cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface chemistry, properties and performance of a microwave browning dish

Abstract The importance of surface chemistry optimization to the overall durability and performance of a microwave browning dish was studied. The cooking performance and properties of the resulting utensil are discussed. The ideal browner dish is characterized by an optimized coating plus a highly durable fine-grained substrate material.
Comparisons between the accretion flows of low- and intermediate-mass stars

Abstract There is a well-developed, observationally-tested paradigm for accretion flows around young low-mass stars, consisting of infall to a rotating circumstellar disk, followed by accretion through the disk onto the central star. This basic picture may apply to higher-mass stars as well, but this has not been convincingly demonstrated yet, largely due to observational limitations. While it is clear that at least some intermediate-mass (2–5 M ⊙ ) stars have dusty circumstellar disks, progress has been limited by small sample sizes and by difficulties in assigning ages to these stars. The origin of the excess infrared emission is not clear in many IM stars; either disks or envelopes, or both, may contribute. It is also not clear whether the model for T Tauri stars, in which disk material accretes onto the star along a stellar magnetosphere, also applies to some pre-main sequence intermediate mass stars. Further studies are needed to understand whether the strong winds of some young intermediate mass stars are driven by accretion energy release.
Early position and stuttering occurrence

Abstract Early sentence position is one of several features of verbal expression frequently reported to be associated with stuttering occurrence. Some studies also have reported the concurrence of these features with normal disfluencies. A review of the pertinent literature reveals that, among these features, early position is associated significantly more often with stuttering than with normal dysfluencies. Results of a study investigating stress patterns in the fluent utterances of stuttering and normal speakers yielded contrasts which speak pointedly to the relationship between early position and stuttering occurrence.
The mechanics of ringed basin formation

The study investigates the mechanics of ring formation in lunar basins by collapse or slumping. Two classes of models are presented in order to broaden the range of plausible mechanisms involved. Extrusion flow models which assume a weak layer underlying a strong layer as well as plastic flow models which assume a continuous decrease of cohesion strength with depth are considered. In both classes, strength or resistance to deformation decreases with depth. If this decrease is rapid enough, in either set of models, at least one concentric fault scarp forms. The ratio between the scarp radius and the crater radius varies between 1.2 and about 2.7 depending on the model, and is thus in the range of observed radius ratios.
Zinc‐Induced Aggregation of Human and Rat β‐Amyloid Peptides In Vitro

The major pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease is the presence of a high density of amyloid plaques in the brain tissue of patients. The plaques are predominantly composed of human beta-amyloid peptide (A beta), a 39-43-mer peptide the neurotoxicity of which is related to its aggregation state. Previous work has demonstrated that certain metals that have been implicated as risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (Al, Fe, and Zn) also cause substantial aggregation of A beta. In particular, we reported that zinc cations at concentrations of > 10(-4) M dramatically accelerate the rate of A beta aggregation at physiological peptide concentrations at 37 degrees C in vitro. In the present study, we investigate the effect of Zn2+ on aggregation of radiolabeled and unlabeled human and rat A beta over a wide range of peptide concentrations in the presence and absence of salt and blocking protein. Aggregation was assayed by centrifugation and filtration using amino acid analysis, immunoassay, and gamma-counting for quantification over a wide range of concentrations of Zn2+ and A beta above and below physiological values. The results of this study demonstrate the following: (a) Radioiodinated A beta accurately tracked unlabeled A beta, (b) zinc concentrations of at least 10(-4) M were required to induce significant aggregation of A beta, and (c) rat and human A beta species were cleared from aqueous solutions by similar concentrations of zinc. These results stand in significant quantitative disagreement (approximately 100-fold in zinc concentration) with one previous study that reported significant aggregation of A beta by < 1 microM Zn2+. Differences between the present study and the latter study from another laboratory appear to result from inappropriate reliance on optical density to measure A beta concentrations and nonspecific loss of A beta to plastic in the absence of blocking protein.
Ethics, law and technology: a case study in computer-mediated communication

The Internet poses particular challenges to traditional legal methods of regulating online behavior. Some theorists argue that the Internet is capable of collective self-regulation that provides reasonable protection to activities occurring on the global net. Others respond that while the social norms that create the basis of collective self-regulation do provide real constraint in cyberspace, software code, not social norms, will provide the most efficient means of regulating on-line behavior. CMC research suggests that virtual communities are capable of limited forms of self-regulation through emerging systems of social dynamics. This paper explicates this debate by weighting the merits of community self-regulation and technological regulation through an examination of the development and use of interactive behavioral mechanisms to regulate interaction at an adult-oriented web site.
Cloning Large Natural Product Gene Clusters from the Environment: Piecing Environmental DNA Gene Clusters Back Together with TAR

A single gram of soil can contain thousands of unique bacterial species, of which only a small fraction is regularly cultured in the laboratory. Although the fermentation of cultured microorganisms has provided access to numerous bioactive secondary metabolites, with these same methods it is not possible to characterize the natural products encoded by the uncultured majority. The heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters cloned from DNA extracted directly from environmental samples (eDNA) has the potential to provide access to the chemical diversity encoded in the genomes of uncultured bacteria. One of the challenges facing this approach has been that many natural product biosynthetic gene clusters are too large to be readily captured on a single fragment of cloned eDNA. The reassembly of large eDNA-derived natural product gene clusters from collections of smaller overlapping clones represents one potential solution to this problem. Unfortunately, traditional methods for the assembly of large DNA sequences from multiple overlapping clones can be technically challenging. Here we present a general experimental framework that permits the recovery of large natural product biosynthetic gene clusters on overlapping soil-derived eDNA cosmid clones and the reassembly of these large gene clusters using transformation-associated recombination (TAR) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The development of practical methods for the rapid assembly of biosynthetic gene clusters from collections of overlapping eDNA clones is an important step toward being able to functionally study larger natural product gene clusters from uncultured bacteria. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 93: 833–844, 2010.
Fuzzy AHP and utility theory based patient sorting in emergency departments

Triage, a classification system used to separate patients based on the acuity of their condition, is considered in this study. Triage process relies on the nurse's interaction with the patient (e.g., a conversation on symptoms, visual observation, and vital sign measurements), and the subsequent severity classification. However, potential miscommunication, and thus uncertainty could be present in this process. In order to account for this uncertainty, a triage algorithm that uses fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) along with the multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) to sort the patients is presented. FAHP is used to get an acuity score on the chief complaint, and MAUT integrates this score with age, gender, and pain level to provide a final prioritisation. In the paper, a clinical case study is provided for which we used an expert nurse's judgments to build the FAHP and the utility functions.
Impurities Enhance Semiconductor Nanocrystal Performance

The semiconductor industry annually spends billions of dollars deliberately adding atomic impurities, called dopants, into very pure semiconductors. Dopants can make devices run faster by increasing the number of negatively (n) or positively (p) charged mobile carriers. They can also determine the predominant type of charge carrier: electrons in n-type semiconductors, “holes” in p-type semiconductors (the dopant atom accepts an electron, resulting in the formation of a “hole”). Without doping, the fabrication of key transistor components such as p-n junctions would not be possible ( 1 ). Doping has had less impact on lower-cost devices in which semiconductor nanocrystals may be used, such as solar cells, printable low-power devices, and light-emitting diodes ( 2 ). Our knowledge of the doping effects on the electronic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals has been incomplete because of a lack of robust synthetic methods for doping free-standing nanocrystals (as opposed to thin films of nanocrystals). On page 77 of this issue, Mocatta et al. ( 3 ) report a solution-phase synthesis of metallically doped, free-standing indium arsenide (InAs) nanocrystals. They present strong evidence that both n- and p-type nanocrystals were formed, as well as insights into the electronic and optical effects of doping small nanocrystals (less than 10 nm in diameter).
Photoluminescence spectra of germanium at high excitation intensities

Abstract We present here experimental and theoretical results concerning the photoluminescence spectra of intrinsic germanium under 1.06 μm pulsed excitation at temperatures 295 and 174 K. At 295 K with increasing excitation level, the peak of the spectrum shifts from 1.76 to 1.54 μm, corresponding respectively to the indirect and direct energy gaps. We present results of a fundamental calculation that accounts for the above behavior and the emission band shape.
The impact of family functioning on anxiety symptoms in African American and European American young adults

The current study aimed to investigate reported family functioning and its impact on anxiety symptoms in a sample of African American and European American young adults. One hundred African American and one hundred twenty one European American young adults completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and a retrospective version of the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD). Results indicated that the African Americans reported significantly less anxiety as measured by the BAI and the STAI Trait subscale. Significant differences did not exist on the FAD subscales. A structural equation model was posed to test measurement model invariance and subsequent prediction of anxiety from a latent factor of family functioning created from the FAD subscales. Results indicated that the family functioning factor loadings were significantly different between African Americans and European Americans. Further analyses revealed that family functioning significantly predicted anxiety symptoms in the European American sample, but not the African American sample. Implications of familial functioning, anxiety, and ethnicity are discussed.
The Price of Market Volatility Risk

We analyze the volatility risk premium by applying a modified two-pass Fama-MacBeth procedure to the returns of a large cross section of the returns of options on individual equities. Our results provide strong evidence of a volatility risk premium that is increasing in the level of overall market volatility. This risk premium provides compensation for risk stemming both from the characteristics of the option contract and the riskiness of the underlying equity. We also show with a large scale Monte Carlo simulation that measurement error in option prices and violations of arbitrage bounds induce highly economically significant biases in the mean returns of options. In fact, our simulation results demonstrate that biases can be up to several percentage points per day. These large biases can lead researchers to faulty conclusions with respect to both the magnitude of the volatility risk premium and the sign of expected option returns.
Helping Preservice Reading Teachers Learn to Read and Conduct Research to Inform Their Instruction

A research-based activity for undergraduate students in a secondary education, foundations of reading course is described herein. The activity aims to develop students' research understandings, skills, and positive attitudes that will become a foundation for making instructional decisions based on their own reading of the educational research. In this activity, students read some of the scientific literature on reading fluency, design a study focusing on the effects of the method of repeated reading, conduct the study themselves, use careful and reproducible measurement techniques, and share their findings and implications both orally and in writing.
I'm eating for two: parental dietary effects on offspring metabolism

It has long been understood that the pathogenesis of complex diseases such as diabetes includes both genetic and environmental components. More recently, it has become clear that not only does an individual's environment influence their own metabolism, but in some cases, the environment experienced by their parents may also contribute to their risk of metabolic disease. Here, we review the evidence that parental diet influences metabolic phenotype in offspring in mammals and provide a current survey of our mechanistic understanding of these effects.
The health significance of environmental odour pollution: revisited

The health impact of environmental odor pollution varies with both the source and the exposed population. Some environmental odors herald toxicologically important exposures. On the other hand, some potent odorants, in particular organic amines and reduced sulfur gases, have odor thresholds several orders of magnitude lower than their thresholds for irritant (or other toxic) effects. Notwithstanding this apparent margin of safety, community members impacted by such emissions often report, not only odor-related annoyance, but also such somatic symptoms as headache, nausea and shortness of breath. This paper reviews potential pathophysiologic mechanisms whereby ordors, per se, may trigger symptoms among exposed individuals. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The impact of active site protonation on substrate ring conformation in Melanocarpus albomyces cellobiohydrolase Cel7B.

The ability to utilize biomass as a feedstock for liquid fuel and value-added chemicals is dependent on the efficient and economic utilization of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. In current bioreactors, cellulases are used to convert crystalline and amorphous cellulose to smaller oligomers and eventually glucose by means of cellulase enzymes. A critical component of the enzyme catalyzed hydrolysis reaction is the degree to which the enzyme can facilitate substrate ring deformation from the chair to a more catalytically active conformation (e.g. skewed boat) at the −1 subsite. Presented here is an evaluation of the impact of the protonation state for critical active site residues (i.e. Glu212, Asp214, Glu217, and His228) in Melanocarpus albomyces (Ma) Cellobiohydrolase Cel7B on the substrate's orientation and ring conformation. It is found that the protonation state of the active site can disrupt the intra-enzyme hydrogen bonding network and enhance the sampling of various ring puckering conformations for the substrate ring at the +1 and −1 subsites. In particular it is observed that the protonation state of Asp214 dictates the accessibility of the glycosidic bond to the catalytic acid/base Glu217 by influencing the φ/ψ dihedral angles and the puckering of the ring structure. The protonation–orientation–conformation analysis has revealed an active site that primarily utilizes two highly coupled protonation schemes; one protonation scheme to orient the substrate and generate catalytically favorable substrate geometries and ring puckering conformations and another protonation scheme to hydrolyze the glycosidic bond. In addition to identifying how enzymes utilize protonation state to manipulate substrate geometry, this study identifies possible directions for improving catalytic activity through protein engineering.
Primary Liposarcoma of the Liver

Abstract Liposarcoma is a rare mesenchymal malignant tumor, which usually originates in the retroperitoneum and the extremities. Seven cases of primary liposarcoma of the liver have been previously...
Formal Safety Analysis of the Control Program for a Radiation Therapy Machine

A central problem in software development is to assure that a complex program actually meets its requirements. This problem is most urgent in applications such as the control of radiation therapy machines, where execution of the program can have irreversible human consequences.
Local field potentials in the ventral tegmental area during cocaine-induced locomotor activation: Measurements in freely moving rats

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) has been established as a critical nucleus for processing behavioral changes that occur during psychostimulant use. Although it is known that cocaine induced locomotor activity is initiated in the VTA, not much is known about the electrical activity in real time. The use of our custom-designed wireless module for recording local field potential (LFP) activity provides an opportunity to confirm and identify changes in neuronal activity within the VTA of freely moving rats. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in VTA LFP activity in real time that underlie cocaine induced changes in locomotor behavior. Recording electrodes were implanted in the VTA of rats. Locomotor behavior and LFP activity were simultaneously recorded at baseline, and after saline and cocaine injections. Results indicate that cocaine treatment caused increases in both locomotor behavior and LFP activity in the VTA. Specifically, LFP activity was highest during the first 30 min following the cocaine injection and was most robust in Delta and Theta frequency bands; indicating the role of low frequency VTA activity in the initiation of acute stimulant-induced locomotor behavior. Our results suggest that LFP recording in freely moving animals can be used in the future to provide valuable information pertaining to drug induced changes in neural activity.
Employing a multilevel approach to examine contraceptive service provision for youth in New York City

In the United States, concerns about adolescent pregnancy and its purported consequences—negative health effects for mother and child, the disintegration of the nuclear family, and overdependence on public resources—began to widely circulate in policy spheres and the news media in the 1970s, resulting in a proliferation of policies, programs, and services designed to address its prevention. Though national adolescent birth rates are currently at their lowest since reaching a peak in the early 1990s, this decline masks persistent and significant disparities between groups of young people by race, ethnicity, geography, and poverty level, reflecting a complex intersection of social and economic inequities and diverse sociocultural meanings attached to adolescent childbearing. Using ethnographic methods, the research described in this article examines the values and priorities undergirding the promotion of hormonal and long-acting reversible contraception for sexually active youth in New York City, an urban center of vast extremes in health, wealth, and opportunity, but which boasts extensive reproductive health services for young people, including confidential care and availability of free or low-cost contraception. It examines the interpretation of this strategy from the perspectives of reproductive health leaders and health care workers, highlighting the ways in which adolescence, sexual risk, and youth relationships are characterized. It also describes the needs and priorities identified by these participants with regard to contraceptive counseling and reproductive decision making, contextualized by the experiences of youth participants for whom this strategy is intended, elucidating the broader sociocultural contexts in which young women negotiate intimate relationships and contraceptive use. The utility of multilevel and holistic approaches to the study of reproductive health services for youth is discussed, along with implications for clinical practice and policy development.
Evolutionary Morphology of Flightlessness in the Auckland Islands Teal

Analyses morphometriques et descriptions qualitatives d'echantillons de peau et de squelettes et etudes de dissections myologiques d'appendices pectoraux.Discussion sur les implications ontogenetiques, ecologiques, taxonomiques et pour l'evolution, de l'absence d'aile chez la sarcelle des iles Auckland.
Modelling Multiagent Systems

We propose a formal framework for the specification of the behavior of a system of agents, as well as those of the constituting agents. This framework allows us to model each agent’s effectoric capability including its interactions with the other agents. We also provide an algorithm based on Milner’s ”observation equivalence” to derive an agent’s perception of its task domain situations from its effectoric capability, and use ”system computations” to model the coordinated efforts of the agents in the system . Formal definitions of the concept of ”behavior equivalence” of two agents and that of system computations equivalence for an agent are also provided. Keywords—Multiagent system, object system, observation equivalence, reactive systems.
Revisiting the fetal loss rate after second-trimester genetic amniocentesis: a single center's 16-year experience.

OBJECTIVE:To estimate an institution’s specific fetal loss rate after a second-trimester genetic amniocentesis.METHODS:This is a retrospective cohort study using our prenatal diagnosis database for all pregnant women presenting for care between 1990 and 2006. We compared the fetal loss rate in women
Suppression of leukocytic mitosis by sera of hepatitis-implicated donors.

In a blind study, 21 specimens of serum from 19 donors thought to be hepatitis carriers were incubated in cultures of normal leukocytes. Sera from 15 (79%) of the 19 donors suppressed mitosis. Immunoglobulin levels of 16 donors were determined; they were increased in 11 (69%). In 17 (89%) of the 19 suspect donors, either one or both tests were positive. Twelve specimens of serum from patients during various periods of infectious hepatitis were also tested. Mitotic suppression was found only when the sera were from patients in the preicteric or early icteric phase of the disease. Of the 23 specimens of serum used as controls, four caused mitotic suppression.
Protocol for Ultralow-Temperature Ceramic Sintering: An Integration of Nanotechnology and the Cold Sintering Process

The sintering process is an essential step in taking particulate materials into dense ceramic materials. Although a number of sintering techniques have emerged over the past few years, the sintering process is still performed at high temperatures. Here we establish a protocol to achieve dense ceramic solids at extremely low temperatures (<200 °C) via integrating the particle nanotechnology into the recently developed cold sintering process (CSP). The sintering path has been appropriately tailored via effectively utilizing the large surface-to-volume ratio of nanoparticles. BaTiO3 ceramics have been used for the illustration, given its importance in extensive electronic device applications, as well as its scientific interest, being a model material for many of the ferroelectric materials. Together with detailed experimental studies, the trends are also analyzed with a fundamental thermodynamic consideration. Such an impactful technique could have widespread application prospects in a wide variety of materi...
Prader-Willi Syndrome

The clinical and polysomnographic features of 5 patients with Prader-Willi syndrome were studied at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL.
Longitudinal Changes in Active Bone Marrow for Cervical Cancer Patients Treated With Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy

Purpose To quantify longitudinal changes in active bone marrow (ABM) distributions within unirradiated (extrapelvic) and irradiated (pelvic) bone marrow (BM) in cervical cancer patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Methods and Materials We sampled 39 cervical cancer patients treated with CRT, of whom 25 were treated with concurrent cisplatin (40 mg/m 2 ) and 14 were treated with cisplatin (40 mg/m 2 ) plus gemcitabine (50-125 mg/m 2 ) (C/G). Patients underwent 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomographic/computed tomographic imaging at baseline and 1.5 to 6.0 months after treatment. ABM was defined as the subvolume of bone with standardized uptake value (SUV) above the mean SUV of the total bone. The primary aim was to measure the compensatory response, defined as the change in the log of the ratio of extrapelvic versus pelvic ABM percentage from baseline to after treatment. We also quantified the change in the proportion of ABM and mean SUV in pelvic and extrapelvic BM using a 2-sided paired t test. Results We observed a significant increase in the overall extrapelvic compensatory response after CRT (0.381; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.312, 0.449) and separately in patients treated with cisplatin (0.429; 95% CI: 0.340, 0.517) and C/G (0.294; 95% CI: 0.186, 0.402). We observed a trend toward higher compensatory response in patients treated with cisplatin compared with C/G ( P =.057). Pelvic ABM percentage was reduced after CRT both in patients receiving cisplatin ( P P P P P P P =.076) but not with cisplatin ( P =.942). We also observed that older age and more intense chemotherapy regimens were correlated with a decreased compensatory response on multivariable analysis. In patients treated with C/G, mean pelvic bone marrow dose was found to be negatively correlated with the compensatory response. Conclusion Patients have differing subacute compensatory responses after CRT, owing to variable recovery in unirradiated marrow. Intensive chemotherapy regimens appear to decrease the extrapelvic compensatory response, which may lead to increased hematologic toxicity.
Utility and Limitations of Large Population-Based Data for Skin Cancer Outcomes.

Large population-based studies are useful for determining cancer outcomes, but interpreting their findings requires understanding their limitations. Youlden et al. highlight the utility of using a large dataset for studying melanoma survival, whereas Gimotty et al. point out the limitations of such datasets in miscoding thickness, a key prognostic variable. Awareness of limitations of population-based registry data can help to inform their interpretations and clinical implications.
Photosensitivity and Photoreaction

This chapter describes clinical findings, recommended laboratory investigations, and treatment options for acquired and inherited photosensitive skin disorders in pediatric patients. Photosensitive cutaneous disorders discussed include solar urticaria, polymorphous light eruption, juvenile spring eruption, actinic prurigo, hydroa vaccinoforme, pellagra, cutaneous porphyrias (erythropoietic protoporphyria, x-linked dominant protoporphyria, congenital erythropoietic porphyria, hepatoerythropoietic porphyria, porphyria cutanea tarda), and pseudoporphyria. Emphasis is placed on the approach to treatment of these conditions, and an annotated bibliography with evaluation of the strength of available evidence for various treatments is included.
Topography, vegetation cover and below ground biomass of spatially constrained and unconstrained foredunes in New Jersey, USA

Abstract Space for dunes is often limited in developed areas, placing increased importance on human efforts to aid dune-building. This study assesses how different management strategies influence dune topography, surface cover and below ground biomass of vegetation on four dune segments in New Jersey in two successive years. Two segments are evolving without human actions, one with a cover of native vegetation ( Ammophila breviligulata ) and one with an invasive exotic ( Carex kobomugi ). Two segments are in developed areas and are maintained using sand fences, vegetation plantings and bulldozers; one of these segments uses bulldozers to bury a seawall. The foredunes evolving naturally are wider than foredunes in the developed segments and have more topographic variability alongshore. Foredunes in the developed segments are narrower because sand blown or washed landward is recycled. The naturally evolving A. breviligulata dune segment had the sparsest vegetation cover; the segment maintained mainly by sand fences and vegetation plantings had the densest cover. The crest of developed dunes can be higher than the crest of natural dunes with the same vegetation type and similar beach widths, but sediment volume may be restricted if the dune cannot migrate inland. Planting programs hasten dune accretion and are especially valuable on the dune ramp following wave erosion. Species dependent on mobile dunes can be favored where landward infrastructure is not threatened; species dependent on stable dunes can be favored in developed areas. Dune veneers placed over seawalls are temporary, but seawalls can favor evolution of stable-dune species landward of them.
A steep slope Phase-FET based on 2D MoS 2 and the electronic phase transition in VO 2

Two-dimensional materials are being investigated for potential nanoelectronic applications such as transistors for scaled technology nodes. Here we investigate the possibility of further augmenting the performance of such 2D materials through a novel device concept known as the hybrid-phase transition FET or Phase-FET. The MoS 2 based Phase-FET incorporates an insulator-to-metal transition material VO 2 integrated in series with the source of a MOSFET, which provides an internal amplification across the insulator-to-metal transition and results in steep slope switching.
Principles for central nervous system inflammation research: A call for a consortium approach

Abstract Introduction Neuroinflammation is now considered to be of pathophysiologic significance in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Nonetheless, there is no consensus as to what inflammatory mechanisms need to be combated (or facilitated), how therapies for them should be applied, or when they might be efficacious. Methods This article seeks to put forward cornerstone facts about neuroinflammation, with suggestions for future directions. Results Multiple scientific points about neuroinflammation still remain unaddressed. The main issue, however, is political. An expert body is needed that can sort through the myriad findings and provide consensus advice to agencies that fund basic and clinical research. Discussion Consortium approaches have shown immense value in other Alzheimer's disease research areas and are badly needed in neuroinflammation research. Lacking a consensus, neuroinflammation is just a very large number of isolated articles clamoring for attention.
Tap-based user authentication for smartwatches

Abstract This paper presents TapMeIn, an eyes-free, two-factor authentication method for smartwatches. It allows users to tap a memorable melody ( tap-password ) of their choice anywhere on the touchscreen to unlock their watch. A user is verified based on the tap-password as well as her physiological and behavioral characteristics when tapping. Results from preliminary experiments with 41 participants show that TapMeIn could achieve an accuracy of 98.7% with a False Positive Rate of only 0.98%. In addition, TapMeIn retains its performance in different conditions such as sitting and walking. In terms of speed, TapMeIn has an average authentication time of 2 s. A user study with the System Usability Scale (SUS) tool suggests that TapMeIn has a high usability score.
Noninvasive Monitoring in the Neurointensive Care Unit: EEG, Oximetry, TCD

Noninvasive monitoring modalities in the neurointensive care unit fall into two broad categories. The first aims to assess function of the nervous system. Examples of such monitoring modalities are the clinical exam, the electroencephalogram, and the recording of evoked potentials. Since neurological function is disrupted before cellular integrity is lost, monitors of function provide early warning of inadequate oxygen supply and provide opportunity to correct this problem before irreversible damage occurs. The second category aims to determine the adequacy of cerebral perfusion. Examples are transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, near-infrared spectroscopy, tissue pO2, and brain or jugular venous oximetry. No single monitoring technique is without its limitations or addresses all questions raised by a given patient.
A comparison of genetic algorithms and other machine learning systems on a complex classification task from common disease research

The thesis project is an investigation of some well-known machine learning systems and evaluates their utility when applied to a classification task from the field of human genetics. This common-disease research task, an inquiry into genetic and biochemical factors and their association with a family history of coronary artery disease (CAD), is more complex than many pursued in machine learning research, due to interactions and the inherent noise in the dataset. The task also differs from most pursued in machine learning research because there is a desire to explain the dataset with a small number of rules, even at the expense of accuracy, so that they will be more accessible to medical researchers who are unaccustomed to dealing with disjunctive explanations of data. Furthermore, there is asymmetry in the task in that good explanations of the positive examples is of more importance than good explanations of the negative examples. The primary machine learning approach investigated in this research is genetic algorithms (GA's); decision trees, Autoclass, and Cobweb are also included. The GA performed the best in terms of descriptive ability with the common-disease research task, although decision trees also demonstrated certain strengths. Autoclass and Cobweb were recognized from the onset as being inappropriate for the needs of common-disease researchers (because both systems are unsupervised learners that create probabilistic structures), but were included for their interest in the machine learning community; these systems did not perform as well as GA's and decision trees in terms of their ability to describe the data. In terms of predictive accuracy, all systems performed poorly, and the differences between any two of the three best systems is not significant. When positive and negative examples are considered separately, the GA does significantly better than the other systems in predicting positive examples and significantly worse in predicting negative examples. The thesis illustrates that the investigation of "real" problems from researchers in other fields can lead machine learning researchers to challenge their systems in ways they may not otherwise have considered, and may lead these researchers to a symbiotic relationship that benefits multiple research communities.
Regulated expression and structure of T cell receptor gamma/delta transcripts in human thymic ontogeny.

Abstract Gamma delta (gamma delta) T cells have been found in all vertebrates examined, yet their function in vivo remains unknown. Because gamma delta T cell receptors are related to immunoglobulin, and because they are encoded by rearranging, multi-gene families, the receptors are thought to be antigen recognition molecules. However, a capacity to recognize naturally diverse antigens has not yet been shown. In this work, the expression and structure of human gamma delta transcripts have been examined in the fetal and early post-natal thymus. The data indicate that many gamma and delta genes are rearranged and expressed throughout ontogeny, but that as ontogeny proceeds, quite dramatic changes occur in the patterns of gene expression and rearrangement. In particular, receptors encoded by early to mid-gestation fetal thymic transcripts would be of quite restricted diversity. Only later in ontogeny can receptors of substantial diversity be generated. These properties are very similar to the patterns of gamma delta gene activation in the mouse, and they serve to reiterate similarities both in gene rearrangement and in gamma delta across vertebrate species.
Evaluating ecological resilience across wildfire suppression levels under climate and fuel treatment scenarios using landscape simulation modelling

Continued suppression of wildfires may allow more biomass to accumulate to foster even more intense fires. Enlightened fire management involves explicitly determining concurrent levels of suppression, wildland fire use (allowing some fires to burn) and fuel treatments to manage landscapes for ecological resilience. This study used the mechanistic landscape model FireBGCv2 to simulate ecological dynamics on three landscapes in the US northern Rocky Mountains to determine responses of seven management-oriented variables over a gradient of 10 fire suppression levels under two climate and four fuel treatment scenarios. We used a historical range and variation (HRV) time series of the seven variables individually and merged together as a Principal Components factor (PC1) to define the envelope that represents ecological resiliency and compared all simulations with the HRV base case. We found that under today’s climates, using the PC1 factor, ecological resilience was maintained while suppressing 30–90% of wildfires depending on the landscape. We also found fuel treatments might allow higher suppression levels to occur and still maintain resilience. Other findings indicate that each landscape must be individually evaluated to determine the right mix of wildfires, wildland fire use and fuel treatments depending on the response variables used to evaluate resilience.
A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada. By Edyta M. Bojanowska. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2018. Pp. viii, 359. $35.00.)

Between 1852 and 1855, the novelist Ivan Goncharov traveled along the coasts of Africa and Asia under the auspices of a tsarist mission to Japan, and then overland through Siberia back to St. Peter...
Communicative Competence: Responding to Residents’ Health Changes in Assisted Living

Background and objectives Frail and disabled individuals, including assisted living (AL) residents, are embedded in care convoys composed of dynamic networks of formal and informal care partners. Yet, little is known about how care convoys operate over time, especially when health changes occur. Thus, our aim was to provide an in-depth understanding of care convoy communication during times of residents' health changes in AL. Research design and methods Data for this analysis come from a Grounded Theory study that involved 50 residents and their care convoy members (n = 169) from 8 diverse AL communities followed over 2 years. Researchers conducted formal and informal interviewing, participant observation, and record review. Results We identified "communicative competence" as an explanatory framework in reference to a resident's or care partner's ability, knowledge, and action pertaining to communication and health change. Individual and collective competencies were consequential to timely and appropriate care. Communication involved: identifying; assessing significance; informing, consulting or collaborating with others; and responding to the change. Variability in communication process and properties (e.g., pace and timing; sequencing, timing, content, and mode of communication) depended on multiple factors, including the nature of the change and resident, informal and formal caregiver, convoy, AL community, and regulatory influences. Discussion and implications Formal and informal care partners need support to establish, enhance, and maintain communicative competence in response to health changes. Findings reinforce the need for timely communication, effective systems, and well-documented accessible health care directives and have implications that are applicable to AL and other care settings.
PENGELOMPOKAN PLASMANUTFAH SPESIES PADI LIAR {Oryza spp.) BERDAS ARKAN PEUB AH KUANTITATIF TANAMAN

Wild rice species are important gene sources for the rice improvement programs.The morphological characters is the easiest way to identify the crop specificity, and it is applicable for determining the relation among species.The grouping on wild rice species are determined by using cluster analysis through the principal component analysis which involved 16 characters of quantitative traits of wild rice species. The total sample of wild rice species was 89 accessions of 18 species.The research was done at green house level during 3 seasons from 2004 to 2005.All the accessions of wild rice were planted in pots consists of 10 kg soil by 3 replications for each accession.The result of analysis of the first principal component from quantitative characters (plant height,amount of grain fill per panicle, amount of grain total per panicle, panicle length, 1000 grains weight, grain shape, days of flowering, total internodes and awning length ) could explain that variability were 82 %.The result of cluster analysis involved the four of principal component with similarity level equal to 80 %, obtained 5 groups of wild rice species. The result of the clusters was Oryza sativa included at cluster I, while O. officinalis had 3 clusters that is cluster III, IV and V. While O. meyeriana and Oryza ridleyi joint at cluster II.Quantitative character was applicable for clustering the accessions of wild rice species as according to each genome.
The impact of the caregiver-oncologist relationship on caregiver experiences of end-of-life care and bereavement outcomes

The quality of the relationship between oncologists and cancer patients has been associated with caregiver bereavement outcomes, but no studies have examined whether the perceived quality of the relationship between cancer caregivers and oncologists is associated with caregiver experiences of end-of-life care or psychological adjustment after the patient’s death. We conducted secondary analyses of data collected in the Values and Options in Cancer Care (VOICE) study, a randomized controlled trial of an intervention that improved communication between oncologists and patients/caregivers (n = 204 dyads). At study entry, we assessed caregivers’ experiences with the oncologist using four items from the Human Connection Scale. Following patients’ deaths, we assessed bereaved caregivers’ experiences with end-of-life cancer care (Quality of Death; Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience [PEACE]; Caregiver Evaluation of the Quality of End-of-Life Care [CEQUEL]; and modified Decision Regret scales) and psychological adjustment (Prolonged Grief Disorder-13 and Purpose in Life scales). We conducted multivariable regressions examining prospective associations between caregiver experiences with the oncologist at study entry and outcome variables. Data were collected from 105 caregivers of patients who died during the course of the study. Positive experience with the oncologist was prospectively associated with better experiences of end-of-life care, as reflected in better quality of death (estimate = 0.33, SE = 0.14, p = 0.02), PEACE (estimate = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.04), and decisional regret (estimate = − 0.16, SE = 0.06, p = 0.01). Caregivers’ experience with the oncologist was not significantly associated with indicators of psychological adjustment. Caregivers’ early experiences with oncologists may affect their experiences of the patient’s end-of-life care.
Efficient Reconstruction of Stochastic Pedigrees.

We introduce a new algorithm called {\sc Rec-Gen} for reconstructing the genealogy or \textit{pedigree} of an extant population purely from its genetic data. We justify our approach by giving a mathematical proof of the effectiveness of {\sc Rec-Gen} when applied to pedigrees from an idealized generative model that replicates some of the features of real-world pedigrees. Our algorithm is iterative and provides an accurate reconstruction of a large fraction of the pedigree while having relatively low \emph{sample complexity}, measured in terms of the length of the genetic sequences of the population. We propose our approach as a prototype for further investigation of the pedigree reconstruction problem toward the goal of applications to real-world examples. As such, our results have some conceptual bearing on the increasingly important issue of genomic privacy.
A Partitioned Library: Changing Collecting Priorities and Imagined Futures in a Divided Urdu Library, 1947–49

This article argues that the history of a damaged Urdu library in Delhi reveals new perspectives on the ways in which prominent Indian Muslim scholars dealt with the violent displacements of the 19...
From "Yemboaty" to Autonomy: Xavier Albo's Work with the Guarani of the Bolivian Chaco

This article analyzes Xavier Albo’s work with the Guarani people of the Bolivian Chaco, focusing on iconic texts during three important moments in Guarani history. I argue that, by documenting the structures of political economy and history under which the Guarani have lived, as well as their cultural resources, Albo’s work contributes to current debates in anthropology about the constructed, fluid, and dynamic nature of cultural identity and its relation to power and domination. His engaged academic work established the basis for understanding that contributed to concrete proposals for political change, which I call “world-making,” based in culturally significant notions of autonomy and self-determination. Albo’s work serves today as a valuable model of engaged academic research.
Renin‐Angiotensin System Blockade in Aortic Stenosis: Implications Before and After Aortic Valve Replacement

Abstract Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common valvular heart disease in the aging population that is characterized by a variable period of asymptomatic phase before development of symptoms and severe A...