cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A polymeric device for delivery of anti-microbial and anti-fungal drugs in the oral environment: effect of temperature and medium on the rate of drug release.

Abstract Objectives . The use of drug delivery systems in dentistry is a relatively new area of research with the exception of fluoride ion release from polyalkenoate cements and their predecessor silicate cements. The present study is based on the use of a bio-compatible material ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) that enables constant release of drugs of therapeutic levels over extended periods of time at doses suitable for the treatment of oral conditions. Method . Polymer casting solutions were made by dissolving EVA and the drug in the ratio of 40:1 in 70 ml of dichloromethane at 38 °C for 6 h. Thin square films of 3×3 cm 2 with a thickness of 1 mm were cut from the dry sheet obtained by solvent evaporation technique. Drug loaded samples were extracted for a minimum of 14 days in 10 ml medium (double distilled water or water/ethanol (4:1)) which was replaced daily. Spectral measurements were made to follow changes in optical densities (OD) during release kinetics. Effect of temperature (24 and 37 °C) on the rate of drug release was studied and the energies of activation (Δ E ≠ ) were calculated using Arrehenius equation for the diffusion (translocation) of molecules of tetracycline hydrochloride (TTH), doxycycline hydrochloride (DOH), and chlorhexidine diacetate (CDA) in water as extracting medium. Effect of extracting medium (water and water/ethanol (4:1)) was also investigated on the rate of drug release measurements at 24 °C. Results . Analysis of variance of the data revealed that significantly enhanced rates were observed at the higher temperature (37 °C) and when extracting medium was changed to water/ethanol (4:1) for TTH, DOH and CDA ( p −1 ) observed for CDA was interpreted as due to the highest average molecular weight (626) compared to TTH (481) and DOH (481). Significance . These in vitro rate of drug release measurements will provide a basis for establishing a novel approach (treatment modality) for sustained intra-oral drug delivery over extended time periods using laboratory methods and materials that are readily available to dentists.
Efficacy of the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation to Predict Risk of Low-Back Pain Associated With Manual Lifting: A One-Year Prospective Study

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of the Revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lifting equation (RNLE) to predict risk of low-back pain (LBP). Background: In 1993, NIOSH published the RNLE as a risk assessment method for LBP associated with manual lifting. To date, there has been little research evaluating the RNLE as a predictor of the risk of LBP using a prospective design. Methods: A total of 78 healthy industrial workers’ baseline LBP risk exposures and self-reported LBP at one-year follow-up were investigated. The composite lifting index (CLI), the outcome measure of the RNLE for analyzing multiple lifting tasks, was used as the main risk predictor. The risk was estimated using the mean and maximum CLI variables at baseline and self-reported LBP during the follow-up. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using a logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates that included personal factors, physical activities outside of work, job factors, and work-related psychosocial characteristics. Results: The one-year self-reported LBP incidence was 32.1%. After controlling for history of prior LBP, supervisory support, and job strain, the categorical mean and maximum CLI above 2 had a significant relationship (OR = 5.1–6.5) with self-reported LBP, as compared with the CLI below or equal to 1. The correlation between the continuous CLI variables and LBP was unclear. Conclusions: The CLI > 2 threshold may be useful for predicting self-reported LBP. Research with a larger sample size is needed to clarify the exposure–response relationship between the CLI and LBP.
The neural components of empathy: Predicting daily prosocial behavior

Previous neuroimaging studies on empathy have not clearly identified neural systems that support the three components of empathy: affective congruence, perspective-taking, and prosocial motivation. These limitations stem from a focus on a single emotion per study, minimal variation in amount of social context provided, and lack of prosocial motivation assessment. In the current investigation, 32 participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging session assessing empathic responses to individuals experiencing painful, anxious, and happy events that varied in valence and amount of social context provided. They also completed a 14-day experience sampling survey that assessed real-world helping behaviors. The results demonstrate that empathy for positive and negative emotions selectively activates regions associated with positive and negative affect, respectively. In addition, the mirror system was more active during empathy for context-independent events (pain), whereas the mentalizing system was more active during empathy for context-dependent events (anxiety, happiness). Finally, the septal area, previously linked to prosocial motivation, was the only region that was commonly activated across empathy for pain, anxiety, and happiness. Septal activity during each of these empathic experiences was predictive of daily helping. These findings suggest that empathy has multiple input pathways, produces affect-congruent activations, and results in septally mediated prosocial motivation.
Are Special Trains Really Safer

Certain hazardous materials can occasionally be transported by special trains composed of tank cars containing that material and buffer cars in front and rear. Such a train can be handled with special care by taking actions such as enforcing speed restrictions, establishing priority in passing, having a track inspection car in front and eliminating the need to go through classification yards. This paper compares risks involved in the shipment of hazardous material by special trains and by regular trains. The impact on comparative risks of changing the number of cars in a special train, the number in regular train, track quality, and puncture probability is also estimated.
Lung transplant for interstitial lung disease: outcomes before and after implementation of the united network for organ sharing lung allocation scoring system †

OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to evaluate whether the adoption of the united network for organ sharing lung allocation score (LAS) was associated with significant changes in lung transplantation (LTX) outcomes for patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) who underwent LTX at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. METHODS: Outcomes for 107 consecutive patients with various forms of ILD who underwent LTX between January 1993 and March 2009 were examined. Patients transplanted following the implementation of the LAS system (LAS, n= 56) were compared with those transplanted prior to LAS implementation (pre-LAS, n= 51) for whom LAS scores were calculated. RESULTS: Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) comprised the majority of patients with ILD. Recipients transplanted after the implementation of the LAS were significantly older (pre-LAS: 50.4 vs. LAS: 56.7 years, P < 0.01), required more supplemental oxygen (3 vs. 5 l/min, P < 0.01) and displayed lower cardiac index values (3.1 vs. 2.6 l/m 2 , P< 0.01). The estimated LAS was significantly increased from 38.3 (pre-LAS) to 43.3 (LAS), P< 0.01. However, waiting time decreased from 266 to 78 days (P< 0.01). The rate of bilateral vs. single LTX was lower (35 vs. 16%, P = 0.02) for the post-LAS group. Cold ischaemic time was shorter in the post-LAS group (434 vs. 299 min, P< 0.01), and the length of hospital stay decreased from 24 to 11 days (P < 0.01). Hospital mortality (11 vs. 7%, P= 0.51) and post-transplant survival did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Post-transplant outcomes for patients with ILD or the subset of recipients with IPF were not adversely affected by the implementation of the LAS.
Vibratory Sensation Induced by Low-Frequency Noise: A Pilot Study on the Threshold Level:

The induction of vibratory sensation is a characteristic of low-frequency noise. In this pilot study we measured the threshold levels to induce a vibratory sensation in normal-hearing subjects exposed to pure tones within a narrow frequency range (20-50 Hz). The threshold levels necessary to induce a vibratory sensation were found to be 5-17 dB(SPL) higher than the hearing threshold levels; these vibratory sensation levels were lower than the sensation threshold levels in deaf subjects previously measured by another research group. This difference suggested the possibility that the function of the hearing organs is related to the perception of vibration in normal-hearing persons exposed to low-frequency noise. Our study showed that the head was the part of the body in which the vibratory sensation was most often experienced, which supported the idea that the hearing organs may contribute to the normal-hearing person's perception of vibratory sensation. Another interesting finding of our study was a dip ap...
Community sensor grids: virtualization for sharing across domains

Wireless sensor networks have been traditionally designed to be privately owned and used. Hence the two hallmark features of sensor networks, namely customized network applications and the collaborative in-network processing, are not achievable beyond the boundary of the users' administrative domains (except for limited scope data sharing through Internet gateways). This position paper advocates a contrarian notion of sensor grid that preserves the operational continuity of the participating sensornets and yet allows controlled sharing of sensor node hardware capabilities over multiple administrative domains. This is achieved by stitching together virtualized nodes donated by participating sensornets into a transient virtual sensornet underlay, which is called a Community Sensor Grid. Possible approaches for node virtualization support are discussed for some existing sensornet OS platforms. The formation, operation and dissolution of the transient underlay are to be supported by a P2P overlay formed by the Internet gateways of participating sensornets.
Cigarette smoking and oral lesions other than cancer

T he oral effects of cigarette smoking, as well as the use of other forms of tobacco, have been noted for the past half century.1,2 Growing epidemiologic data has reinforced the clinical correlation between tobacco use and an increased rate of tooth loss3–6 as well as an increased prevalence and severity of periodontal disease.7 The adverse effects of cigarette smoking on the oral cavity are varied and impact all oral tissue types including gingival, mucosal, and dental. Likewise, the tissues of the oral cavity are affected by other forms of tobacco such as smokeless tobacco, or “chew” tobacco. Recent studies have found smoking to be one of the most significant risk factors in the progression of periodontal disease.8–11 In the United States alone, 80% of all adults are affected with some form of periodontal disease,12 with greater than a quarter of the adult population smoking cigarettes.13 Thus, it is very likely that most clinicians will encounter periodontal disease in the oral examinations of their patients. The effects of cigarette smoking upon oral health are numerous and vary among individuals. We describe the major effects other than cancer that are attributed to cigarette smoking and tobacco use. These effects include those involving gingival tissue, mucosal tissue, dental tissues, as well as noncancer oral lesions associated with the use of smokeless tobacco, as well as some cultural variants of tobacco use.
A Formal Model for Verifying the Impact of Stealthy Attacks on Optimal Power Flow in Power Grids

In modern energy control centers, the Optimal Power Flow (OPF) routine is used to determine individual generator outputs that minimize the overall cost of generation while meeting transmission, generation, and system level operating constraints. OPF relies on the output of another module, namely the state estimator, which computes all the system variables, principally the voltage magnitudes with phase angles, transmission line flows, and the bus (and total system) loads. However, recent works have shown that the widely used weighted least square based state estimation is vulnerable to stealthy attacks wherein an adversary can alter certain measurements to corrupt the estimator's solution, yet remain undetected by the estimator's bad data detection algorithm. Here, we show that an attack on state estimation can compromise the integrity of OPF and undermine the economic and secure system operation. We present a formal verification based framework to systematically investigate the feasibility of such stealthy attacks and their influence on OPF. The proposed approach is described with an illustrative example. We also develop a mechanism to increase the efficiency of executing our model, which is evaluated by running experiments on different IEEE test cases.
Mobilization of colloids in groundwater due to infiltration of water at a coal ash disposal site.

Abstract We investigated groundwaters in the vicinity of a coal ash site near an electric generating station in the western U.S.A. The purpose of the study was to ascertain why fine particles or colloids appear in some subsurface water samples there. If such fine particles are merely introduced during bailing or pumping operations which suspend otherwise immobile soil colloids, we should exclude these particulate materials from the water samples before analysis intended to quantify what is moving through the aquifer. However, if the colloids were truly suspended and moving with the groundwater flow in situ, then we should includes their contribution to our assessment of the mobile loads. Application of very careful sampling techniques (slow pumping rates, no atmospheric exposure) did not cause the large quantities of colloids observed previously to disappear from well water in which they occured. Additionally, the same sampling procedures did not cause similar abundances of colloids to appear in waters collected from neighboring wells installed and developed in the same manner and in the same geologic strata. Thus we believe sampling artifacts do not explain the colloids' presence in the groundwater samples. On the other hand, the groundwater chemistry and the nature of the suspended colloids (size, composition) strongly suggest these fine particles were suspended and therefore moving with the groundwater flow. At wells exhibiting large amounts of suspended colloids (≈10–100 mg L −1 ), the water was enriched in CO 2 and depleted in O 2 relative to nearby locations. The colloids were typically between 0.1 and 2 μm in size and were primarily silicates. These results suggest to us that, where infiltrating water is percolating through a site that has been mixed with coal ash, the secondary carbonate mineral in the soils are being dissolved; removal of this cementing carbonate phase may consequently release soil silicate colloids to be carried in the flowing water. Such processes may enhance contaminant transport in groundwater by augmenting the pollutant load moving in the groundwater, and increasing the permeability of the porous medium to pollutant infiltration with water water and/or rainwater.
Germacrene D cyclization: an Ab initio investigation.

Essential oils that contain large concentrations of germacrene D are typically accompanied by cadinane sesquiterpenoids. The acid-catalyzed cyclization of germacrene D to give cadinane and selinane sesquiterpenes has been computationally investigated using both density functional (B3LYP/6-31G*) and post Hartree-Fock (MP2/6-31G**) ab initio methods. The calculated energies are in general agreement with experimentally observed product distributions, both from acid-catalyzed cyclizations as well as distribution of the compounds in essential oils.
A Case Study of Second Year Student Persistence

Most colleges/universities emphasize retention efforts during the first year. However, most campuses lose as many students through attrition from the second year to graduation as are lost from first to second year. Researchers at a major university in the mid-south studied second year students using a qualitative approach. A Conceptual Diagram of Issues, developed from the literature, guided the data collection and analysis. These included: Emotional and Personal Support; Commitment and Aspiration; Academic; and Financial. Eleven second-year students, representing various characteristics of the student population were interviewed. Major factors relating to attrition or persistence for second year students included: 1) adjustment to stress, 2) grade satisfaction, 3) time management, 4) financial management, and 5) stabilization of career choice.
Pairwise versus joint ranking: Another look at the Kruskal-Wallis statistic

SUMMARY A test statistic for the k-sample location problem is constructed by appropriately combining all pairwise two-sample Wilcoxon tests. The result is an analogue of the Kruskal-Wallis statistic in the sense that the Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency between the two is one. However, the approximate Bahadur efficiency of the analogue relative to the Kruskal-Wallis statistic is shown to be greater than or equal to one at every alternative. The standard k-sample linear rank statistics for testing equality of the location parameters of k populations are based on the joint ranking of the observations in the combined samples. It is also possible to construct k-sample test statistics in this setting by combining all {k(k -1) pairwise two-sample linear rank statistics. This can be done to yield analogues to the standard k-sample linear rank statistics in the sense that the Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency between such a pair is one. This is referred to as the pairwise rank approach, and we note that the question of pairwise versus joint ranking has recently received attention in the multiple comparisons literature as well, as by, for example, Koziol & Reid (1977), Voshaar (1980), Fligner (1984) or Fairley & Pearl (1984). In ? 2, the pairwise rank analogue of the Kruskal & Wallis (1952) statistic is developed. Although the Pitman efficiency between the procedures is one, the approximate Bahadur (1960) efficiency of the pairwise rank analogue relative to the Kruskal-Wallis test is shown to be greater than or equal to one at every alternative. A simple algebraic relationship between the Kruskal-Wallis statistic and its analogue is established which helps to explain these efficiency results. The technique for constructing pairwise rank analogues in the general scores case is also considered. Section 3 describes other problems in which it may be fruitful to create k-sample statistics through appropriate combinations of two-sample statistics.
Friendship and Reasons of Intimacy

Reasons of intimacy, i.e. reasons to care for friends and other intimates, resist categorization as either subjective Humean reasons or as objective consequentialist reasons. Reasons of intimacy are grounded in the friendship relation itself. not in the psychological attitudes of the agent or in the objective intrinsic value of the friend or the friendship. So reasons of intimacy are objective and agent-relative and can be understood by analogy with reasons of fidelity and reasons of prudence. Such an analogy can help us to understand which objective agent-relative reasons we have and which, such as deontological constraints, we do not have.
Identification of the Drosophila X chromosome: The long and short of it

The different dose of X chromosomes in males and females produces a potentially fatal imbalance in X-linked gene products. This imbalance is addressed by dosage compensation, a process that modulates expression from an entire X chromosome in one sex. Dosage compensation acts on thousands of genes with disparate expression patterns. Both flies and mammals accomplish this with remarkable specificity by targeting epigenetic chromatin modifications to a single chromosome. Long noncoding RNAs that are expressed from the X chromosome are essential elements of the targeting mechanism in both lineages. We recently discovered that the siRNA pathway, as well as small RNA from satellite repeats that are strikingly enriched on the fly X chromosome, also promote X recognition. In this article we review the current understanding of X recognition in flies and discuss potential mechanisms by which the siRNA pathway, repetitive elements and long noncoding RNAs might cooperate to promote X recognition.
New Experimental Approaches Examining a Viral Etiology of Schizophrenia

Viral infections have been suggested as a possible cause of several chronic disorders of the CNS, including multiple sclerosis (Cook and Dowling, 1980; Koprowski et al., 1985; Reddy et al., 1989; Greenberg et al., 1989), Parkinson’s disease (Ravenholt and Foege, 1982), Alzheimer’s disease (Terry and Davies, 1980), and schizophrenia (Torrey and Peterson, 1976; Tyrrell et al., 1979; Crow, 1983; Wyatt and DeLisi, 1984). Evidence to support a viral etiology of schizophrenia has been based mainly on epidemiological data. These include a season-of-birth effect, where there is an excess of late winter and early spring births (Torrey et al., 1977), and a high prevalence of the disease in some geographic areas (Torrey, 1987). Laboratory attempts to more directly substantiate a viral etiology in schizophrenia have focused on alterations in humoral and cell-mediated immunity (Vartanian et al., 1987; DeLisi et al.,1982; Coffey et al., 1983; Kirch et al., 1985; Roos et al., 1985; DeLisi, 1986; Ganguli et al., 1987), which could reflect a challenge by an infectious agent, and on efforts to identify antibodies to specific viruses in blood (DeLisi and Sarin, 1985; King et al., 1985; Robert-Guroff et al., 1985; Torrey and Kaufmann, 1986), CSF (Torrey et al., 1982; Kaufmann et al., 1983), or postmortem brain material (Stevens et al., 1983). These approaches have led to mixed results with no evidence for a specific virus.
Cascadia rising: soccer, region, and identity

In this article we examine the relationship between soccer culture and the vernacular region of Cascadia. Specifically, we consider how supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps mobilize the bioregional narrative of Cascadia. This Cascadian narrative helps to solidify supporter culture and identity by fostering a connection between supporters and place. As a result, soccer has also become one conduit through which ideas about Cascadia are constructed, experienced and communicated. In this way, ideas about Cascadia help to construct regional and local soccer cultures in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver and in turn, those soccer cultures help to construct and promote Cascadia. We examine three aspects of this situation: the formation of the Cascadia Football Federation, the Cascadia Cup Controversy and the use of Cascadian iconography by supporters of the aforementioned clubs.
Resistance of Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., to Natural Field Populations of Twospotted Spider Mites (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Natural populations of twospotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch., infested cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in genetic studies in 1980 at three locations near Stoneville, Miss. There were significant differences in spider mite numbers between genotypes. The phenotyphic ranges in spider mite counts per 6.5 cm2 of leaf surface were: test I, 3.9 to 1.4; test II, 12.3 to 6.4; and test III, 4.9 to 3.7. Genotypes developed in the Mississippi delta had the lowest populations of spider mites. Cottons which tended to have high population numbers were Camd-E, Coker 76-118, MO 311, MO 73-1203, UGA 220, TH 149, Delcot, and Coker 201. Okra-leaf cotton had significantly fewer spider mites than frego bract, smoothleaf (Sm2), nectariless, glandless, and normal isolines. Correlation analyses of interest in test I were: spider mites with yield, percent first harvest, and yield first harvest, r = −0.55\*,0.58\*, and 0.25, respectively. In test II, correlations were: r = −0.47*, 0.66** and −0.07, respectively, for yield, percent first harvest, and yield first harvest. Yield data were not obtained from test III.
Publications Perish—Sociology Endures

The primary vehicle for publishing sociological knowledge is the journal article. But as each journal issue is replaced by another, the earlier articles are often forgotten. They lie in library archives like corpses in a cemetery. From time to time, a godlike creature-whom we call "sociologist"-resurrects an article from its resting place and revives it in the collective sociological memory by referring to it in another article. And so elements of the article survive from citation to citation. At times, the journal issue in which the article appears is reread, and the content of the article again comes to life. It is through this episodic recirculation of archived articles that sociology endures. But one often asks why one article should endure while another lies forgotten in the library archive. Surely, unless we are journal editors, we cannot abort an article over which some creator has toiled. But, in fact, by erasing from memory many of the articles that have been published, we do consign them to perpetual interment on library shelves. What we choose to cite in our own writings constitutes a decision: What in Sociology should survive. Studies of citations were popular during the decade of the 1970s (Roche and Smith, 1978). For the most part, these studies were used to indicate a relationship between number of citations and the ranking of journals, departments, or individual sociologists (Roche and Smith, 1978; Michaels and Pippert, 1986; Cole and Cole, 1973). To some extent, citations were used to discover
Parasitoid Manipulation as a Plant Defense Strategy

From a historical point of view, herbivores have been managed by either increasing a plant's defensive chemicals or through the release or encouragement of biological control agents. More recently, pesticides have become an important management tool. In each case the herbivore is conceptually an enemy that has been managed by manipulation of the plant on one side and by the use of biological control efforts or pesticides on the other, the herbivore being placed between these management strategies. The evolution of the plant and its insect herbivores has been described as an adversarial relationship. The herbivore–parasitoid relationship can be described in the same way. The importance of considering carnivores in understanding the evolution of the plant–herbivore interaction was proposed in the early 1980s. About the same time, a suggestion was made that it is important to consider plants in any effort to understand the herbivore–parasitoid relationship. However, the herbivore has remained in the middle. I suggest here that the specialist plant–herbivore–parasitoid interaction has evolved as a result of a mutualistic tritrophic interaction. As background I present a brief historical look at the management of herbivores followed by an overview of the interactions between the plant and herbivore, the herbivore and parasitoid, and the plant and parasitoid. Next, I consider other interactions between plants and insects where the plants appear to manipulate the insects. Finally, I discuss the mutualistic plant–parasitoid–herbivore interaction as a co-evolved tritrophic system where both the specialist parasitoid and the specialist herbivore have co-evolved together with the plant. The 3 components of the proposed system either interact with each other in a positive way or the potentially negative interactions are neutralized, selection favoring the more successful positive interactions. The proposal is predicated on plants with specialist herbivores and their specialist parasitoids. If this system exists, there is the opportunity for the evolution of subversion, deception, and cheating among the 3 components.
Enzyme-Mediated Oscillatory Drug Release through Hydrogel Membranes

Implantable polymeric drug-delivery devices have been constructed to deliver drugs at welldefined rates. Typically, these devices have been designed to deliver drugs at a constant rate, or in response to the concentration of a certain body metabolite. For some drugs, pulsatile delivery is sought. For example, under normal conditions, human growth hormone is released in the body in periodic bursts. Current treatments for HGH deficiency often fail because HGH is not administered following the endogenous pattern. Thus, pulsatile hormone-replacement therapy should be considered. Also, it may be useful to deliver in a periodic, pulsatile manner drugs that exhibit significant acute tolerance. Currently, an oscillator is under development that is fueled by endogenous compounds and contains a variable-permeability membrane. The membrane’s permeability to the substrate of an enzymatic reaction is assumed to be dependent on the concentration of the product of the reaction in a manner that displays product inhibition. Under certain conditions, this negative-feedback control can lead to oscillations in the membrane’s permeability to substrate. If the membrane’s permeability to a drug is simultaneously affected, then this will lead to oscillatory drug release. We report encouraging initial studies. A simple theoretical model has been developed for the membrane oscillator, and results of simulations based on the model are discussed. Diffusion-cell studies have been performed with a variable-permeability poly(N-isopropylacrylamide- co-methacrylic acid) hydrogel membrane. Using glucose as a probe solute, the results show that lowering the pH induces hydrogel volume collapse and cessation of glucose permeation across the membrane.
Strain Accommodation by Facile WO6 Octahedral Distortion and Tilting during WO3 Heteroepitaxy on SrTiO3(001)

In this work, we demonstrate that WO6 octahedra in tungsten trioxide (WO3) undergo an unusually large degree of distortion and tilting to accommodate interfacial strain. This motion strongly impacts nucleation, structure, and defect formation during the epitaxial growth of WO3 on SrTiO3(001). A metastable tetragonal phase can be stabilized by heteroepitaxy and a thickness-dependent phase transition (tetragonal to monoclinic) is observed. In contrast to misfit dislocation formation, facile WO6 octahedral deformation gives rise to three types of planar defects. The thicknesses of affected regions can range from several to tens of nanometers with graded lattice parameters, allowing the strain from interfacial lattice mismatch to be relieved gradually. These atomically resolved, unique interfacial defects may significantly alter the electronic, electrochromic, and mechanical properties of WO3 epitaxial films.
Labeling, Mild Mental Retardation, and Long-Range Social Adjustment:

Previous studies of long-range detrimental labeling effects related to mild mental retardation have failed to control for conditions that impact both the labeling process and social adjustment. In ...
Bit Error Rate Comparison Statistics and Hypothesis Tests for Inverse Sampling (Negative Binomial) Experiments

Inverse, or negative binomial, sampling is often used when the observation of interest occurs extremely infrequently. As this is the case in bit error rate (BER) simulations, especially in high signal-to-noise ratio cases, negative binomial sampling can be advantageously employed in a computationally economic fashion to compare bit error rates between different systems. When the results of two negative binomial sampling tests are compared, point estimates and interval estimates quantify the performance relationship between the results of the tests. This paper derives a new, optimal, logarithmically symmetric confidence interval estimator for the ratio of BER estimates derived from two negative binomial tests. In addition, a three-sided hypothesis test with a single significance level is derived to quantify the confidence of the relationship between the two systems. Low-BER approximations for the confidence interval and decision thresholds are derived based on the F-distribution. The approximation is shown to work with BERs as high as $10^{-2}$ . An example inspired by bit interleaved coded modulation shows how the technique can be used to reduce simulation time by an order of magnitude and facilitate straightforward interpretation and comparison between different systems. Negative binomial sampling is recommended for comparison experiments where BER is the key metric.
Size-Invariant Detection of Cell Nuclei in Microscopy Images

Accurate detection of individual cell nuclei in microscopy images is an essential and fundamental task for many biological studies. In particular, multivariate fluorescence microscopy is used to observe different aspects of cells in cultures. Manual detection of individual cell nuclei by visual inspection is time consuming, and prone to induce subjective bias. This makes automatic detection of cell nuclei essential for large-scale, objective studies of cell cultures. Blur, clutter, bleed-through, imaging noise and touching and partially overlapping nuclei with varying sizes and shapes make automated detection of individual cell nuclei a challenging task using image analysis. In this paper we propose a new automated method for fast and robust detection of individual cell nuclei based on their radial symmetric nature in fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) images obtained via confocal microscopy. The main contributions are two-fold. 1) This work presents a more accurate cell nucleus detection system using the fast radial symmetry transform (FRST). 2) The proposed cell nucleus detection system is robust against most occlusions and variations in size and moderate shape deformations. We evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm using precision/recall rates, $F_{\beta }$ -score and root-mean-squared distance (RMSD) and show that our algorithm provides improved detection accuracy compared to existing algorithms.
Application of Unified Communications in Electricity Charge Reminder Business

There are diverse methods to inform users about electricity charge in current electricity charge reminder business.But still there exists the phenomenon of failing communication and incomplete notification.To achieve quick and accurate informing,this paper proposes the use of unified communications to enhance the existing informing methods.Unity messaging system and XML applications are applied to the electricity charge reminder business,combined with agent/WEB server/IVR(Interactive Voice Response) interactive voice system..Voice/data/graphic information are converged and issued by a variety of access methods under the coordination of unified communications.Finally,a solution of user-side real-time information updating method is put forward to achieve complete notification.
The role of the laboratory in detecting inhalant abuse.

OBJECTIVE To provide an overview of inhalant abuse including the extent of the problem, types of products abused, modes and signs of abuse, pharmacology and effects of volatile substances, the role of the laboratory, and interpretation of laboratory results.
The problem, the evidence, and the language barrier

“You speak a language that I understand not” The Winter's Tale , 3.2.79 The terms invoked in this book's title trail with them various problems. To concentrate upon recovering X from the past, especially the theatrical past, is to set in motion a process that makes some readers and many theatrical professionals uncomfortable, even hostile. Admittedly, historically oriented scholars attuned to such disciplines as philology, iconography, and “ideas-of-the-time” contextual interpretation will find my goals and methods familiar, even self-evident. Such scholars will agree with John Shearman who, in his study of Mannerism, notes that “contemporary standards” of our age not only “do not give the right guidance to understanding a past age” but, in fact, can be “a positive hindrance.” Rather, he argues: “In decoding messages from the other side we get more meaningful results if we use their code rather than ours,” for “wherever possible a work of art should be interpreted by throwing it back into the nest of ideas in which it was born.” As practiced for several generations, however, the invocation and application of a Renaissance “nest of ideas” or “code” in Shakespeare studies has led to many oversimplified formulations and interpretations, so that post-structuralists attuned to indeterminacy, free play, and the death of the author may understandably be dubious when confronted with claims about “recovery.”
Examining usability in the communication design of health wearables

This panel consists of six case studies that investigate how emerging contexts for use created by health wearables present UX designers with challenges related to agency, surveillance, and health outcomes, as wearables assess the body in new, potentially unforeseen ways.
Divergence, Entropy, Information: An Opinionated Introduction to Information Theory

Information theory is a mathematical theory of learning with deep connections with topics as diverse as artificial intelligence, statistical physics, and biological evolution. Many primers on information theory paint a broad picture with relatively little mathematical sophistication, while many others develop specific application areas in detail. In contrast, these informal notes aim to outline some elements of the information-theoretic "way of thinking," by cutting a rapid and interesting path through some of the theory's foundational concepts and results. They are aimed at practicing systems scientists who are interested in exploring potential connections between information theory and their own fields. The main mathematical prerequisite for the notes is comfort with elementary probability, including sample spaces, conditioning, and expectations. We take the Kullback-Leibler divergence as our most basic concept, and then proceed to develop the entropy and mutual information. We discuss some of the main results, including the Chernoff bounds as a characterization of the divergence; Gibbs' Theorem; and the Data Processing Inequality. A recurring theme is that the definitions of information theory support natural theorems that sound ``obvious'' when translated into English. More pithily, ``information theory makes common sense precise.'' Since the focus of the notes is not primarily on technical details, proofs are provided only where the relevant techniques are illustrative of broader themes. Otherwise, proofs and intriguing tangents are referenced in liberally-sprinkled footnotes. The notes close with a highly nonexhaustive list of references to resources and other perspectives on the field.
Scalia’s Dilemmas as a Conservative Jurist

Justice Scalia’s opinions in education cases display his profound skepticism about judges’ constitutional authority and institutional capacity to reform public education in the United States. His “text and tradition” jurisprudence was designed above all to prevent judges from reading their own policy preferences into the vague words of the Constitution. Rather than read Brown as an invitation to judges to join with academic experts to remake our schools to achieve equal educational opportunity for all, he interpreted the equal protection clause and Brown to incorporate a simple command: thou shall not classify by race. But two other tenets of Justice Scalia’s jurisprudence, respect for precedent and obedience to the commands of Congress, sometimes pushed in a different direction. This chapter explores how these principles can come into conflict with one another in education cases. Justice Scalia’s efforts to balance and reconcile these competing principles helps us understand the dilemmas faced by conservative jurists in the twenty-first century.
Receptor for advanced glycation end-products and World Trade Center particulate induced lung function loss: A case-cohort study and murine model of acute particulate exposure

World Trade Center-particulate matter(WTC-PM) exposure and metabolic-risk are associated with WTC-Lung Injury(WTC-LI). The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is most highly expressed in the lung, mediates metabolic risk, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms at the AGER-locus predict forced expiratory volume(FEV). Our objectives were to test the hypotheses that RAGE is a biomarker of WTC-LI in the FDNY-cohort and that loss of RAGE in a murine model would protect against acute PM-induced lung disease. We know from previous work that early intense exposure at the time of the WTC collapse was most predictive of WTC-LI therefore we utilized a murine model of intense acute PM-exposure to determine if loss of RAGE is protective and to identify signaling/cytokine intermediates. This study builds on a continuing effort to identify serum biomarkers that predict the development of WTC-LI. A case-cohort design was used to analyze a focused cohort of male never-smokers with normal pre-9/11 lung function. Odds of developing WTC-LI increased by 1.2, 1.8 and 1.0 in firefighters with soluble RAGE (sRAGE)≥97pg/mL, CRP≥2.4mg/L, and MMP-9≤397ng/mL, respectively, assessed in a multivariate logistic regression model (ROCAUC of 0.72). Wild type(WT) and RAGE-deficient(Ager-/-) mice were exposed to PM or PBS-control by oropharyngeal aspiration. Lung function, airway hyperreactivity, bronchoalveolar lavage, histology, transcription factors and plasma/BAL cytokines were quantified. WT-PM mice had decreased FEV and compliance, and increased airway resistance and methacholine reactivity after 24-hours. Decreased IFN-γ and increased LPA were observed in WT-PM mice; similar findings have been reported for firefighters who eventually develop WTC-LI. In the murine model, lack of RAGE was protective from loss of lung function and airway hyperreactivity and was associated with modulation of MAP kinases. We conclude that in a multivariate adjusted model increased sRAGE is associated with WTC-LI. In our murine model, absence of RAGE mitigated acute deleterious effects of PM and may be a biologically plausible mediator of PM-related lung disease.
Still the tragic mulatto? Manufacturing multiracialization in magazine media, 1961–2011

On the heels of the 2000 US Census allowance of multiracial categorization and with rising mainstream discussion of multiracial heritage, questions over the meanings of multiracialism are quite pre...
Gastric Banding Surgery versus Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Author(s): Bakker, Jessie P; Tavakkoli, Ali; Rueschman, Michael; Wang, Wei; Andrews, Robert; Malhotra, Atul; Owens, Robert L; Anand, Amit; Dudley, Katherine A; Patel, Sanjay R
Children's Reward and Punishment Sensitivity Moderates the Association of Negative and Positive Parenting Behaviors in Child ADHD Symptoms.

Atypical reward processing, including abnormal reward responsivity and sensitivity to punishment, has long been implicated in the etiology of ADHD. However, little is known about how these facets of behavior interact with positive (e.g., warmth, praise) and negative (e.g., hostility, harsh discipline) parenting behavior in the early expression of ADHD symptoms in young children. Understanding the interplay between children’s reward processing and parenting may be crucial for identifying specific treatment targets in psychosocial interventions for ADHD, especially given that not all children benefit from contingency-based treatments (e.g., parent management training). The study consisted of a sample of kindergarten children (N = 201, 55% male) and their parents, who completed questionnaires about their parenting practices, their child’s behaviors and participated in an observed parent-child play task in the laboratory. Children’s reward responsivity and sensitivity to punishment were positively associated with child ADHD symptoms. However, children with high reward responsivity had more symptoms of ADHD but only under conditions of low negative parenting (self-reported and observed) and high self-reported positive parenting, compared to children with low reward responsivity. Children with high sensitivity to punishment had more ADHD symptoms relative to children with low sensitivity to punishment, but only under conditions in which observed praise was infrequent. Results provide evidence that individual differences in sensitivity to reward/punishment may be an important of marker of risk for ADHD, but also highlights how children’s responses to positive and negative parenting behavior may vary by children’s sensitivities. Clinical and treatment implications are discussed.
Controlled Selectivity of CO2 Reduction on Copper by Pulsing the Electrochemical Potential.

We demonstrate a simple strategy to enhance the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR) selectivity by applying a pulsed electrochemical potential to a polycrystalline copper electrode. By controlling the pulse duration, we show that the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is highly suppressed to a fraction of the original value ( 75 % CH4 and >50 % CO faradaic efficiency). We attribute the improved CO2 RR selectivity to a dynamically rearranging surface coverage of hydrogen and intermediate species during the pulsing. Our finding provides new insights into the interplay of transport and reaction processes as well as timescales of competing pathways to enable new opportunities to tune CO2 RR selectivity by adjusting the pulse profile. Additionally, the pulsed potential method we describe can be easily applied to other catalysts materials to improve their CO2 RR selectivity.
A Cognitive Neuropsychological Framework for Assessing Reading Disorders

Reading is a learned skill that engages a complex set of cognitive procedures. By virtue of its complexity, it is vulnerable to disruption with many different kinds of brain damage. Reading impairment is characteristic of almost all patients with acquired aphasia (Goodglass & Kaplan, 1983), and reading disorders persist chronically in the overwhelming majority of these aphasic patients (Webb & Love, 1983). Detailed assessment of the pattern of acquired reading disturbance, or alexia, can be informative about the underlying neural dysfunction as well as the integrity of various component cognitive neuropsychological processes. Since reading is fundamentally a linguistic activity and is based on prior mastery of auditory language skills, it is possible to learn about the integrity and function of various components of the language processing system through careful analysis of reading performance. Reading also depends on visual processing. Visual letter and word identification pose many of the same problems as other types of patterns for the visual recognition system, so that the functions of certain visual processing mechanisms may also he revealed in the analysis of reading performance. Reading competence is a prerequisite for many adult functional activities; hence, comprehensive assessment of reading capabilities is important for predicting functional living skills.