cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MBARC: a scalable memory based reconfigurable computing framework for nanoscale devices

While the emerging nanoscale devices show promises in terms of integration density and computing power, system design with these devices involve some major challenges, such as bottom-up design approach, effective integration with CMOS and defect tolerance. To address some of these challenges, we propose MBARC, a reconfigurable framework using memory as the primary computing element. The proposed framework leverages on the reported advantages of memory array design with nanodevices, which are compatible to fabrication into dense and regular structures. The main idea is to partition a logic circuit, implement the partitions as multi-input multi-output lookup tables in a memory array, and then use a simple CMOS-based scheduler to evaluate the partitions in topological time-multiplexed manner. Compared to existing reconfigurable nanocomputing models, the proposed memory based computing has three major advantages: 1) it minimizes the requirement of programmable interconnects, thus, saving design cost; 2) it minimizes the number of CMOS interfacing elements (required for level restoration and cascading logic blocks); 3) existing techniques for defect tolerance in memory array can be easily extended to this framework. Simulation results for a set of ISCAS benchmarks show average improvement of 32% in area, 21% in delay and 34% in energy per vector compared to nanoscale FPGA implementation.
Curvelets and wave atoms for mirror-extended images

We present variants of both the digital curvelet transform, and the digital wave atom transform, which handle the image boundaries by mirror extension. Previous versions of these transforms treated image boundaries by periodization. The main ideas of the modifications are 1) to tile the discrete cosine domain instead of the discrete Fourier domain, and 2) to adequately reorganize the in-tile data. In their shift-invariant versions, the new constructions come with no penalty on the redundancy or computational complexity. For shift-variant wave atoms, the penalty is a factor 2 instead of the naive factor 4. These various modifications have been included in the CurveLab and WaveAtom toolboxes, and extend the range of applicability of curvelets (good for edges and bandlimited wavefronts) and wave atoms (good for oscillatory patterns and textures) to situations where periodization at the boundaries is uncalled for. The new variants are dubbed ME-curvelets and ME-wave atoms, where ME stands for mirror-extended.
Studies on the carbohydrate metabolism of a gram-negative anaerobe (Bacteroides symbiosus) used in the culture of Entamoeba histolytica.

Bragg, P. D. (Louisiana State University, New Orleans) and R. E. Reeves. Studies on the carbohydrate metabolism of a gram-negative anaerobe (Bacteroides symbiosus) used in the culture of Entamoeba histolytica. J. Bacteriol. 83:76–84. 1962—Resting cells of Bacteroides symbiosus have been shown to utilize glucose and several other monosaccharides. The fermentation of the sugars is mediated by demonstrable kinases except in the case of mannitol. The main end products of metabolism of glucose are CO2, H2, ethanol, and acetic, butyric, succinic, and lactic acids. Changes in the thiol used in the growth media produce different enzyme complements in the cells. Thus, cells grown with cysteine as the thiol are unable to metabolize glucosamine, whereas those grown with thiomalate rapidly degrade the amino sugar. The results of the enzyme assay and the results from experiments with C14-labelled glucose suggest that glucose is metabolized by resting cells mainly by the Embden-Myerhof pathway.
Trends in work-related musculoskeletal disorder reports by year, type, and industrial sector: a capture-recapture analysis.

Background Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are thought to be declining based on Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data, but there is also evidence of MSD under-reporting, raising the possibility of contrary trends. The magnitude of MSD under-reporting over time, and its industry distribution have not been adequately described. Methods Capture-recapture analysis of 7 years of Connecticut MSD (1995–2001), utilizing Workers' Compensation and physician reporting data was performed. Results Only 5.5%–7.9% of MSD cases appear to be reported to Workers Compensation annually. The capture-recapture estimated average annual rate for upper-extremity MSD was 133.1 per 10,000 employed persons, far above BLS rates. By industry, Manufacturing, State Government, and the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate sectors all had significantly higher MSD rates than Wholesale/Retail Trade. Conclusions Upper-extremity MSD appears to be significantly under-reported, and rates are not decreasing over time. Capture-recapture methods provide an improved surveillance method for monitoring temporal trends in injury rates. Am. J. Ind. Med. 48:40–49, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Is There Meaningful Plant Resistance to Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Citrus Rootstock Germplasm?

Host plant resistance to the Diaprepes root weevil, Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) was assessed for seedlings of 54 Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. selections and two families of progeny from crosses between Citrus and P. trifoliata. Weight gain was consistently lower when larvae were reared in pots containing the progeny of Citrus reticulata Blanco 'Sunki' x P. trifoliata 'Flying Dragon' compared with larvae reared on progeny of 'Pearl' (C. reticulata x C. paradisi Macf.) x 'Flying Dragon'. This is the first evidence of genetic control of resistance to the Diaprepes root weevil within sexually compatible citrus rootstock germplasm. There was a significant positive correlation between percentage root loss and larval weight gain within the resistant progeny, indicating a possible antixenotic effect. Two varieties of P. trifoliata were identified as more resistant than 'Flying Dragon' based on larval weight gain.
Use of scripts for coordinating perception and action

This paper proposes scripts as a framework for coordinating and controlling a collection of behaviors needed to perform a highly stereotyped task. Scripts facilitate planning by explicitly representing the types of situations the behaviors are suited for, and the default schedule or plan of activities. They support building abstract behaviors from libraries of primitive independent behaviors by providing the meta-knowledge needed to smooth over minor incompatibilities. Scripts enable robust execution, allowing subscripts to be attached for reacting to anomalous conditions. The utility of scripts is demonstrated via a case study of topological navigation. In this case study, scripts provided the foundation for the abstract navigation behaviors used by a mobile robot to travel through indoor office spaces.
Security Risks and Protection in Online Learning: A Survey.

This paper describes a survey of online learning which attempts to determine online learning providers’ awareness of potential security risks and the protection measures that will diminish them. The authors use a combination of two methods: blog mining and a traditional literature search. The findings indicate that, while scholars have identified diverse security risks and have proposed solutions to mitigate the security threats in online learning, bloggers have not discussed security in online learning with great frequency. The differences shown in the survey results generated by the two different methods confirm that online learning providers and practitioners have not considered security as a top priority. The paper also discusses the next generation of an online learning system: a safer personal learning environment which requires a one-stop solution for authentication, assures the security of online assessments, and balances security and usability.
The Impact of Earnings Management and Tax Planning on the Information Content of Earnings

This paper examines the effect of tax planning and earnings management on the relative informativeness of book income and taxable income. We conduct two sets of tests documenting (1) the incremental effect of tax planning and earnings management on the relative informativeness of book and taxable income and (2) the relation between voluntary conformity and the relative informativeness of book and taxable income. Based on these two sets of tests, we conclude that tax planning and earnings quality jointly affect the relative informativeness of book and taxable income.
Stress Transfer from Axially Loaded Fiber to Matrix in a Microcomposite

The shear lag model has been used extensively to analyze the stress transfer in a singe fiber-reinforced composite (i.e., a microcomposite). To achieve analytical solutions, various simplifications have been adopted in the stress analysis. Questions regarding the adequacy of those simplifications are discussed in the present study for the following two cases: bonded interfaces and frictional interfaces. Specifically, simplifications regarding (1) the radial dependences of axial stresses in the fiber and the matrix, and (2) Poisson`s effect are addressed. For bonded interfaces, the latter can be ignored, and the former can generally be ignored. However, when the volume fraction of the fiber is high, the radial dependence of the axial stress in the fiber should be considered. For frictional interfaces, the former can be ignored, but the latter should be considered; however, it can be considered in an average sense to simplify the analysis. Comparisons among results obtained from analyses with various simplifications are made.
Why aren't lower, effective, OTC doses available earlier by prescription?

BACKGROUNDMany popular oral over-the-counter (OTC) drugs were originally available only by prescription, but not at the low doses contained in their OTC counterparts. Yet, if OTC doses are effective for treating mild symptoms, why weren't these low, often safer doses made available at least by prescription when the drugs were first approved?OBJECTIVETo examine issues surrounding the delayed approval of OTC doses by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).METHODSInformation reviewed included package inserts, data obtained from manufacturers, and articles published in MEDLINE (1966 to December 2001). Medications examined included presently available and potentially approved OTC antiinflammatory, gastrointestinal, and antihistamine drugs.RESULTSConsiderable data demonstrate the effectiveness of ibuprofen, naproxen, ranitidine, famotidine, nizatidine, diphenhydramine, and clemastine at OTC doses. Published studies also show the effectiveness of celecoxib, omeprazole, and fexofenadine at doses 33–50% lower than...
Optimal convex error estimators for classification

A cross-validation error estimator is obtained by repeatedly leaving out some data points, deriving classifiers on the remaining points, computing errors for these classifiers on the left-out points, and then averaging these errors. The 0.632 bootstrap estimator is obtained by averaging the errors of classifiers designed from points drawn with replacement and then taking a convex combination of this ''zero bootstrap'' error with the resubstitution error for the designed classifier. This gives a convex combination of the low-biased resubstitution and the high-biased zero bootstrap. Another convex error estimator suggested in the literature is the unweighted average of resubstitution and cross-validation. This paper treats the following question: Given a feature-label distribution and classification rule, what is the optimal convex combination of two error estimators, i.e. what are the optimal weights for the convex combination. This problem is considered by finding the weights to minimize the MSE of a convex estimator. It also considers optimality under the constraint that the resulting estimator be unbiased. Owing to the large amount of results coming from the various feature-label models and error estimators, a portion of the results are presented herein and the main body of results appears on a companion website. In the tabulated results, each table treats the classification rules considered for the model, various Bayes errors, and various sample sizes. Each table includes the optimal weights, mean errors and standard deviations for the relevant error measures, and the MSE and MAE for the optimal convex estimator. Many observations can be made by considering the full set of experiments. Some general trends are outlined in the paper. The general conclusion is that optimizing the weights of a convex estimator can provide substantial improvement, depending on the classification rule, data model, sample size and component estimators. Optimal convex bootstrap estimators are applied to feature-set ranking to illustrate their potential advantage over non-optimized convex estimators.
Micromolding in Capillaries for the Generation of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Filaments and Microstructures

The technique of micromolding in capillary has been employed to prepare molecularly imprinted polymer microfilaments, and to pattern MIP structures on silicon wafers. The approach relies on crosslinked poly(dimethylsiloxane) that contains relief structures as a mold to define the shape and size of the imprinted polymers. This article describes the processes leading to the fabrication of free-standing MIP micromonoliths and covalently immobilized MIP microstructures on silicon wafers. The limitations of the technique are also discussed. The development of miniaturized systems for chemical, analytical and diagnostic applications has attracted great interest recently.1,2,3 Significant advantages in speed, efficiency and control can be gained through the application of such miniature systems in laboratory testing. Micro devices have been fabricated to perform a variety of chemical and enzymatic reactions and in chip capillary electrophoresis separation. Much effort has also been devoted to shrinking analytical instruments such as high performance liquid chromatography4, combinatorial library screening system, and biosensors.6,7 Molecular recognition and interactions play central roles in these applications. Molecular imprinting, a technique for the synthesis of polymeric materials with analyte-specific recognition properties, is an attractive alternative to natural recognition systems such as antibodies and receptors.8,9,10 The ability to generate molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) microstructures on devices should open new possibilities towards the development of miniaturized systems for chemical, analytical and diagnostic applications. The added advantages of long-term stability and chemical resistivity of MIPs may make these “intelligent chips” attractive for instrument and device fabrication. We have employed a soft lithography11,12 technique, micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC),13,14 to fabricate MIP microstructures on silicon wafers. In MIMIC, an elastomeric stamp is placed in an intimate contact with the solid substrate. The recessed microchannels on the stamp form a network of empty capillaries. When a low-viscosity fluid precursor is placed in close contact at one end, it spontaneously fills the channels by capillary actions. Curing of the fluid leaves patterned microstructures on the substrate surface (Figure 1). An attractive feature of this technique is that the size and shape of the MIPs can be easily controlled and altered by those on the PDMS stamps. In addition, the process can be carried out conveniently in a chemical laboratory. Once the master mold is made, many elastomeric stamps can be cast and used repeatedly.
Aligning body and world: Stable reference frames improve young children's search for hidden objects

This study investigated how young children's increasingly flexible use of spatial reference frames enables accurate search for hidden objects by using a task that 3-year-olds have been shown to perform with great accuracy and 2-year-olds have been shown to perform inaccurately. Children watched as an object was rolled down a ramp, behind a panel of doors, and stopped at a barrier visible above the doors. In two experiments, we gave 2- and 2.5-year-olds a strong reference frame by increasing the relative salience and stability of the barrier. In Experiment 1, 2.5-year-olds performed at above-chance levels with the more salient barrier. In Experiment 2, we highlighted the stability of the barrier (or ramp) by maximizing the spatial extent of each reference frame across the first four training trials. Children who were given a stable barrier (and moving ramp) during these initial trials performed at above-chance levels and significantly better than children who were given a stable ramp (and moving barrier). This work highlights that factors central to spatial cognition and motor planning-aligning egocentric and object-centered reference frames-play a role in the ramp task during this transitional phase in development.
Struggle of the Poor: Neighborhood Organization and Clientelist Practice in a Quito Squatter Settlement

Struggle of the Poor: Neighborhood Organization and Clientelist Practice in. Quito Squatter Settlement. Gerrit Burgwal. Amsterdam: CEDLA, 1995. 260 pp.
Presidential Persuasion on Social Issues: A Two-Way Street?

Although the ability of presidents to mobilize opinion on foreign policy issues is well documented, much less is known about presidents’ abilities to change public attitudes on social and moral issues. We explore the limits of presidential persuasiveness by examining President Clinton’s 1993 proposal to permit gay men and lesbian women to serve openly in the armed forces. Because the issue involved core values and religious beliefs, we might expect Clinton to have been unable to change voter preferences. However, we find evidence of a reciprocal relationship. Clinton’s support for the issue persuaded some members of the public to support the policy, even as it also caused others to think less favorably of him.
Searching for the Culprit: Implication of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in the Development of Cardiovascular Disease in HIV patients

Major advances in highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART)have contributed to longer life expectancies of people living with HIV. Palella et al (1998) studied the changes in mortality rates as well as incidence of opportunistic infections in patients who received antiretroviral therapy (Palella et al., 1998). Results showed significant declining rates in morbidity and mortality in infected patients who were exposed to more potent treatment. They also found that combination therapy was more beneficial than monotherapy, suggesting that it should become the standard treatment in HIV+ patients. Although major advances in HAART have prolonged the life expectancies of HIV+ patients, this perspective delves deep into how HAART might be contributing to the co-morbidity of cardiovascular disease in HIV+ patients.
Along the Grand Trunk Road: The Photography of Raghubir Singh

For more than two millennia, the historic Grand Trunk Road, the busy thoroughfare that extends some 1500 miles through north India and Pakistan served as the main artery of South Asia. It was also the gateway through which waves of immigrants, travelers, and invaders entered the subcontinent. As a result, a great deal of diversity and tolerance marks the road. Between 1988 and 1991, Raghubir Singh (1942-1999), one of India’s renowned documentary photographers, traveled and photographed the Indian stretch of the Road. Ninety-six photographs from his journeys appear in the publication, The Grand Trunk Road: A Passage Through India (1995). Singh used the pictorial style of street photography that he is known for to capture everyday life along the path. Further, he emphasized the tremendous diversity he witnessed along the road through the selections he made for inclusion in the book and the specific manner in which he arranged many of them. By underscoring the heterogeneity, Singh provided a critical visual commentary of the political climate in India during the 1980s and early nineties. This period coincided with the rise of Hindu nationalism, which aimed to erase the subcontinent’s diverse past and promote instead the idea of a homogenous/Hindu India. By documenting the road in his uniquely pictorial style and arranging the photographs in his book to draw attention to the differences and tolerance witnessed along the path, Singh demonstrated that India was not a monolithic culture as the politics of the time claimed, but a rich interwoven fabric of many varied strands.
The role of the ω phase on the non-classical precipitation of the α phase in metastable β-titanium alloys

Abstract The metastable β-Ti alloy, Ti-5553, has been heat-treated to permit a determination of the role of the ω phase on non-classical precipitation of the α phase. Thus, samples containing the athermal ω phase have been up-quenched to 600°C. The observations made are consistent with the activation of the non-classical, pseudo-spinodal, nucleation mechanism, with the ω phase playing essentially no direct role. The α/β interfacial structures have been shown to exhibit significant degrees of coherency compared with those in conventional α/β alloys, and implications of this on lowering the interfacial energy, and so the activation for nucleation, are discussed.
Job Structures, Job Stress, and Mental Health

In this chapter, we discuss the substantial volume of research that connects the characteristics of jobs to stress and to stress-related health outcomes. Most of this research is conducted at the individual level and focuses on the adverse psychological consequences of the interaction of the individual worker with characteristics of her/his job. While this has been a productive line of work, we also note a number of limitations in both the theoretical and methodological nature of such work that leads us to ask questions that might best be answered by a structural/sociological perspective. Explanations for job stress that are limited to the individual level cannot explain how and why specific job conditions are created. They cannot explain how and why stressful job conditions change and they cannot account for the unequal distribution of “good” and “bad” job structures among different sorts of workers.
First attempt at a positive conditioned reinforcement analog of discriminated avoidance

A positive conditioned reinforcement schedule that included provision for restrengthening the conditioned reinforcer whenever it weakened critically proved partially successful in maintaining bar pressing.
Enantiospecific Kinetics in Surface Adsorption: Propylene Oxide on Pt(111) Surfaces

The enantiomers of chiral compounds are mirror images of each other and therefore exhibit identical chemical and physical properties. However, many mixtures of enantiomers of single chiral compounds exhibit different properties than those of each of the enantiomers alone. This is because opposite enantiomers usually pair up and form racemic compounds via strong interactions such as hydrogen bonding. Here we report on a unique case where the differences are due to a kinetic effect instead. The saturation monolayer of a racemic (50:50) mixture of propylene oxide on a Pt(111) surface was found to be approximately 20% less dense than a similar layer made out of one single propylene oxide enantiomer. A combination of temperature programmed desorption, scanning tunneling microscopy and molecular beam experiments and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations were used to identify the reason for this behavior to be adsorbate-assisted kinetics adsorption with different probabilities for homo- versus heteroenantiomeric pairs.
Transgenerational Epigenetics: The Role of Maternal Effects in Cardiovascular Development

Transgenerational epigenetics, the study of non-genetic transfer of information from one generation to the next, has gained much attention in the past few decades due to the fact that, in many instances, epigenetic processes outweigh direct genetic processes in the manifestation of aberrant phenotypes across several generations. Maternal effects, or the influences of maternal environment, phenotype, and/or genotype on offsprings' phenotypes, independently of the offsprings' genotypes, are a subcategory of transgenerational epigenetics. Due to the intimate role of the mother during early development in animals, there is much interest in investigating the means by which maternal effects can shape the individual. Maternal effects are responsible for cellular organization, determination of the body axis, initiation and maturation of organ systems, and physiological performance of a wide variety of species and biological systems. The cardiovascular system is the first to become functional and can significantly influence the development of other organ systems. Thus, it is important to elucidate the role of maternal effects in cardiovascular development, and to understand its impact on adult cardiovascular health. Topics to be addressed include: (1) how and when do maternal effects change the developmental trajectory of the cardiovascular system to permanently alter the adult's cardiovascular phenotype, (2) what molecular mechanisms have been associated with maternally induced cardiovascular phenotypes, and (3) what are the evolutionary implications of maternally mediated changes in cardiovascular phenotype?
Ectopic intracranial germinoma

Intracranial ectopic germinomas are often associated with synchronous midline disease. Germinomas involving the corpus callosum are exceedingly rare. The reported imaging appearance is not as varied as one might expect and a review of the literature reveals a few common imaging features amongst most ectopic lesions, including cyst formation. We report a 24-year-old man with panhypopituitarism. Neuroimaging revealed three enhancing lesions involving the pituitary infundibulum, the pineal region, and a parenchymal lesion involving the genu of the corpus callosum. The described ectopic mass, a parenchymal lesion, was associated with small peripheral cysts. Stereotactic biopsy and histopathological evaluation revealed this mass to be a germinoma. Following chemotherapy and radiation therapy, there was near-total resolution of the intracranial disease. Preoperative imaging plays an important role, not only in delineating the extent of disease, but also in assisting in generating an appropriate differential diagnosis. Germinomas in the corpus callosum are exceedingly rare but should be considered in the differential of any young patient with a characteristic cystic and solid intra-axial mass.
Aperture Effects on Aero-Optical Distortions Caused by Subsonic Boundary Layers

Results of experimental measurements of aero-optical distortions caused by turbulent boundary layers at subsonic speeds M = 0.4...0.6 are presented. Measurements were performed using a high-speed Shack-Hartmann sensor and a Malley probe to collect instantaneous wavefronts with high spatial and temporal resolution. Effects of different aperture sizes on levels of aero-optical aberrations and correlation lengths in both spanwise and streamwise directions are compared and discussed for both wavefront sensors. Detailed statistical analysis of spatial and temporal spectra of aero-optical distortions is presented. Analytical method to predict levels of aero-optical distortions and streamwise correlation lengths for different aperture sizes is proposed and it was found to agree with experimental results. The contribution of boundary-layer large- and small-scale structures on overall level of aero-optical distortions is examined and discussed.
Ergodicity and the Merits of the Single Case

This chapter presents a complex dynamical systems view on cause and effect relationships in education. It takes issue with the elevation of randomized control trial designs to the gold standard in educational research. Two problems in particular are noted: the changes that generate cause and effect are typically not observed in great detail but retroactively inferred from group mean differences (the black box problem), and findings from one or a few successive observations are generalized to a wide time spectrum (e.g., an entire school year) without actually studying the contribution of time to the variability in measurements (the ergodic assumption). This chapter makes the case for the use of detailed single case studies to address these two gaps empirically. The role of the complex systems paradigm in this context is to generate hypotheses reflecting these priorities, and to develop and effectively use specific research methodologies to investigate the transformative process through which cause and effect relations become manifest. Empirical and simulated examples are discussed.
Reaction-in-Flight neutrons as a test of stopping power in degenerate plasmas

Cryogenically cooled inertial confinement fusion capsule designs are suitable for studies of reaction-in-flight (RIF) neutrons. RIF neutrons occur when energetically up-scattered ions undergo DT reactions with a thermal ion in the plasma, producing neutrons in the energy range 9-30 MeV. The knock-on ions lose energy as they traverse the plasma, which directly affects the spectrum of the produced RIF neutrons. Here we present measurements from the National Ignition Facility (NIF) of RIF neutrons produced in cryogenic capsules, with energies above 15 MeV. We show that the measured RIFs probe stopping under previously unexplored degenerate plasma conditions and constrain stopping models in warm dense plasma conditions.
Nuclear Reactions and Superfluid Time Dependent Density Functional Theory

The extension of Time Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) to superfluid systems is discussed in the context of nuclear reactions and large amplitude collective motion.
Paths to Progress: Madrasa Education and Sub-Saharan Muslims’ Pursuit of Socioeconomic Development

This chapter explores the strategies sub-Saharan African Muslims adopted to promote socioeconomic development after independence from colonial rule. Focusing on the transformation of Islamic education from Qur’anic schooling to more modern madrasa system, the chapter demonstrates that African Muslims used madrasa education as an alternative infrastructure for pursuing social mobility and economic advancement. During the colonial period, Muslim parents resisted secular education offered by Christian missionaries because they feared the missionaries would convert their children to Christianity. Rather, Muslim educators focused on transforming and modernizing Muslim schooling, which they called “madrasa”. At the end of colonial rule, Muslims found themselves economically and socially marginalized due to their lack of secular education, which had become the main source of employment. By the second decade of independence, madrasa education had evolved to become Anglo-Arabic or Franco Arabic schools where impoverished Muslims obtained affordable religious and secular education. The popularity of these schools, along with high cost of university education since the early 1990s, inspired the founding of private Islamic universities throughout Africa. These universities offer courses in the humanities and the sciences within an Islamic environment, and admit qualified male and female students from impoverished households regardless of religious background. Madrasa schooling thus served as an indispensable path to progress for many sub-Saharan African Muslims during the independence era.
Trying to Save the Garden: What if “Rat Choice” Hadn’t Invaded Public Policy and Public Administration? A Public Administration Satire

In the following satire, the author argues that an obnoxious pest has overtaken traditional public administration and is known by a variety of different names including “public choice,” “rational choice,” and “principal-agent theory” (all collectively known here as ‘rat choice’) that has invaded the “garden” of public administration and policy. What if a super-potent rodent killer had been developed to suppress the loss and damage of the fruits and vegetables in the garden? A more truly democratic administration may have been more firmly established in the 20th Century. Public policies today also might be bearing more fruit for all of society instead of being eaten away by wealthy individuals and corporations solely interested in material wealth and not the public interest.
Activism through attrition?: An exploration of viral resignation letters and the teachers who wrote them

Abstract In recent years, there has emerged a new phenomenon in response to contemporary educational policies: public teacher resignation letters. Through the theoretical frames of participatory democracy and identity, and analyzed in light of literature on teacher attrition and activism, we investigate the following questions with 8 teacher resigners: (1) What are the rationales of and implications for teachers to resign in public ways? (2) How are teachers' public resignation letters a reflection of their personal and professional identities?
Sharp volumetric billboard based characterization and modeling of complex 3D Ni/Al high energy ball milled composites

Abstract We present an innovative image-based modeling technique, based on Google Earth like algorithms, to effectively resolve intricate material morphology and address the computational complexity associated with heterogeneous materials. This sharp volumetric billboard algorithm stems from a volumetric billboard method, a multi-resolution modeling strategy in computer graphics. In this work, we enhance volumetric billboards through a sharpening filter to reconstruct the statistical information of heterogeneous systems. A hierarchy of microstructures is created for high energy ball milled Ni/Al composites. We analyze the first- and second-order statistics of microstructures, and characterize both macro- and micro-mechanical material responses. Furthermore, we conduct a convergence study of the associated computational results. The statistical and mechanical robustness of data compression is demonstrated through the corresponding error analysis.
Kawasaki disease Recent advances.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is now the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in the United States and in Japan. Despite 20 years of research since the first English-language report of KD, the etiology of this disease continues to elude us. The long-term effects of the acute vasculitis on the health of the coronary arteries in adulthood is similarly unknown. A review follows of the progress that has been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of this mysterious illness.
Quantifying shoreline change in Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu using a time series of Quickbird, Worldview and Landsat data

Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, which has experienced some of the highest rates of global sea-level rise over the past 60 years. Atoll islands are low-lying acc...
Introduction to Algorithms

Computational methods are designed to solve complex problems systematically and efficiently. Classification and selection procedures are often used in biological sequence and other data analysis. This chapter provides an introduction to different methods like clustering, hypothesis -testing, and classification methods.
The Early Stages of Presenile and Senile Alzheimer’s Disease: Initial Studies of Disease Severity and Cerebral Blood Flow

Previous work has documented that the common dementing diseases are associated with reductions of cerebral blood flow. Moreover, the reductions appear mostly in cortical regions, and may show sufficient regional specificity to serve as accurate diagnostic discriminators among various etiologies of dementia. We here report initial results from a study that extends these previous investigations in several directions. The present study employs a new technology for the measurement of regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF). Moreover this is the first study to carefully document the severity of dementia on several dimensions, and examine rCBF abnormalities in relation to such indices of severity. Finally, all previous studies were performed on patients with severe demential of relatively long duration; we report the extension of the findings to patients at the early stages of the disease.
Predicting Suicide Attempts for Racial and Ethnic Groups of Patients During Routine Clinical Care.

The aim of this study was to examine variation in suicide ideation and its relationship to risk of suicide attempt in the subsequent 90 days by race and ethnicity. Participants were adults who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ9) during an outpatient encounter between January 10, 2010, and December 12, 2012 (N = 509,945 patients; N = 1,228,308 completed PHQ9). Data came from the Virtual Data Warehouse from four health care systems in the Mental Health Research Network. The sample was majority female (73.7%), primarily 30-64 years old (60.1%), healthy (64.5% comorbidity index = 0), and over half were non-Hispanic White (52.9%). Only Asian patients (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.24, 1.39) had higher odds of reporting suicide ideation when compared to non-Hispanic White people. All racial and ethnic groups had increased risk for suicide attempt with increased frequency of suicide ideation. The PHQ9 item 9 can be used as an indicator of suicide ideation and risk for suicide attempt up to 90 days after the reported ideation in racial and ethnic minority patients during routine clinical care.
Ennobling the Neanderthal: Racialized Texts and Genomic Admixture

I am interested in the ways that new discoveries and subsequent claims about Neanderthal genetic inheritance invert previous evolutionary narratives. Whereas Neanderthals were once viewed as a brutish and maladaptive discontinuity from the human story, today’s genomic research confirms that at least 5 percent of Neanderthal DNA survives in contemporary human populations. In fact, scientists are now asking whether any Neanderthal retentions might favor human populations. On the heels of this research, new findings from the Slim Initiative for Genomic Medicine in the Americas (SIGMA) seek to link Neanderthal retentions to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). As human populations migrated out of and away from sub-Saharan Africa, they became more similar to one another as well as to their “sister” Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestors. Because of the decrease in genetic mutations arising from the resultant loss of heterozygosity, these relatively more homogeneous groups of “archaic humans” became less related to sub-Saharan Africans. My concern centers on how the absence of Neanderthal ancestry in sub-Saharan populations and the claims of the SIGMA group offer new narrative texts for reading racial difference and T2D risk in Indigenous, Black, and Mexican populations. I argue that these novel texts form the latest in a line of historical schemata for reckoning racial difference, specifically in Mexico.
Lucidity, Sex, and Horror in Senoi Dreamwork

This chapter is a description and analysis of aspects of the dream praxis of the Senoi, a Malaysian people whose way of interpreting and responding to dreams has had much influence on Europeans and Americans interested in the psychotherapeutic use of dreams. Recent publications have made it plain that much of the “Senoi” ethnography with which Western dreamworkers are familiar is of dubious reliability. This chapter indicates, by example, that the differences between the familiar version of Senoi life (by Stewart) and the accounts given by anthropologists are not merely matters of interpretation.
Abstract 3201: Impact of a Stroke "Quick Look" Assessment on meeting Brain Attack Coalition Guidelines

Background and Issues: Emergency Departments (ED) are challenged to meet Brain Attack Coalition Guidelines (BACG) for treatment of patients with acute stroke symptoms. BACG recommends that patients with acute stroke symptoms be assessed by a physician within 10 minutes of arrival to the ED, have a Computed Tomography (CT) scan within 25 minutes, receive results of the CT scan within 45 minutes, and receive intravenous TPA within 6o minutes if appropriate. Purpose: The purpose of our study was to radically change our delivery system for stroke patients and exceed BACG guidelines to improve patient outcomes for an emergency department servicing greater than 100,000 visits annually. Methods: The innovation that was vital in streamlining our process was a “Quick Look” neuro assessment by a physician for patients presenting with acute stroke symptoms. At-risk patients progress immediately to radiology, bypassing the traditional serial process of going straight to an ED room and waiting for the stroke team. Implementation of this “Quick Look” process included activation of the Neurologist and Rapid Response Team member. Results: A retrospective review of 479 charts between December 2009 and December 2010 was conducted to determine process outcomes. Implementation of a “Quick Look” assessment decreased “Door to Doctor” time from 10 minutes to 2.75 minutes (73% decrease); “Door to CT” time from 41 minutes to 18 minutes (56% decrease); door-to-administration-of-IV-TPA time from 82 minutes to 62 minutes (24% decrease); “Door to CT Results” time from 53 minutes to 27 minutes (49% decrease); and “Door to IV-TPA” time from 82 minutes to 62 minutes (24% decrease). Current 2011 year to date results through June 2011 meet the BACG door-to-needle time of less than 60 minutes. Conclusions: The implementation of the “Quick Look” process has sustained these positive outcomes throughout 2011, meeting BACG the first two quarters of 2011, and meeting the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll. Although the success of this process improvement was driven by the stroke council; the amazing results are due to the efforts and collaboration of a highly functioning interdisciplinary Emergency, Rapid Response and Neurosciences team.
Objective Definition of Rainfall Intensity-Duration Thresholds for Post-fire Flash Floods and Debris Flows in the Area Burned by the Waldo Canyon Fire, Colorado, USA

We present an objectively defined rainfall intensity-duration (I-D) threshold for the initiation of flash floods and debris flows for basins recently burned in the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. Our results are based on 453 rainfall records which include 8 instances of hazardous flooding and debris flow from 10 July 2012 to 14 August 2013. We objectively defined the thresholds by maximizing the number of correct predictions of debris flow or flood occurrence while minimizing the rate of both Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) errors. The equation I = 11.6D−0.7 represents the I-D threshold (I, in mm/h) for durations (D, in hours) ranging from 0.083 h (5 min) to 1 h for basins burned by the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire. As periods of high-intensity rainfall over short durations (less than 1 h) produced all of the debris flow and flood events, real-time monitoring of rainfall conditions will result in very short lead times for early-warning. Our results highlight the need for improved forecasting of the rainfall rates during short-duration, high-intensity convective rainfall events.
PD-1 Inhibitor Immune-Related Adverse Events in Patients With Preexisting Endocrine Autoimmunity.

Context Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including monoclonal antibodies directed against programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and its ligand, have emerged as beneficial cancer immunotherapies. These therapies are known to cause immune-related side effects; however, their role in patients with a preexisting autoimmune disease is not clear. Case description We describe two cases of anti-PD-1 immune-related adverse events. A 52-year-old male with longstanding type 1 diabetes (T1D), long-term stable kidney transplant, and hypothyroidism received two separate anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies for metastatic melanoma. The patient developed acute kidney graft rejection requiring hemodialysis and worsening of autoimmune hypothyroidism 3 weeks after starting treatment. He continued anti-PD-1 treatments and remained on hemodialysis and increased levothyroxine dosage. The second case is a 62-year-old male with no previous history of diabetes who received anti-PD-1 treatment and developed severe diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) 5 days following the start of therapy. Further laboratory testing revealed high titer antibodies directed against glutamic acid decarboxylase. These antibodies, which were of the IgG isotype and involved in memory immune responses, were likely present before anti-PD-1 treatment. He also had human leukocyte antigen genes that confer T1D genetic risk. Despite normal pretreatment blood glucose levels and HbA1c, the patient requires permanent exogenous insulin treatment. Conclusion Patients with preexisting endocrine autoimmunity may have more frequent and severe immune-related side effects with anti-PD-1 treatment. Given the morbidity and mortality associated with solid organ transplant rejection and DKA, clinicians caring for patients receiving these state-of-the-art therapies need to be aware of the potential adverse events.
Occupational Therapy and Sleep

This chapter will discuss the role of occupational therapy (OT) in addressing sleep disorders in children with developmental delay, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other disorders of childhood that may involve symptoms of sensory processing disorder. The history of occupational therapy will be presented in order to provide the reader with a clear understanding of the theoretical constructs that support occupational therapy’s role in addressing sleep disorders. The framework of occupational therapy as it applies to pediatric care will be reviewed, emphasizing the importance of considering both the child and the family structure when planning treatment. The Model of Human Occupation is a widely used theoretical frame for occupational therapists in the field as it supports a holistic approach to therapy. Children with developmental disorders are often referred to occupational therapy because of sensory processing disorders, including poor sensory filtering and poor sensory registration, that impact on their ability to successfully participate in daily life tasks or occupational tasks such as play, activity of daily living, rest, and sleep. Sensory processing disorders will be explained with literature that supports sensory processing differences in typically developing and atypically developing children with poor sleep patterns. Finally, treatment strategies and techniques frequently used in occupational therapy to address poor sensory processing will be presented as they benefit or can have an impact on a child’s sleep and wake patterns. Research that is specific to OT treatment strategies and techniques targeting nighttime sleep is limited. Therefore, research that addresses the use of sensory strategies to support a child’s sensory processing needs during waking hours will be discussed. Concluding statements will support the role of occupational therapy as part of an interdisciplinary approach to addressing not only the sleep disorder demonstrated by the child but also the impact of the sleep disorder on the family unit as a whole.