cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding the role of the modality principle in multimedia learning environments

The modality principle states that low-experience learners more successfully understand information that uses narration rather than on-screen text. This is due to the idea that on-screen text may produce a cognitive overload if it is accompanied by other visual elements. Other studies provided additional data and support for the modality principle in multimedia learning environments. However, some recent studies began to show the modality principle's impact had certain parameters, and it was impacting various groups, conditions and environments differently. This study replicated Mayer and Moreno's studies on the modality principle (1998; 2006). Seventy-nine college students attending a Midwestern University in the USA participated in this study in 2015. The results of the study showed that the modality principle was not an effective strategy for the group of low-experience content users. The results showed the retention and transfer of knowledge was not as effective for students who viewed the narrated PowerPoint presentation. In fact, students who viewed the PowerPoint presentation that only included the on-screen text, had more effective retention and transfer of knowledge. Lay descriptionWhat is currently known about the modality principle: Learners are more successful with understanding information that uses narration than on-screen text specifically low-experience learners. This is due to the idea that on-screen text may produce a cognitive overload if it is accompanied by other visual elements. What this study adds to this subject matter: Carefully replicated Mayer and Moreno's studies on the modality principle with the intent to verify if the modality principle held with digital-aged students. Data collection took place in the participants' actual classroom (natural setting) in opposition to a lab-like setting. Implications of study findings for practitioners: Results counter the original study's findings specifically for low-experience learners, meaning on-screen text was more effective for transfer and retention of knowledge when compared with printed text and narration. When designing multimedia learning, instructional designers need to consider other elements (e.?g., presentation speed and learning times) that may be causing a change in the modality effect.
Mechanism of backward propagation of sound in the cochlea

Cochlea is the auditory sensory organ in the inner ear.It normally transfers sound-induced vibrations of the cochlear partition to bioelectrical signals,which are transmitted to the brain by the auditory nerve.Sensitive cochleae can also generate sounds,named as otoacoustic emissions,which can be measured in the external ear canal.Although otoacoustic emissions have been used to evaluate hearing and to study cochlear mechanism,how emissions exit the cochlea remains unclear.Recent experimental results have showed that the backward delay of emissions is equal to or shorter than the forward delay,indicating that otoacoustic emissions exit the cochlea likely via cochlea fluids as compression waves rather than along the cochlear partition as backward traveling waves.
Contributions to magnetic susceptibility of brain tissue

This review discusses the major contributors to the subtle magnetic properties of brain tissue and how they affect MRI contrast. With the increased availability of high-field scanners, the use of magnetic susceptibility contrast for the study of human brain anatomy and function has increased dramatically. This has not only led to novel applications, but has also improved our understanding of the complex relationship between MRI contrast and magnetic susceptibility. Chief contributors to the magnetic susceptibility of brain tissue have been found to include myelin as well as iron. In the brain, iron exists in various forms with diverse biological roles, many of which are now only starting to be uncovered. An interesting aspect of magnetic susceptibility contrast is its sensitivity to the microscopic distribution of iron and myelin, which provides opportunities to extract information at spatial scales well below MRI resolution. For example, in white matter, the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons can provide tissue contrast that is dependent on the axonal orientation and reflects the relative size of intra- and extra-axonal water compartments. The extraction of such ultrastructural information, together with quantitative information about iron and myelin concentrations, is an active area of research geared towards the characterization of brain structure and function, and their alteration in disease. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of the \gamma _{\nu }NN* Electrocoupling Parameters at High Photon Virtualities and Preliminary Cross Sections off the Neutron

Meson-photoproduction measurements and their reaction-amplitude analyses can establish more sensitively, and in some cases in an almost model-independent way, nucleon excitations and non-resonant reaction amplitudes. However, to investigate the strong interaction from already explored—where meson-cloud degrees of freedom contribute substantially to the baryon structure—to still unexplored distance scales—where quark degrees of freedom dominate and the transition from dressed to current quarks occurs—we depend on experiments that allow us to measure observables that are probing this evolving non-perturbative QCD regime over its full range. Elastic and transition form factors are uniquely suited to trace this evolution by measuring elastic electron scattering and exclusive single-meson and double-pion electroproduction cross sections off the nucleon. These exclusive measurements will be extended to higher momentum transfers with the energy-upgraded CEBAF beam at JLab to study the quark degrees of freedom, where their strong interaction is responsible for the ground and excited nucleon state formations. After establishing unprecedented high-precision data, the imminent next challenge is a high-quality analysis to extract these relevant electrocoupling parameters for various resonances that can then be compared to state-of-the-art models and QCD-based calculations. The vast majority of the available exclusive electroproduction cross sections are off the proton. Hence flavor-dependent analyses of excited light-quark baryons are lacking experimental data off the neutron. The goal is to close this gap by providing exclusive \({\gamma }_{\nu }(n) \rightarrow p^{+} {\pi }^{-}\) reaction cross section off deuterium and to establish a kinematical final-state-interaction (FSI) correction factor (R) map that can be determined from the data set itself. The “e1e” Jefferson Lab CLAS data set, that is analyzed, includes both a hydrogen and deuterium target run period, which allows a combined analysis of the pion electroproduction off the free proton, the bound proton, and the bound neutron under the same experimental conditions. Hence it will provide the experimentally best possible information on the off-shell and FSI effects in deuterium, which must be considered in order to extract the information off the neutron. The cross section analysis of this data set, that is currently underway, will considerably improve our knowledge of the \(Q^{2}\) evolution of resonance states off bound protons and neutrons. Recent results presented here and in these proceedings are demonstrating the status and continuous progress of data analyses and their theoretical descriptions, as well as highlighting the experimental and theoretical outlook of what shall and may be achieved in the new era of the 12-GeV upgraded transition form factor program.
Finding our way: A case study of urban waterway restoration and participatory process

Abstract This paper explores some of the challenges encountered in organizing multiple stakeholders in working toward the revitalization of an urban waterway. Drawing primarily from positive experiences with a creek revitalization project in Syracuse, New York, we identify several factors concerning the context and challenges – both material and social – that have helped to shape the outcomes. Use of collaborative participation processes, co-production, and directly addressing environmental justice issues for engaging stakeholders in such projects are discussed. We seek to identify key points and lessons that can help inform others about participatory processes in communities coping with water-related environmental justice issues. Outcomes include: greater levels of participation by those previously lacking a voice in the process, the conceptual plan itself, indirect physical project outcomes, and establishing new standards for participatory processes in the region.
BAP1 Tumor Predisposition Syndrome

The BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome results from autosomal dominant haploinsufficiency of the BAP1 tumor suppressor gene. The syndrome was identified through the findings of three independent centers researching predisposition for each of their tumors of interest. BAP1 variants have now been confirmed to be associated, in order of decreasing frequency, with BAP1-inactivated melanocytic tumors, uveal melanoma, malignant mesothelioma, cutaneous melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma. There are several additional unconfirmed tumors, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and meningioma that may ultimately prove to be related. The syndrome is now being more rapidly characterized as centers worldwide are pooling data on patients and their families through the BAP1 Interest Group Consortium. Knowledge of this condition may allow for prevention, early detection, and appropriate treatment of related malignancies.
Measurement of weld penetration depths in thin structures using transmission coefficients of laser-generated Lamb waves and neural network

The Laser/EMAT ultrasonic (LEU) technique has shown the capability to measure weld penetration depths in thick structures based on ray-tracing of laser-generated bulk and surface waves. The ray-tracing method is not applicable to laser-generated Lamb waves when the LEU technique is used to measure weld penetration depths in thin structures. In this work, transmission coefficients of Lamb waves present in the LEU signals are investigated against varying weld penetration depths. An artificial neural network is developed to use transmission coefficients of sensitive Lamb waves and LEU signal energy to predict weld penetration depths accurately. The developed method is very attractive because it allows a quick inspection of weld penetration depths in thin structures.
The Ubiquitous Role of g in Training

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the literature examining relations between general cognitive ability, g , and an early part of occupational performance, training. The chapter begins with an explication of a common problem in the examination of human characteristics—confusing constructs and methods. It also reviews theories about the configuration (structure) of ability and evidence regarding the near identity of factor structure for sex and ethnic groups. Additionally, the concepts of specific abilities, non-cognitive characteristics and knowledge, and their theoretical relations to training performance are introduced. The chapter then examines the predictive validity of g for training, the incremental validity of specific cognitive abilities, job knowledge, and personality. Moreover, the path models are reviewed that document studies examining causal relations among g , job knowledge and training performance. Findings on differential validity and predictive bias are also presented. The chapter concludes with an examination of the value of g as a predictor of organizational effectiveness.
Multichannel tunable dispersion compensation using all-pass multicavity etalons

We demonstrate a novel approach to multi-channel tunable dispersion compensation based on multicavity all-pass etalons that can compensate all channels throughout the C or L band with channel spacings from 50GHz to 200GHz, for either 10Gb/s or 40Gb/s applications. We demonstrate very low group delay ripple, large tuning range, low losses, as well as dispersion slope compensation.
Kibble-Zurek scaling of the irreversible entropy production

If a system is driven at finite rate through a phase transition by varying an intensive parameter, the order parameter shatters into finite domains. The Kibble-Zurek mechanism predicts the typical size of these domains, which are governed only by the rate of driving and the spatial and dynamical critical exponents. We show that also the irreversible entropy production fulfills a universal behavior, which however is determined by an additional critical exponent corresponding to the intensive control parameter. Our universal prediction is numerically tested in two systems exhibiting noise-induced phase transitions.
Privacy preserving localization using a distributed particle filtering protocol

Cooperative spectrum sensing is often necessary in cognitive radios systems to localize a transmitter by fusing the measurements from multiple sensing radios. However, revealing spectrum sensing information also generally leaks information about the location of the radio that made those measurements. We propose a protocol for performing cooperative spectrum sensing while preserving the privacy of the sensing radios. In this protocol, radios fuse sensing information through a distributed particle filter based on a tree structure. All sensing information is encrypted using public-key cryptography, and one of the radios serves as an anonymizer, whose role is to break the connection between the sensing radios and the public keys they use. We consider a semi-honest (honest-but-curious) adversary model in which there is at most a single adversary that is internal to the sensing network and complies with the specified protocol but wishes to determine information about the other participants. Under this scenario, an adversary may learn the sensing information of some of the radios, but it does not have any way to tie that information to a particular radio's identity. We test the performance of our proposed distributed, tree-based particle filter using physical measurements of FM broadcast stations.
Correction to: The Effect of Removing Sentencing Credits on Inmate Misbehavior

In the original publication of the article, the values in the sentence in “Analysis of Matched Samples” section have been incorrectly published as: “Specifically, inmates who lost good time had a 10% higher probability of committing any subsequent misconduct, a 13% higher probability of perpetrating a violent misconduct, and a 14% higher probability of committing a Class I misconduct.”
The distributional effect of investment in early childhood nutrition: A panel quantile approach

Abstract This article examines the distributional effects of early nutritional investments on child health outcomes. Depending on the difference between a child’s actual and potential health status, the effects of investment in early childhood nutrition can differ across child health status distributions. To establish a causal inference, I merge village-level rainfall data with a child-level longitudinal survey—the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey—and apply a Correlated Random Effect quantile regression for panel data model. The findings suggest that a standard deviation increase in a village-level precipitation z-score has heterogeneous effects across the weight-for-height and weight-for-age z-score distributions and gender. The positive effects are more pronounced at the lower end of health status distributions and on girls. To the extent that the increase in a village-level precipitation z-score increases investment in child nutrition, its stronger effect on girls and at the lower end of the health status distribution implies that policy interventions that aim to promote nutritional investment reduces the health inequality gap across health status and gender.
The impact of transplant rejection on cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in renal transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND The incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is markedly increased in renal transplant recipients compared with that of the nontransplant population. AIM To investigate whether there is a relationship between transplant rejection and cSCC. METHODS The Duke Enterprise Data Unified Content Explorer historical database was used to identify patients who had undergone a renal transplant at Duke University Hospital during a 20-year period. Data on patient demographics, transplant dates, first rejection episodes, first cSCC development, medication, laboratory results and survival were recorded. RESULTS In total, 1684 patients were identified, of whom 126 (7.5%) experienced an episode of rejection and 46 (4.0%) developed a cSCC after transplant. The incidence of cSCC was significantly greater in the rejection group, with 8.7% of patients developing cSCC compared with 2.2% in the no-rejection group (P < 0.001). Median lag time to cSCC was shorter in the rejection group (2.5 years; age 0.4-9.0 years) than the no-rejection group (4.2 years; range 1.3-20.4 years) (P < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS Transplant rejection is associated with both a higher incidence and an accelerated time course for development of cSCC following renal transplantation. Close dermatological surveillance should be considered following an episode of rejection in this patient population.
Infection in Adults with Acute Leukemia

Until very recently, one new serious infection developed about every two weeks in adults with acute leukemia undergoing remission induction therapy. Nearly 25% had an associated bacteremia; death usually occurred within two to three days of the onset of Gram-negative bacteremia. However, in the past few years certain advances in diagnosis, therapy, and prevention have significantly reduced the number and severity of these serious infections.
Theoretical Concepts in Spectrophotometric Measurements

Abstract This chapter will describe some of the theoretical concepts of obtaining optical properties from spectrophotometric measurements. The optical properties of interest can be the spectrophotometric quantities themselves or the calculated optical constants (complex refractive index, absorption, and scattering coefficients). At first, the different radiometric quantities, describing radiance, irradiance, and radiometric intensity will be introduced. The relationships between these quantities and the electromagnetic fields will then be described. Then, the spectrophotometric quantities, such as spectral regular reflectance and transmittance, radiance, irradiance, emittance, diffuse reflectance, diffuse transmittance, and the bidirectional reflectance distribution function will be defined. The Kirchhoff relationship between the reflectance and emittance will be derived. A review of the Fresnel relations will be given, including expressions appropriate for thin films and thick films. Finally, three models for light scattering will be reviewed, including the theory of Kubelka and Munk, important for measuring highly diffuse, volume scattering materials for color formulation applications, scattering from rough surfaces in the facet approximation, useful for very rough surfaces, and vector first-order perturbation theory, useful for smooth surfaces.
Cutaneous fibrohistiocytic/fibroblastic tumours: an update

Abstract Fibrohistiocytic tumours are among the most frequently encountered soft tissue tumours of the skin. "Fibrohistiocytic" is a descriptive term for cells that resemble both normal fibroblasts and histiocytes, rather than a true line of differentiation. This review discusses the clinical, histologic and immunohistochemical findings in benign, intermediate and malignant fibrohistiocytic tumours, including prognostic and molecular findings. Pertinent entities in the differential diagnosis, with discriminating features, are also discussed.
Formation and Aggregation of Lead Phosphate Particles: Implications for Lead Immobilization in Water Supply Systems

Phosphate is commonly added to drinking water to inhibit lead release from lead service lines and lead-containing materials in premise plumbing. Phosphate addition promotes the formation of lead phosphate particles, and their aggregation behaviors may affect their transport in pipes. Here, lead phosphate formation and aggregation were studied under varied aqueous conditions typical of water supply systems. Under high aqueous PO4/Pb molar ratios (>1), phosphate adsorption made the particles more negatively charged. Therefore, enhanced stability of lead phosphate particles was observed, suggesting that although addition of excess phosphate can lower the dissolved lead concentrations in tap water, it may increase concentrations of particulate lead. Adsorption of divalent cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+) onto lead phosphate particles neutralized their negative surface charges and promoted their aggregation at pH 7, indicating that phosphate addition for lead immobilization may be more efficient in harder waters. The p...
Statistical power in genome-wide association studies and quantitative trait locus mapping

Power calculation prior to a genetic experiment can help investigators choose the optimal sample size to detect a quantitative trait locus (QTL). Without the guidance of power analysis, an experiment may be underpowered or overpowered. Either way will result in wasted resource. QTL mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are often conducted using a linear mixed model (LMM) with controls of population structure and polygenic background using markers of the whole genome. Power analysis for such a mixed model is often conducted via Monte Carlo simulations. In this study, we derived a non-centrality parameter for the Wald test statistic for association, which allows analytical power analysis. We show that large samples are not necessary to detect a biologically meaningful QTL, say explaining 5% of the phenotypic variance. Several R functions are provided so that users can perform power analysis to determine the minimum sample size required to detect a given QTL with a certain statistical power or calculate the statistical power with given sample size and known values of other population parameters.
The Mechanistic Basis for Successful Spinal Cord Stimulation to Generate Steady Motor Outputs.

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is a promising rehabilitation intervention to restore/augment motor function after spinal cord injury. Combining sensory feedback with stimulation of remaining motor circuits has been shown to be a prerequisite for the functional improvement of spinal cord injury patients. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms potentially underlying this functional benefit in the injured spinal cord. Here, we combine computer simulations with an isolated whole-tissue adult mouse spinal cord preparation to examine synaptic, cellular, and system potentials measured from single motoneurons and ventral roots. The stimulation protocol included separate and combined activation of the sensory inputs (evoked by dorsal root stimulation) and motor inputs (evoked by stimulation of spinal cord tissue) at different frequencies, intensities, and neuromodulatory states. Our data show that, while sensory inputs exhibit short-term depression in response to a train of stimulation, motor inputs exhibit short-term facilitation. However, the concurrent activation of both inputs elicits a stronger and steadier motor output. This effect is enhanced by the application of pharmacological neuromodulators. Furthermore, sensorimotor excitatory postsynaptic potentials summate sublinearly (i.e., their combination produces an excitatory potential smaller than the sum of the excitatory potentials they would individually produce). However, ventral root compound action potentials summate supralinearly generating much higher outputs. Computer simulations revealed that the contrasting summation and disproportionality in plasticity between the excitatory postsynaptic potentials and compound action potentials result from the motoneuronal firing threshold acting as an amplitude-selective filter. Together, these results provide the mechanistic basis for the cellular processes contributing to the generation of steady motor outputs using spinal stimulation. This data has great potential to guide the design of more effective stimulation protocols in spinal cord injury patients.
Fear of the known? The effect of peer relevance and gender on women’s math performance under threat

The goal of the current research was to investigate the impact of peer comparisons on female participants’ math performance when the peers varied on comparison relevance and gender. Specifically, the two studies presented here explored the question of whether male peers, who are seen as less relevant, can serve as peer role models (PRM) for female participants taking a math exam under stereotype threat conditions. Comparison relevance was manipulated by exposing participants to math-talented male and female peers who were from participants’ school or from another school. The key finding from Study1 demonstrated that exposure to relevant male peers lead to lower math performance compared to less relevant male peers. Study 2 replicated this key finding using a different manipulation of relevance. Together the findings indicate that when male peers are viewed as less relevant (and thus less threatening) they can serve as PRMs for female participants in “stereotyped” math situations.
Changing the Paradigm for Management of Pediatric Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Simple Aspiration Test Predicts Need for Operation.

Abstract Purpose Chest tube (CT) management for pediatric primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is associated with long hospital stays and high recurrence rates. To streamline management, we explored simple aspiration as a test to predict need for surgery. Methods A multi-institution, prospective pilot study of patients with first presentation for PSP at 9 children’s hospitals was performed. Aspiration was performed through a pigtail catheter, followed by 6 h observation with CT clamped. If pneumothorax recurred during observation, the aspiration test failed and subsequent management was per surgeon discretion. Results Thirty-three patients were managed with simple aspiration. Aspiration was successful in 16 of 33 (48%), while 17 (52%) failed the aspiration test and required hospitalization. Twelve who failed aspiration underwent CT management, of which 10 (83%) failed CT management owing to either persistent air leak requiring VATS or subsequent PSP recurrence. Recurrence rate was significantly greater in the group that failed aspiration compared to the group that passed aspiration [10/12 (83%) vs 7/16 (44%), respectively, P = 0.028]. Conclusion Simple aspiration test upon presentation with PSP predicts chest tube failure with 83% positive predictive value. We recommend changing the PSP management algorithm to include an initial simple aspiration test, and if that fails, proceed directly to VATS. Type of study Prospective pilot study Level of evidence Level III.
Intercropping of kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb) with prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata link.) enhanced soil biochemical activities and microbial community structure

Abstract Optimizing the use of N fertilization is the major factor for establishing perennial grasses to enhance the biomass production and soil health under marginally yielding croplands. A study was conducted to investigate the influence of N fertilization and intercropping of kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb) (KC) with prairie cordgrass (PCG) (Spartina pectinata Link.) on soil biochemical activities and microbial community structure. The fertilization treatments included four N levels: 0, 75, 150, and 225 kg N ha−1, and the grass-legume intercropping system included one grass (PCG) and one legume (KC) (PCG-KC). Data showed that soil microbial biomass C (MBC) was 90 and 55% higher with PCG-KC than the PCG-225N and PCG-75N, respectively. Enzyme activities associated with life processes of microorganisms and release of mineral nutrients from organic matter were the highest in PCG-KC, and were comparable to that observed under medium to high N fertilization. The results indicated that PCG-KC intercropping could sustainably provide soil health benefits compared to the N fertilization. The PCG-KC combination led to an increase in total PLFA (phospholipid fatty acid) and total bacterial PLFA concentration relative to the PCG-0N, PCG-75N and PCG-225N. The PCG-KC also had the highest glomalin-related soil protein content (11.9 mg g−1) indicating high abundance of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi crucial for P nutrition. Further, N deficiency as well as high N fertilization appear to reduce the abundance of N-fixing bacteria as indicated by the presence of nifH amplicons. In summary, PCG-KC intercropping yielded comparable or more desirable soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities compared to the N fertilization. Considering the cost and negative impact of N fertilization on the environment, intercropping KC with PCG can be desirable for improving soil health of marginally yielding croplands.
Communicating Social Identities in the Classroom.

This activity allows students to consider how they self-identify by labeling their identities publicly on three Post-It notes for the class to see and how they may neglect to assign social identiti...
Surrogate-based performance evaluation strategy for high performance control systems under uncertainties

High-performance control systems (HPCSs) are sophisticated vibration mitigation strategies that include active, semi-active and hybrid systems. They generally outperform passive supplemental damping systems by relying on a feedback mechanism enabling adaptability, resulting in better control reachability over a wide excitation frequency bandwidth. HPCSs are therefore ideal for multi-hazard mitigation. However, the performance of these systems is highly dependent on the controller design, which requires appropriate tuning based on assumptions or on knowledge of dynamic parameters, long-term performance of sensors, excitations, etc. The quantification of performance based on possible uncertainties on such assumptions and/or knowledge could be a powerful tool in financially or technically justifying the use of an HPCS, or simply to benchmark the long-term performance of a given control algorithm. This paper investigates a methodology to assess the performance of control algorithms under various sources of uncertainties. To reduce the computational demand of the uncertainty quantification process, surrogate models are employed to map the nonlinear relationship between structural response and controller configurations. Long-term performance is quantified using life-cycle cost analysis. The investigation is conducted on a 39-story building, located in Boston (MA), and equipped with a set of semi-active friction devices. Results demonstrate that the proposed framework can be used to assess the performance of a given control algorithm considering various sources of uncertainties.
B Lymphocyte Development, Immunoglobulin Genes and Immunoglobulin Structure

Antibodies are glycoprotein substances produced by B lymphoid cells in response to stimulation with an immunogen. They possess the ability to react in vitro and in vivo specifically and selectively with the antigenic determinants or epitopes eliciting their production or with an antigenic determinant closely related to the homologous antigen. Antibody molecules are immunoglobulins found in the blood and body fluids. Thus, all antibodies are immunoglobulins formed in response to immunogens. Antibodies may be produced by hybridoma technology in which antibody secreting cells are fused by polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatment with a mutant myeloma cell line. Monoclonal antibodies are widely used in research, diagnostic medicine and have potential in therapy. Antibodies in the blood serum of any given animal species may be grouped according to their physicochemical properties and antigenic characteristics. Immunoglobulins are not restricted to the plasma but may be found in other body fluids or tissues, such as urine, spinal fluid, lymph nodes, spleen, etc Immunoglobulins do not include the components of the complement system. Immunoglobulins (antibodies) constitute approximately 1 to 2% of the total serum proteins in health.
Method for measuring different range of iodine concentration in drinking water by arsenic cerium catalytic spectrophotometry

Objective To establish a catalytic spectrophotometric method for determination of iodine in water using the same arsenious acid solution and ceric ammonium sulfate solution as those used in the 2016 version standard method for determination of urinary iodine, and to meet the needs of wide concentration range of water iodine detection. Methods After pretreatment of the water sample with the effective chlorine of sodium dichloroisocyanurate solution for eliminating the interference of reducing substances at room temperature, the concentration of iodine in water was determined by arsenic cerium catalytic spectrophotometry using the same 0.025 mol/L arsenious acid solution and 0.025 mol/L ceric ammonium sulfate solution as those used in the 2016 version standard method for determination of urinary iodine. The linear relationship of the standard curve and the linear rang of different iodine concentration range (0-100, 0-400, 0-800 μg/L), the detection limit, the precision and the accuracy of the sample were tested. Results The calibration relation of C= a+ blgA (C: iodine concentration, A: measuring absorbance) in the new method existed when arsenic cerium catalytic reaction was kept at a certain stable temperature ranging from 15 ℃ to 30 ℃ in certain stable reacting time. The linear correlative coefficients absolute value of different iodine concentration range (0-100, 0-400, 0-800 μg/L) were all greater than 0.999 0, corresponding to the water iodine detection limits were 0.3 μg/L (sample volume of 0.80 ml), 1.2 μg/L (sample volume of 0.20 ml), and 2.2 μg/L (sample volume of 0.10 ml), respectively. The coefficients of variation (CV) of the three different iodine concentration range were all below 1.0% (n= 6). The iodine recovery rate range of a total of 10 different water samples in these three different concentration range was 95.8%-98.7%, 98.3%-103.7% and 98.5%-104.5%, and the average recovery rate was 97.6%, 100.4% and 102.4%, respectively. In the range of these three different standard curves, water iodine standard materials GBW09114c, GBW09114a and GBW09113c were measured. The relative errors between the results and the given values were < 3.0%, which were in the range of uncertainty of the given value. Conclusion This method verified by methodology experiments has wide linear range, high precision, accuracy, and anti-interference ability, good reproducibility, and is easy to operate, with reduced amount of arsenic waste, reduced environmental pollution, and is suitable for application in different areas to determine water iodine. Key words: Drinking water; Iodine; Arsenic cerium catalytic spectrophotometry; Sample pretreatment
Multi-Language Toolkit for the System Usability Scale

The System Usability Scale (SUS) is a widely used instrument that measures the subjective usability of products and systems. Although past research has demonstrated the psychometric reliability and...
Functional assessment of biodegradable cotton nonwoven substrates permeated with spatial insect repellants for disposable applications

Arboviral diseases and malaria transmitted by mosquitoes are major health concerns worldwide responsible for millions of deaths annually. Spatial repellents have been used as preventative measures ...
Biocompatibility of nanomaterials and their immunological properties

Nanomaterials have revolutionized multiple aspects of medicine by enabling novel sensing, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches. Advancements in processing and fabrication have also allowed significant expansion in the applications of the major classes of nanomaterials based on polymer, metal/metal oxide, carbon, liposome, or multi-scale macro-nano bulk materials. Concomitantly, concerns regarding the nanotoxicity and overall biocompatibility of nanomaterials have been raised. These involve putative negative effects on both patients and those subjected to occupational exposure during manufacturing. In this review, we describe the current state of testing of nanomaterials including those that are in clinical use, in clinical trials, or under development. We also discuss the cellular and molecular interactions that dictate their toxicity and biocompatibility. Specifically, we focus on the reciprocal interactions between nanomaterials and host proteins, lipids, and sugars and how these induce responses in immune and other cell types leading to topical and/or systemic effects.
The Evolution of Optical Transport Networks

This introductory chapter describes the role of optics in networks, their capabilities, and their scaling limitations (different multiplexing techniques, i. e., (time-division multiplexing), (code-division multiplexing), (frequency-division multiplexing), (space-division multiplexing)). Types of optical networks installed around the globe are summarized, as well as their impact on society, market structure, and future perspectives.
Measurement Error: Models, Methods, and Applications

Introduction What is measurement error? Some examples The main ingredients Some terminology A look ahead Misclassification in Estimating a Proportion Motivating examples A model for the true values Misclassification models and naive analyses Correcting for misclassification Finite populations Multiple measures with no direct validation The multinomial case Mathematical developments Misclassification in Two-Way Tables Introduction Models for true values Misclassification models and naive estimators Behavior of naive analyses Correcting using external validation data Correcting using internal validation data General two-way tables Mathematical developments Simple Linear Regression Introduction The additive Berkson model and consequences The additive measurement error model The behavior of naive analyses Correcting for additive measurement error Examples Residual analysis Prediction Mathematical developments Multiple Linear Regression Introduction Model for true values Models and bias in naive estimators Correcting for measurement error Weighted and other estimators Examples Instrumental variables Mathematical developments Measurement Error in Regression: A General Overview Introduction Models for true values Analyses without measurement error Measurement error models Extra data Assessing bias in naive estimators Assessing bias using induced models Assessing bias via estimating equations Moment based and direct bias corrections Regression calibration and quasi-likelihood methods Simulation extrapolation (SIMEX) Correcting using likelihood methods Modified estimating equation approaches Correcting for misclassification Overview on use of validation data Bootstrapping Mathematical developments Binary Regression Introduction Additive measurement error Using validation data Misclassification of predictors Linear Models with Nonadditive Error Introduction Quadratic regression First-order models with interaction General nonlinear functions of the predictors Linear measurement error with validation data Misclassification of a categorical predictor Miscellaneous Nonlinear Regression Poisson regression: Cigarettes and cancer rates General nonlinear models Error in the Response Introduction Additive error in a single sample Linear measurement error in the one-way setting Measurement error in the response in linear models Mixed/Longitudinal Models Introduction, overview, and some examples Berkson error in designed repeated measures Additive error in the linear mixed model Time Series Introduction Random walk/population viability models Linear autoregressive models Background Material Notation for vectors, covariance matrices, etc. Double expectations Approximate Wald inferences The delta-method: approximate moments of nonlinear functions Fieller's method for ratios References Author Index Subject Index
What is mereological harmony

Say that mereological harmony is the view that there is at least some mirroring between the mereological structure of material objects and the mereological structure of their locations: each, in some way, mirrors the other. As it turns out, there is a confusing array of systems of harmony available to the substantivalist. In this paper, I attempt to bring some order to these systems. I explore some systems found in the literature, as well as some natural systems which haven’t been discussed. Along the way, I explore a number of metaphysical consequences of the different systems of harmony. The paper ends with a roadmap of possible views for the substantivalist.
Desert Island Column: Neglected Masterpieces

You know when you've been in the presence of a neglected masterpiece. It's when you enthuse about some film, or book, or work of art, that has touched a deep chord in you, only to find that no-one else has heard of it. I remember having that experience 25 years ago when extolling the virtues of two films: Roman Polanski's
Using information and communications technology to reduce poverty in rural India

The note focuses on experiences in rural India, showing that information and communications technology (ICT) can enhance poor people's opportunities, by improving access to markets, as well as health care. Furthermore, it can empower them by expanding their use of government services, including increased security, and widened access to micro-finance. A revision follows on the computerized milk collection centers in Gujarat which ensures fair prices for small farmers, and, on enabling auxiliary nurse midwifes' services in Andhra Pradesh, by freeing time to deliver health care to poor people. Also reviewed is the case of Gyandoot - a government-owned computer network - making government accessible to villagers in the poor, drought-prone Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, where immediate, and transparent access to local government data, and documentation is provided. A micro-finance institution in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, facilitates Smart Cards, that hold information on clients credit histories, lowering transaction costs, reducing errors, as well as fraud. However, designing interventions that reach the poor is successful, provided grassroots intermediation is taken into account, as well as local ownership, local languages, training, and awareness.
Structured Output Learning with Indirect Supervision

We present a novel approach for structure prediction that addresses the difficulty of obtaining labeled structures for training. We observe that structured output problems often have a companion learning problem of determining whether a given input possesses a good structure. For example, the companion problem for the part-of-speech (POS) tagging task asks whether a given sequence of words has a corresponding sequence of POS tags that is "legitimate". While obtaining direct supervision for structures is difficult and expensive, it is often very easy to obtain indirect supervision from the companion binary decision problem. In this paper, we develop a large margin framework that jointly learns from both direct and indirect forms of supervision. Our experiments exhibit the significant contribution of the easy-to-get indirect binary supervision on three important NLP structure learning problems.
Verifying properties of hardware and software by predicate abstraction and model checking

This tutorial describes automatic techniques for formally verifying hardware and software by creating Boolean abstractions of the underlying unbounded system state variables.
Specificity and mechanism of thyroid hormone induction from an octamer response element

Thyroid hormone response elements are specific DNA sequences that allow thyroid hormone receptors to confer ligand-dependent regulation of gene expression. The response elements characterized to date have been composed of varying arrangements of multiple copies of a conserved hexameric sequence. The traditional consensus half-site of these response elements is the sequence 5‘-AGGTCA, although we have demonstrated recently that the optimal thyroid hormone receptor monomer binding site is 2 base pairs larger, 5‘-TAAGGTCA. Since other members of this family of nuclear receptors also have been shown to use varying arrangements of the traditional hexamer sequence as response elements, we examined whether the octamer sequence was specific as a thyroid hormone response element. The studies reported here demonstrate that only thyroid hormone receptors confer ligand responsiveness to a reporter gene containing a single copy of the octamer sequence as a response element and that qualitative and quantitative differences in the binding of related nuclear receptors to this sequence can account for this functional specificity. We also have shown that thyroid hormone induction from the octamer response element occurs independently of retinoid X receptors, in contrast to the induction from traditional complex thyroid hormone response elements.
Variation in Parent Use of Information and Communications Technology: Does Quantity Matter?

Although the availability of new information and communication technologies (ICT) may be revolutionizing learning, an understanding of how parents use these innovations is still emerging. Using online survey data from 1,653 parents across the United States, this study identified nine subgroups of parent technology users on dimensions that included their online activity frequency, devices they were using, and their attitude toward technology. Subgroups ranged from those who did a variety of activities daily, used many different devices, and had a positive attitude, to those who infrequently accessed technology, used few types of technology, and had a negative attitude. Further subgroup comparisons reveal few demographic differences characterizing technology use. However, clear differences in constraints and attitude suggest the need for assessing variations in and expanding conceptualizations of technology behavior before designing programs that rely on the Internet for delivery.
Crystal Symmetry, Group Theory, and Band Structure Calculations

Publisher Summary Translational symmetry is responsible for the existence of energy bands, and the point symmetries—rotation, reflection, and inversion—determine the nature of these bands. This latter type has associated with it the feature of degeneracy, which would be expected intuitively to arise in the following fashion: when a crystal is subjected to a symmetry operation, its structure is unaffected. From this, it follows that the energy associated with the formation of this structure from a group of isolated atoms is the same for any one of the set of equivalent configurations. In terms of the Schrodinger equation, there is a single eigenvalue for a set of eigenfunctions corresponding to the various equivalent positions, which is precisely what is meant by degeneracy. A decrease in the amount of symmetry in a system should then have a corresponding effect on the degree of degeneracy, and this chapter shows that this is indeed the case. The analytical method of taking advantage of the crystalline symmetries, and which also permits a simple determination of the degeneracies, is based on a branch of algebra known as group theory. Because the main purpose in this chapter is to make the results of group theory accessible to experimental physicists, it introduces only those concepts which are necessary for the systems to be discussed.