cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning Disabilities: An Adult Development Perspective

The nature of learning disabilities in adulthood is examined in relation to theoretical models and research related to adult development. This approach is offered as an alternative to the practice of conceptualizing learning disabilities as primarily reflecting the persistence of childhood disorders into adulthood. The basic assumptions of a life span developmental approach are presented, and specific mediating variables influencing adaptation to significant life events are discussed. Recent research on disabled adults is reviewed in terms of its relevance to adult development with an emphasis on a new conceptualization of learning disabilities in adults. Implications are drawn for future research and intervention directions.
Probing Prokaryotic Social Behaviors with Bacterial “Lobster Traps”

Bacteria are social organisms that display distinct behaviors/phenotypes when present in groups. These behaviors include the abilities to construct antibiotic-resistant sessile biofilm communities and to communicate with small signaling molecules (quorum sensing [QS]). Our understanding of biofilms and QS arises primarily from in vitro studies of bacterial communities containing large numbers of cells, often greater than 10(8) bacteria; however, in nature, bacteria often reside in dense clusters (aggregates) consisting of significantly fewer cells. Indeed, bacterial clusters containing 10(1) to 10(5) cells are important for transmission of many bacterial pathogens. Here, we describe a versatile strategy for conducting mechanistic studies to interrogate the molecular processes controlling antibiotic resistance and QS-mediated virulence factor production in high-density bacterial clusters. This strategy involves enclosing a single bacterium within three-dimensional picoliter-scale microcavities (referred to as bacterial "lobster traps") defined by walls that are permeable to nutrients, waste products, and other bioactive small molecules. Within these traps, bacteria divide normally into extremely dense (10(12) cells/ml) clonal populations with final population sizes similar to that observed in naturally occurring bacterial clusters. Using these traps, we provide strong evidence that within low-cell-number/high-density bacterial clusters, QS is modulated not only by bacterial density but also by population size and flow rate of the surrounding medium. We also demonstrate that antibiotic resistance develops as cell density increases, with as few as ~150 confined bacteria exhibiting an antibiotic-resistant phenotype similar to biofilm bacteria. Together, these findings provide key insights into clinically relevant phenotypes in low-cell-number/high-density bacterial populations.
Postnatal growth of the extra- and intrafusal fibers in the soleus and medial gastrocnemius muscles of the cat.

Development of intrafusal and extrafusal fibers in the soleus and medial gastrocnemius muscles in kittens was studied in sections stained by van Gieson or histochemical procedures. Cross-sectional areas of intrafusal and extrafusal fibers overlapped extensively in the two weeks following birth, with the means for intrafusal fibers in the medial gastrocnemius muscle being larger than those for the extrafusal fibers. A definite increase in extrafusal fiber size was seen at 20 days and in intrafusal fibers at 29 days. In the one mother cat studied, mean areas for soleus and medial gastrocnemius fibers were 12 and 59 times larger than those for a kitten sacrificed the day after birth, while the intrafusal fiber areas were 3.0 and 4.8 times greater. The equatorial region in nuclear bag fibers showed no significant growth in cross-sectional area, but almost doubled in length. In a newborn kitten, all extrafusal fibers in the soleus and medial gastrocnemius demonstrated a high level of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide diaphorase activity, but with the adenosine triphosphatase reaction, fibers had either low or high activity. After one month, soleus fibers with high adenosine triphosphatase activity were scarce, whereas in the medial gastrocnemius fibers with both low and high levels of activity were present. The intrafusal fibers at birth were already morphologically and histochemically differentiated into nuclear chain and bag fibers, and two varieties of the latter could be recognized in slides treated for adenosine triphosphatase activity.
Adjustment-Based Modeling for Timing Analysis Under Variability

This paper presents an adjustment-based modeling framework for timing analysis under variability. Instead of building a complex model (such as polynomial one) directly between the circuit timing and parameter variability, we propose to build a model that adjusts an approximate variation-aware timing into an accurate one. The idea is that it is easier to build a model that adjusts an approximate estimate into an accurate one. In addition, it is more efficient to obtain an approximate circuit timing model. The combination of these two observations makes the use of an adjustment-based model a better choice for statistical static timing analysis with high dimension of parameter variability (e.g., at sign-off stage). It can also be used at the postsilicon stage to predict the circuit timing from a smaller subcircuit. To build the adjustment model, we use a simulation-driven approach based on Gaussian Process. Combined with the intelligent sampling, we show that an adjustment-based model can more effectively capture the nonlinearity of the circuit timing with respect to parameter variability compared to polynomial models. Simulation results show that with 42 independent device and interconnect parameter variations, our proposed adjustment-based model obtained using 200 circuit timing samples can achieve much higher accuracy than quadratic model obtained using 2000 samples.
A weighted reliability measure for phonetic transcription.

Purpose The purpose of the present work is to describe and illustrate the utility of a new tool for assessment of transcription agreement. Traditional measures have not characterized overall transc...
The Effects of Teacher Entry Portals on Student Achievement

The current teacher workforce is younger, less experienced, more likely to turnover, and more diverse in preparation experiences than the workforce of two decades ago. Research shows that inexperienced teachers are less effective, but we know little about the effectiveness of teachers with different types of preparation. In this study, we classify North Carolina public school teachers into portals—fixed and mutually exclusive categories that capture teachers’ formal preparation and qualifications upon first entering the profession—and estimate the adjusted average test score gains of students taught by teachers from each portal. Compared with undergraduate-prepared teachers from in-state public universities, (a) out-of-state undergraduate-prepared teachers are less effective in elementary grades and high school, (b) alternative entry teachers are less effective in high school, and (c) Teach For America corps members are more effective in STEM subjects and secondary grades.
Revenue Risk-Reduction Impacts of Crop Insurance in a Multicrop Framework

The authors develop a multicrop insurance model to evaluate crop insurance decisions when several crops are produced. The results suggest that the diversification effects derived from producing multiple crops can substantially alter the risk-reduction impacts of crop insurance versus if the decision is viewed from the perspective of a single crop. Further, the relatedness of crop production and price responses among crops differs considerably across insurance products and strategies. As a result, insurance strategies that might provide the maximum risk reduction for an individual crop do not necessarily carry over to the multicrop case.
Hodgkin's disease complicated by the nephrotic syndrome

A 12-year-old boy with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin's disease demonstrated nephrotic syndrome. A renal biopsy studied with light microscopy, electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence showed minimal change glomerulonephritis and some foci of fluorescence with anti-IgM. A literature review revealed that 35 cases of Hodgkin's disease with nephrotic syndrome have been reported. Possible etiologic mechanisms are discussed.
Design, implementation, and evaluation of sustainable bioenergy production systems

Bioenergy systems are an essential part of a renewable energy portfolio, particularly as only liquid biofuels can replace petroleum in key applications. Unlike fossil energy systems, bioen- ergy systems can potentially be sustainable, that is, able to operate indefi nitely into the future. Based on our work and the work of others who have examined various sustainability aspects of bioenergy systems, we believe it is possible to operate these systems so that they are sustainably profi table, improve the welfare of local populations, and provide environmental benefi ts for local and global ecosystems. However achieving greater sustainability by deploying bioenergy systems will not occur without careful thought and consideration. Therefore we propose and apply a set of sustainability objectives for bioenergy systems that span the economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainability. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
BI-RG-587 is active against zidovudine-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and synergistic with zidovudine.

A series of dipyridodiazepinones have been shown to be potent inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase. The lead compound, BI-RG-587, had a 50% inhibitory concentration of 84 nM against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity. This compound reduced plaque formation of HIV-1 in HeLa cells expressing the CD4 receptor by 50% at 15 nM. BI-RG-587 at comparable concentrations inhibited the production of p24 antigen following the acute infection of CEM T-lymphoblastoid cells or primary human monocyte-derived macrophages with HIV-1. No inhibitory effects against HIV-2 or against three picornaviruses were detected. Zidovudine (39-azido-39-deoxythymidine [AZT])-susceptible and AZT-resistant isolates of HIV-1 were equally susceptible to BI-RG-587. AZT and BI-RG-587 exhibited synergistic inhibition of HIV-1BRU at all concentrations examined.
3D tracking of human locomotion: a tracking as recognition approach

Estimating mode (walking/running/standing) and phases of human locomotion is important for video understanding. We present a "tracking as recognition" approach. A hierarchical finite state machine constructed from 3D motion capture data serves as a prior motion model. Motion templates are used as the observation model. Robustness is achieved by making inferences in the prior motion model which resolves the short-term ambiguity of the observations that may cause a regular tracking formulation to fail. Experiments show very promising results on some difficult sequences.
Hierarchical Gabor filters for object detection in infrared images

This paper presents a new representation called "hierarchical Gabor filters" and associated novel local measures which are used to detect potential objects of interest in images. The "first stage" of the approach uses a wavelet set of wide-bandwidth separable Gabor filters to extract local measures from an image. The "second stage" makes certain spatial groupings explicit by creating small-bandwidth, non-separable Gabor filters that are tuned to elongated contours or periodic patterns. The non-separable filter responses are obtained from a weighted combination of the separable basis filters, which preserves the computational efficiency of separable filters while providing the distinctiveness required to discriminate objects from clutter. This technique is demonstrated on images obtained from a forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor. >
Parallel LDGM Codes for the Transmission of Highly Correlated Senders over Rayleigh Fading Multiple Access Channels

We investigate the use of LDGM codes for the transmission of two highly correlated senders over a Rayleigh fading multiple access channel. Each one of the senders is encoded independently, and without knowledge of the correlation parameters, using an LDGM code. Decoding is performed in a common receiver, which exploits the correlation between the senders by performing message passing in a graph jointly describing the correlation model and the channel codes. The resulting performance surpasses the theoretical limits obtained when separation between source and channel coding is assumed. As opposed to the case of uncorrelated senders, the performance loss when the channel state information is not available at the decoder is practically non-existent.
Reward Size Informs Repeat-Switch Decisions and Strongly Modulates the Activity of Neurons in Parietal Cortex

Behavior is guided by previous experience. Good, positive outcomes drive a repetition of a previous behavior orchoice, whereas pooror bad outcomes lead to an avoidance.How thesebasicdrives are implemented by thebrain hasbeenof primary interest to psychologyandneuroscience.Weengagedanimalsin achoicetaskinwhichthesizeof a rewardoutcome stronglygovernedthe animals’ subsequent decision whether to repeat or switch the previous choice. We recorded the discharge activity of neurons implicatedinreward-basedchoicein2regionsofparietalcortex.Wefoundthatthetendencytoretainpreviouschoicefollowing a large (small) reward was paralleled by a marked decrease (increase) in the activity of parietal neurons. This neural effect is independent of, and of sign opposite to, value-based modulations reported in parietal cortex previously. This effect shares the same basic properties with signals previously reported in the limbic system that detect the size of the recently obtained reward to mediate proper repeat-switch decisions. We conclude that the size of the obtained reward is a decision variable that guides the decision between retaining a choice or switching, and neurons in parietal cortex strongly respond to this novel decision variable.
Design and optimization of selective azaindole amide M1 positive allosteric modulators

Selective activation of the M1 receptor via a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) is a new approach for the treatment of the cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. A novel series of azaindole amides and their key pharmacophore elements are described. The nitrogen of the azaindole core is a key design element as it forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond with the amide N-H thus reinforcing the bioactive conformation predicted by published SAR and our homology model. Representative compound 25 is a potent and selective M1 PAM that has well aligned physicochemical properties, adequate brain penetration and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties, and is active in vivo. These favorable properties indicate that this series possesses suitable qualities for further development and studies.
Follow-up of hydration and sedation in the pretherapy of premature labor.

Intravenous fluids and sedation with 8 mg of morphine sulfate intramuscularly has been used for the last 12 years at our institution to define the patients in “real” premature labor. Only those who continue to have uterine contractions after this pretreatment are considered in actual premature labor. One hundred eighty-four pregnant patients with singleton pregnancies were evaluated after they were treated with hydration and sedation for the presence of regular uterine contractions. Fifty-five percent of the patients responded to hydration and sedation, and the rest required the use of tocolytic therapy. In the tocolytic therapy group, 11% gave birth to infants who were small for gestational age. The patients who responded to hydration and sedation had a 2.6-fold increase of delivering prematurely when compared to the general population. However, more than 85% of the patients who received only hydration and sedation were delivered more than 2 weeks after the first episode and most of them were delivered at term. Therefore, the use of hydration and sedation seems a useful and safe clinical test to determine patients in real premature labor. Patients who respond to hydration and therapy constitute a “high-risk group” and should be managed accordingly.
Strangeness in the Skyrme Model

These lectures review the fundamentals of the Skyrme model of baryons and its relationship with the non-relativistic quark model and the large-N QCD. Special emphasis is placed on the problems the model experiences in perturbative treatment of SU (3) breaking. It is argued that the strange quark mass m s is large enough to invalidate first-order perturbation theory in m s. Because of the failure of the perturbation theory, an alternate approach to strangeness is introduced where hyperons emerge as kaon-soliton bound states. Various applications of this approach are discussed, with emphasis on its striking similarity with the quark model.
Alchemists, Epics, and Heroes: The Rhetorical Construction of the Seventeenth Century Experimental Philosopher

This dissertation contributes to the cultural study of the history of science by examining the rhetorical construction of seventeenth century natural philosophy and natural philosophers in a literary context. I offer as the heart of my study an original interpretation of Thomas Sprat’s History of the Royal Society as a prose epic. The way in which Sprat incorporates epic tropes such as the in medias res opening, the invocation and re-invocations of his muse, the epic journey and quest, the divine intervention in the human world, and the epic flashback reveals that the History actively participates not only in the seventeenth century revision of the epic genre, but also in the reshaping of seventeenth century English cultural values. The chapters surrounding my reading of the History illustrate two very different rhetorical strategies that were used to explain and legitimize the character of the new experimentalist. The first strategy attempted to use comparisons and contrasts between the experimentalist and the alchemist. This strategy was ultimately unsuccessful in that it could yield for the experimental philosophers a cultural reputation that was only as variable and as unstable as that of the alchemist himself. The second and ultimately successful rhetorical strategy drew parallels between the experimentalist and the epic hero in terms of their growth and prowess, masculine asexuality, and distinctive linguistic style, and between the experimental and the heroic quest in terms of its command over physical space, communal nature, battle against foes, and specialized weaponry. These parallels, combined with careful discussion of the experimentalist’s relationship to the divine, effectively constructed the seventeenth century experimental philosopher as the quintessential English national hero. My methodology of situating close readings of specific textual passages in their broader cultural context reflects my concerted effort to historicize rather than to theorize about the texts, an effort undertaken to give readers an understanding not only of the ‘heroic’ rhetorical and ideological construction of seventeenth century experimental philosophy and experimental philosophers, but also an appreciation for how these constructions drew upon and helped solidify the cultural values of mid-seventeenth century England.
Constraints of Consistent Operational Risk Measurement and Regulation: Data Collection and Loss Reporting

Amid increased size and complexity of the banking industry, operational risk has a greater potential to transpire in more harmful ways than many other sources of risk. This paper provides a succinct overview of the current regulatory framework of operational risk under the New Basel Accord with a view to inform a critical debate about the influence of data collection, loss reporting, and model specification on the consistency of risk-sensitive capital rules. In particular, the paper investigates the regulatory implications of varying characteristics of operational risk and different methods to identify operational risk exposure. The presented findings offer tractable recommendations for a more coherent and consistent regulation of operational risk.
That Broader Definition of Liberty: The Theory and Practice of the New Deal

Brian Stipelman's That Broader Definition of Liberty offers a thoughtful and timely study and defense of the New Deal's political theory. Utilizing the thought of four key New Dealers—Franklin Dela...
A note on the relationship between bone marrow lymphocytosis and remission duration in acute leukemia.

In a sample of 148 children with acute leukemia a positive correlation was found between the duration of remission and the highest percentage bone marrow lymphocyte count observed during remission; a negative correlation was found between remission duration and the average lymphocyte count. The first finding is probably a statistical artifact, while the second supports the view that bone marrow lymphocytosis occurring repeatedly during remission may be a poor prognostic sign.
Mechanical manipulator tracking control based on Udwadia and Kalaba equation

A new approach to the tracking control of mechanical manipulator was proposed based on the Uwadia and Kalaba equation,by which we could obtain the constraints without using Lagrange multiplier or other auxiliary variables.Different from other existing approaches,the desired performance and desired trajectory were treated as constraints.The problem was then to design a control which could render the system to follow the constraints.Based on the Udwadia and Kalaba equation,the closed-form expression of the servo constraint was proposed.Based on the idea of servo constraint control,the servo constraint control of mechanical manipulator was presented through theoretical analysis.The goal was to render the mechanical system to follow theconstraints after establishing the dynamic model of the system.The simulation research was conducted using Matlab.The results show that the servo constraint control can be obtained using this method,the results of manipulator components' movement meet the requirements and the tracking trajectory of manipulator is perfect and exact.1tab,6figs,15refs.
Control Law Design of Fixed-wing Airplane and Realization of the Flight Simulation System

The control law design is particularly important in modern airplane design because it is developed into static instability for higher mobility.The classical control law is a simple,mature and reliable control method that has been widely used for practical models.The control law design of a flight control system of a fixed-wing airplane is proposed.Taking the control law design for holding the pitch attitude as example,the root locus method in classical control theory is applied in the control law design.The realization scheme of the flight simulation system is presented.Virtual scene technology is applied so that the attitude of the airplane can be virtually shown on the screen in order to testify the correctness of the proposed control law.
Determining the effectiveness of soil treatment on plant stress using smart-phone cameras

Plants are vital to the health of our biosphere, and effectively sustaining their growth is fundamental to the existence of life on this planet. A critical aspect, which decides the sustainability of plant growth is the quality of soil. All other things being fixed, the quality of soil greatly impacts the plant stress, which in turn impacts overall health. Although plant stress manifests in many ways, one of the clearest indicators are colors of the leaves. In this paper, we conducted an experimental study in a greenhouse for detecting plant stress caused by nutrient deficiencies in soil using smart-phone cameras, coupled with image processing and machine learning algorithms. The greenhouse experiment was conducted by growing two plant species; willows (Salix Pentandra) and poplars (Populus deltoides x nigra, DN34), in two treatments. These treatments included: unamended tailings (collected from a lead mine tailings pond and characterized by nutrient deficiency), and biosolids amended tailings. Biosolids are very rich in nutrients and were added to the tailings in one of the two treatments to supply plants with nutrients. Subsequently, we captured various images of plant leaves grown in both soils. Each image taken was pre-processed via filtration to remove associated noise, and was segmented into pixels to facilitate scalability of analysis. Subsequently, we designed random forests based algorithms to detect the stress of leaves as indicated by their coloring. In a dataset consisting of 34 leaves, our technique yields classifications with a high degree of prediction, recall and F1 score. Our work in this paper, while restricted to two types of plants and soils, can be generalized. We see applications in the emerging area of urban farming in terms of empowering citizens with tools and technologies for enhancing quality of farming practices.
A novel electrostatic approach to enzyme mechanisms : carbonic anhydrase as an example

A novel electrostatic approach to the manner in which enzymes catalyze reactions is developed. In this development, the author's interpretations of, and additions to, the late K. Fajans' theory of electronic structure (referred to as the Quanticule theory of chemical binding) are presented. This theory is based upon electron densities, in analogy to density functional theory. It is used to derive formulations of molecular structure, (Fajans' formulations) which show the charges of the atomic components. These charges are shown to be reduced by polarization to what are commonly referred to as partial charges. These formulations relate to the exchange of charged atomic components during reactions. The relevance of the formulations to the catalytic activity of enzymes is illustrated with carbonic anhydrase. When viewed in terms of Fajans' formulations, the active site is seen to consist of an array of charged atoms. The positive and negative charges tend to alternate. When closely positioned, these charges provide a basis for drawing atomic components of the molecules, which are exchanged in a given reaction, into the new positions. The charges are shown to be related to the binding of substrates to the enzyme and the positioning of them so that they can interact, to the reaction itself, to an essential proton transfer, and to the dissociation of the product from the enzyme. This more extensive scope of electrostatic interactions provides a more simple view of the manner in which the catalysis is accomplished. Such catalysis is consistent with a number of other proposals about enzyme mechanisms, and appears to be applicable to a large majority of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
Genetic background modulates outcome of therapeutic amyloid peptides in treatment of neuroinflammation

Amyloid hexapeptide molecules are effective in the treatment of the murine model of neuroinflammation, known as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Efficacy however differs between two inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6J (B6) and C57BL/10SnJ (B10). Amyloid hexapeptide treatments improved the clinical outcomes of B6, but not B10 mice, indicating that genetic background influences therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, although previous studies indicated that prion protein deficiency results in more severe EAE in B6 mice, we observed no such effect in B10 mice. In addition, we found that amyloid hexapeptide treatments of B10 and B6 mice elicited differential IL4 responses. Thus, the modulatory potential of prion protein and related treatments with other amyloid hexapeptides in EAE depends on mouse strain.
Power, Rhythm, The Turning Point, Limits, Limitations and Labeling

Psychologist, educator and author of numerous publications on teaching, learning and creativity Clark Moustakas (1966) sensed at an early age that a radical wrong was being perpetrated on him as a learner. “Authoritarian demands were violating [his] right to choose, to maintain [his] personal uniqueness and distinctiveness” (Moustakas, 1977, p. 86).
Treatment of AIDS Encephalopathy

A 3-year old boy who had acquired HIV infection transplacentally and developed AIDS encephalopathy is reported from the Depts of Paediatrics and Immunology, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Management of glioblastoma in elderly patients

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults over 55years of age. The median age of diagnosis for patients with GBM is 64years old, with the incidence of patients between 75 and 85 increasing. The optimal treatment paradigm for elderly GBM patients continues to evolve due to the higher frequency of age-related and/or medical co-morbidities. Geriatric GBM patients have historically been excluded from larger, controlled clinical trials due to their presumed decreased likelihood of a sustained treatment response and/or a prolonged good outcome. Here, we highlight current treatment considerations of elderly GBM patients with respect to surgical, radiotherapeutic and systemic modalities, with considerations for improving future clinical outcomes for this patient population.
Radiation Dose Reduction in CT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Using SMART-RECON

In this paper, a newly developed statistical model-based image reconstruction [referred to as Simultaneous Multiple Artifacts Reduction in Tomographic RECONstruction (SMART-RECON)] is applied to low dose computer tomography (CT) myocardial perfusion imaging (CT-MPI). This method uses the nuclear norm of the spatial-temporal image matrix of the CT-MPI images as a regularizer, rather than a conventional spatial regularizer that incorporates image smoothness, edge preservation, or spatial sparsity into the reconstruction. In addition to providing the needed noise reduction for low-dose CT-MPI, SMART-RECON provides images with spatial resolution and noise power spectrum (NPS) properties, which are independent of contrast and dose levels. Both numerical simulations and in vivo animal studies were performed to validate the proposed method. In these studies, it was found that: 1) quantitative accuracy of perfusion maps in CT-MPI was well maintained for radiation dose level as low as 10 mAs per image frame, compared with the reference standard of 200 mAs for conventional filtered backprojection; 2) flow-occluded myocardium in the porcine heart was well delineated by SMART-RECON at 10 mAs per frame when compared with model-based image reconstruction using spatial total variation (TV) as the regularizer (referred to as TV-SIR) or spatial-temporal TV (ST-TV-SIR); the CT-MPI results were confirmed with positron-emission tomography imaging; 3) image sharpness in SMART-RECON images was nearly independent of image contrast level and radiation dose level, in stark contrast to TV-SIR and ST-TV-SIR, which displayed a strong dependence on both image contrast and radiation dose levels; and 4) the structure of the dose-normalized NPS for the SMART-RECON method did not depend on dose, while the TV-SIR and ST-TV-SIR NPS structure was dose-dependent.
Confirmation of Wilks’ method applied to TRACE model of boiling water reactor spray cooling experiment

Abstract Wilks’ formula has been frequently used to quantify the minimum amount of computational work required to meaningfully assess a model’s uncertainty, due to its nonparametric statistical nature that does not require knowledge of the distribution of the qualifying parameters of interest. Additionally, this method allows for any number of input uncertain parameters in the simulation model. This is favorable due to considerable computational expense of typical nuclear safety simulations, providing a quantifiable number of code executions that can statistically verify a desired level of safety. However, there are various existing definitions and uses of Wilks’ theorem in such scenarios, which the present study aims to investigate and quantify for a real thermal-hydraulics experiment used for reactor safety licensing. In this work, the U.S. NRC TRACE thermal-hydraulics code was chosen to simulate the separate-effect spray cooling tests performed by ASEA-ATOM for licensing of BWR SVEA-64 fuel. The computational model was evaluated by performing forward uncertainty quantification (UQ) using Dakota as the analysis tool and code driver on 31 identified sensitive parameters. Using this validated model, the TRACE model was sampled 1000 times with four different input parameter probability distributions to produce four model data sets to assess the applicability of Wilks’ theorem within a realistic nuclear safety analysis scenario. The obtained results compared various Wilks-defined ‘sample sizes’ according to one-sided confidence intervals for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd-order statistics, and with the two-sided confidence interval for the 1st-order statistics. The comparison demonstrated that Wilks’ method satisfies the reactor safety modeling requirements at the 95%/95% tolerance/confidence level as determined by the U.S. NRC.
A total life cycle cost model (TLCCM) for the circular economy and its application to post-recovery resource allocation

Abstract The consumerism-driven, consumption-based linear economy is leaving a trail of economic, environmental, and societal challenges in its wake. The Circular Economy, a new economic framework, can be combined with the 6R-based elements of sustainable manufacturing in order to relieve these challenges by establishing a closed-loop material flow. To realize this ideal state, a total life cycle cost model (TLCCM) is needed to serve as the primary engineering economic model. Therefore, a framework for such a model is presented that aims to aid stakeholders in making decisions regarding all aspects of the product life cycle. It is intended that these stakeholders use this model in order to challenge the status quo of costly “green”-centric decisions and demand innovation in the overall process in order to realize a net positive total life cycle cost benefit alongside a balanced Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL). To illustrate how the TLCCM can be applied, an application is explored that uses the model to determine post-recovery resource allocation into three closed-loop streams (Recycling, Remanufacturing, and Reusing). An outlook for future research is then presented.
Utility and performance characteristics of a novel submucosal injection agent (Eleview TM ) for endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection

Background: Submucosal injection of a lifting agent is a critical step in endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Literature suggests superiority of other viscous solutions over normal saline (NS), but research to determine the ideal submucosal injection is still ongoing. In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated the utility and performance characteristics of a novel submucosal injection agent (Eleview TM Methods: Twelve consecutive patients referred for EMR/ESD to a tertiary referral center with experienced large polyp expert were prospectively enrolled. Ten patients with large colon polyps (mean age 66.3 years), and one patient each with esophageal and gastric lesions were included. Eleview TM Results: Single injection of 3–5 cc of Eleview TM Conclusions: Eleview TM</sup was successful in achieving long duration of submucosal elevation, allowing safe and efficient performance of EMR as a single injection, but needed repeated injections during longer ESD procedures. Prospective controlled trials are required to compare its performance to other available viscous submucosal solutions.
Enzymes of Normal and Malignant Intestine

The understanding of how the enzymatic balance in a eukaryotic cell leads to its function in the total organism, its mitotic activity, and on occasion malignancy is a goal many have sought. The differences in activities in similar tissues in slightly altered states could be highly indicative of their control. The cells of the intestinal mucosa undergo gradual changes and parallel these maturations with changes in location. In theory, at least, they provide an ideal model system to study.
Widespread tannin intake via stimulants and masticatories, especially guarana, kola nut, betel vine, and accessories.

Tannins are increasingly recognized as dietary carcinogens and as anti-nutrients interfering with the system’s full use of protein. Nevertheless, certain tannin-rich beverages, masticatories, and folk remedies, long utilized in African, Asiatic, Pacific, and Latin American countries, are now appearing in North American sundry shops and grocery stores. These include guarane (Paullinia cupana HBK.) from Brazil, kola nut (Colanitida Schott &, Endl. and C. acuminata Schott &, Endl.) from West Africa, and betel nut (Areca catechu L.) from Malaya. The betel nut, or arecanut, has long been associated with oral and esophageal cancer because of its tannin content and the tannin contributed by the highly astringent cutch from Acacia catechu L. and Uncaria gambir Roxb. and the aromatic, astringent ‘pan’ (leaves of Piper betle L.) chewed with it. In addition to the constant recreational/social ingestion of these plant materials, they are much consumed as aphrodisiacs and medications. Guarane and kola nut enjoy great popularity in their native lands because they are also rich in caffeine, which serves as a stimulant. Research and popular education on the deleterious effects of excessive tannin intake could do much to reduce the heavy burden of early mortality and health care, especially in developing countries.
Developmental Change and Correlates of Autonomy in Asian American Adolescents

Although establishing a sense of autonomy has been long thought to be a fundamental developmental task, there are still gaps in literature in terms of how autonomy changes over time and interacts with other important factors in adolescents’ lives. In the present study, 158 (60% female; 74% second generation) Asian Americans were followed throughout high school and surveyed for self-reported autonomy, parent-child closeness, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms each year. Hierarchical linear modeling investigated whether autonomy changed over time, whether yearly changes in autonomy were related to changes in parent-child closeness, and whether both constructs were associated with adjustment. The results indicated that, although autonomy did not linearly increase over the high school years, intra-individual increases in autonomy were associated with increases in father-child closeness. Effects of mother-child closeness were similar, but only approached statistical significance. Autonomy and closeness to mother were each positively associated with self-esteem, and their interactive effect on depressive symptoms was also significant, which suggests that both autonomy and relatedness with mother are important for Asian American adolescents’ psychological well-being.
PAC1 Receptors: Shapeshifters in Motion

Shapeshifters, in common mythology, are entities that can undergo multiple physical transformations. As our understanding of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has accelerated and been refined over the last two decades, we now understand that GPCRs are not static proteins, but rather dynamic structures capable of moving from one posture to the next, and adopting unique functional characteristics at each transition. This model of GPCR dynamics underlies our current understanding of biased agonism—how different ligands to the same receptor can generate different intracellular signals—and constitutive receptor activity, or the level of unbound basal receptor signaling that can be attenuated by inverse agonists. From information derived from related class B receptors, we have recently modeled the structure and molecular dynamics of the full-length pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP, Adcyap1)—selective PAC1 receptor (PAC1R, Adcyap1r1). The class B receptors are different from the class A GPCRs in part from the presence of a large extracellular domain (ECD); the transitions of the ECD along with the dynamics of the transmembrane domains (TMD or 7TM) of the PAC1R describes a series of open- and closed-state conformations that appear to identify the mechanisms for receptor activation. The PAC1R shapeshifts also have the ability of delineating the mechanisms and the design of reagents that may direct biased agonism (or antagonism) for potential therapeutics.
Epidemiology and Detrimental Impact of Opioid Use in Patients Undergoing Arthroscopic Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

Purpose To determine the prevalence of preoperative opioid use in patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome and to define how opioid use influences preoperative hip pain and function at a single center. Methods Between February 2015 and September 2016, patients undergoing hip arthroscopy at a single Midwest institution for FAI syndrome were retrospectively reviewed. Patients undergoing arthroscopy for non-FAI conditions and those with undocumented preoperative opioid use were excluded. Baseline validated measures (Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [HOOS] pain and physical function; University of California, Los Angeles, activity scores; Veterans RAND 12 Item Health Survey) of health were collected at the time of surgery. Articular cartilage status was documented at the time of surgery. Opioid use was extracted from the electronic medical record retrospectively, and patients were designated current users, past users, or nonusers. Analysis of variance and 2-tailed Student's t-tests were used to detect differences between groups according to preoperative opioid use, and significance was set to P Results During the study period 321 patients underwent arthroscopic hip surgery for FAI and met the inclusion criteria (75 were excluded). Preoperatively, 55 patients (17%) were current opioid users, 89 (28%) were past users (not within 3 months of surgery), and 177 (55%) were opioid naive. Current opioid use was associated with significantly worse measures of joint and general health including HOOS-Pain (15.3 point difference, P Conclusions Preoperative opioid use is common prior to arthroscopy for FAI and has detrimental impacts on hip pain and function. The present data also suggest cessation of opioid medication for 3 months prior to surgery may have meaningful impacts on baseline measures of hip and general health. Level of Evidence Level III, prognostic.
Video Activity Schedules to Increase Independence for Students with Disabilities

Success in post-school environments, such as the employment and community access, is increased when an individual is independent of instructor or caregiver support. Individuals with disabilities can self-instruct using various forms of assistive technology to alleviate instructor support, thus increasing their autonomy. This study used a multiple probe across behaviors design replicated across two participants to examine the effectiveness of a video activity schedule (VidAS) to increase independence in novel vocational tasks across three school settings (i.e., office, cafeteria, library). Both participants, one participant with an intellectual disability and one participant with a traumatic brain injury, were able to self-instruct using VidAS and independently complete all three tasks within each environment. Implications for teachers and practitioners working with transition-age youth with disabilities are discussed as well as limitations to the current study.
Effect of menstrual cycle on ethanol drinking in rhesus monkeys.

Abstract Background Sex differences in the abuse-related effects of alcohol have been demonstrated in the clinic and in preclinical animal models. Less is known about the influence of menstrual cycle phase on drinking. Methods In this study, we examined the relationship between menstrual cycle phase and intake of ethanol (EtOH) in five adult female rhesus monkeys. Subjects consumed a 4% EtOH solution in their home cage 6 h per day, 5 days per week and pressed a lever to receive food pellets during the drinking session. Menstrual cycle was determined with vaginal swabs 5–7 days per week. To facilitate comparison with previous studies, the cycle was divided three different ways for analysis. Results First, no significant difference was observed when EtOH intake was compared between phases defined as “follicular” (days 5–10) and “luteal” (19–24). Second, when the cycle was further divided into four phases [early follicular (days 1–7), late follicular (8–14), early luteal (15–21) and late luteal (22-next cycle)], significant differences were detected, with intake highest in phases that bracket menses and lowest in the late follicular phase. Finally, EtOH intake during “mid-cycle” (days 12–16) was significantly lower than during “menses” (days 1–5) and “late luteal” (last 5 days). Effect sizes were small to moderate, although absolute differences in EtOH intake (g/kg) were Conclusions Menstrual cycle has modest but statistically significant and selective effects on EtOH drinking, with higher EtOH intake observed in the peri-menstrual period compared to the middle of the cycle.
Pelvic Pain and Apical Prolapse Surgery: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to evaluate the association of preoperative pelvic pain with operative characteristics and the association of patient and operative characteristics with postoperative pain.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study utilizing Clinformatics DataMart, a large nati
The Zhong Lun Declaration on the Obligations of Huawei and Other Chinese Companies under Chinese Law

This memorandum analyzes a declaration submitted to the Federal Communications Commission in May 2018 by two attorneys from the Zhong Lun law firm in China. The declaration supports Huawei's position that it cannot be compelled under Chinese law to tamper with telecommunications equipment it manufactures or sell to install backdoors, eavesdropping facilities, or other spyware. The memorandum finds the declaration to be incomplete, in that it does not address the key question of the extent to which the Chinese government is constrained by Chinese law. It also finds that the declaration makes some questionable assertions about Chinese law.
Characteristics of Frequency Domain Spectrum of Self-Nulling Eddy Current Probe Output

Since its introduction several years ago, the self-nulling eddy current probe [1–3] technology has been one of the focal points of the aging aircraft related R&D effort. Numerous application areas have broadened the scope of the probe which has also helped in better understanding the underlying principle. As the technology matures, however, deeper understanding on the various details related to the self nulling effect is needed to overcome difficulties associated with the current field tests and expand its application areas. A particular problem to be addressed is in differentiating the effect of small, shallow surface cracks from that of probe wobble during automated data acquisition operation.