cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Addressing Public Speaking Anxiety in Real-time Using a Virtual Public Speaking Coach and Physiological Sensors

Oral presentations are important and challenging tasks that most people struggle with due to public speaking anxiety. Virtual agents have been shown to be effective communication skills training coaches and effective as virtual audiences for inducing anxiety in public speaking exposure therapy. To date, there are fewer research interventions, including virtual agents, that are designed to assist presenters manage their anxiety in real-time during presentations. Our research attempts to fill this gap by exploring ways in which technologies, including virtual agents, can help reduce anxiety during presentations. To help presenters manage their anxiety, we will design and evaluate an automated real-time framework for detecting public speaking anxiety and explore behavioral just-in-time techniques that presenters can use while presenting. Our automated framework will be guided by a physiological detection model, use a virtual agent as the user interface, and will assist presenters during their presentation.
Psychosocial Outcomes Following Adolescent Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Metabolic and bariatric surgery is an effective strategy to curb the natural history of obesity progression and improve psychosocial status in the short term for adolescents with severe obesity. The medium- and long-term psychosocial impact of bariatric surgery in this population is not established. We searched MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Libraries through October 2017 for reports of weight loss surgery (roux-en-Y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and adjustable gastric banding) on adolescents with severe obesity (age ≤ 21 years) having ≥ 6 months of follow-up. The primary outcome for inclusion in systematic review was use of a validated quality of life (QoL) or other psychosocial instrument at baseline and postoperatively. We used standardized mean difference (SMD) and random-effects modeling to provide summary estimates across different instruments. We reviewed 5155 studies, of which 20 studies met inclusion criteria for qualitative synthesis. There were 14 studies and 9 unique cohorts encompassing 573 patients which were eligible for meta-analysis regarding postoperative change in QoL. Across surgical procedures, there was significant improvement in QoL of 1.40 SMD (95% confidence interval 0.95 to 1.86; I2 = 89%; p < 0.001) at last follow-up (range 9–94 months). Trends in QoL improvement demonstrated the greatest improvement at 12 months; however, significant improvement was sustained at longest follow-up of 60+ months. Weight loss surgery is associated with sustained improvement in QoL for adolescents with severe obesity across surgical procedures. Long-term data for psychosocial outcomes reflecting other mental health domains is lacking.
Revisiting Bayesian constraints on the transport coefficients of QCD

Abstract Multistage models based on relativistic viscous hydrodynamics have proven successful in describing hadron measurements from relativistic nuclear collisions. These measurements are sensitive to the shear and the bulk viscosities of QCD and provide a unique opportunity to constrain these transport coefficients. Bayesian analyses can be used to obtain systematic constraints on the viscosities of QCD, through methodical model-to-data comparisons. In this manuscript, we discuss recent developments in Bayesian analyses of heavy ion collision data. We highlight the essential role of closure tests in validating a Bayesian analysis before comparison with measurements. We discuss the role of the emulator that is used as proxy for the multistage theoretical model. We use an ongoing Bayesian analysis of soft hadron measurements by the JETSCAPE Collaboration as context for the discussion.
Eating Cheerios on ECMO: The Use of VA ECMO as a Bridge to Lung Transplant in an Infant

Introduction Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is a rare cause of pulmonary hypertension. In PVOD the pulmonary venous vessels are obliterated resulting in obstructive pulmonary vascular disease, increase in pulmonary vascular resistance, right heart failure and death. Pulmonary hypertension is the most common reason for lung transplant in infants. Lung transplant is the only therapy for PVOD. Prolonged intubation, deconditioning and extra corporeal life support are associated with poor outcomes after lung transplant. We present a case of PVOD in an infant who had successful lung transplant using a novel veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) configuration. Case Report A previously healthy 15-month-old male presented with cough and tachypnea. Cardiomegaly and pulmonary edema were seen on chest x-ray. Echocardiogram revealed severe pulmonary hypertension. Cardiac catheterization study and chest computed tomography revealed PVOD. He was unable to be extubated after cardiac catheterization and was transferred to our institution for lung transplant evaluation. He had severely depressed right ventricular function, requiring vasopressors to maintain hemodynamic stability. Respiratory status was tenuous, requiring sedation and paralysis. He was evaluated and listed for lung transplant. The patient was centrally cannulated for VA ECMO using cannulae for a ventricular assist device (Berlin ExCor) that were exteriorized on the abdomen. “Venous” inflow cannula was placed in the main pulmonary artery to provide afterload reduction for the right ventricle. After starting VA ECMO, vasopressor support, respiratory support, paralysis and sedation were weaned. He was woken up, extubated; and intensive physical and occupational rehabilitation began. He regained strength, was able to sit, stand and take steps. He also regained his milestones, was able to babble, wave and eat simple foods. The patient remained on VA ECMO for 61 days until he successfully underwent lung transplantation. Summary Our case highlights the successful use of a novel VA ECMO configuration as a bridge to lung transplant in an infant with PVOD. To our knowledge this is the youngest patient to undergo awake VA ECMO reported. The use of a unique cannulation allowed for rehabilitation while on VA ECMO. Though challenging, VA ECMO remains an option as a bridge to lung transplant in infants with PVOD.
Mapping the sensitivity of agriculture to drought and estimating the effect of irrigation in the United States, 1950–2016

Abstract Drought is a devastating natural hazard posing great threats to agriculture. Identifying the spatial pattern of agricultural sensitivity to drought can provide scientific information for decision-makers to prepare droughts, allocate resources, and mitigate impacts. Here, we use long-term state- and county-level crop data for the 10 major crops: corn grain, soybeans, hay, spring wheat, winter wheat, cotton, corn silage, sorghum, barley, and rice in the United States from 1950 to 2016. First, we perform a correlation analysis between crop yield anomalies and two drought indices (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)) to identify the sub-seasonal pattern of agricultural sensitivity to drought stress. SPEI performs better than SPI. For most crops, the sensitivity to drought increases in the early period, peaks at the critical months, and then declines. July is the most critical month for crop growth for most crops. Among all crops, soybean and corn grain are most sensitive to drought. Second, we develop an Agriculture Drought Sensitivity Index (ADSI) to quantitatively measure the sensitivity of agriculture to drought stress based on the statistical relationship between the ten major crops and SPEI. We demonstrate that there exists a very strong spatial correspondence between higher sensitivity to drought and the lower percentage of acres irrigated, and vice versa. Also, for those regions with limited irrigation, the sensitivity is higher in arid/semi-arid regions and lower in humid regions in summer. Third, given the importance of irrigation, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) shows that the irrigated crop yields have much higher long-run mean yields than non-irrigated crop yields. Fourth, to investigate how irrigation affects drought sensitivity, a panel data regression model shows that the responses of crop growth to drought are non-linear for all crops. Non-irrigated crops are more sensitive to droughts than the irrigated crops, particularly in severe drought conditions. This provides quantitative incentive to use irrigation as an important adaptation and coping strategy to mitigate the drought impacts on agriculture in the US.
Minimizing Timing Jitter’s Impact on Ground-Penetrating Radar Array Coupling Signals

This article presents a novel investigation into the effect of receiver timing jitter on the quality of imaging of ground-penetrating radar systems. We explicitly show the impact of timing jitter throughout an entire example processing pipeline. The process of coupling removal in systems whose receivers have a random Gaussian-distributed jitter with a high standard deviation leaves randomly distributed residue in the radar image. This residue, called jitter-induced coupling noise, extends even into the expected target domain which may cause false alarms. This residue approximately follows a sum of Gaussian and Gamma distributions based on the higher order derivatives of the coupling signal. Once migrated to create an image, the coupling residue is best described by a Weibull distribution. We show that simple filtering does not remove enough residue and propose two preventative design specifications called the linear slope and migrated probability specifications. Antenna and system designers should use these specifications to assess the true severity of coupling signals in a given jitter environment.
A Unique Case of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Myocarditis Complicated by Plasmapheresis-Responsive Cardiogenic Shock

A 25-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus complicated by biventricular failure with a history of multiple admissions presented with cardiogenic shock unresponsive to steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, cyclophosphamide, and required extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation. Left ventricular function eventually recovered after plasmapheresis. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).
The Digital Humanities Coursebook: An Introduction to Digital Methods for Research and Scholarship

The Digital Humanities Coursebook provides critical frameworks for the application of digital humanities tools and platforms, which have become an integral part of work across a wide range of disciplines. Written by an expert with twenty years of experience in this field, the book is focused on the principles and fundamental concepts for application, rather than on specific tools or platforms. Each chapter contains examples of projects, tools, or platforms that demonstrate these principles in action. The book is structured to complement courses on digital humanities and provides a series of modules, each of which is organized around a set of concerns and topics, thought experiments and questions, as well as specific discussions of the ways in which tools and platforms work. The book covers a wide range of topics and clearly details how to integrate the acquisition of expertise in data, metadata, classification, interface, visualization, network analysis, topic modeling, data mining, mapping, and web presentation with issues in intellectual property, sustainability, privacy, and the ethical use of information. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, The Digital Humanities Coursebook will be a useful guide for anyone teaching or studying a course in the areas of digital humanities, library and information science, English, or computer science. The book will provide a framework for direct engagement with digital humanities and, as such, should be of interest to others working across the humanities as well.
Rethinking Performance Measurement: Beyond the Balanced Scorecard

Performance measurement remains a vexing problem for business firms and other kinds of organisations. This book explains why: the performance we want to measure (long-term cash flows, long-term viability) and the performance we can measure (current cash flows, customer satisfaction, etc.) are not the same. The 'balanced scorecard', which has been widely adopted by US firms, does not solve these underlying problems of performance measurement and may exacerbate them because it provides no guidance on how to combine dissimilar measures into an overall appraisal of performance. A measurement technique called activity-based profitability analysis (ABPA) is suggested as a partial solution, especially to the problem of combining dissimilar measures. ABPA estimates the revenue consequences of each activity performed for the customer, allowing firms to compare revenues with costs for these activities and hence to discriminate between activities that are ultimately profitable and those that are not.
ActRII: Activin receptor types II/IIB (vertebrates)

The chapter discusses the type II activin receptors that were first identified as one of the two affinity-labeled complexes generated by binding and chemical cross-linking of radioiodinated activin A to activin-responsive cells. A cDNA encoding ActRII was isolated by using an expression cloning strategy. cDNAs encoding a second gene product, ActRIIB were isolated by using PCR with primers based on the sequence of ActRII. ActRII and ActRIIB are receptor serine/threonine PKs. Manipulation of expression of these receptors in Xenopus laevis embryos disrupts activin signaling in early differentiative events. There are two alternative splicing events in the ActRIIB gene, one in the extracellular and other in the intracellular domain, that generate four potential protein products (ActRIIB-1 to -4). ActRII and ActRIIB are believed to exist as monomers, but can also form dimers with type I ActRs. There is currently no assay for ActRII kinase activity. ActRIIB has been purified from the mouse embryonal carcinoma cell line, PI9, and was found to both autophosphorylate and phosphorylate activin, histone, and enolase on serine, threonine, and tyrosine.
New kinematic metric for quantifying surgical skill for flexible instrument manipulation

Colonoscopy is a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure to survey, diagnose and treat possible disease in the colon. Clinicians are trained to manipulate a colonoscope while minimizing the force exerted on the colon walls to reduce the danger of luminal perforation and discomfort to the patient. Here, we propose and evaluate a metric, called Global Isotropy Index (GII), to quantify the expertise of the clinician. The colonoscope is modeled as a continuum robot with multiple bending sections. The Jacobian operator, which relates the proximal forces applied by the clinician to the distal forces, provides a basis to compute the GII. Experimental results in a colon model (CM-1, Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) are shown to compare the efficacy of this metric in characterizing operator performance compared to standard metrics such as elapsed time, path length, and kinematics factors. The GII values for experts are significantly different from those of novices; our initial studies show that it can be as much as 1.45 times greater for the experts.
Planning natural-language utterances

This paper describes recent research on a natural-language-generation system that is based on planning. A system named KAMP is described that is capable of producing English sentences as part of a plan to enlist the cooperation of another agent in achieving a goal involving a change in the physical state of the world. The planner uses knowledge about the different subgoals to be achieved and linguistic rules about English to produce sentences that satisfy multple goals through the realization multiple illocution-ary acts.
Effects of Intermediate Ethanol Blends on Legacy Vehicles and Small Non-Road Engines, Report 1 - Updated

Intended for policymakers and others who make decisions about, and set guidelines for, the proper use of intermediate ethanol blends such as E20 in both vehicle engines and other engine types.
Determination of the spatial distribution of ship's noise components

The investigations of vibroacoustic activity of a ship is a topic of interest for technical diagnostics, ecological and military reasons. A ship may be treated as a coaxial sound source. Descriptions of the field distribution for such sources are common in literature. The methods used for solving the radiation problem include analytical solutions, numerical methods and experimental investigations. As a ship is a complex sound source, it is difficult to find an analytical description of its radiation in the near field region. Therefore the paper describes a method which has the elements of a numerical and an experimental one. The hull is surrounded with a surface which replaces the ship as a source. The experimentally obtained distributions of acoustic quantities were used to calculate the pressure value in any point in space outside the virtual surface. A numerical method has been worked out basing on the Helmholtz solution of the exterior radiation problem and the superposition method. It was verified by comparing its results with the approximate analytical dependence found out for a simple source of the shape similar to the virtual surface. The method of measuring the acoustic quantities is described next. The special attention was paid to the particle velocity measurements. The theoretical background was followed with the results of laboratory measurements. After the laboratory investigations, the method has been checked during in situ measurements.
The visual claustrum of the cat. I. Structure and connections

The cat's dorsocaudal claustrum was studied in Golgi preparations, by electron microscopy, and by anterograde and retrograde tracer techniques. It receives a convergent retinotopic projection from several visual cortical ares, including areas 17, 18, 19, 21a and PMLS (posteromedial lateral suprasylvian area). The projection arises from spiny dendrite cells (pyramidal and fusiform) in the middle of cortical layer VI. As shown by a double label experiment, they form a separate population from those projecting to the lateral geniculate nucleus. There are also inputs from the lateral hypothalamus, from the nucleus centralis thalami, and probably from the locus coeruleus, but not from the sensory nuclei of the thalamus. Non-visual cortical areas do not project to the visual claustrum, but many of them are connected to other parts of the nucleus. For example, the splenial (cingulate) gyrus projects to a claustral zone just ventral to the visual area, and regions anterior to the visual area are connected with somatosensory and auditory cortex. The commonest cell type in the claustrum is a large spiny dendrite neuron whose axon leaves the nucleus after giving off local collaterals. Small spine-free cells, with beaded dendrites and a locally arborizing axon, are found also. Electron microscopy of the claustrum after ablation of the visual cortex showed degenerating type 1 axon terminals synapsing on spines and beaded dendrites, suggesting a direct cortical input to both cell types. The visual claustrum projects back to the visual cortex, to the same areas from which it receives an input. The return projection is predominantly ipsilateral, but there is, in addition, a small crossed projection. The claustrocortical axons terminate in all cortical layers but most heavily in layers IV and VI. The majority of the cells in the visual claustrum project to the cortex, and retinotopy is maintained throughout the entire corticoclaustral loop. No subcortical projections from the claustrum could be identified.
Parent Perceptions of School-Based Occupational Therapy Services.

This study aims to explore the perceptions of parents of children receiving occupational therapy in educational settings, understand the importance of the parent/occupational therapist relationship and its impact on the outcomes of therapy. In addition, this study aims to reveal best practices when providing services within the school system in the United States.
The relative roles of visuospatial and linguistic working memory systems in generating inferences during visual narrative comprehension

This study investigated the relative roles of visuospatial versus linguistic working memory (WM) systems in the online generation of bridging inferences while viewers comprehend visual narratives. We contrasted these relative roles in the visuospatial primacy hypothesis versus the shared (visuospatial & linguistic) systems hypothesis, and tested them in 3 experiments. Participants viewed picture stories containing multiple target episodes consisting of a beginning state, a bridging event, and an end state, respectively, and the presence of the bridging event was manipulated. When absent, viewers had to infer the bridging-event action to comprehend the end-state image. A pilot study showed that after viewing the end-state image, participants' think-aloud protocols contained more inferred actions when the bridging event was absent than when it was present. Likewise, Experiment 1 found longer viewing times for the end-state image when the bridging-event image was absent, consistent with viewing times revealing online inference generation processes. Experiment 2 showed that both linguistic and visuospatial WM loads attenuated the inference viewing time effect, consistent with the shared systems hypothesis. Importantly, however, Experiment 3 found that articulatory suppression did not attenuate the inference viewing time effect, indicating that (sub)vocalization did not support online inference generation during visual narrative comprehension. Thus, the results support a shared-systems hypothesis in which both visuospatial and linguistic WM systems support inference generation in visual narratives, with the linguistic WM system operating at a deeper level than (sub)vocalization.
USE OR REFUSE REPRODUCTIVE GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES: WHICH WOULD A ‘GOOD PARENT’ DO?

A number of authors have objected to potential parents' use of reproductive genetic technologies on the grounds that the use of these technologies reflects a morally problematic attitude toward parenting. More specifically, proponents of this view have argued that such a choice is inconsistent with the unconditional acceptance that lies at the heart of praiseworthy parental attitudes. This paper offers a rebuttal of this view by arguing that it is possible for a parent to exhibit unconditional acceptance of the child herself without accepting each of that child's traits. If this is true, the use of reproductive genetic technologies does not inherently undermine appropriate parental attitudes. Further, by working to change some of a child's specific traits, a parent may instead exemplify an aspirational aspect of praiseworthy parenting and so demonstrate appropriate parental attitudes.
Utility Of Selective Posterior Cerebral Artery Amobarbital Testing In Surgical Evaluation For Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (P3.004)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of selective posterior cerebral artery amobarbital testing in the surgical evaluation of temporal lobe epilepsy. BACKGROUND: Intracarotid amobarbital test (Wada test) has been widely used to determine language and memory dominance in temporal lobe surgery (TLS). One of limitations of the Wada test is the wide suppression of cortex often results in paralysis or speech arrest that may interfere with memory testing. In addition, a large portion of posterior hippocampus is not suppressed with intracarotid injection. The posterior cerebral artery amobarbital test (PCA-Wada) is more selective toward hippocampal suppression and does not cause language impairment. We describe findings of PCA-Wada after inadequate standard Wada testing in TLS. DESIGN/METHODS: We evaluated adult patients who had inadequate memory dominance information or failed scores from the standard Wada test and subsequently underwent PCA-Wada as a part of TLS evaluation. RESULTS: Ten patients were identified who had both standard Wada and PCA-Wada. Four had concordant scores achieved from both tests (either failure on both, or borderline passing followed by unequivocal passing). The remaining 5 patients had discordant scores from the Wada (either borderline fail or fail), followed by passing or borderline passing scores with PCA- Wada. Four of these 5 patients underwent surgery, and one who had borderline passing score on PCA-Wada reported post-operative memory decline. There was one immediate post-procedural small embolic infarct leading to mild paresthesia. CONCLUSIONS: The selective posterior cerebral artery Wada test can be useful in determining surgical candidacy in patients who have failed score on Intracarotid Wada test, which was probably due to the wide cortical suppression following the Intracarotid injection. Disclosure: Dr. Schusse has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schultz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pearson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chung has received personal compensation for activities with UCB Pharma, Supermus, Esai Inc., Lundbeck Research USA, Inc., Upshire-Smith, and SK Life Science.
A framework for further study of recruitment processes in flatfishes

Abstract Can the ‘recruitment problem’ (i.e., what controls the mean and variance of year class success?) ever be solved even for a single group of fishes? Fishery biologists from around the world focused intensely on the issue with regard to the flatfishes. Although a consensus was not attained, and few of the competing hypotheses were eliminated, several promising new ideas on how to proceed won support.
Cell-free Transport to Distinct Golgi Cisternae Is Compartment Specific and ARF Independent

The small GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) is absolutely required for coatomer vesicle formation on Golgi membranes but not for anterograde transport to the medial-Golgi in a mammalian in vitro transport system. This might indicate that the in vivo mechanism of intra-Golgi transport is not faithfully reproduced in vitro, or that intra-Golgi transport occurs by a nonvesicular mechanism. As one approach to distinguishing between these possibilities, we have characterized two additional cell-free systems that reconstitute transport to the trans-Golgi (trans assay) and trans-Golgi network (TGN assay). Like in vitro transport to the medial-Golgi (medial assay), transport to the trans-Golgi and TGN requires cytosol, ATP, and N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive fusion protein (NSF). However, each assay has its own distinct characteristics of transport. The kinetics of transport to late compartments are slower, and less cytosol is needed for guanosine-5′-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTPγS) to inhibit transport, suggesting that each assay reconstitutes a distinct transport event. Depletion of ARF from cytosol abolishes vesicle formation and inhibition by GTPγS, but transport in all assays is otherwise unaffected. Purified recombinant myristoylated ARF1 restores inhibition by GTPγS, indicating that the GTP-sensitive component in all assays is ARF. We also show that asymmetry in donor and acceptor membrane properties in the medial assay is a unique feature of this assay that is unrelated to the production of vesicles. These findings demonstrate that characteristics specific to transport between different Golgi compartments are reconstituted in the cell-free system and that vesicle formation is not required for in vitro transport at any level of the stack.
Energy Efficient WiFi Display

WiFi Display, also called Miracast, is an emerging technology that allows a mobile device (source) to duplicate its screen content to an external display (sink) via a peer-to-peer WiFi link. Despite its diverse application scenarios and growing popularity, Miracast consumes substantial power due to a combination of video encoding/decoding and transmission. In this paper, we first conduct a measurement study to quantify and model key parameters that scale Miracast's power consumption. We then propose a set of optimization mechanisms to bypass redundant codec operations, reduce video tail traffic, and relocate the Miracast channel dynamically to maximize transmission efficiency. We have implemented this energy-efficient Miracast framework on an Android smartphone. Experimental results show that the legacy Miracast system costs 1.3 to 2.4 Watts. Our framework reduces the power consumption by 29% to 61%, depending on the Miracast application's video traffic patterns. Our optimization mechanisms do not affect the video quality, and can even reduce the latency of certain Miracast applications.
Motivational effects of electrical stimulation in dorsal tegmentum of the rat

Abstract Rats with electrodes in central gray (CG) or adjacent tegmentum (TEG) were tested for 1-way and 2-way avoidance and escape motivated by brain stimulation. Nearly all placements supported escape; 1-way avoidance; but few, 2-way avoidance. Placements not supporting 1-way avoidance were primarily in CG. Avoidance failures were not due to an inability to anticipate brain stimulation since most placements yielded strong conditioned suppression with brain stimulation as the US. Because 8 of 9 non-avoiders self-stimulated, avoidance failure was attributed to the rewarding onset of brain stimulation. High-rate self-stimulation was found primarily in CG. A dual motivational role for CG was proposed to account for the ability of CG placements to support escape, conditioned suppression and self-stimulation.
Human macrophage responses to vaccine strains of influenza virus: synthesis of viral proteins, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1 inhibitor

Interactions between influenza viruses and human macrophages were examined to detect potential mechanisms for enhanced febrile reactions previously associated with administration of an avian-human H1N1 reassortant vaccine. Cells exposed to that strain were compared with cells exposed to wild-type and cold-adapted H1H1 and H3H2 strains and an avian-human H3N2 strain. Cells exposed to the avian-human H1N1 virus showed increased synthesis of viral neuraminidase, previously reported to induce fever-producing cytokines, but no detectable increase in production of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha measured by immunoassay, or decrease in interleukin-1 inhibitor activity by bioassay.
A general technique for process modeling

Abstract In many modeling situations, the structure of the plant model is not well known. This is especially true in the processing industries where models are often nonlinear. The purpose of this technical note is to present a general method for obtaining the structure of a nonlinear plant.
The Transformation of Sexual Harassment from a Private Trouble into a Public Issue

Sexual harassment, i.e., unwanted sexual attention, is not a new phenomenon for working women. Yet only in recent years have the behaviors constituting it been challenged and recognized as detrimental to society. This paper documents the process by which sexual harassment emerged on the public agenda. It identifies the major elements–media attention, activities of interest groups, court actions, and legislation–involved in the process of redefinition and examines how and why each promoted the issue. The data, gathered from analyses of publication and language trends, records of congressional hearings, and interviews with several participants in the process, are used to further understanding of how these elements converged during a period of social concern for women's rights and enabled a public reconceptualization of sexually harassing behaviors.
Arachidonic acid release from NIH 3T3 cells by group-I phospholipase A2: Involvement of a receptor-mediated mechanism

Group I pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2 I) is primarily a digestive enzyme. Recently, however, in addition to its catalytic activity a receptor-mediated function has been described for this enzyme. PLA2 I binding to its receptor induces cellular chemokinesis, proliferation, and smooth muscle contraction. This enzyme also induces the production of prostaglandin E2 in certain cells and may have a proinflammatory role. However, despite its ability to hydrolyze phospholipids in in vitro assays, PLA2-I does not efficiently catalyze release of AA from intact cells. Here, we demonstrate that while short-term exposure of NIH 3T3 cells to PLA2-I is ineffective, exposure of 6 h or longer significantly increases the basal release of AA. Dose-response curve of PLA2-I-induced AA release was saturable with an EC50 of 14.01 ± 1.36 nM (n = 3). [3H]-AA was preferentially released over [3H]-oleic acid by PLA2-I, inactivated with 4-bromophenacyl bromide, was fully capable of mediating AA release. These data suggest that a non-catalytic, receptor-mediated mechanism is involved in PLA2-I-induced AA release in NIH-3T3 cells. This relase of AA is not dependent on protein kinase C or Ca2+ concentration. Comparison of the effect of PLA2-I with those of ATP and platelet-derived growth factor indicates that each of these agonists regulates AA release via independent pathways. Neither the basal enzymatic activity of the 85-kDa cytosolic PLA2 nor the protein level of this enzyme was affected by treatment of cells with PLA2-I. However, the increase in basal enzymatic activity of 85 kDa PLA2 due to protein kinase C activation was further enhanced by pretreatment of cells with PLA2-I. We conclude that: (1) short-term exposure of cells to PLA2 I does not cause measurable AA release; (2) release of AA from intact cells by this enzyme requires long-term exposure; (3) AA release is not mediated by a direct catalytic effect of PLA2 I; and (4) AA release by PLA2 I is accomplished via a receptor-mediated process. Taken together, these results raise the possibility that PLA2 I, in addition to its digestive function, may also contribute to aggravate preexisting inflammatory processes and/or to initiate new ones when chronic exposure of cells to this enzyme occurs. © 1995 Wiley-Liss Inc. 1
Identification of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) to rearing location using elemental profiling

Twentyelements in Pacific whiteshrimpLitopenaeus vannameifrom three geographicareasandwater from culture pondswere analyzedbyinductivelycoupledplasmaatomic emission spectrometry(ICP-AES).Three types of shrimp samples were prepared as follows: head on shell on (HOSO); headless shell on (HLSO); peeled un-deveined (PUD). Sixteen elements differed among the shrimp products (P < 0.05). In addition, elemental composition of shrimp was related to elemental concentration in water. Multivariate statistical analysisincluding principal componentanalysis(PCA)andcanonicaldiscriminant analysis(CDA)were used for data exploration and visualization. The nonparametric method of discriminant analysis e k-nearest neighboranalysise built a classification model to separate shrimp products to geographic origin and rateof reliability of the model evaluated by a cross-validation procedure was 100%. Elemental profiling combined with multivariate statistics has potential for differentiating the geographical origin of shrimp.
What managers should know about ERP/ERP II

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of enterprise resource planning (ERP) on organizations and discusses critical issues that should be considered by managers and decision makers who are considering implementing an ERP/ERP II system.Design/methodology/approach – Extensive literature review and the author's professional experience on the topic provide the foundation for this article.Findings – ERP/ERP II are designed to improve competitiveness by upgrading an organization's ability to generate timely and accurate information throughout the enterprise and its supply chain. The goal of an ERP/ERP II is to integrate all business units of an organization and to create a system that is capable of providing up‐to‐date and relevant information for the corporation's decision makers and employees as well as business partners. The investment that is required is significant, sometimes running into the hundreds of millions of dollars and the decision to purchase and implement an ERP system is one of the mo...
SEM/EDS images from a laser printer

A method for producing hardcopy images with a laser printer from scanned video images is presented. The advantages and limitations of this method are compared to the traditional Polaroid technique used for scanning electron microscopy and some methods of creating artificial grey scales using arrays of dots are discussed.
Viscoelastic Properties of Plasticized Polymers.

Stress relaxation master curves were obtained for polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl chloride, all plasticized with dioctylphthalate. The plasticized polyvinyl chloride results were quite different from the others, and this was tentatively ascribed to borderline crystallinity.
Numerical Study of Dynamic Behavior of Dielectric Fluid Bubbles Within Diverging, External Electric Fields

Past research in the area of pool boiling within the presence of electric fields has generally focused on the case of uniform field intensity. Any numerical or analytical studies of the effect of non-uniform fields on the motion of bubbles within a dielectric liquid medium have assumed that the bubbles will retain their spherical shape rather than deform. These studies also ignore changes to the electrical field caused by the presence of the bubbles. However, these assumptions are not necessarily accurate as, even in the case of a nominally uniform electric field distribution, bubbles can exhibit considerable physical deformation and the field can become noticeably affected in the vicinity of the bubble. This study explores the effect that a non-uniform electric field can have on vapor bubbles of a dielectric fluid by modeling the physical deformation of the bubble and the alteration of the surrounding field. Numerical results show that the imbalance of electrical stresses at the bubble surface exerts a net dielectrophoretic force on the bubble, propelling the bubble to the vicinity of weakest electric field, thereby enhancing the separation of liquid and vapor phases during pool boiling. However, the proximity of the bubble to one of the electrodes can considerably alter the bubble trajectory due to an attractive force that arises from local distortions of the potential and electric fields. This phenomenon cannot be predicted if bubble deformation and field distortion effects are neglected.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Selection of phage-displayed peptides that bind to a particular ligand-bound antibody.

Abstract Phage-displayed peptides that selectively bind to aldolase catalytic antibody 93F3 when bound to a particular 1,3-diketone hapten derivative have been developed using designed selection strategies with libraries containing 7–12 randomized amino acid residues. These phage-displayed peptides discriminated the particular 93F3–diketone complex from ligand-free 93F3 and from 93F3 bound to other 1,3-diketone hapten derivatives. By altering the selection procedures, phage-displayed peptides that bind to antibody 93F3 in the absence of 1,3-diketone hapten derivatives have also been developed. With using these phage-displayed peptides, ligand-bound states of the antibody were distinguished from each other. A docking model of one of the peptides bound to the antibody 93F3–diketone complex was created using a sequential divide-and-conquer peptide docking strategy; the model suggests that the peptide interacts with both the antibody and the ligand through a delicate hydrogen bonding network.
Computed tomography in global cerebral cortical ischemia of the neonate and young infant

The authors have encountered three unique neonates with global cerebral cortical ischemia. The pathogenesis and computed tomography scans of these patients who sustained profound hypoxemia is described. Follow-up computed tomography scans in each case demonstrated generalized loss of cortical substance.
CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA IN PUPPIES DURING NATURAL SLEEP

To examine the maturation of the cardiovascular response to hypoxia (FiO2=.15) during natural sleep, we studied 48 chronically instrumented unanesthetized beagle puppies at 15 and 30 days of age. We measured the RR interval and mean aortic blood pressure (MAP). In addition, in a subset of 10 puppies, we measured cardiac output (CO) by the Fick principle. After baseline measurements, puppies were exposed to hypoxia for 1-2 hrs. During normoxia, at 15 days of age: MAP was lower (mean 10%, p<.025) and CO higher (mean 20%,p<.05) in REM than in quiet sleep. There was no difference in RR interval between the 2 sleep states. In the older puppies, similar results were obtained except that there was no difference in CO between REM and quiet sleep. In response to hypoxia at 15 days of age, there was a decrease in CO (mean 30%,p<.05), an increase in MAP (mean 8%,p<.025) and no change in RR interval during REM sleep. In quiet sleep, MAP and RR interval did not change; CO could not be accurately measured as periods were usually less than 3 min. in duration. In the older puppies, hypoxia induced a decrease in CO in both sleep states (mean 30%,p<.025), a decrease in RR interval in quiet sleep and an increase in MAP during REM sleep. We conclude that in puppies: 1) CO is dependent on sleep state during normoxia at 15 but not at 30 days of age; with hypoxia, CO is reduced in both sleep states; 2) systemic vascular resistance is lower in REM sleep when compared to quiet sleep in normoxia and increases with hypoxia in both sleep states and 3) stroke volume is smaller in quiet than in REM sleep in normoxia and decreases with hypoxia in both sleep states.
A Model for Diffusion of Radioactive Debris in the Troposphere

Abstract A theoretical model is constructed and tested for the analysis and prediction of radioactive concentration in the troposphere. It is found that turbulent motion near the jet core plays the major role in the transport of radioactive debris from the stratosphere into the troposphere, whereas the mean motion of the jet core contributes to the spring maximum and autumn minimum of the concentration. A semiannual period in the variation of concentration exists, resulting from the interaction between the meridional gradient of the mean concentration and the mean motion of the jet core. It is also found that the average value of the vertical component of the eddy diffusivity in the troposphere is about 107 cm2 sec−1, and that the time required for diffusing radioactive particles from the tropopause level to the surface of the earth is about 11 hours.
A gauge-invariant Hamiltonian analysis for non-Abelian gauge theoreiesin (2+1) dimensions

The Hamiltonian formulation for a non-Abelian gauge theory in two spatial dimensions is carried out in terms of a gauge-invariant matrix parametrization of the fields. The Jacobian for the relevant transformation of variables is given in terms of the WZW-action for a hermitian matrix field. Some gauge-invariant eigenstates of the kinetic term of the Hamiltonian are given; these have zero charge and exhibit a mass gap.
Tightly bound oxalacetate and the activation of succinate dehydrogenase

Abstract Soluble succinate dehydrogenase prepared from acetone powders of submitochondrial particles is almost entirely in the deactivated state and contains 0.5 mole of oxalacetate (OAA) per mole of histidyl flavin. OAA is dissociated by succinate, malonate, IDP, ITP, and high concentrations of anions at elevated temperatures, but not significantly in the cold, with concurrent activation of the enzyme; the high energy of activation observed for OAA release and for activation suggests that a conformation change in the protein is involved. On removal of OAA, a reversible activation-deactivation cycle dependent on the pH is demonstrable. Submitochondrial particles behave similarly but appear to contain 1 mole of tightly bound OAA per histidyl flavin in the deactivated state.
Applying structured scenario fusion to address multifaceted strategic challenges

This paper proposes an applied method by which to fuse multiple independently developed scenarios to serve as a basis for strategic studies in the national security operations research community. First, it describes the need to fuse scenarios methodically as a consequence of the evolution of global security conditions and as a matter of logic that might be otherwise overlooked. Second, it proposes applying Structured Scenario Fusion (SSF), a method that uses three stylized tables to systematically and transparently record the process of scenario fusion. Third, it provides an example application set in a hypothetical study of future security conditions in Somalia. It concludes that SSF offers a promising way to improve the pedigree, realism, and logic of assumptions underpinning scenario-based strategic studies, as well as the quality of strategic decisions and plans thereby justified.
Plants on the IUCN Red List: setting priorities to inform conservation

The continuing decline of plant diversity will have a greater impact on human society than any other type of biodiversity loss. It is imperative, therefore, that efforts are increased to assess the conservation status of plants for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the de facto baseline reference for many conservation decisions. As discussed here, a review of plants on the current Red List suggests that priorities for future Red Listing should serve multiple purposes: to inform national conservation policy, to contribute to global conservation analyses, to encompass the phylogenetic diversity of plants and to address the dependence of human societies on plants. Future progress in plant Red Listing requires greater participation by the world's herbaria and increased support for expert networks.
Adaptive time windows for real-time crowd captioning

Real-time captioning provides deaf and hard of hearing users with access to live spoken language. The most common source of real-time captions are professional stenographers, but they are expensive (up to $200/hr). Recent work shows that groups of non-experts can collectively caption speech in real-time by directing workers to different portions of the speech and automatically merging the pieces together. This work uses 'one size fits all' segment durations regardless of an individual worker's ability or preferences. In this paper, we explore the effect of adaptively scaling the amount of content presented to each worker based on their past and recent performance. For instance, giving fast typists longer segments and giving workers shorter segments as they fatigue. Studies with 24 remote crowd workers, using ground truth in segment calculations, show that this approach improves average coverage by over 54%, and F1 score (harmonic mean) by over 44%.
First- and second-order directional differentiability of locally Lipschitzian functions

In this paper, characterizations of the existence of the directional derivative and second-order parabolic directional derivative of a locally Lipschitzian function are established. These characterizations involve the adjacent cone and second-order adjacent set of the graph of the function.
LONG-TERM LOW-DOSE MUTATION STUDIES IN HUMAN CELLS : METANIL YELLOW AND ORANGE II

Abstract We tested the mutagenic effects of two commonly used fold colors, metanil yellow and orange II, in AHH-1 human lymphoblast cells. The cell line, which is competent for oxidative metabolism of various chemicals, was exposed to both compounds in high-dose × short-term (3 day) or high-dose × long-term (10-day) and low-dose × long-term (20-day) treatments. Concentrations of metanil yellow and orange II as low as 22 nM and 12 nM, respectively, were sufficient to induce mutation rates which were equal to twice the spontaneous mutation rate at the HPRT locus in AHH-1 cells.