cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Why I believe I achieve determines whether I achieve

AbstractThe beliefs and values students hold toward themselves, given tasks, and achievement itself can influence what tasks students seek, and whether they are able to obtain them. On the basis of previous research on underachievement and motivation, we developed the Achievement Orientation Model (AOM) to explore the issue of student achievement. The model posits that individuals’ self-perceptions in three areas (self-efficacy, goal valuation, and environmental perceptions) interact to motivate students to self-regulate their behaviors and subsequently engage and achieve. Further, societal and cultural values influence students’ attitudes in the three areas of self-efficacy, goal valuation, and environmental perceptions, as well as their ability to self-regulate, through students’ interactions with their peers, parents, and teachers. In this paper, we discuss the components of the AOM, as well as the importance of talent development perspectives on shaping student attitudes that promote engagement and ul...
Diagnostische fase: exploratie

Als de huisarts bij adequate diagnostiek geen lichamelijke of psychische ziekte vaststelt die de klachten voldoende kan verklaren en als de patient meer dan enkele weken lichamelijke klachten houdt, hanteert de huisarts de werkhypothese SOLK. De huisarts heeft na het stellen van werkhypothese SOLK in principe nog vier diagnostische taken. Ten eerste exploreert de huisarts de mogelijke factoren die de klachten in stand houden op de vijf klachtdimensies Somatisch, Cognitief, Emotioneel, Gedrag en Sociaal (SCEGS). Ten tweede schat de huisarts de ernst van de SOLK in. Ten derde beoordeelt de huisarts vooral bij ernstige SOLK of er psychiatrische comorbiditeit is. Ten vierde kan het vooral bij langdurige SOLK nuttig zijn om samen met de patient nog eens het dossier door te nemen en daarbij de eerder uitgevoerde diagnostiek en de gegeven adviezen op een rij te zetten.
Guideline: In type 2 diabetes, ACP recommends metformin monotherapy if drugs are needed for glycemic control.

Source Citation Qaseem A, Barry MJ, Humphrey LL, Forciea MA, Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. Oral pharmacologic treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a clinica...
Academic resilience and caring adults: The experiences of former foster youth

Abstract As a result of being removed from their homes and moving between different placements and schools, foster youth can experience high levels of stress and challenges as they struggle to cope with such extreme emotional turbulence. The experience of trauma and instability in turn, can have consequences on foster students' academic progress. As it is seemingly uncommon for foster youth to matriculate to postsecondary education, this study examines how successful foster youth transitioned out of care and furthered their education at an academically rigorous institution. From high-achieving former foster students, this study uncovers their experiences while in out-of-home care that helped them enroll in a university, including how adult supporters provided guidance, emotional support, and stability, which allowed students to move out of their negative past experiences. Adults' willingness to assist youth and be a part of their lives provided students with a transformative academic and social emotional environment, furthering their ability to persist through high school and gain acceptance to a top-tier university.
Women as bioethical points of articulation: Maude Jacobs and public remembrance of the Cincinnati whole-body irradiation study

In 1993, the federal government announced it had funded experiments with radiation on Americans. One of those experiments was conducted in Cincinnati by Eugene Saenger, who exposed cancer patients to radiation that many believe hastened their deaths. Maude Jacobs was one of those patients—a single mother with metastatic breast cancer who died 25 days after radiation exposure. She became a key figure in debates about the research and later attempts to remember the research. The use of Jacobs in public memory highlights how depictions of powerless women vivify bioethical public memory. The degree to which these women are silenced facilitates the use of problematic gender stereotypes to craft public memory.
Achalasia Patients Are at Nutritional Risk Regardless of Presenting Weight Category

Achalasia is an esophageal motor disorder that leads to swallowing dysfunction and weight loss. Nutritional risk in achalasia patients is not well defined. The aims of this study were to define baseline body mass index (BMI), changes in weight, and nutritional risk over time in a large cohort of achalasia patients. This was a retrospective cohort study of achalasia patients at a tertiary care center with documented BMI, symptom severity as per Eckardt score, and nutritional risk assessment as per the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, which considers BMI, degree of recent weight loss, and acuity of disease. Among the 337 patients presenting for achalasia management, 179 had confirmed disease. Upon presentation 69.8% of patients were classified as overweight or obese. Using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, we found 50% of patients to be at moderate or high risk for malnutrition at presentation. Eckardt score (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.05–1.26), duration of disease (OR for each additional month 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.08), and female gender (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.02–3.03) were independent predictors of increased risk for malnutrition. Nutrition risk score decreased after therapy in 93.3% of patients. Despite a high prevalence of overweight and obese status in achalasia patients, many are at risk of developing nutritional complications secondary to rapid weight loss. This risk frequently resolves post-treatment. Regardless of baseline BMI, we recommend all patients undergo nutritional assessment to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from dietary intervention and expedited therapy.
Some remarks on Whitham equations

A number of formulas are displayed concerning Whitham theory for a simple example of pure N=2 susy YM with gauge group SU(2). In particular this serves to illuminate the role of Lambda and T derivatives and the interaction with prepotentials F based on Seiberg-Witten and Whitham theory.
Identification of a gene expression signature predicting survival in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma using Monte Carlo cross validation

Abstract Objectives This study aims to identify a robust signature that performs well in predicting overall survival across tumor phenotypes and treatment strata, and validates the application of Monte Carlo cross validation (MCCV) as a means of identifying molecular signatures when utilizing small and highly heterogeneous datasets. Materials and methods RNA sequence gene expression data for 264 patient tumors were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). 100 iterations of Monte Carlo cross validation were applied to differential expression and Cox model validation. The association between the gene signature risk score and overall survival was measured using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, univariate, and multivariable Cox regression analyses. Results Pathway analysis findings indicate that ligand-gated ion channel pathways are the most significantly enriched with the genes in the aggregated signature. The aggregated signature described in this study is predictive of overall survival in oral cancer patients across demographic and treatment strata. Conclusion This study reinforces previous findings supporting the role of ion channel gating, interleukin, calcitonin receptor, and keratinization pathways in tumor progression and treatment response in oral cancer. These results strengthen the argument that differential expression of genes within these pathways reduces tumor susceptibility to treatment. Conducting differential gene expression (DGE) with Monte Carlo cross validation, as this study describes, offers a potential solution to decreasing the variability in DGE results across future studies that are reliant upon highly heterogeneous datasets. This improves the ability of studies reliant upon similarly structured datasets to reach results that are reproducible.
Selective electroplating of 3D printed parts

Abstract Fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers have been largely limited to thermoplastics in the past but with new composite materials available on the market there are new possibilities for what these machines can produce. Using a conductive composite filament, electronic components can be manufactured but due to the filament’s relatively poor electrical properties, the resulting traces are typically highly resistive. Selective electroplating on these parts is one approach to incorporate materials with high conductivity onto 3D-printed structures. In this paper, non-conductive and conductive filaments printed in the same part are used to enable selective electroplating directly on regions defined by the conductive filament to create metallic parts through 3D printing. This technique is demonstrated for the creation of multiple distinct conductive segments and to electroplate the same part with multiple metals to, for instance, allow a magnetic metal such as nickel and a highly conductive one such as copper to be incorporated in the same part. Following the characterization of the process, a representative 3D printed electrical device, a selectively electroplated solenoid inductor with low frequency inductance and resistance of 191 nH and 18.7 mΩ respectively was manufactured using this technique. This is a five order of magnitude reduction in resistance over the original value of 3 kΩ for the inductor before electroplating.
Evaluating the Measures of Well-Being

How good are the measures of perceived well-being reported in previous chapters of this book? More specifically, to what extent do the data produced by the various measurement methods indicate a person’s true feelings about his life? To what extent do the methods permit discrimination among people according to their feelings? How clear are the meanings of the categories used to describe people’s feelings? How easy are the methods to use? And to what extent do our measures of perceived well-being have anything to do with respondents’ other feelings, behaviors, and life situations? These are the primary questions addressed in this chapter.
Use of bar-code technology to reduce drug administration errors.

Extensive resources are required for its implementation, but there is a strong case that bar-code medication-verification technology should be a required practice for demonstrating meaningful use of health information technology under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
The Powerful, the Poor, and the Politics of Representation in Luis Estrada's Un mundo maravilloso (2006)

This article examines the transformation of the film Un mundo maravilloso's poor protagonist from a bumbling picaro to a rebel capable of inverting center and periphery. I explain the director's use of metafictionality, self-referentiality, and intertextuality that compels spectators to become active participants in the film's critique of the dominant metanarratives about the poor in Mexico. My aim is to reveal the way the film prods spectators to reflect on how understandings of the poor are mediated through representations that distort and dismiss reality. Spectators are compelled to see through the elites' misleading rhetoric and false images, and they instead discern the mechanisms in place that obscure the realities of poverty, mask the failures of political leadership, and encourage the complicity of everyday Mexicans in the dismissal of the poor from the national landscape. Through the poor characters' transgressions, the audience is left to consider how, despite the seemingly overwhelming power of...
Novel microRNAs are associated with population divergence in transcriptional response to thermal stress in an intertidal copepod.

The role of gene expression in adaptation to differing thermal environments has been assayed extensively. Yet, in most natural systems, analyses of gene expression reveal only one level of the complexity of regulatory machineries. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs which are key components of many gene regulatory networks, and they play important roles in a variety of cellular pathways by modulating post-transcriptional quantities of mRNA available for protein synthesis. The characterization of miRNA loci and their regulatory dynamics in nonmodel systems are still largely understudied. In this study, we examine the role of miRNAs in response to high thermal stress in the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus. Allopatric populations of this species show varying levels of local adaptation with respect to thermal regimes, and previous studies showed divergence in gene expression between populations from very different thermal environments. We examined the transcriptional response to temperature stress in two populations separated by only 8 km by utilizing RNA-seq to quantify both mRNA and miRNA levels. Using the currently available genome sequence, we first describe the repertoire of miRNAs in T. californicus and assess the degree to which transcriptional response to temperature stress is governed by miRNA activity. The two populations showed large differences in the number of genes involved, the magnitude of change in commonly used genes and in the number of miRNAs involved in transcriptional modulation during stress. Our results suggest that an increased level of regulatory network complexity may underlie improved survivorship under thermal stress in one of the populations.
Role of macrophages in the therapeutic effect of Regulatory T Cell ablation in breast cancer

Tumor progression ensues when cancer cells escape the control of immune system. An important tumor immune evasion mechanism is the recruitment of regulatory T (Treg) cells. Treg cells, characterized by the expression of the transcription factor Foxp3, comprise a large proportion of the T lymphocyte population infiltrating mouse and human tumors. Treg cells correlate with poor prognosis in various tumors, such as breast carcinomas. Using the MMTV-PyMT-driven model of murine mammary gland cancer, our lab has demonstrated that short-term Treg cell ablation provides a significant therapeutic effect in vivo . Importantly, this effect does not require cytotoxic CD8 + and NK + cells, but is dependent on INFg. The goal of this study is to identify the effector cell type responsible for this therapeutic effect, and characterize the mechanisms by which they lead to tumor growth inhibition. We discovered that bone marrow-derived inflammatory monocytes and macrophages play a critical role in the anti-tumorigenic effect observed after Treg cell ablation by adopting a pro-inflammatory phenotype, leading to increased tumor cell killing. Ongoing studies are addressing the role of INFg on this Treg cell induced phenotypic plasticity. Together, these results demonstrate an essential role for myeloid cells in the anti-tumor effect observed upon Treg cell ablation. Our studies have the potential to reveal promising targets for therapeutic intervention.
Important features of modified live virus vaccines - A comment.

Dear Editor, I read with interest the Case Report by Galan et al in the April 2014 CVJ (1). The report is well-documented and illustrates an unusual acute neurological form of adult canine distemper in previously vaccinated dogs, but some points need to be addressed. First, it is not uncommon for vaccinated dogs (or cats) to harbor viruses for which they had been adequately immunized and thus protected from disease. The important point is that these vaccinates do not show clinical signs of the disease. Modified live virus (MLV) vaccines are effective because they provide the same immunity (cellular, humoral, systemic, and local) produced by natural exposure (2). Properly immunized animals have sterilizing immunity that not only prevents clinical disease but the presence of antibody also prevents infection. Furthermore, the animal doesn’t need and should not be revaccinated since the vaccine could elicit an adverse reaction (hypersensitivity disorder). It is best to avoid vaccinating animals that are already protected (2–4). Second, MLV canine distemper (CD) vaccine viruses are capable of reverting to virulence, especially if these vaccines contain the potent Rockborn strain of CD virus (CDV) (5,6). They also are known to produce post-vaccinal encephalitis (PVE) (2,5,6). The Onderstepoort or recombinant CDV vaccines do not produce PVE (2). In rare cases, disease expression could occur from latent virus infection, if the animal then became immune compromised from illness or immunosuppressant therapy (2–4). Third, the authors state incorrectly that “protective immunity induced by live modified vaccines persists for no more than 3 y”. The dog in question (Case # 4), had been vaccinated yearly until adulthood, but not in the prior 3 years. Regardless, if the dog had been truly immunized against CDV from prior vaccinations, immunity should have lasted for at least 9 years and perhaps a lifetime (2–4,7–11). Published challenge studies have documented this long-lived protection from CDV, canine parvovirus (CPV-2), and canine hepatitis (adenovirus) (CAV-2), even in the absence of viral exposure or revaccination (4). The persistence of antibody to these vaccine or native viruses comes from a population of long-lived plasma cells known as “memory effector B cells” which continue to produce the specific antibody long after vaccination (2). Memory B and T cells should provide an anamnestic (secondary) humoral- and cell-mediated immune response that limits virus replication and prevents disease. MLV vaccines, like CDV, and the other “core” vaccines (CPV-2 and CAV-2), always stimulate both humoral- and cell-mediated immunity (2). Last, the authors discussed possible reasons for vaccine failures (p. 377) but did not mention the possibility of genetically based vaccine non- or low-responders. About 1 in 5000 dogs is estimated to be genetically incapable of developing an immune response to CDV vaccines, and certain breeds or families of dogs are suspected to have a higher prevalence than in the general canine population (2).
Difficult-To-Detect Staphylococcus aureus: mecA-Positive Isolates Associated with Oxacillin and Cefoxitin False-Susceptible Results.

In August of 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a class I recall associated with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) safety alert. This was due to failure to identify certain isolates as MRSA when using Gram-positive antimicrobial susceptibility
Development of broad-spectrum enterovirus antivirals based on quinoline scaffold.

Abstract Non-polio enteroviruses such as enterovirus A71 (EV-A71), EV-D68, and coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) are significant human pathogens with disease manifestations ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to more severe encephalitis, myocarditis, acute flaccid paralysis/myelitis, and even death. There is currently no effective antivirals to prevent or treat non-polio enterovirus infection. In this study, we report our progress in developing potent and broad-spectrum antivirals against these non-polio enteroviruses. Starting from our previously developed lead compounds that had potent antiviral activity against EV-D68, we synthesized 43 analogs and profiled their broad-spectrum antiviral activity against additional EV-D68, EV-A71, and CVB3 viruses. Promising candidates were also selected for mouse microsomal stability test to prioritize lead compounds for future in vivo mouse model studies. Collectively, this multi-parameter optimization process revealed a promising lead compound 6aw that showed single-digit to submicromolar EC50 values against two EV-D68 strains (US/KY and US/MO), two EV-A71 strains (Tainan and US/AK), and one CVB3 strain, with a high selectivity index. Encouragingly, 6aw was stable in mouse microsomes with a half-life of 114.7 min. Overall, 6aw represents one of the most potent broad-spectrum antiviral against non-polio enteroviruses, rendering it a promising lead candidate for non-polio enteroviruses with translational potential.
Correlation of Immunological Markers with Disease and Clinical Outcome Measures in Patients with Autoimmune Retinopathy.

Purpose To determine if immunological markers (1) are significantly different between autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) patients and controls and (2) correlate with disease progression in AIR patients. Methods We enrolled patients with a possible AIR diagnosis, as well as control participants without eye disease, autoimmunity, or cancer. Immunological markers were tested in all participants. In addition, AIR patients had up to three blood draws for testing over their disease course. For AIR patients, clinical measures, including visual acuity (VA) and Goldmann visual field (GVF) area, were recorded at each draw. We used the Mann-Whitney U test to compare the immunological markers between AIR patients and controls. We used multilevel mixed-effect regression to investigate the correlation between markers and clinical parameters over time in AIR patients. Results Seventeen patients with AIR and 14 controls were included. AIR patients had a higher percent of monocytes (Z = 3.076, P = 0.002). An increase in immunoglobulin G against recoverin was correlated with a VA decrease (β = 0.0044, P < 0.0001). An increase in monocyte proportion was correlated with a decrease in GVF area (β = -7.27, P = 0.0021). Several markers of B-cell depletion were correlated with GVF improvement. Conclusions Monocytes may play a role in AIR pathophysiology and be a disease activity marker. B-cell depletion markers correlated with clinical parameter improvement, particularly GVF. Translational Relevance This work elucidates immunologic markers that may improve the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of AIR.
Imagination Into Action: A School–University Collaboration With a Design Thinking Imperative:

An urban middle school goes through the transformation of becoming a university-supported lab school. Drawing upon design thinking principles, the planning team cultivates a sense of shared empathy...
Municipal finance and property taxation in China

For the last two decades, Chinese cities have relied heavily on the revenues from public land leasing to finance urban development. Recently, the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”) amended the Land Administration Law, which allows villages to supply rural land for urban development without going through land expropriation by local governments. This amendment will have a significant impact on the future of municipal finance. In the context of China’s inter-governmental fiscal framework, this chapter discusses the current issues facing its municipal finance system, the new issues that would emerge as a result of the amendment and several options to address them.
Dissociating nouns and verbs in temporal and perisylvian networks: Evidence from neurodegenerative diseases

Naming of nouns and verbs can be selectively impaired in neurological disorders, but the specificity of the neural and cognitive correlates of such dissociation remains unclear. Functional imaging and stroke research sought to identify cortical regions selectively recruited for nouns versus verbs, yet findings are inconsistent. The present study investigated this issue in neurodegenerative diseases known to selectively affect different brain networks, thus providing new critical evidence of network specificity. We examined naming performances on nouns and verbs in 146 patients with different neurodegenerative syndromes (Primary Progressive Aphasia - PPA, Alzheimer's disease - AD, and behavioral variant Frontotemporal Dementia - FTD) and 30 healthy adults. We then correlated naming scores with MRI-derived cortical thickness values as well as with performances in semantic and syntactic tasks, across all subjects. Results indicated that patients with the semantic variant PPA named significantly fewer nouns than verbs. Instead, nonfluent/agrammatic PPA patients named fewer verbs than nouns. Across all subjects, performance on nouns (adjusted for verbs) specifically correlated with cortical atrophy in left anterior temporal regions, and performance on verbs (adjusted for nouns) with atrophy in left inferior and middle frontal, inferior parietal and posterior temporal regions. Furthermore, lower lexical-semantic abilities correlated with deficits in naming both nouns and verbs, while lower syntactic abilities only correlated with naming verbs. Our results show that different neural and cognitive mechanisms underlie naming of specific grammatical categories in neurodegenerative diseases. Importantly, our findings showed that verb processing depends on a widespread perisylvian networks, suggesting that some regions might be involved in processing different types of action knowledge. These findings have important implications for early differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders.
A Buy In-Follow On Approach for Marketing Professional Accounting Services to Small Business

ABSTRACT An upsurge in the number of small businesses since 1980 has resulted in an increase in the amount of attention they receive from professional accounting service providers. Unfortunately, the pricing strategies of accounting firms are not generally compatible with the cash flow requirements of new ventures. At the same time, it is new ventures which may have the most need for professional services. A review of current pricing policies is presented in order to expose the opportunities for using a buy in-follow on pricing strategy for services to new ventures.
Effect of Large Alternating Strains of Steel Beams

Eleven 4 by 4 M 13.0 structural steel cantilever beams were subjected to cyclic reversed loading. The maximum strain at the clamped end was carefully controlled and varied between ± 1.0% and 2.5%. In all instances, except for 1% controlling strain, the strains induced in the distorted flanges caused early formation of cracks that finally led to the fracture of the beam. In the experiments the number of cycles to cause fracture varied from 16 to 650. A drastic drop in the low cycle fatigue endurance occurred in the beams as the controlling strain was increased. An analogous relationship was observed between the number of cycles causing the initiation of local buckling of flanges and controlling strain. Based on these experiments it is concluded that in low cycle fatigue of structural steel members of large strains, local buckling of flanges is of the utmost importance. The problem of preventing local buckling of elements is considerably more important than that which concerns the low fatigue endurance of the material itself.
WE-B-304-02: Treatment Planning Evaluation and Optimization Should Be Biologically and Not Dose/volume Based

The ultimate goal of radiotherapy treatment planning is to find a treatment that will yield a high tumor control probability (TCP) with an acceptable normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). Yet most treatment planning today is not based upon optimization of TCPs and NTCPs, but rather upon meeting physical dose and volume constraints defined by the planner. It has been suggested that treatment planning evaluation and optimization would be more effective if they were biologically and not dose/volume based, and this is the claim debated in this month’s Point/Counterpoint. After a brief overview of biologically and DVH based treatment planning by the Moderator Colin Orton, Joseph Deasy (for biological planning) and Charles Mayo (against biological planning) will begin the debate. Some of the arguments in support of biological planning include: • this will result in more effective dose distributions for many patients • DVH-based measures of plan quality are known to have little predictive value • there is little evidence that either D95 or D98 of the PTV is a good predictor of tumor control • sufficient validated outcome prediction models are now becoming available and should be used to drive planning and optimization • Some of the arguments against biological planning include: • several decades of experience with DVH-based planning should not be discarded • we do not know enough about the reliability and errors associated with biological models • the radiotherapy community in general has little direct experience with side by side comparisons of DVH vs biological metrics and outcomes • it is unlikely that a clinician would accept extremely cold regions in a CTV or hot regions in a PTV, despite having acceptable TCP values Learning Objectives: 1. To understand dose/volume based treatment planning and its potential limitations 2. To understand biological metrics such as EUD, TCP, and NTCP 3. To understand biologically based treatment planning and its potential limitations
A Review of “Lean Library Management: Eleven Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Customer Services”

When I first picked up the book Lean Library Management: Eleven Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Customer Services, I assumed it would be practical, informative, somewhat dry reading. I ...
Electrodes for PbZr x Ti1 − x O 3 Ferroelectric Thin Films

Interface-related degradation problems in PbZr[sub x]Ti[sub 1[minus]x]O[sub 3] (PZT) thin- film nonvolatile memories have led to the search for alternate electrode materials to replace the conventional metal electrodes. In this work, the suitability of ceramic electronic conductors [e.g., ruthenium oxide (RuO[sub 2]) and indium-tin-oxide (ITO)] as contact metallization for ferroelectric PbZr[sub x]Ti[sup 1[minus]x]O[sub 3] thin films has been investigated using techniques such as Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. Thin films of RuO[sub 2] and ITO were deposited onto Si Substrates by reactive sputtering. Sol-gel derived PZT thin films then were deposited onto the conducting oxides and the samples were annealed at various temperatures between 400 and 700 C. Less intermixing was observed in Si/RuO[sub 2]/PZT films when compared to Si/ITO/PZT under similar processing conditions. The ferroelectric properties of PZT films (hysteresis, fatigue, and low voltage breakdown) on RuO[sub 2] electrodes were compared to those on PT electrodes. PZT films show improved fatigue properties on RuO[sub 2] electrodes. The films on RuO[sub 2] electrodes also showed better current-voltage characteristics (I-V) and time-dependent dielectric breakdown properties (TDDB).
The effects of burn entry and burn severity on ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests in Grand Canyon National Park

Over a century of fire exclusion in frequent-fire ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer forests has resulted in increased tree densities, heavy surface fuel accumulations and an increase inlate successional,fire-intolerant trees. Grand Canyon National Park uses prescribed fires and wildfires to reduce fire hazard and restore ecosystem processes. Research isneededtodeterminepost-firevegetationresponsethusenablingfutureforestsuccessionpredictions.Ourstudyfocussed on the effects of burn entry and burn severity on species composition and regeneration in two forest types: ponderosa pine with white fir encroachment and dry mixed conifer. We found no difference in tree composition and structure in a single, low-severity burn compared with unburned areas in the white fir encroachment forest type. We found no white fir seedlings or saplings in a second-entry, low-severity burn in the white fir encroachment forest type. Second-entry burns were effective in reducing white fir densities in the white fir encroachment forest type. There was significant aspen regeneration following high-severity fire in the dry mixed conifer forest type. This research suggests that repeated entries and an increase in burn severity may be necessary for prescribed fire or wildfire to be effective in meeting management objectives. Additional keywords: aspen, burn entry, burn severity, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, regeneration.
A β-sheet peptide inhibitor of E47 dimerization and DNA binding

Abstract Background: Many transcription factors are active only in their dimeric form, including the basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family of transcription factors. The disruption of the dimer therefore presents a means of inhibiting the biological functions of such transcription factors. E47 is a homodimeric bHLH transcription factor with a four-helix bundle dimerization interface. Here, we investigate the concept of dimerization inhibition using peptides derived from the dimerization domain of E47. Results: We have synthesized several peptides corresponding to the E47 dimerization interface that inhibit E47 DNA-binding activity with IC 50 values in the range of 3.6–120 mM. Interestingly, helix II, a peptide corresponding to the carboxy-terminal helix of the E47 dimerization interface, adopted a β-sheet structure in solution, as shown using circular dichroism (CD), and inhibited the binding of E47 to DNA at equimolar concentrations. Size-exclusion chromatography, analytical ultracentrifugation and cross-linking experiments verified that this peptide prevented E47 dimerization. Furthermore, CD experiments provided evidence that helix II could induce a β-sheet secondary structure upon the highly a-helical E47 bHLH domain. Conclusions: This study is the first demonstration of dissociative inhibition in the bHLH class of transcription factors and also provides an example of β-sheet induction in an a-helical protein. Future experiments will probe the structural determinants of the β-sheet secondary structure in helix II and investigate the generality of the dissociative strategy in other transcription factor families.
Technique for simulating anisoplanatic image formation over long horizontal paths

The presence of turbulence over horizontal imaging paths severely reduces the resolution available to imaging systems and introduces anisoplanatic distortions in the image frame. A variety of image processing techniques are being developed which can mitigate these effects, and sequences of high-fidelity images created via simulation are useful in their development. In this paper, we describe a simplification of the split-step wave propagation method that employs a series of uniformly spaced phase screens to accurately simulate turbulence effects on imaging over horizontal paths. Employing this method, a series of 1000 image frames were generated for each of three turbulence conditions. The mean squared error in intensity per pixel is also evaluated for each frame in comparison to a diffraction-limited reference. Examination of the per-frame intensity error statistics indicate these errors are log-normally distributed about a mean value that increases approximately linearly with turbulence strength.
PERP: Attacking the balance among energy, performance and recovery in storage systems

Abstract Most recently, an important metric called “energy proportional” is presented as a guideline for energy efficiency systems (Barroso and Holzle, 2007), which advocates that energy consumption should be in proportion to system performance/utilization. However, this tradeoff metric is only defined for normal mode where the system is functioning normally without node failures. When node failure occurs, the system enters degradation mode during which node reconstruction is initiated. This very process needs to wake/spin up a number of disks and takes a substantial amount of I/O bandwidth, which will not only compromise energy efficiency but also performance. Moreover, as in replication-based storage such as Google File System (Sanjay Ghemawat, Gobioff, 2003 [10] ) and Hadoop Distributed File System (Borthakur, 2007), systems are adopting a recovery policy that defines a deadline for recovery rather than simply recovering the data as soon as possible. Given the flexibility of the recovery time, this makes it possible to reduce energy consumption with respect to the performance and recovery requirements. This raises a natural problem: how to balance the performance, energy, and recovery in degradation mode for an energy efficient storage system? Without considering the I/O bandwidth contention between recovery and performance, we find that the current energy proportional solutions cannot answer this question accurately. This paper presents a mathematical model named Perfect Energy, Recovery and Performance (PERP) which provides guidelines for provisioning the number of active nodes as well as the assigned recovery bandwidth at each time slot with respect to the performance and recovery constraints. To utilize PERP in storage systems, we take data layouts into consideration and propose a node selection algorithm named “Gradual Increase/decrease” Algorithm (GIA) to select the active nodes based on PERP results. We apply PERP and GIA to current popular power proportional layouts and test their effectiveness on a 25 nodes in-house CASS cluster. Experimental results validate that while meeting both performance and recovery constraints, PERP helps realize 25% power savings compared with maximum recovery policy from Sierra (Thereska et al., 2011) and 20% power savings compared with recovery group policy from Rabbit (Amur et al., 2010).
On the complexity of the Monte Carlo method for incremental PageRank

This note extends the analysis of incremental PageRank in Bahmani et al. (2010) [1]. In that work, the authors prove a running time of O([email protected]^2ln(m)) to keep PageRank updated over m edge arrivals in a graph with n nodes when the algorithm stores R random walks per node and the PageRank teleport probability is @e. To prove this running time, they assume that edges arrive in a random order, and leave it to future work to extend their running time guarantees to adversarial edge arrival. In this note, we show that the random edge order assumption is necessary by exhibiting a graph and adversarial edge arrival order in which the running time is @W(Rnm^l^g^3^2^(^1^-^@e^)). More generally, for any integer d>=2, we construct a graph and adversarial edge order in which the running time is @W(Rnm^l^o^g^"^d^(^H^"^d^(^1^-^@e^)^)), where H"d is the dth harmonic number.
Design-for-diagnosis: Your safety net in catching design errors in known good dies in CoWoS TM /3D ICs

To meet power, performance and area requirements of modern electronic products, heterogeneous system integration where dies implemented in dedicated, optimized process technologies are stacked together to form a system is inevitable. The use of known-good pre-fabricated dies provides substantial reduction in time-to-market for integrated products. However, as dies from different suppliers using different technologies are used, finding source of design errors or manufacturing defects becomes very challenging if an integrated system fails in production. The system integrator has the onus to include test and diagnosis features that can enable post-silicon debugging. In this paper, we present a silicon diagnosis case study for a TSMC CoWoSTM based heterogeneous 3D chip. We demonstrate how the Design-for-Diagnosis features implemented on the logic die were used to isolate interconnects testing failures. We were not only able to speed up the diagnosis but also able to find the real source of failure, which was a design and modeling issue in one of the 3rd party known-good-die.
Fiber Debonding in Residually Stressed Brittle Matrix Composites

The competition between initial fiber debonding versus fiber failure marks a crucial event of the microstructural failure process in fiber-reinforced brittle matrix composites. In this study, the role of a thermal residual stress field on the debonding conditions is examined theoretically and analytically. The analysis is based on two critical observations, the first being that the mechanics at the tip of a kink crack are driven only by the singularity at the main crack tip. Following from the first is the second observation that any thermal stress effects on the debonding criteria should enter only through the phase angle ψT of the total stress intensity factor at the main crack tip. In general, this stress intensity factor has a thermal as well as a mechanical load contribution. It is shown that when the thermal and mechanical stress intensities, KR and Kt, respectively, are in phase, i.e., ψR=ψt, the existing debonding conditions are universal and can be used even in the presence of thermal loads. On the contrary, when KR and Kt are out of phase, i.e., ψR≠ψt, events such as the delamination of thick films or debonding of inclined aligned fibers in brittle matrix composites become sensitive to the presence of the thermal stresses.
Hypothyroidism in patients with goiter.

Abstract Nontoxic goiter, a compensatory phenomenon, reflects a defect in the synthesis of thyroxine. The compensation is not always complete and hypothyroidism sometimes coexists with goiter. Two hundred thirty-four such patients were observed during a 13-year period. The frequency of the signs and symptoms were tabulated. Both the PBI and 24-hour 131I uptake by the thyroid were carried out in 200 patients. The most common symptoms were fatigue, paresthesias, intolerance to cold and dry skin; the most common signs were dry skin and the appearance of hypothyroidism. The most frequently encountered combinations of the laboratory tests were a low PBI and normal uptake, and a low PBI and low uptake. Treatment with thyroid relieved the individual symptoms and signs in 78 to 98 per cent. Eighty per cent of the goiters decreased in size or disappeared during treatment. The syndrome recurred in 88 per cent of patients in whom treatment was interrupted. The study also confirmed earlier findings that hypothyroidism accompanies about 15 per cent of nontoxic enlargements of the thyroid.
Speech user interfaces for information retrieval

The research proposed here concentrates on the problem of designing and developing a spoken query retrieval (SQR) system to access large document databases via voice. The main challenge is to identify and address issues related to designing an effective and efficient speech user interface (SUI), especially if the aim is to facilitate spoken queries of large document databases. Furthermore, the task of presenting large query result sets aurally should be performed such that the user's short term memory is not overloaded. In this paper, a framework allowing information retrieval to large document databases via voice is presented and findings from a research study using the framework will be discussed as well.
Sequencing in flexible manufacturing systems and other short queue-length systems

Abstract There is a proliferation of applied probability models in the literature on flexible manufacturing systems. Many of these models make the LIFO, FIFO assumptions, but in actuality, there are a host of other sequencing rules that can be, and are applied. We investigate the impact of the sequencing rules in an effort to validate the robustness of these applied probability models.
We've run the test

In 1968 Paul Ehrlich predicted that population growth would be a serious problem in the next several decades. It would lead to a host of other related problems that would lower the quality of life for everyone. He advocated a reduction in population growth if we are able to achieve a sustainable society. To date his predictions have come true. 200 million people have died from starvation or starvation related disease since 1968. Also fewer than 1.5 billion have achieved a standard of living similar to that of the average American. That leaves billion of people to lead hard short and miserable lives. To illustrate his point he explains that currently we are living on capital. Capital includes drinking water topsoil forests and other natural resources. We are not re-investing enough to make our world society sustainable. Simply put we are using up resources faster than we are replacing or replenishing them. The author concludes that the nations of the world are going to have to address the population in an attempt to gain environmental security.
VoIP Performance in Multi-radio Mobile Devices

The past five years have witnessed a massive increase in the use of mobile cellular broadband devices such as smartphones. These devices often contain multiple radios permitting WiFi, WCDMA and HSPA access in a single device. Their increased processing power and multimedia capabilities have made them attractive for use for new services such as mobile Voice over IP (VoIP). We provide an empirical analysis of VoIP performance over WiFi, WCDMA and HSDPA radio interfaces on a typical high-end Smartphone, with measurements of VoIP quality metrics such as end to end delay, packet loss and jitter. We observe that the best performance in terms of mean opinion (MOS) scores was obtained in WiFi environments, while the poorest was recorded in WCDMA networks. We find that VoIP codec processing delay in these mobile devices is the most significant contributor to end to end delay, and that optimization in this area will provide the greatest improvements to mobile VoIP voice quality.
Diagnostics of low temperature plasmas: The electron component

Abstract This paper reviews three different methods that may be used for measurement of the electron densities and temperatures in low-temperature process plasmas: electrostatic probes, microwave interferometry, and Thomson scattering. Each has certain advantages: probes offer high spatial resolution, but are invasive and can be difficult to interpret; microwaves offer high time resolution and ease of interpretation, but offer only limited spatial information; Thomson scattering gives high spatial resolution and is non-invasive, but is practically restricted to densities above 10 11 cm −3 .
Triangle congruence and the Moulton plane

Prasanna K. Sahoo received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Canada in 1986. Since 1987 he is professor of mathematics at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a co-author of two books related to functional equations and he has published papers in functional equations and their applications to geometry, analysis, statistics, and information theory. Occasionally he publishes papers in image processing and nonlinear pricing theory. Recently he has co-authored a paper in The Journal of Business titled Buffet Pricing which received the best paper award in 1997 at the annual meeting of the Kentucky Economic Association. Outside of mathematics, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son.
Clarifying Achievement Goals and Their Impact.

The study of achievement goals has illuminated basic motivational processes, though controversy surrounds their nature and impact. In 5 studies, including a longitudinal study in a difficult premed course, the authors show that the impact of learning and performance goals depends on how they are operationalized. Active learning goals predicted active coping, sustained motivation, and higher achievement in the face of challenge. Among performance goals, ability-linked goals predicted withdrawal and poorer performance in the face of challenge (but provided a “boost” to performance when students met with success); normative goals did not predict decrements in motivation or performance; and outcome goals (wanting a good grade) were in fact equally related to learning goals and ability goals. Ways in which the findings address discrepancies in the literature are discussed.