cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparison of the risk of postoperative recurrence between African-American and Caucasian patients with Crohn's disease.

Background Many patients with Crohn's disease will develop complications that require surgery. Recurrence after surgery is common. Aim To assess racial differences in postoperative recurrence between African-Americans and Caucasians. Methods Medical records of Crohn's disease patients who underwent surgery (ileal, colonic, or ileocolonic resection) between June 2014 and June 2016 were reviewed. The primary endpoints were clinical and endoscopic remission at 6-12 months after a Crohn's disease surgery. Secondary outcomes included biological and histologic remission. Risks of recurrence were assessed by univariate, multivariate, and propensity score-matched analysis. Results Thirty-six African-American and 167 Caucasian patients with Crohn's disease were included for analysis. There was no difference in disease location, disease behaviour, type of surgery performed, and pre- or postoperative medication use between the two groups. The rate of endoscopic remission did not differ between African-American and Caucasian patients (50% vs 42%, P = 0.76), and race did not influence the risk of endoscopic recurrence on univariate, multivariate, or propensity score-matched analysis. The rate of clinical remission was significantly lower in African-American patients compared to Caucasian patients (36% vs. 63%, P = 0.008). African-American race was significantly associated with clinical recurrence on univariate (odds ratio (OR) 6.76, 95% CI 1.50-30.40; P = 0.01), multivariate (OR 5.02, 95% CI 1.60-15.80; P = 0.006), and propensity-matched analysis (68% vs. 32% in Caucasians, P = 0.005). Rates of biologic and histologic remission were similar between the two groups on all analyses. Conclusions We found that African-American patients with Crohn's disease have a similar degree of objective measures of mucosal inflammation after surgery including endoscopic recurrence as compared to Caucasian patients. However, African-American race was significantly associated with clinical recurrence, suggesting the presence of ethnic variation in postoperative presentation in Crohn's disease.
Autonomous Multi-Phenomenology Space Domain Sensor Tasking and Adaptive Estimation

Space domain awareness using current human-in-the-loop methods is becoming decreasingly viable. This work presents an approach to sensor network management, maneuver detection, and adaptive estimation for tracking many non-maneuvering and multiple maneuvering satellites with a space object surveillance and identification (SOSI) network. The proposed method integrates a suboptimal partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) with an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) to task sensors and maintain viable orbit estimates for all targets. The method also implements autonomous maneuver detection based on the innovations squared metric. Once detected, the network instantiates a multiple model adaptive estimation (MMAE) filter with various possible maneuvers. This study implemented both a static multiple model (SMM) filter and an interacting multiple model (IMM) filter in order to compare the two methods. When comparing the two multiple model filters' responsiveness and accuracy in this framework, it is shown that the IMM marginally outperforms the SMM for a substantial, impulsive maneuver in three different orbital regimes.
Cross-Layer Optimization in Terminals

The innovation pace of the wireless communication world is breathtaking, not only due to the fierce competition, but also due to the yearly cadence with which standards bodies deliver a new set of functionalities and services to be supported. In this very dynamic context, optimizing products and differentiate against the competitors is key for all those who want to be successful in a make-or-break market. This paper therefore describes some key cross-layer optimization techniques of mobile phones, focusing on cellular protocol stack access stratum enhancements, power optimizations to memory system and finally cross-layer impact on tools for SW development.
The Relationship of Discrete DCM and Directed Information in fMRI-Based Causality Analysis

This paper explores the conditional equivalence between discrete dynamic causal modeling (DDCM) and directed information (DI) for fMRI-based causality analysis. First, we briefly revisit the DDCM and its relationship with the conventional continuous time dynamic causal modeling. Second, we prove the conditional equivalence between DDCM and DI in characterizing the causal relationship and identifying the causal side of two brain regions based on the fMRI data. Third, we show that the DI-based causal relationship between the neurostates of two brain regions is equivalent to that between the observed BOLD signals. More specifically, in the noise free case, the DI inference is invariant under hemodynamic convolution as long as the system is invertible. The theoretical results are demonstrated using fMRI data obtained under both resting state and stimulus-based state. Our numerical analysis is consistent with that reported in previous study. Our results further confirm the convergence or conditional equivalences among existing causality analysis tools.
SEM inspection and review method for addressing EUV stochastic defects

Stochastic effects in EUV patterning refer to random variations that impact local pattern edge fidelity. It can be caused by the lithography or etch processes. Distorted edge placement can result in larger pattern edge roughness, distorted pattern shape for contract holes, poor CD uniformity, and in more severe cases, partially or fully closed contacts. Large statistical SEM metrology can be used to quantify the severity of distortion and failure probability by measuring line edge roughness (LER) and line width roughness (LWR) [3]. The attempt to differentiate between normal global uniformity and local uniformity pose a metrology challenge. In this paper, we present a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) based method for detecting stochastic defects. The detected defects are reviewed by metrology and classified by defect margin merit. The proposed merit converts geometrical attributes into statistical attributes which identify whether a pattern is statistically normal or a statistical outlier.
DroidPatrol: A Static Analysis Plugin For Secure Mobile Software Development

While the number of mobile applications are rapidly growing, these applications are often coming with numerous security flaws due to the lack of appropriate coding practices. Security issues must be addressed earlier in the development lifecycle rather than fixing them after the attacks because the damage might already be extensive. Early elimination of possible security vulnerabilities will help us increase the security of our software and mitigate or reduce the potential damages through data losses or service disruptions caused by malicious attacks. However, many software developers lack necessary security knowledge and skills required at the development stage, and Secure Mobile Software Development (SMSD) is not yet well represented in academia and industry. In this paper, we present a static analysis-based security analysis approach through design and implementation of a plugin for Android Development Studio, namely DroidPatrol. The proposed plugins can support developers by providing list of potential vulnerabilities early.
Zebrafish neuromuscular junction: The power of N

In the early 1950s, Katz and his colleagues capitalized on the newly developed intracellular microelectrode recording technique to investigate synaptic transmission. For study they chose frog neuromuscular junction (NMJ), which was ideally suited due to the accessibility and large size of the muscle cells. Paradoxically, the large size precluded the use of next generation patch clamp technology. Consequently, electrophysiological study of synaptic function shifted to small central synapses made amenable by patch clamp. Recently, however, the unique features offered by zebrafish have rekindled interest in the NMJ as a model for electrophysiological study of synaptic transmission. The small muscle size and synaptic simplicity provide the singular opportunity to perform in vivo spinal motoneuron-target muscle patch clamp recordings. Additional incentive is provided by zebrafish lines harboring mutations in key synaptic proteins, many of which are embryonic lethal in mammals, but all of which are able to survive well past synapse maturation in zebrafish. This mini-review will highlight features that set zebrafish NMJs apart from traditional NMJs. We also draw into focus findings that offer the promise of identifying features that define release sites, which serve to set the upper limit of transmitter release. Since its conception several candidates representing release sites have been proposed, most of which are based on distinctions among vesicle pools in their state of readiness for release. However, models based on distinctions among vesicles have become enormously complicated and none adequately account for setting an upper limit for exocytosis in response to an action potential (AP). Specifically, findings from zebrafish NMJ point to an alternative model, positing that elements other than vesicles per se set the upper limits of release.
Further Stuides of Hormone-Regulated Senescence in Rumex Leaf Tissue

Senescence of leaf tissue and attached leaves can be inhibited by all of the three major groups of higher plant growth hormones. Leaf senescence can also be promoted by ethylene and abscisic acid. Which hormones are active in a given case seems to be primarily determined by the species used, although some evidence indicates this may be an oversimplification (e.g. Aspinall, et al., 1967; Goldthwaite and Laetsch, 1968). Previous work (Whyte and Luckwill, 1966; Goldthwaite and Laetsch, 1968) showed that net breakdown of chlorophyll and protein in excised leaf tissue of Rumex spp., is strongly inhibited by very low concentrations of gibberellic acid (GA3). Also described were several aspects of the behavior of the Rumex system including time courses of chlorophyll and protein loss, reversibility of the GA3 effect and activity of the cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). This report describes experiments carried out to further our understanding of hormone-controlled senescence in this plant. Included are studies of the effect of GA3 and BAP on senescence induced in attached leaves and the effect of other growth-regulators and combined applications of GA3 and cytokinins to excised leaf discs.
Getting Uncomfortable with Difficult Knowledge: A Reflexive Account of a Community-Based Research Project

The article provides a critical reflexive account of a community-based research project from the perspective of four undergraduate students and their professor. The project came out of a partnership with a local nonprofit organization that has long offered social justice-focused camps to high school-aged youth. Student-researchers conducted interviews and focus groups with former participants to better understand the camp’s potential longer-term impacts on their social justice knowledge and actions. Findings underscored the sometimes unsettling nature of social justice education as evidenced in how campers grappled with critical understandings of race, class, and gender. The paper presents student-researchers’ reflections on their own struggles in the development of critical consciousness as sociology majors. Utilizing complementary frameworks that encompass how student-researchers engage “difficult knowledge” (Britzman 1998) in the classroom and “uncomfortable reflexivity” (Pillow 2003) in their research, our account captures the sometimes messy, unfulfilled, and alternative possibilities of social justice education and community-based research.
Drug-Coated Balloon for De Novo Coronary Artery Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

Abstract Percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent is the most common mode of revascularization for coronary artery disease. However, restenosis rates remain high. Non-stent-base...
Hubble in crisis

The universe is expanding, but sums at the heart of the process don't seem to add up. What we learn next may alter our view of the cosmos, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Incidental COVID-19 related lung apical findings on stroke CTA during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background Authors have noticed an increase in lung apex abnormalities on CT angiography (CTA) of the head and neck performed for stroke workup during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Objective To evaluate the incidence of these CTA findings and their relation to COVID-19 infection. Methods In this retrospective multicenter institutional review board-approved study, assessment was made of CTA findings of code patients who had a stroke between March 16 and April 5, 2020 at six hospitals across New York City. Demographic data, comorbidities, COVID-19 status, and neurological findings were collected. Assessment of COVID-19 related lung findings on CTA was made blinded to COVID-19 status. Incidence rates of COVID-19 related apical findings were assessed in all code patients who had a stroke and in patients with a stroke confirmed by imaging. Results The cohort consisted of a total of 118 patients with mean±SD age of 64.9±15.7 years and 57.6% (68/118) were male. Among all code patients who had a stroke, 28% (33/118) had COVID-19 related lung findings. RT-PCR was positive for COVID-19 in 93.9% (31/33) of these patients with apical CTA findings. Among patients who had a stroke confirmed by imaging, 37.5% (18/48) had COVID-19 related apical findings. RT-PCR was positive for COVID-19 in all (18/18) of these patients with apical findings. Conclusion The incidence of COVID-19 related lung findings in stroke CTA scans was 28% in all code patients who had a stroke and 37.5% in patients with a stroke confirmed by imaging. Stroke teams should closely assess the lung apices during this COVID-19 pandemic as CTA findings may be the first indicator of COVID-19 infection.
Gender and the Peremptory Challenge: Separating the Effects of Race and Gender in Jury Selection

Gender- and race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional in the United States. Nevertheless, court cases and empirical evidence suggest that discrimination on such characteristic...
Beer drinking, resistance and the politics of alcohol tax levy in Botswana:

Aim:The study investigated how beer drinkers coped, made sense of, and internalised the effects of the 30% alcohol levy implementation in Botswana in 2008.Methods:Constructivist grounded theory gui...
Inference in Structural Vector Autoregressions identified with an external instrument

Abstract This paper studies Structural Vector Autoregressions in which a structural shock of interest (e.g., an oil supply shock) is identified using an external instrument. The external instrument is taken to be correlated with the target shock (the instrument is relevant) and to be uncorrelated with other shocks of the model (the instrument is exogenous). The potential weak correlation between the external instrument and the target structural shock compromises the large-sample validity of standard inference. We suggest a confidence set for impulse response coefficients that is not affected by the instrument strength (i.e., is weak-instrument robust) and asymptotically coincides with the standard confidence set when the instrument is strong.
EHR innovations to optimize cancer care delivery in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic

249Background: The Mount Sinai Health System was in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in NYC. We implemented dynamic testing, isolation and treatment policies in order to continue delivering n...
Scrutinizing Polygamy: Utah’s Brown v. Buhman and British Columbia’s Reference Re: Section 293

In Brown v. Buhman, the recent challenge to the Utah law criminalizing polygamy brought by the stars of the reality television show Sister Wives, a federal district court determined both that strict scrutiny was required and that strict scrutiny could not be satisfied. A significant factor in this result was the state’s failure to mount a strong defense of the law, assuming that it could rely on long standing polygamy precedents such as the United States Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. United States and more recent Tenth Circuit and Utah Supreme Court decisions to justify limiting scrutiny to rational basis and to provide legitimate reasons for the criminalization of polygamy. However, the State could have taken advantage of a then just released Canadian opinion, Reference re: Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada (Reference), to explain the real and expansive harms of polygamy. The Reference court undertook an exhaustive examination of the impact of polygamy on women, on children, on men, and on society, utilizing empirical evidence, expert reports, personal anecdotes, and a wide range of “Brandeis Brief” materials. This Article argues that the broad range of social and individual harms of polygamy identified in Reference provide a compelling state interest sufficient to withstand the strict scrutiny deemed necessary by Brown.The Article also argues that the Utah statute cannot properly be understood to be a “religious gerrymander” requiring strict scrutiny. The Brown court’s determination that the Utah statute only targeted religiously motivated polygamy was based on its improper segregation of the statute’s coverage of licensed bigamy and polygamy, which the court acknowledged covered both religiously and nonreligiously motivated marriages, from the statute’s coverage of unlicensed ceremonial polygamous marriages and polygamous marital cohabitation, which the court saw as only religiously motivated. The Article goes on to show that the real target of the Utah statute are the multiple marital relationships present in all polygamy and not the religious motivation for polygamy undeniably present in much of the actual Mormon Fundamentalist polygamy practiced in Utah. The Article additionally argues that the heightened scrutiny called for by the Brown court under the Smith hybrid analysis is also not justified. Finally, the Article briefly considers how a statute that only criminalizes religiously motivated polygamy might be justified, based on the way in which polygamous religious communities funnel teenage girls into polygamous marriages by ensuring that they never have the chance to develop sufficient autonomy to truly choose for themselves, not unlike the way the Amish in Yoder sought to limit their children’s education to prevent them from having either the desire or ability to live anything but an agrarian life. This Article suggests that confronting the autonomy-destroying impact of religiously motivated practices, such as polygamy, might force reconsideration of both Yoder and the limits of free exercise.
Alcohol reduces the activity of somatostatin interneurons in the mouse prefrontal cortex: A neural basis for its disinhibitory effect?

Abstract The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in executive (“top-down”) control of behavior and its function is especially susceptible to the effects of alcohol, leading to behavioral disinhibition that is associated with alterations in decision making, response inhibition, social anxiety and working memory. The circuitry of the PFC involves a complex interplay between pyramidal neurons (PNs) and several subclasses of inhibitory interneurons (INs), including somatostatin (SST)-expressing INs. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we showed that alcohol dose-dependently altered network activity in layers 2/3 of the prelimbic subregion of the mouse PFC. Low doses of alcohol (1 g/kg, intraperitoneal, i.p.) caused moderate activation of SST INs and weak inhibition of PNs. At moderate to high doses, alcohol (2–3 g/kg) strongly inhibited the activity of SST INs in vivo, and this effect may result in disinhibition, as the activity of a subpopulation of PNs was simultaneously enhanced. In contrast, recordings in brain slices using ex vivo electrophysiology revealed no direct effect of alcohol on the excitability of either SST INs or PNs over a range of concentrations (20 and 50 mM) consistent with the blood alcohol levels reached in the in vivo experiments. This dose-dependent effect of alcohol on SST INs in vivo may reveal a neural basis for the disinhibitory effect of alcohol in the PFC mediated by other neurons within or external to the PFC circuitry.
Impact of the 2020 crises on the arts and culture in the United States: The effect of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement in historical context

This article discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement on the arts and cultural sector in the United States, placing the 2020 crises in the context of the United States’s historically decentralized approach to supporting the arts and culture. After providing an overview of the United States’s private, locally focused history of arts funding, we use this historical lens to analyze the combined effects of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement on a single metropolitan area – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We trace a timeline of key events in the national and local pandemic response and the reaction of the arts community to the Black Lives Matter movement, arguing that the nature of these intersecting responses, and their fallout for the arts and cultural sector, stem directly from weaknesses in the United States’s historical approach to administering the arts. We suggest that, in the context of widespread organizational vulnerability caused by the pandemic, the United States’s decentralized approach to funding culture also undermines cultural organizations’ abilities to respond to issues of public relevance and demonstrate their civic value, threatening these organizations’ legitimacy.
Divisional Diversity and the Conglomerate Discount: The Evidence from Spinoffs

Existing literature argues that disparity in investment opportunities within diversified firms can erode firm value. We investigate this 'diversity cost' hypothesis in the context of spinoffs by using post-spinoff data to (1) 'reconstruct' the diversified firm after the spinoff and assess the aggregate improvement in value (relative to focused firms) and (2) relate any value improvements to changes in diversity. We find that improvements in aggregate value depend significantly on changes in both a direct measure of diversity and measures based on industry proxies. We conclude that diversification discounts at least partially reflect a value loss due to the diversified nature of the firm itself, rather than selection bias or measurement error.
Synergy Between Behavioural Research on Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) Conducted in Zoological and Wild Settings

Behavioural observations of captive beluga whales have complemented and extended much of what has been learnt about this species in the wild. Aquarium-based research has provided finer-scale specificity for many topics, including the seasonal breeding pattern that is characteristic of this species, as well as socio-sexual behaviour that appears to be an important part of the behavioural repertoire of this species. One example is a strong propensity for male–male social interactions that begin to develop at an early age. In addition, detailed behavioural milestones in calves have been documented in ways that extend that which have been collected from wild populations. These include swim positions with mother, separations/reunions with mother, and other social interactions, and play. Characteristics of beluga maternal care have also been studied more often in captive settings than in the wild, particularly with respect to details pertaining to nursing behaviour, individual differences in maternal style and allomaternal care. Other topics that have received scientific scrutiny in zoological settings include individual differences and behavioural laterality. Thus, a greater understanding of beluga behavioural biology has the potential to emerge as a consequence of synergy between research conducted in the two settings.
Learning in non-formal settings: Investigating cemetery guides’ talk during school visits

Abstract School field trips provide a space for students to imagine alternative ways of learning and thinking. This qualitative study investigated the visits of middle and high schools to a public cemetery in the United States. Bernstein's concepts of classification and framing were adopted to provide a systematic framework for analyzing power relationship and degree of control over content delivered by cemetery tour guides. Findings identified guides’ historical information conveyed through description and narrative with few connections to state standards. Proposed recommendations include reconceptualizing guides’ training that incorporates culturally relevant pedagogy and social justice principles when leading diverse student populations.
Care Transitions Intervention and Other Non-nursing Home Transitions Models

The American Geriatrics Society has defined transitional care as “a set of actions designed to ensure the coordination and continuity of health care as patients transfer between different locations or different levels of care within the same location.” A care transition spans both inpatient and outpatient settings, and often represents a vulnerable time for older adults, especially those experiencing cognitive or functional impairment, low healthcare literacy, complex multimorbidity, or lack of caregiver support. Taking into account limited financial as well as manpower resources, there is an imminent need to identify seniors at greatest risk for an adverse transitional care event who would most benefit from targeted strategies to improve outcomes. Results from newly developed transitional care interventions are promising. The most successful models incorporate common themes, including a patient-centered approach, aggressive medication reconciliation, patient coaching, and a formalized process for transfer of information across care settings. These models further aim to provide a framework of key elements that providers and systems are charged with developing and implementing to ultimately improve adherence with discharge instructions, timely outpatient follow-up, and enhanced patient functioning and satisfaction while reducing adverse medical events, readmissions, costs, and caregiver burden. New Medicare rules support the feasibility of implementing care transitions interventions. The future of health care in America will likely see the growth of these models while incorporating new health information technologies as well as interventions originating from sites of care other than the hospital inpatient setting.
From two to one: Unipolar sexual reproduction

While sexual reproduction is universal in eukaryotes, and shares conserved core features, the specific aspects of sexual reproduction can differ dramatically from species to species. This is also true in Fungi. Among fungal species, mating determination can vary from tetrapolar with more than a thousand different mating types, to bipolar with only two opposite mating types, and finally to unipolar without the need of a compatible mating partner for sexual reproduction. Cryptococcus neoformans is a human pathogenic fungus that belongs to the Basidiomycota. While C. neoformans has a well-defined bipolar mating system with two opposite mating types, MATa and MATα, it can also undergo homothallic unisexual reproduction from one single cell or between two cells of the same mating type. Recently, it was shown that, as in a-α bisexual reproduction, meiosis is also involved in α-α unisexual reproduction in C. neoformans. Briefly, recombination frequencies, the number of crossovers along chromosomes, as well as frequencies at which aneuploid and diploid progeny are produced, are all comparable between a-α bisexual and α-α unisexual reproduction. The plasticity observed in C. neoformans sexual reproduction highlights the extensive diversity in mating type determination, mating recognition, as well as modes of sexual reproduction across fungal species.
Hydrolysis of Proteins

Publisher Summary The chapter illustrates that the studies of hydrolytic agents have led to major advances in our knowledge of proteins, including the identification of the amino acid constituents of proteins and the development of the polypeptide concept of protein structure. These studies are now, for the most part, of historical interest, and provide an insight into protein hydrolysis. This is largely the result of three significant developments: (1) the discovery of chromatographic and electrophoretic methods for the examinatioin of the hydrolytic products of pure proteins; (2) the use of acids and enzymes as reagents for the systematic degradation of proteins into small peptides that are amenable to sequence analysis; and (3) the preparation of highly purified proteolytic enzymes that can be used for selective hydrolysis. The chapter mainly deals with the recent developments in the use of acids and enzymes for the hydrolysis of proteins, with particular emphasis on the hydrolytic methods, which are employed in amino acid sequence studies. Particular attention is given to those factors that must be considered in selection of a suitable hydrolytic reagent.
Soft Lithography and Microfluidics

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the application of soft lithography to create and control interface between synthetic materials and biological systems. Soft lithography is a set of techniques that includes first, methods of fabricating microstructures in polymers, especially elastomers, second, uses of these methods in combination with organic surface chemistry to generate micron-scale patterns on synthetic surfaces, and third, uses of microfluidic systems to pattern the composition of the fluid medium adjacent to a surface. These techniques allow the immobilization of biomolecules and cells at surfaces with micron-scale resolution, and for the control of the subsequent interaction of these species with liquid media. These techniques are compatible both with optical and electronic materials and with biological systems. Finally, this chapter reviews the use of soft lithography to fabricate microfluidic systems, and to position and manipulate living cells on surfaces.
Economic and Environmental Tradeoffs in New Automotive Painting Technologies

Painting is the most expensive unit operation in automobile manufacturing and the source of over 90 percent of the air, water and solid waste emissions at the assembly plant. While innovative paint technologies such as waterborne or powder paints can potentially improve plant environmental performance, implementing these technologies often requires major capital investment. A process-based technical cost model was developed for examining the environmental and economic implications of automotive painting at the unit operation level. The tradeoffs between potential environmental benefits and their relative costs are evaluated for current and new technologies.
DNA Sequence Classification Using DAWGs

DNA sequence classification involves attributing sub-strings or words within a sequence to known distinct sequence classes. A query sequence was classified by comparing all of its words to words in databases representative of three classes of DNA, transcriptional promoters, exons and introns. The efficiency of this comparision was increased by constructing directed, acyclic word graphs (DAWGs) of all sequences and databases. The resulting landscape was scored to determine the preference of words in the query sequence for any one particular database class. Using this approach it was possible to detect 94% of a test set of individual promoter sequences, with only 4% incorrect detection of test exon sequences as promoters. Preliminary attempts were made to parse genomic DNA into promoter, exon and intron regions. Initial results indicate that a reasonably high degree of correlation exists between the predicted regions and known promoter-exon-intron domains.
Multilevel analysis of teacher work attitudes: The influence of principal leadership and teacher collaboration

Purpose – The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether the instructional and administrative leadership practices of principals and professional collaboration of teachers predict teachers’ self‐efficacy and job satisfaction in Turkish middle schools.Design/methodology/approach – By applying a causal comparative design and a multilevel methodology, the current study used OECD's Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) data set to examine the relationships among study variables. The multilevel data included 178 schools/principals and 2,967 teachers. Two‐level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) method was used to investigate whether principals’ leadership and teachers’ collaboration predict teacher self‐efficacy and teacher job satisfaction, net of several important teacher‐level and school‐level control variables.Findings – The findings showed that some select aspects of principal leadership and teacher collaborative practices significantly predict teachers’ self‐efficacy and job sat...
Defragmenting Definitions of Entrepreneurial Opportunity

We examined 19 years worth of definitions of entrepreneurial opportunity and opportunity‐related processes. We found 56 articles in six entrepreneurship‐focused publications, with a total of 49 con...
A new family of quorum sensing pheromones synthesized using S‐adenosylmethionine and Acyl‐CoAs

It is now widely accepted that populations of bacterial cells often co-ordinate their behaviour via diffusible chemical signals. Many different signals have been documented, but they fall into a relatively small number of families. One such signal, CAI-1, from Vibrio cholerae consists of a substituted 13-carbon alkane. In this issue, Bassler and colleagues provide evidence that CAI-1 exemplifies an entirely new class of pheromones. They also show that one species of Vibrio synthesizes and detects just one such pheromone, while another species synthesizes and detects several. Bioinformatics and data from another group indicate that this new class of signals may be widespread among beta- and gamma-proteobacteria.
Enhanced β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) signaling by adeno-associated viral (AAV)-mediated gene transfer

Background β2-Adrenergic receptors (β2AR) play important regulatory roles in a variety of cells and organ systems and are important therapeutic targets in the treatment of airway and cardiovascular disease. Prolonged use of β-agonists results in tolerance secondary to receptor down-regulation resulting in reduced therapeutic efficiency. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the signaling capabilities of the β2AR expressed by a recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector that also included an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene (AAV-β2AR/EGFP).
Some applications of the current divider principle to physical networks: a network thermodynamic approach to a 'biological' circuit theory

Network thermodynamics is a relatively young field, in which classical network theory is applied to a broader class of systems than those traditionally found in electronics. L. Peusner (1986) has developed a technique for treating chemical reaction kinetics as resistive networks in the steady state and as R-C networks in the transient state. Simulation programs originally designed for circuit simulation, such as SPICE, become general simulators using these ideas. A broad range of applications suggests that a circuit theory for living systems is emerging. This is illustrated for a simple network configuration, namely the current divider. The relation between the current divider principle and Curie's principle of symmetry breaking is illustrated. >
Constraints on the composition of the Aleutian arc lower crust from V P /V S

[1] Determining the bulk composition of island arc lower crust is essential for distinguishing between competing models for arc magmatism and assessing the stability of arc lower crust. We present new constraints on the composition of high P-wave velocity (VP = 7.3–7.6 km/s) lower crust of the Aleutian arc from best-fitting average lower crustal VP/VS ratio using sparse converted S-waves from an along-arc refraction profile. We find a low VP/VS of ~1.7–1.75. Using petrologic modeling, we show that no single composition is likely to explain the combination of high VP and low VP/VS. Our preferred explanation is a combination of clinopyroxenite (~50–70%) and alpha-quartz bearing gabbros (~30–50%). This is consistent with Aleutian xenoliths and lower crustal rocks in obducted arcs, and implies that ~30–40% of the full Aleutian crust comprises ultramafic cumulates. These results also suggest that small amounts of quartz can exert a strong influence on VP/VS in arc crust.
Retrovirus Restriction Factors

A number of cellular genes have recently been identified that actively inhibit retrovirus replication and so protect cells from infection. The genes target many distinct steps in the viral life cycle: entry, viral DNA synthesis, intracellular movement of viral nucleic acids, and viral gene expression. These restriction systems constitute newly appreciated components of an innate immunity that may be important for survival of a host exposed to retrovirus infection. It may someday be possible to enhance or activate these systems to induce antiviral states.
Sexualization in Lyrics of Popular Music from 1959 to 2009: Implications for Sexuality Educators

This study analyzed sexualization in lyrics of popular music in the final year of six decades. The study sample was comprised of Billboard Hot 100 year-end songs from 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 (N = 600). Regression analysis was used to compare the presence of sexualized lyrics from 1959 with other study years. Male artists’ lyrics (OR = 2.163; p = .029; CI = 1.080–4.333), non-White artists’ lyrics in 1999 and 2009 (OR = 2.670; p < .001; CI = 1.554–4.586), and 2009 lyrics (OR = 3.439; p = .003; CI = 1.515–7.809), were significantly more likely to contain sexualization. Recent research associating sexual content in media with adolescent sexual activity together with findings demonstrating a connection between exposure to objectifying media and self-sexualized behavior make this study’s findings significant to sexuality educators desiring to improve sexual health outcomes and promote healthy adolescent sexual development. Sexuality educators should be cognizant of the recent significant trend toward the inclusion of sexualization in music lyrics and the probable impact such music may have on adolescent sexual behavior and attitudes.
Eliminating monotonous mathematics with FORMAC

The FORMAC (FORmula MAnipulation Compiler) programming system provides a powerful tool for performing mathematical analysis. It is an extension of FORTRAN IV which permits the use of the computer to perform the tedious algebraic computations that arise in many different fields. Among the areas in which it has been successfully used are: differentiation of complicated expressions; expansion of truncated power series, solution of simultaneous equations with literal coefficients, nonlinear maximum likelihood estimation, tensor analysis, and generation of the coefficients of equations in Keplerian motion. These types of analysis—which arose in the solution of specific practical problems in physics, engineering, astronomy, statistics and astronautics—are discussed in the paper.In addition to its usage for specific problem solutions, FORMAC can also be used to automate the analysis phase in certain production programming. Several such applications are presented.
Satellite Observations of Katabatic-Wind Propagation for Great Distances across the Ross Ice Shelf

Abstract Five winter months (April–August 1988) of thermal infrared satellite images were examined to investigate the occurrence of dark (warm) signatures across the Ross Ice Shelf in the Antarctic continent. These features are inferred to be generated by katabatic winds that descend from southern Marie Byrd Land and then blow horizontally across the ice shelf. Significant mass is added to this airstream by katabatic winds blowing from the major glaciers that flow through the Transantarctic Mountains from East Antarctica. These negatively buoyant katabatic winds can reach the northwestern edge of the shelf, a horizontal propagation distance of up to 1000 km, 14% of the time. Where the airstream crosses from the ice shelf to the ice-covered Ross Sea, a prominent coastal polynya is formed. Because the downslope buoyancy force is near zero over the Ross Ice Shelf, the northwestward propagation of this katabatic air mass requires pressure gradient support. The study shows that the extended horizontal propagat...
Functional receptors for nerve growth factor on Ewing's sarcoma and Wilm's tumor cells

Quantification of changes in levels of c-fos RNA was used as an indicator of the presence of functional responses to nerve growth factor in several human non-neuronal cell lines which have previously been shown to express high levels of NGF receptors. Four Ewing's sarcomas, one Wilm's tumor, and one melanoma were examined. Of these cell lines, the Ewing's sarcoma IARC-EW1 showed greatly increased levels (10-20-fold) of c-fos RNA after 1 hour of exposure to NGF. Except for the melanoma line, the other tumor lines exhibited small, but reproducible, elevation of c-fos RNA expression. In IARC-EW1 cells, this induction was analyzed for kinetics, dose-response, and suppression by selective inhibitors of NGF action. The results indicate that these cells bear high-affinity receptors for NGF, which utilize signal pathways similar to NGF receptors on PC12 cells. Thus, we report new types of cells with functional responses to NGF and indicate that these may constitute a new model which will usefully complement those presently used for studying the mechanism of action of NGF.
Improved calibration strategy for measurement of trace elements in biological and clinical whole blood reference materials via collision-cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A multi-element quantification strategy based on the method of standard additions incorporating internal standards and collision cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is presented. Approaches to experimental design are discussed in the context of streamlining analytical measurement protocols employing ratio-based standard additions quantification schemes for the certification of multiple elements in Certified Reference Materials, including reduction of the number of required analytical samples and measurement of analytes and internal standards at alternate quadrupole mass resolution settings. This strategy was implemented for the measurement of As, Se, Fe, Mn, Rb, Cu, and Zn levels in a candidate fish tissue NIST Standard Reference Material and measurement of Cd and Pb in two clinical, whole blood Certified Reference Materials. A simple approach to calculating analytical uncertainties for concentration data, as determined using standard additions calibrations, is presented which utilizes regression and prediction uncertainties and quotient propagation of error formulae.
Frequency domain Walsh functions and sequences: An introduction

Abstract In this letter, a new set of orthogonal band-limited basis functions is introduced. This set of basis functions is derived from the inverse Fourier transform of the frequency domain Walsh functions. The Fourier transforms of the Walsh functions were calculated by Siemens and Kitai in 1973 but they have been overlooked in the literature. Some of the properties of these functions are studied in this paper. Moreover, the orthogonal discrete version of these functions is obtained by truncation, sampling and orthogonalization utilizing the orthogonal Procrustes problem.
EDGAR MORIN: A PARTIAL INTRODUCTION

In the last 50 years, Edgar Morin has developed an astounding, diverse, and rich body of work. He is widely recognized as one of the most important French and indeed European thinkers to emerge in ...
Interplay of wind forcing and buoyant discharge off montauk point : Seasonal changes to velocity structure and a coastal front

Abstract Seasonal-mean currents in fall, winter, and spring on the bathymetrically complex continental shelf 15–65 m deep off Montauk Point, outside Block Island Sound, are analyzed using moored profiling current-meter records from a 2.5-yr period. A sharp boundary, or coastal front, occurs where strong, shallow, generally southwestward flow that weakens nearly linearly with increasing depth meets deeper flow nearly opposite in direction (fall/winter) or markedly weaker (spring). Velocities veer clockwise (counterclockwise) with increasing depth inshore (offshore) of the front. Evidence is presented that thermal wind balance holds without major frictional modification: it accounts for the veering, and the seasonal-mean horizontal density gradients it implies are generally toward the southeast quadrant in agreement with limited hydrographic measurements. Substantial seasonal changes in flow and frontal attributes occur because of the interplay of annual cycles in wind forcing and buoyant discharge. In fall...
Milankovitch Hypothesis Supported by Precise Dating of Coral Reefs and Deep-Sea Sediments

Barbados provides a possibly unique opportunity for reconstruction of the times and elevations of late-Pleistocene high stands of the sea. The island appears to be rising from the sea at a uniform rate that is fast enough to separate in elevation coral-reef tracts formed at successive high stands of the sea. Unaltered coral found in the lower terraces enables high-precision Th(230): U(234) and Pa(231): U(235) dating. Three distinct high stands of the sea are found about 122,000, 103,000, and 82,000 years ago. New Pa(231) and Th(230) dates from a deep-sea core also indicate that Ericson's W-X cold-to-warm climatic change occurred close to 126,000 years ago. These data show a parallelism over the last 150,000 years between changes in Earth's climate and changes in the summer insolation predicted from cycles in the tilt and precession of Earth's axis.
Why do animals move and what does it mean

Review of On the Move: How and Why Animals Travel in Groups edited by Sue Boinski and Paul A. Garber. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2000, xii + 811 pp, 63 fig., 53 tab., $35.
111-day periodicity of X-ray transient A0535 + 26

A0535 + 26 is the prototype object of the hard spectrum, pulsating X-ray transients associated with Be companions. Our analysis of its 1969–79 X-ray (3–12 keV) time history, measured by the Vela 5B satellite, shows a period of 111.0 ± 0.4 days, confirming the suggestion of Nagase et al.1. A likely explanation for the period is binary motion in a wide orbit. ‘Giant’ outbursts (flux ≥ 1 Crab ≃ 40 Vela counts s−1) observed in 1975 and 1980 are not in phase with the 111-day maxima. The source became significantly more active after the 1975 event, averaging ≃3 Vela counts s−1, compared with ≃0.5 counts s−1 before. The latter count rate corresponds to a time averaged X-ray luminosity of 1×1035 erg s−1 at 1.3 kpc. The mass loss rate from the companion, HDE245770, required to power this luminosity by wind accretion is 10−5 M⊙ yr−1, which is excessive for a B0V star. It is more likely that the transferred matter is lost from the equatorial region of the rapidly rotating B star.