending on the species of AM fungi with which they were associated. AM fungal inoculation also modified the induced chemical response following herbivory by the specialist lepidopoteran herbivore Junonia coenia, and fungal species varied in how they affected induced responses. On average, inoculation with AM fungi substantially reduced the induced chemical response as compared with sterile controls, and inoculation with a mixture of AM fungi suppressed the induced response of P. lanceolata to herbivory. These results suggest that AM fungi can exert controlling influence over plant defensive phenotypes, and a portion of the substantial variation among experimental tests of induced chemical responses may be attributable to AM fungi.
The annual cycle of SST in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, diagnosed in an ocean GCM

The annual onset of the east Pacific cold tongue is diagnosed in an ocean GCM simulation of the tropical Pacific. The model uses a mixed-layer scheme that explicitly simulates the processes of vertical exchange of heat and momentum with the deeper layers of the ocean; comparison with observations of temperature and currents shows that many important aspects of the model fields are realistic. As previous studies have found, the heat balance in the eastern tropical Pacific is notoriously complicated, and virtually every term in the balance plays a significant role at one time or another. However, despite many complications, the three-dimensional ocean advection terms in the cold tongue region tend to cancel each other in the annual cycle and, to first order, the variation of SST can be described as simply following the variation of net solar radiation at the sea surface (sun minus clouds). The cancellation is primarily between cooling due to equatorial upwelling and warming due to tropical instability waves, both of which are strongest in the second half of the year (when the winds are stronger). Even near the equator, where the ocean advection is relatively intense, the terms associated with cloudiness variations are among the largest contributions to the SST balance. The annual cycle of cloudiness transforms the semiannual solar cycle at the top of the atmosphere into a largely 1 cycle yr 21 variation of insolation at the sea surface. However, the annual cycle of cloudiness appears closely tied to SST in coupled feedbacks (positive for low stratus decks and negative for deep cumulus convection), so the annual cycle of SST cannot be fully diagnosed in an ocean-only modeling context as in the present study. Zonal advection was found to be a relatively small influence on annual equatorial cold tongue variations; in particular, there was little direct (oceanic) connection between the Peru coastal upwelling and equatorial annual cycles. Meridional advection driven by cross-equatorial winds has been conjectured as a key factor leading to the onset of the cold tongue. The results suggest that the SST changes due to this mechanism are modest, and if meridional advection is in fact a major influence, then it must be through interaction with another process (such as a coupled feedback with stratus cloudiness). At present, it is not possible to evaluate this feedback quantitatively.
Stratified path spaces and fibrations

The main objects of study are the homotopically stratified metric spaces introduced by Quinn. Closed unions of strata are shown to be stratified forward tame. Stratified fibrations between spaces with stratifications are introduced. Paths that lie in a single stratum, except possibly at their initial points, form a space with a natural stratification, and the evaluation map from that space of paths is shown to be a stratified fibration. Applications to mapping cylinders and to the geometry of manifold stratified spaces are expected in future papers.
Tensor form of image representation: enhancement by image-signals

In this paper, a new method of image enhancement is introduced. The method is based on the tensor (or vectorial) representation of the two-dimensional image with respect to the Fourier transform. In this representation, the image is defined as a set of one-dimensional (1-D) image-signals that split the Fourier transform into a set of 1-D transforms. As a result, the problem of the image enhancement is reduced to the 1-D processing the splitting signals. The splitting of the image yields a simple model for the image enhancement, when by using only a few image-signals it is possible to achieve the image enhancement that is comparative to the known class of the frequency domain based parametric image enhancement algorithms, that are used widely for the object detection and visualization. A quantitative measure of image enhancement that is related to the Weber's law of the human visual system is considered. Based on the quantitative measure the best parameters for image enhancement can be found for each image-signal to be processed separately. Examples of image-signals and their contributions in process of enhancement of an image 256×256 are given.
THE EFFECTS OF OXYGEN, CARBON DIOXIDE, AND PRESSURE ON GROWTH IN CHILOMONAS PARAMECIUM AND TETRAHYMENA GELEII FURGASON.

1. The effects of O 2 , CO 2 , and pressure were studied in two very different species of protozoa, a flagellate, Chilomonas paramecium , grown in acetate-ammonium solution and a ciliate, Tetrahymena geleii , grown in 2 per cent proteose-peptone solution. 2. Chilomonas and Tetrahymena live and reproduce in solutions exposed to a wide range of O 2 concentrations, but Chilomonas is killed at high O 2 tensions in which Tetrahymena grows best. The optimum O 2 concentration for Chilomonas is about 75 mm. pressure but it lives and reproduces in O 2 tensions as low as 0.5 mm. while Tetrahymena fails to grow in concentrations below 10 mm. O 2 pressure. 3. With a constant O 2 tension of 50 mm. pressure, it was found that there is no significant variation in growth in Chilomonas between 50 mm. and 740 mm. total pressure. In Tetrahymena , however, under the same conditions, an optimum total pressure was found at about 500 mm. and growth is comparatively poor at 50 mm. total pressure. 4. Tetrahymena does not live very long in CO 2 tensions over 122 mm., although Chilomonas grows as well at 400 mm. CO 2 as in air at atmospheric pressure (0.2 mm. CO 2 ). Tetrahymena grows best in an environment minus CO 2 , but the optimum for Chilomonas is 100 mm. CO 2 at which pressure an average of 668,600 ± 30,000 organisms per ml. was produced (temperature, 25 ± 1° C.). 5. Chilomonads grown in high CO 2 concentrations ( e.g ., 122 mm.) produce larger starch granules and more starch than those grown in ordinary air at atmospheric pressure. 6. In solutions exposed to 75 mm. O 2 tension (optimum) and 122 mm. CO 2 plus 540 mm. N 2 pressure, chilomonads contain very little, if any, fat. This phenomenon seems to be due to the action of CO 2 on the mechanisms concerned with fat production. 7. In Tetrahymena exposed to pure O 2 , there is very little fat compared to those grown in atmospheric air. This may be due to the greater oxidation of fat in the higher O 2 concentrations. 8. Further evidence is presented in support of the contention that Chilomonas utilizes CO 2 in the production of starch.
A Novel Robust Detection Algorithm Using Jarqur-Bera Statistic for Spectrum Sensing

In this paper, the DTV (digital television) spectrum sensing problem is studied, which plays a key role in the cognitive radio. In contrast to the existing higher-order-statistics (HOS) approach, we propose a novel robust spectrum-sensing method, which is based on the JB (Jarqur-Bera) statistic. In our new studies, the existing HOS spectrum sensing technique may often not be robust. Our proposed JB-statistic based detector has been justified to be superior for the simulated microphone signals as well as the real DTV signals.
B-type natriuretic peptide levels in preterm neonates with bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a marker of severity?

Summary Rationale for the Study B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a hormone released in response to stretching of the ventricular wall. The role of BNP as a biomarker of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has not been clarified. Objective To determine if plasma BNP concentrations correlate with the severity of BPD. Methods This prospective observational case control study included 60 preterm infants (≤32 weeks); 27 infants had no/mild BPD, 19 had moderate and 14 had severe BPD. BNP levels were measured at 36 ± 2 weeks PMA or within a week of discharge home. Groups were compared using Mann–Whitney's U-test, Kruskal–Wallis, and bivariate regression. Results Median (IQR) plasma levels of BNP in infants with moderate/severe BPD infants (n = 33) were higher as compared to those with no/mild BPD (n = 27); 27.1 (12.1–43.5) pg/ml versus 9.3 (6–18.5) pg/ml; P 24.4 pg/ml at 36 ± 2 weeks PMA or discharge home was 85.7% sensitive and 76.1% specific for severe BPD. Conclusions An elevation in plasma BNP was significantly associated with severe BPD. We speculate that plasma BNP measurement in infants with BPD may aid in risk-stratification and further targeted therapies. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2014; 49:1106–1111. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Study of Malware Threats Faced by the Typical Email User

Understanding malware behavior will help in implementing robust intrusion detection and prevention systems. In this paper, we studied the behavioral characteristics of different malware types affecting the Internet and other enterprise email systems. This research was carried out on spam email data received by a single user’s test email account collected over a period of six months. A sandbox test environment platform using virtual machines was built to perform this research and simulate real-life malware behavior and determine its signature at the point of execution for proper analysis. Analysis of email data using the sandbox setup helps to produce a comprehensive data analysis about botnet behavior. We described in detail the design and implementation of sandbox test environment including the challenges faced in building this test environment. As a cost saving measure, we used VMware based virtual platforms built on Linux PC-class hardware. We present results of our behavioral measurement of the most active botnets. Our study discovered that for a single email user for a period of six months, two active Trojans contributed around 20 percent of the total identified malwares received within this time period and the remaining 80 percent of malware binaries were distributed over many different types of botnets; the email malware shows a classic long-tail distribution. During this experiment, we also discovered very strong polymorphic behaviors exhibited by these malware samples, ostensibly intended to help the malware authors and hackers to penetrate and bypass the enterprise intrusion detection systems. Finally, we are releasing the repository of malware collected as a data set for evaluation by other researchers.
Between-subject PREE and within-subject reversed PREE in spaced-trial extinction with pigeons

Abstract Three experiments explored the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE; greater resistance to extinction after partial, rather than continuous, reinforcement training), in a spaced-trial situation with pigeons. Experiments 1 and 2 report conventional PREEs with 24-h intertrial intervals and between-subject designs. The corresponding outcome (food reinforcement or nonreinforcement) was delivered after satisfaction of a fixed-ratio 10 (Experiment 1) or a fixed-ratio 1 (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 reports a reversed PREE in a within-subject design with a fixed-ratio 10 requirement. Extinction occurred faster for the response paired with 50% partial reinforcement than for the response paired with continuous reinforcement. A third response paired with a small reinforcer (1 pellet/trial) in 100% of the trials extinguished faster than a response paired with a large reinforcer (15 pellets/trial). These results are discussed in the context of spaced-trial instrumental performance (key pecking and running), in pigeons.
On transmitted-reference UWB communications

In this paper we present a general framework for evaluating the exact performance of transmitted-reference (TR) signaling systems. Due to its simplicity, there has been a renewed interest in TR signaling for ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) systems. This scheme has the benefit that it is robust in fast varying, highly selective fading channels, provided that the data and reference separation is on the order of the channel coherence. Using the framework provided, we evaluate the performance of UWB TR systems operating in arbitrary fading channels.
Hegel, Human Rights, and Political Membership

This paper examines Hegel's view of the relationship of human rights and political membership. Attention is accorded the concept of a right to have rights, one famously thematized by Hannah Arendt but articulated already earlier by Hegel. The discussion has five parts. Part One considers how for Hegel a notion of political membership is entailed by the concept of right itself. Part Two examines the place occupied by modern civil society in a realised account of human rights. Part Three considers the challenges posed to realised right by the phenomenon of modern poverty and the experience of ‘rightlessness’ it occasions. Part Four details how Hegel's conception of the corporation addresses the phenomenon of rightlessness, taking into account his uniquely reflexive understanding of a right to have rights and its contribution to the project of the Philosophy of Right. The concluding section briefly compares Hegel's conception of membership rights to Arendt's.
Classification of Rings with Genus One Zero-Divisor Graphs

This paper investigates properties of the zero-divisor graph of a commutative ring and its genus. In particular, we determine all isomorphism classes of finite commutative rings with identity whose zero-divisor graph has genus one.
The Influence of Wind Forcing on the Chesapeake Bay Buoyant Coastal Current

Observations of the buoyant coastal current that flows southward from Chesapeake Bay are used to describe how the thickness, width, and propagation speed vary in response to changes in the along-shelf wind stress. Three basic regimes were observed depending on the strength of the wind. For weak wind stresses (from 0.02 to 0.02 Pa), the buoyant coastal current was relatively thin, the front slope was not steep, and the width was variable (1–20 km). For moderate downwelling (southward) wind stresses (0.02– 0.07 Pa), wind-driven cross-shelf advection steepened the front, causing the plume to narrow and thicken. For stronger downwelling wind stresses (greater than 0.07 Pa), vertical mixing dominated, bulk Richardson numbers were approximately 0.25, isopycnals were nearly vertical, and the plume front widened but the plume width did not change. Plume thickness and width were normalized by the theoretical plume scales in the absence of wind forcing. Normalized plume thickness increased linearly from 1 to 2 as downwelling wind stresses increased from 0 to 0.2 Pa. Normalized plume widths were approximately 1 for downwelling wind stresses from 0.02 to 0.2 Pa. The observed along-shelf propagation speed of the plume was roughly equal to the sum of the theoretical propagation speed and the wind-driven along-shelf flow.
NXG02-2: Utilization Modeling and Optimization for Multi-Domain WLAN Resource Management in WLAN/WPAN Interference Environments

The proliferation of wireless local area network (WLAN) deployments will likely cause frequent geographical coverage overlap among multiple networks. A recent growing interest is the coordination among WLAN providers for efficient network management. When multiple WLANs co-locate in a small geographic vicinity, the lack of cooperative multi- domain resource management can cause significant performance degradation due to inter-domain interference. Moreover, since WLANs often operate in unlicensed frequency bands shared by various public and private networks, they must cope with the dynamic RF environment involving a diverse set of interference sources. This paper introduces a new cooperative resource management framework for multi-domain WLANs operating in an interference environment. Under the proposed scheme, resource utilization and co-channel interference can be adaptively balanced across the entire integrated system. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms other schemes without inter-domain cooperation or without the consideration of environmental interference.
Luttinger liquid theory as a model of the gigahertz electrical properties of carbon nanotubes

Presents a technique to directly excite Luttinger liquid collective modes in carbon nanotubes at gigahertz frequencies. By modeling the nanotube as a nano-transmission line with distributed kinetic and magnetic inductance as well as distributed quantum and electrostatic capacitance, we calculate the complex frequency-dependent impedance for a variety of measurement geometries. Exciting voltage waves on the nano-transmission line is equivalent to directly exciting the yet-to-be observed one-dimensional plasmons, the low energy excitation of a Luttinger liquid. Our technique has already been applied to two-dimensional plasmons and should work well for one-dimensional plasmons. Tubes of length 100 microns must be grown for gigahertz resonance frequencies. Ohmic contact is not necessary with our technique; capacitive contacts can work. Our modeling has applications in potentially terahertz nanotube transistors and RF nanospintronics.
Answering questions on call: Pediatric resident physicians' use of handoffs and other resources

BACKGROUND Little is known in the literature about the types of questions being asked of on-call housestaff and the resources used to provide answers. OBJECTIVE To characterize questions being asked of pediatric interns on call and evaluate their use of written handoffs, verbal handoffs, and other resources. DESIGN/METHODS Prospective direct observational study. SETTING Inpatient wards at an academic tertiary care children's hospital. PARTICIPANTS Pediatric interns. RESULTS Trainees were asked 2.6 questions/hour (interquartile range: 1.4–4.7); most involved medications (28%), general care plans (27%), diagnostic tests/procedures (22%), diet/fluids (15%), and physical exams (9%). Interns reported using information provided in written or verbal handoffs to answer 32.6% questions (written 7.3%; verbal 25.3%). Other resources utilized included general medical knowledge, the medical record, and parental report. Questions pertaining to diet/fluids were associated with increased written handoff use (odds ratio [OR]: 3.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.51–8.76), whereas having worked more consecutive nights was associated with decreased written handoff use (OR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.09–0.93). Questions regarding general care plans (OR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.13–3.78), those asked by clinical staff (OR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.04–3.66), and questions asked of patients with longer lengths of stay (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.02–3.80) were predictive of verbal handoff use. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric housestaff face frequent questions during overnight shifts and frequently use information received during handoffs to provide answers. A better understanding of how handoffs and other resources are utilized by housestaff could inform future targeted initiatives to improve trainees' access to key information at night. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2013;8:328–333. © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine
Revealing the 3D internal structure of natural polymer microcomposites using X-ray ultra microtomography.

Summary Properties of composite materials are directly affected by the spatial arrangement of reinforcement and matrix. In this research, partially hydrolysed cellulose microcrystals were used to fabricate polycaprolactone microcomposites. The spatial distribution of cellulose microcrystals was characterized by a newly developed technique of X-ray ultra microscopyandmicrotomography.Thephaseandabsorption contrast imaging of X-ray ultra microscopy revealed twodimensional and three-dimensional information on CMC distribution in polymer matrices. The highest contrast and flux (signal-to-noise ratio) were obtained using vanadium foil targets with the accelerating voltage of 30 keV and beam current of >200 nA. The spatial distribution of cellulose microcrystals was correlated to the mechanical properties of the microcomposites. It was observed that heterogeneous distribution and clustering of cellulose microcrystals resulted in degradation of tensile strength and elastic modulus of
Associations between Auditory Pitch and Visual Elevation Do Not Depend on Language: Evidence from a Remote Population:

Associations between auditory pitch and visual elevation are widespread in many languages, and behavioral associations have been extensively documented between height and pitch among speakers of those languages. However, it remains unclear whether perceptual correspondences between auditory pitch and visual elevation inform these linguistic associations, or merely reflect them. We probed this cross-modal mapping in members of a remote Kreung hill tribe in northeastern Cambodia who do not use spatial language to describe pitch. Participants viewed shapes rising or falling in space while hearing sounds either rising or falling in pitch, and reported on the auditory change. Associations between pitch and vertical position in the Kreung were similar to those demonstrated in populations where pitch is described in terms of spatial height. These results suggest that associations between visual elevation and auditory pitch can arise independently of language. Thus, widespread linguistic associations between pitch and elevation may reflect universally predisposed perceptual correspondences.
The Development of Primary Central Nervous System B-Cell Lymphoma in Multiple Sclerosis

When coupled with classical clinical signs and symptoms, magnetic resonance imaging can significantly aid in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is large and, in the absence of pathognomonic clinical features, can be challenging to diagnose initially. Some conditions, such as primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), can mimic clinically some of the symptoms prominent in multiple sclerosis. Early treatment with corticosteroids can dramatically improve patient symptoms in MS and PCNSL. We report a case of a man diagnosed with histologically confirmed relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis who subsequently developed histologically confirmed primary central nervous system lymphoma. Immunosuppressant therapy in the treatment of multiple sclerosis may be a potential catalyst in the development of central nervous system lymphoma. The course of his disease and treatment are presented and the current literature reviewed.
Book Review: Stepping Stones: Successful Advocacy for Children by Sheryl Dicker, 1990

This article is a book review of Sheryl Dicker, Stepping Stones: Successful Advocacy for Children (1990).
Binary Polymer Brushes of Strongly Immiscible Polymers

The phenomenon of microphase separation is an example of self-assembly in soft matter and has been observed in block copolymers (BCPs) and similar materials (i.e., supramolecular assemblies (SMAs) and homo/block copolymer blends (HBCs)). In this study, we use microphase separation to construct responsive polymer brushes that collapse to generate periodic surfaces. This is achieved by a chemical reaction between the minor block (10%, poly(4-vinylpyridine)) of the block copolymer and a substrate. The major block of polystyrene (PS) forms mosaic-like arrays of grafted patches that are 10–20 nm in size. Depending on the nature of the assembly (SMA, HBC, or neat BCP) and annealing method (exposure to vapors of different solvents or heating above the glass transition temperature), a range of “mosaic” brushes with different parameters can be obtained. Successive grafting of a secondary polymer (polyacrylamide, PAAm) results in the fabrication of binary polymer brushes (BPBs). Upon being exposed to specific selec...
Adaptive Quasi-Dynamic Traffic Light Control

We consider the traffic light control problem for a single intersection modeled as a stochastic hybrid system. We study a quasi-dynamic policy based on partial state information defined by detecting whether vehicle backlogs are above or below certain thresholds. The policy is parameterized by green and red cycle lengths as well as the road content thresholds. Using infinitesimal perturbation analysis, we derive online gradient estimators of a cost metric with respect to the controllable light cycles and threshold parameters and use these estimators to iteratively adjust all the controllable parameters through an online gradient-based algorithm so as to improve the overall system performance under various traffic conditions. The results obtained by applying this methodology to a simulated urban setting are also included.
Analysis of epidemiological characteristics of measles in Yuechi from 2004 to 2008

Objective:Analyzes of the measles popular characteristics in Yuechi from 2004 to 2008 year, provides the scientific basis for its preventing and controlling.Methods:Used the descriptive epidemiology method analysis material.Results: It was reported the measles 619 examples altogether in 2004-2008, various years disease incidence rate respectively was 3.02/100 000, 7.41/100 000, 3.96/100 000, 37.57/100 000, 0.84/100 000, the yearly average disease incidence rate was 10.59/100 000; The morbidity had the obvious seasonal characteristic, April to July as was taken bad the peak; The morbidity age was taken bad the peak take 0-14 years old, accounts for 93.54%; The occupation lived scatteredly the child primarily 335 examples, accounts for 54.12%,next was the student 170, the day care child 76 examples, account for 27.46% separately, 12.28%; The male and female sex ratio was 1.46∶1. Conclusion:The epidemic encephalitis morbidity is in the high level, It should adopt the comprehensive preventing and controlling measure enhancement to guard against controls the work.
Ocean Acidification Accelerates the Growth of Two Bloom-Forming Macroalgae

While there is growing interest in understanding how marine life will respond to future ocean acidification, many coastal ecosystems currently experience intense acidification in response to upwelling, eutrophication, or riverine discharge. Such acidification can be inhibitory to calcifying animals, but less is known regarding how non-calcifying macroalgae may respond to elevated CO2. Here, we report on experiments performed during summer through fall with North Atlantic populations of Gracilaria and Ulva that were grown in situ within a mesotrophic estuary (Shinnecock Bay, NY, USA) or exposed to normal and elevated, but environmentally realistic, levels of pCO2 and/or nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). In nearly all experiments, the growth rates of Gracilaria were significantly increased by an average of 70% beyond in situ and control conditions when exposed to elevated levels of pCO2 (p 0.05). The δ13C content of both Gracilaria and Ulva decreased two-to-three fold when grown under elevated pCO2 (p<0.001) and mixing models demonstrated these macroalgae experienced a physiological shift from near exclusive use of HCO3- to primarily CO2 use when exposed to elevated pCO2. This shift in carbon use coupled with significantly increased growth in response to elevated pCO2 suggests that photosynthesis of these algae was limited by their inorganic carbon supply. Given that eutrophication can yield elevated levels of pCO2, this study suggests that the overgrowth of macroalgae in eutrophic estuaries can be directly promoted by acidification, a process that will intensify in the coming decades.
ON THE METHOD OF PENALIZATION

In this article, we study convergence properties of the method of penal- ization and related estimates. A penalized estimate is defined as an optimizer of a scaled criterion with a penalty that penalizes undesirable properties of the parame- ters. We develop some exponential probability bounds for the penalized likelihood ratios with a general penalty. Based on these inequalities, rates of convergence of the penalized estimates can be quantified. When convergence is measured by the Hellinger distance, the rate of convergence of the penalized maximum likelihood estimate depends only on the size of the parameter space and the penalization co- efficient. We also explore the role of penalty in the penalization process, especially its relationship with the convergence properties and its connection with Bayesian analysis. We illustrate the theory by several examples.
Exploration of the influence of a diverse appearance course on students' transformation of self

xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose 3 Definitions 3 Appearance 3 Diversity 4 Beliefs, Biases, and Values 4 Attitudes 4 College Students and Diversity 5 Transforming Self 7 Research Questions 10 Rationale for the Research Method 11 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12 Diversity and Stereotyping in Appearances 12 Diversity 13 Personal Identity and Diverse Appearances 15 Appearance Diversity through Individual Expression 18 Stereotyping 21 Stereotyping Individuals According to their Appearance 24 Appearances as Nonverbal Communication 28 Semiotics and Communication Theories 29 Meanings Assigned to Diverse Appearances 31 Worldviews 33 Attitude Change 36
Further Developing Transpersonal Psychology as a Science: Building and Testing Middle-Range Transpersonal Theories

Further developing transpersonal psychology as a science has been impeded by the over emphasis on two approaches to building theory, namely grand theories that attempt to explain everything and mini-theories that avoid explaining much of anything. In between these extremes are “middle-range” transpersonal psychology theories that can better allow for scientific progress. They bracket metaphysical and supernatural approaches common in transpersonal grand theories, and accept the possible generalizability of findings commonly rejected by transpersonal mini-theories. The transpersonal construct of self-expansiveness illustrates one way that middle-range transpersonal theories can lead to a program of cumulative empirical research and empirically informed practices. Other transpersonal constructs, such as awe, can also be good candidates for building and testing middle-range transpersonal psychology theories.
Reclaiming the Sexual Rights of LGBTQ People with Attendant Care Dependent Mobility Impairments

In this chapter, Gallo-Silver, Bimbi, and Rembis utilize a combination of literature review and secondary data analysis to explore the sexual experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) people with mobility impairments who rely on attendant care services usually provided by paid staff or family members in their homes. LGBTQ people with mobility impairments have received little attention both from society and in the literature. The paternalistic and segregating social service/rehabilitation communities continue the pre-Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sexual disenfranchisement of people with disabilities without partners who are LGBTQ. Constraints on the sexual expression of people with mobility impairments continue to exist in many chronic care facilities, nursing homes, some group homes, and in more “traditional” familial and household settings. We identify the salient barriers of ableist and heterosexist attitudes to the human right to sexual expression. We give voice to those LGBTQ people who have successfully negotiated interdependent sex lives facilitated by both paid and family caregivers. Telling the stories of the sexual experiences of LGBTQ people with disabilities opens up an important practical and theoretical space that builds on the insights of others by engaging in a dialectical and relational analysis of caregiving in this most critical of contexts.
Crisis Communications in the Age of Social Media: A Network Analysis of Zika-Related Tweets

While emerging technologies such as social media have demonstrated value for crisis communications, significant question remains regarding how these tools can be most effectively leveraged to facil...
Health Behavior Research and Medical Training and Practice

The epidemiological profile of the United States has changed drastically over the last 70 years. The so-called “demographic transition” has been accomplished, with the shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates. The population pyramid for this country has changed from the wide-based, sharp-peaked form characteristic of a rural, nonindustrialized country to the more nearly straight-sided, broad-topped form associated with industrialized, urbanized countries. This change in the shape of the population pyramid reflects a radical change in the demography and associated health concerns of the nation. The major health concerns of the United States are now chronic degenerative conditions, all of which have major behavioral components in their etiology, treatment, and prevention. Advances in medical behavioral research focused on these conditions are being applied to the current changes in the training of health care professionals in the United States. This chapter addresses the application of these advances in medical behavioral research both to the curricular reforms of health education and to the specific training of medical students for patient care.
Wolfram, Walt (b. 1941)

Walt Wolfram, the William C. Friday Professor of Linguistics at North Carolina State University and former president of the Linguistics Society of America, is a major figure in variationist sociolinguistics. He is the author of the first comprehensive study of African American English and has worked on a number of other U.S. racial dialects, as well as geographically isolated varieties in the southern United States. He is active in dialect education in schools and dialect awareness among the general public, and he is coauthor with Natalie Schilling-Estes of a sociolinguistics textbook on American English.
Refinements of the Semiparametric Proportional Hazards Model

In Chapter 8, we modeled the hazard function for an individual as a function of fixed-time covariates. These are explanatory variables recorded at the start of the study whose values are fixed throughout the course of the study. For instance, in Example 8.4, where acute leukemia patients were given a bone marrow transplant, we considered the three risk groups, donor age, recipient age, and several other variables, as fixed-time covariates. The basic interest there was to evaluate the relationship of the risk groups to the hazard of relapse or death, controlling for possible confounding variables which might be related to relapse or death. As is typical in many survival studies, individuals are monitored during the study, and other explanatory variables are recorded whose values may change during the course of the study. Some of these variables may be instrumental in predicting survival and need to be taken into consideration in evaluating the survival distribution. Such variables which change over time are called time-dependent variables. A covariate that takes on the value 0 until some intermediate event occurs when it becomes 1 is an example of a discrete-time covariate. It is also possible to include time-dependent covariates that are essentially continuous where the value of the covariate is a series of measurements of some explanatory characteristic.
Estimating the Efficacy of Receiving Treatment in Randomized Clinical Trials with Noncompliance

Analysis of a randomized trial is problematic when there is noncompliance with the treatment assignment. An intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis estimates the effect of randomization rather than the effect for those who actually receive the treatment. An alternative to the ITT is the “as treated” analysis, in which subjects are classified by the treatment actually received. However, the “as treated” analysis is also flawed since confounders are likely to be associated with switching treatment. We propose the use of an instrumental variable estimate (using the randomization as the instrument) in combination with propensity score adjustment. In addition, we consider the assumptions implicit in the instrumental variable methodology. These methods are illustrated with data from the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) Study of treatment efficacy for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We show how the addition of the propensity score adjustment to the instrumental variable analysis uncovers some surprising results concerning the children who were assigned to behavioral therapy only but switched to medication.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES in Mathematics Education

THE SEARCH for the perfect teach ing method has persisted for many years. In the meantime, many effective strate gies have been identified. A strategy is defined, here, as a plan of relatively struc tured procedures by which specific objec tives are achieved. Although many plans have been developed, no one strategy has been shown effective under all conditions. The most promising direction toward ef fective mathematics teaching at this time appears to be the use of a variety of strat egies tailored to the objectives of the les son and student needs at the time of in struction. Educational researchers tend to support versatility in approaches by hypothesiz ing that different kinds of learning exist and, as Gagn? claims, that various kinds of learning require different sets of condi tions for their occurrence (Gagn? 1965). One implication of this hypothesis is that many kinds of learning objectives exist. One further implication is that a variety of strategies used with the different learn ing objectives would prove more effective than the sole use of one strategy for all objectives. In learning mathematics specifically, at least three different kinds of learning tasks can be easily identified?drawing deduc tive inferences, drawing inductive infer ences, and formulating hypotheses. These three tasks require that students possess knowledge and understanding of mathe matical concepts and principles and that they be able to perform specific cognitive processes. Recent educational develop ments make it possible, via innovative instructional strategies, for teachers to teach to the acquisition of objectives of knowledge, understanding, and cognitive processes. It is the purpose of this paper to describe some of these strategies briefly. The main theoretical positions are stated, and sample lessons are included. A num ber of strategies address themselves to these various kinds of objectives. Because of space constraints only three strategies are described. These include expository teaching, induction, and inquiry.
Corticosteroids and Stress

Glucocorticoids are adrenocortical steroid hormones that protect the organism from most forms of stress. They are essential for survival. At basal levels, they exert permissive actions that prime many defense mechanisms to counter sources of stress. At stress-induced levels, they suppress defense mechanisms, preventing them from overshooting and damaging the organism.
Analysis of undissolved anode materials of Mark-IV electrorefiner

Abstract The Mark-IV electrorefiner contains a molten-salt/molten-cadmium system for electrorefining uranium. The anode basket is loaded with chopped sodium-bonded metallic driver fuel. For the present investigation, the bulk of the fuel was U 10Zr binary alloy. The undissolved anode materials after electrorefining are sampled for chemical analysis. The estimation of the undissolved anode materials based on individual chemical analysis results are challenging due to inherently high sampling errors associated with heterogeneous undissolved material compositions. Investigation of chemical analysis data as a whole reveals noticeable trends in the compositions of the primary phases and materials. Based upon this observation, we propose a methodology for accounting the primary phases relying on the measurement of the total anode mass only. The methodology is based on an empirical model explaining the mass of the undissolved anode materials constructed from historical anode material analysis data.
Adaptive Step Size Momentum Method For Deconvolution

In this paper, we introduce an adaptive step size schedule that can significantly improve the convergence rate of momentum method for deconvolution applications. We provide analysis to show that the proposed method can asymptotically recover the optimal rate of convergence for first-order gradient methods applied to minimize smooth convex functions. In a convolution setting, we demonstrate that our adaptive schedule can be implemented efficiently without adding computational complexity to traditional gradient schemes.
Beyond Boundaries: Envisioning Metropolitan School Desegregation in Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia, 1963-1974:

From the early 1960s onward, battles over school desegregation took on an increasingly metropolitan orientation, one all but destroyed by the Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in Milliken v. Bradley. I...