cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial ability cognitive model with ACT-R 6.0

The effectiveness of software interface design is a lot of the times tied to the user of the software. In particular, it is tied to how users comprehend the spatial stimuli presented to them through the software interface (spatial information encoding). Thus, the goal of the research is to understand the aspects of different levels of spatial ability on a spatial software interface for creating a theoretical structure of spatial ability on a simple task as a stepping stone to understand a more complex demanding task. Why is this important? The importance of knowing the different spatial ability aspect relates to how one can design software interfaces to suit different levels of spatial ability. To examine the impact of spatial ability on using user interfaces, we developed a set of user interfaces that required the user to interpret an instruction and choose the matching buttons. In total three interfaces were developed ranging from simply matching colors to an interface loosely based on the address canvassing task used by the Census Bureau to identify the correct location of housing units. A cognitive model was developed for the interfaces that incorporated spatial ability. The model was implemented using ACT/R and evaluated against user studies involving 63 participants.
Student use of university digital collections: the role of technology and educators

An increasing number of colleges and universities are beginning to digitize their museum and teaching collections. Digitization has become necessary to improve the educational value of these collec...
The risk of thrombotic events in patients with primary versus secondary hepatic malignancies who are undergoing surgical resection

15178 Background: The increased risk of thromboses is well documented in patients with malignancies, and those undergoing abdominal surgery. Furthermore, patients requiring hepatic resection for un...
Disruption of intracellular signaling

Abstract Intracellular signaling plays an important role in the communication process of information flow that coordinates all biological actions within a cell. It normally begins with the binding of a particular extracellular signaling molecule to a specific receptor protein located on the surface of a target cell or in its nucleus or cytosol, leading to a conformational change in the receptor that initiates a sequence of reactions mediating numerous cellular responses such as cell growth, immune regulation, tissue repair, homeostatic regulation, neurotransmission, and apoptosis. During toxic stress, detrimental intracellular signaling cascades are often activated, and compensatory responses are mounted to restore intracellular homeostasis. However, depending on the severity and duration of the stress, the compensatory mechanisms may be overwhelmed, and the damaged cells are pushed toward eventual cell death. In this chapter on toxicant disruption of intracellular signaling, emphasis is placed on the major signaling pathways such as those mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT in the context of neurotoxicity. Their participation in several key pathogenic processes of dopaminergic neurodegeneration, namely mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress, is illustrated using well-characterized neurotoxicants including 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, rotenone, dieldrin, lead, and manganese.
Feeling the catastrophe: the interplay between emotional story-telling and journalistic authority in the televisual construction of natural disasters

Natural disasters not only create physical damage but also disrupt social norms. Studying disasters and their media representations thus reveals how a society establishes and maintains its politica...
Comparing outcomes for infiltrative and restrictive cardiomyopathies under the new heart transplant allocation system.

The new heart transplantation (HT) allocation policy was introduced on 10/18/2018. Using the UNOS registry, we examined early outcomes following HT for restrictive cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiac sarcoidosis, or cardiac amyloidosis compared to the old system. Those listed who had an event (transplant, death, or waitlist removal) prior to 10/17/2018 were in Era 1, and those listed on or after 10/18/2018 were in Era 2. The primary endpoint was death on the waitlist or delisting due to clinical deterioration. A total of 1232 HT candidates were included, 855 (69.4%) in Era 1 and 377 (30.6%) in Era 2. In Era 2, there was a significant increase in the use of temporary mechanical circulatory support and a reduction in the primary endpoint, (20.9 events per 100 PY (Era 1) vs. 18.6 events per 100 PY (Era 2), OR 1.98, p = .005). Median waitlist time decreased (91 vs. 58 days, p < .001), and transplantation rate increased (119.0 to 204.7 transplants/100 PY for Era 1 vs Era 2). Under the new policy, there has been a decrease in waitlist time and waitlist mortality/delisting due to clinical deterioration, and an increase in transplantation rates for patients with infiltrative, hypertrophic, and restrictive cardiomyopathies without any effect on post-transplant 6-month survival.
Members of Congress and Presentation of Self on the World Wide Web

The Internet has become an important means by which members of Congress communicate with their constituents. Although a number of studies have examined the content and features of congressionalWeb sites, how members of Congress present themselves on theWeb has yet to be addressed. A content analysis of the images displayed on the home pages of 100 senators and 244 House members who served in the 107th Congress reveals two distinct presentations: an “insider” style and an “ outsider” style. The results vary, moreover, by chamber, seniority, gender, and race. Within each party, the most significant differences were by gender, with Democratic women the most likely to present themselves as outsiders and Republican women the most likely to present themselves as insiders.
CHAPTER 10 – APPLICATIONS TO MIXED BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

Publisher Summary Mixed boundary value problems occur in physical sciences rather frequently and various mathematical techniques have been used to solve them. This chapter presents an integral-equation method applicable to most of these problems. The chapter explains the two-part and three-part boundary value problems, along with a generalizations on them.
Disadvantaged group activists' attitudes toward advantaged group allies in social movements

Abstract Allyship is a growing phenomenon in many organizational contexts, and the involvement of advantaged group allies in identity-oriented social movements (e.g., men in the feminist movement) is ubiquitous. However, the impression that these advantaged group allies make on their intended beneficiaries is unclear. Over the course of four studies, we explore disadvantaged group activists' attitudes toward their advantaged group allies. We find converging evidence that disadvantaged group activists prefer advantaged group allies who engage in actions that demonstrate high levels of trustworthiness (e.g., selflessness, loyalty) and low levels of influence (e.g., centrality, power) in the movement, whereas non-activists show only a significant preference on the influence dimension. This evidence was observed in a survey of 117 social movement activists (Study 1), and in three experiments with 752 liberal women and nonbinary individuals (Study 2), 305 feminist social movement activists (Study 3), and a separate sample of 805 feminist social movement activists (Study 4). Taken together, our research documents the causal effects that different allyship behaviors have on beneficiaries' attitudes toward advantaged group allies (Studies 2, 3, & 4) while recruiting samples of currently engaged movement activists to solicit their unique perspectives (Studies 1, 3, & 4). We thereby identify the specific ways of being an advantaged group ally that elicit the most positive impressions from their intended beneficiaries, which have direct implications for supporting intergroup coalitions and social change.
Nitrogen mineralization from organic fertilizers and composts: Literature survey and model fitting

Organic fertilizers and composts are valuable sources of nutrients. However, their nutrient availability is often not known and can be variable. The objective of the present study was to collect net nitrogen (N) turnover data from peer-reviewed articles and fit a model that simulates gross N mineralization and gross N immobilization to determine pool sizes and their rate constants of different common organic amendments. A total of 113 datasets were included in the study. The model predicted that 61 and 72.5% of total N in feather meal and guano, respectively, would be in the mineral form after 100 d under optimal conditions. Nitrogen availability from poultry manure and poultry manure compost was lower. On average, 16-17% of total N was present as mineral N in the materials, whereas at the end of the 100-d simulation, 39.6 and 32.7% of total N from an average poultry manure and its compost, respectively, were in the mineral form. Yard waste compost and vermicompost are stable materials, with <10% of the total N in an average material being in the mineral form at the end of the 100-d simulation. Model simulations revealed that changes in the assumed temperature sensitivity of N mineralization have a strong effect on N availability of readily available organic amendments during the first weeks after incorporation. The model performed well for guano and feather meal but was unsatisfactory for the other amendment groups. Model performance may have been hampered by different incubation protocols used in the studies included and variability in amendment properties not considered by the model. The results of this study allow estimating the release of N from a variety of organic fertilizers and composts and can be a valuable tool to improve N management of organic amendments in crop production.
Optical Properties of Solids

In this section we shall be concerned with calculating the optical properties of free-particle systems, such as electrons in metals or semiconductors. A completely free-electron system does not absorb light at all, so that its optical properties are uninteresting. The ability of the nearly free- particle system to absorb light is due to its imperfections or deviations from homogeneity. If these effects are small, then so is the light absorption. This situation will concern us here. We shall calculate the optical properties of simple metals and semiconductors. The best way to do this is using the so-called force-force correlation function.
Multivariate Visual Diffusion for Social Groups

Car purchases are among the largest and most expensive purchases consumers ever make. While functional and economic concerns are obviously important, we examine whether social influence also plays a role. Using a Bayesian probability model along with data on over 1.6 million cars sold over a nine-year period, we examine how social influence affects car purchase volume. In particular, we investigate three questions: (1) Are people more likely to buy a car if others around them have recently done so? (2) Do these effects vary based on the identity (e.g., age and gender) of the prior purchasers? (3) Are they moderated by visibility, the ease of seeing others' behavior? After subjecting our estimates to an extensive set of tests (a quasi-experimental design using distance, matching, and dosage; model- and covariate-based controls; permutation re-sampling; and out-of-sample tests) to assess whether they might be due to something other than social influence, we find that social effects are (1) present (one additional purchase is made for every seven to ten prior purchases made locally by a given subgroup), (2) stronger for prior purchases by men than by women, and (3) larger in areas where others behavior should be more visible (i.e., more people commute in car visible ways).
A lower bound on the feedback capacity of finite-state ISI channels

By assuming a Markov-memory input process, we construct a Monte Carlo method for computing a lower bound on the feedback capacity of finite-state inter-symbol interference (ISI) channels. The transition probabilities of the Markov process are allowed to depend on previous observations of the channel outputs, where a suboptimal feedback strategy is chosen to implement the feedback. Generally, the bound is tight for low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). At high SNRs the tightness varies depending on the chosen channel. We provide 2 channel examples: one where the bound is not tight at high SNRs and the other where the bound is so tight that it surpasses the tightest known upper bounds on the feedforward capacity.
Topological Aspects of the Quantum Hall Effect

Topological aspects of the quantum Hall effect, including both the integral and fractional cases, are discussed. These include the quantized Hall conductance (for both IQHE and FQHE) as a topological invariant, the role of fractional statistics in the FQHE and the ground state degeneracy of the FQH states on a compactified space. To make the lecture notes self-contained, the background material is introduced in great detail.
Both lipid and protein intakes stimulate increased generation of reactive oxygen species by polymorphonuclear leukocytes and mononuclear cells

BACKGROUND It was recently shown that glucose challenge leads to increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and mononuclear cells (MNCs). OBJECTIVE To further elucidate the relation between nutrition and ROS generation, we investigated the effect of lipid and protein challenges on ROS generation by leukocytes. DESIGN After having fasted overnight, one group of healthy subjects consumed a carbohydrate- and protein-free cream preparation (1257 kJ) and another group of healthy subjects consumed an equienergetic pure preparation of casein. Sequential blood samples were obtained after the intake of cream and casein. ROS were measured by chemiluminescence after stimulation by N-formyl-methionyl-leucinyl-phenylalanine. Lipid peroxidation was measured as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and alpha-tocopherol was measured by HPLC. RESULTS ROS generation by MNCs and PMNs increased significantly 1, 2, and 3 h after cream intake and 1 h after protein intake. Cholesterol concentrations did not change significantly, whereas triacylglycerol concentrations increased significantly 2 h after cream intake. Total TBARS concentrations increased 1 h after cream intake and remained elevated 3 h after intake, but the increase was not significant when corrected for changes in triacylglycerol. After casein intake, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, and TBARS concentrations did not change significantly. alpha-Tocopherol concentrations did not change significantly after either cream or casein intake. CONCLUSIONS Both fat and protein intakes stimulate ROS generation. The increase in ROS generation lasted 3 h after cream intake and 1 h after protein intake. Cream intake also caused a significant and prolonged increase in lipid peroxidation. These data are important because increased ROS generation and lipid peroxidation are key events in atherogenesis.
Team architecture: a network model for managing technical professionals

The authors describe a process that has been developed to facilitate the construction of new teams and to enhance the productivity of existing teams by documenting the within and between team member information flows using formal specification tools. They show how computer-aided systems engineering (upperCASE) diagramming tools can be used to describe the 'as-is' and 'could-be' team architectures. A case study based on the authors' work with a semiconductor firm is used to illustrate the concept. >
Directional hearing by mechanical coupling in the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea.

Sound localization is a basic processing task of the auditory system. The directional detection of an incident sound impinging on the ears relies on two acoustic cues: interaural amplitude and interaural time differences. In small animals, with short interaural distances both amplitude and time cues can become very small, challenging the directional sensitivity of the auditory system. The ears of a parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea, are unusual in that both acoustic sensors are separated by only 520 μm and are contained within an undivided air-filled chamber. This anatomy results in minuscule differences in interaural time cues (ca. 2 μs) and no measurable difference in interaural intensity cues generated from an incident sound wave. The tympana of both ears are anatomically coupled by a cuticular bridge. This bridge also mechanically couples the tympanana, providing a basis for directional sensitivity. Using laser vibrometry, it is shown that the mechanical response of the tympanal membranes has a pronounced directional sensitivity. Interaural time and intensity differences in the mechanical response of the ears are significantly larger than those available in the acoustic field. The tympanal membranes vibrate with amplitude differences of about 12 dB and time differences on the order of 50 μs to sounds at 90° off the longitudinal body axis. The analysis of the deflection shapes of the tympanal vibrations shows that the interaural differences in the mechanical response are due to the dynamic properties of the tympanal system and reflect its intrinsic sensitivity to the direction of a sound source. Using probe microphones and extracellular recording techniques, we show that the primary auditory afferents encode sound direction with a time delay of about 300 μs. Our data point to a novel mechanism for directional hearing in O. ochracea based on intertympanal mechanical coupling, a process that amplifies small acoustic cues into interaural time and amplitude differences that can be reliably processed at the neural level. An intuitive description of the mechanism is proposed using a simple mechanical model in which the ears are coupled through a flexible lever.
Primary Prevention in the First Two Years of Marriage

The early years of marriage are crucial for a successful relationship and require more theoretical, empirical, and clinical attention. This article explores the issues and challenges of the first 2 years of marriage. We propose a model of primary prevention that emphasizes the importance of a strong, resilient marital bond of respect, trust, and intimacy and developing a couple style that is functional and satisfying for both spouses.
MH1: THE IMPACT OF SECOND-GENERATION ANTIPSYCHOTIC MEDICATIONS ON AMBULATORY PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

BACKGROUND: The Medi-Cal program in California added second-generation antipsychotic medications to its formulary in October 1997. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the impact of the formulary expansion on patient outcomes for olanzapine and risperidone patients before and after the formulary expansion. STUDY POPULATION: The study population consisted of 13,106 olanzapine and 15,718 risperidone ambulatory patients from the 100% Medi-Cal dataset, who were classified into 3 groups. New: no previous antipsychotic drug therapy history. Restarters: re-started antipsychotic drug therapy while not on active therapy. Switcher: who switched to one of these products while on active drug therapy. METHODS: Models of one-year treatment costs were estimated using both OLS regression and propensity score methods. Models included over 85 covariates for patient demographics, prior use of services, prior antipsychotic drug profile and diagnostic profile. Separate models were estimated for the 3 patient populations. Outcomes include total costs over one year broken down into component costs and days of uninterrupted drug therapy achieved after re-starting therapy. RESULTS: The formulary expansion immediately increased the number of new, switcher, restarter patients starting therapy with risperidone and olanzapine. Olanzapine patients were more likely to be male, between the ages of 30 and 60, urban residents and AFDC recipients. For restarters and switchers, Olanzapine patients also appear to be more compliant with their prior antipsychotic drug regimen. Once these differences were accounted for, Risperidone and olanzapine patients exhibited similar treatment cost profiles in the post-expansion period. CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed to determine if the formulary expansion reduced the cost of treating patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore, future comparison across drugs must take into account potential treatment selection bias and formulary expansion effects on the decision to start drug therapy.
Attractor dynamics of network UP states in the neocortex.

The cerebral cortex receives input from lower brain regions, and its function is traditionally considered to be processing that input through successive stages to reach an appropriate output1,2. However, the cortical circuit contains many interconnections, including those feeding back from higher centres3,4,5,6, and is continuously active even in the absence of sensory inputs7,8,9. Such spontaneous firing has a structure that reflects the coordinated activity of specific groups of neurons10,11,12. Moreover, the membrane potential of cortical neurons fluctuates spontaneously between a resting (DOWN) and a depolarized (UP) state11,13,14,15,16, which may also be coordinated. The elevated firing rate in the UP state follows sensory stimulation16 and provides a substrate for persistent activity, a network state that might mediate working memory17,18,19,20,21. Using two-photon calcium imaging, we reconstructed the dynamics of spontaneous activity of up to 1,400 neurons in slices of mouse visual cortex. Here we report the occurrence of synchronized UP state transitions (‘cortical flashes’) that occur in spatially organized ensembles involving small numbers of neurons. Because of their stereotyped spatiotemporal dynamics, we conclude that network UP states are circuit attractors—emergent features of feedback neural networks22 that could implement memory states or solutions to computational problems.
View-ordering in radial fast spin-echo imaging.

Radial MRI sequences are frequently used to obtain images with reduced sensitivity to motion. To decrease imaging time, multiple spin-echo acquisitions can be incorporated into radial sequences. In this case, different radial lines of Fourier data have different TE times and the resulting images can contain streaking artifacts due to T2 decay. The streaking is not only dependent on the T2 of the object and the timing of the data acquisition, but also on the order in which radial lines are collected (view order). The view ordering can easily be controlled to minimize artifacts due to T2 decay as well as motion. Four view-ordering techniques are presented and evaluated for the radial FSE sequence. Magn Reson Med 51:768–774, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Quantifying the Influence of the Crowded Cytoplasm on Small Biomolecule Diffusion via Homogenization Theory

Cytosolic crowding is known to influence the thermodynamics and kinetics of in vivo chemical reactions. Crowders, including proteins, macromolecular assemblies and intracellular organelles, reduce the volume available to a diffusing substrate and thereby lower its effective diffusion constant relative to its rate in bulk solution. However, the nature of a substrate's interaction with crowders, such as through electrostatic or van der Waals forces, can further influence the effective diffusion rate. To probe the impact of crowding over micron-scale intracellular distances, we apply a multi-scale mathematical theory, homogenization, to estimate effective diffusion rates for ions and small biomolecules diffusing in a densely-packed lattice of representative cytosolic proteins. Specifically, via the finite element method we numerically solve the homogenized diffusion equation for a nearly 1 micron cubed cytosolic fraction based on published Brownian dynamics data of the bacterial cytoplasm (McGuffee and Elcock, PLOS Computational Biology, vol. 6, no. 3, p. e1000694, Mar. 2010). Our simulations quantify how the crowded volume fraction, irregularity of protein shapes and distribution, and molecular interactions influence the diffusion rates of small molecules.
Improving human vision with customized optics

It has been known that higher order wave aberrations in the eye degrade visual performance, especially when the pupil becomes larger under low light conditions. The feasibility of improving human vision has been successfully demonstrated by correcting these aberrations with customized optics such as phase plates and soft contact lenses.
Elevational gradient in the cyclicity of a forest‐defoliating insect

Observed changes in the cyclicity of herbivore populations along latitudinal gradients and the hypothesis that shifts in the importance of generalist versus specialist predators explain such gradients has long been a matter of intense interest. In contrast, elevational gradients in popu- lation cyclicity are largely unexplored. We quantified the cyclicity of gypsy moth populations along an elevational gradient by applying wavelet analysis to spatially refer- enced 31-year records (1975-2005) of defoliation. Based on geographically weighted regression and nonlinear regression, we found either a hump-shaped or plateauing relationship between elevation and the cyclicity of gypsy moth populations and a positive relationship between cyclicity and the density of the gypsy moth's preferred host-tree species. The potential effects of elevational gra- dients in the density of generalist predators and preferred host-tree species on the cyclicity of gypsy moth popula- tions were evaluated with mechanistic simulation models. The models suggested that an elevational gradient in the densities of preferred host tree species could partially explain elevational patterns of gypsy moth cyclicity. Results from a model assuming a type-III functional response of generalist predators to changes in gypsy moth density were inconsistent with the observed elevational gradient in gypsy moth cyclicity. However, a model with a more realistic type-II functional response gave results roughly consistent with the empirical findings. In contrast to classical studies on the effects of generalist predators on prey population cycles, our model with a type-II functional response predicts a unimodal relationship between gener- alist-predator density and the cyclicity of gypsy moth populations.
Role of αA-crystallin-derived αA66-80 peptide in guinea pig lens crystallin aggregation and insolubilization.

Earlier we reported that low molecular weight (LMW) peptides accumulate in aging human lens tissue and that among the LMW peptides, the chaperone inhibitor peptide αA66-80, derived from α-crystallin protein, is one of the predominant peptides. We showed that in vitro αA66-80 induces protein aggregation. The current study was undertaken to determine whether LMW peptides are also present in guinea pig lens tissue subjected to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in vivo. The nuclear opacity induced by HBO in guinea pig lens is the closest animal model for studying age-related cataract formation in humans. A LMW peptide profile by mass spectrometry showed the presence of an increased amount of LMW peptides in HBO-treated guinea pig lenses compared to age-matched controls. Interestingly, the mass spectrometric data also showed that the chaperone inhibitor peptide αA66-80 accumulates in HBO-treated guinea pig lens. Following incubation of synthetic chaperone inhibitor peptide αA66-80 with α-crystallin from guinea pig lens extracts, we observed a decreased ability of α-crystallin to inhibit the amorphous aggregation of the target protein alcohol dehydrogenase and the formation of large light scattering aggregates, similar to those we have observed with human α-crystallin and αA66-80 peptide. Further, time-lapse recordings showed that a preformed complex of α-crystallin and αA66-80 attracted additional crystallin molecules to form even larger aggregates. These results demonstrate that LMW peptide–mediated cataract development in aged human lens and in HBO-induced lens opacity in the guinea pig may have common molecular pathways.
Smad4/DPC4 and Smad3 Mediate Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) Signaling through Direct Binding to a Novel TGF-β-responsive Element in the Human Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Promoter

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family of cytokines mediates multiple biological effects by regulating the expression of target genes. The Smad family proteins function as intracellular signal transducers downstream of the receptors to transmit the TGF-beta signal from cell membrane to nucleus. The mechanisms by which Smads mediate transcriptional activation of target genes is largely unknown. Here we report the identification of a novel TGF-beta-responsive element in the human type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor promoter that is required for mediating strong transcriptional activation of this gene by TGF-beta. Smad3 and Smad4 are incorporated into a TGF-beta-inducible complex formed on this element following TGF-beta stimulation of human hepatoma cells. Both Smad3 and Smad4 bind directly to this TGF-beta-responsive element through their conserved MH1 domains. These results indicate that Smad3 and Smad4 mediate TGF-beta signaling by directly interacting with a specific response element in a physiological target gene.
Radiochemical measurement of the natural fission rate of uranium and the natural occurrence of Ba140

Abstract Ba 140 was isolated from 4540 g of uranyl acetate. The equilibrium amount of Ba 140 in the uranium salt was found to be (1·6 ± 0·1) × 10 −14 c Ba 140 per gram U 238 , corresponding to an overall natural fission half-life of uranium of (5·9 ± 0·4) × 10 15 years, assuming a fission yield of 6·1% for Ba 140 .
The stability of an inclined pendent drop

Abstract A pendent drop remains attached to the tip of an inclined circular tube only when the drop volume is below a critical value. At this critical volume the drop may either lose stability to a perturbation of the wetting line that lets the liquid climb along the outside of the tube or lose equilibrium because drop shapes that satisfy the balance of capillary and gravitational forces are no longer possible. These two models for the loss of the static shape are distinguished by finite-element analysis of drop shape and stability that calculates the limits of shape equilibria in terms of drop volume, inclination angle, and gravitational Bond number B ≡ gR 2 Δρ σ . Numerical results are verified by comparison with previous calculations for vertical pendent drops and with experiments for inclined drops. The capillary mode for the loss of equilibrium controls drop stability as long as the local contact angle around the tube does not violate Gibbs' criterion for the advance of a wetting line over a sharp edge. Calculations determine the role of the shape of the contact curve in determining the onset of drop rupture.
NMR isotope shifts in the 2-methyl-2-bicyclo[2.1.1]hexyl cation and related systems

NMR isotope shifts at 13C nuclei due to deuteriation in the 2-methyl-2-bicyclo[2.1.1]hexyl cation are reported. Comparisons are made to the 2-methyl-2-bicyclo[2.2.1]heptyl and 2-methyl-2-bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl cations, and also to neutral molecules containing the bicyclo[2.1.1]hexyl framework. The combination of isotope effects with temperature dependence of 13C chemical shifts allows predictions of the shapes of the energy surfaces along the bending coordinate corresponding to bridging in these cations.
Unlocking Value from Open Data

Open data has become an important trend in initiatives of local governments aiming at improving transparency and efficiency in the recent years. In this talk we present various ways to unlocking values out of open data that are available currently. We will also discuss about challenges that people are facing in using and analyzing open data. We shall then present technologies that are being developed to address these challenges.
Neurocognitive assessments in advanced heart failure patients receiving continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.

Background Neurocognitive (NC) changes in heart failure patients receiving left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to document changes in the cognitive performance of patients with the continuous-flow HeartMate II LVAD as a bridge to transplant (BTT). Methods A NC protocol was used to evaluate patient performance at 1, 3 and 6 months after LVAD implantation at 11 centers. A total of 239 test sessions were completed in 93 patients including paired evaluations in 51 to 57 patients from 1 to 3 months, and in 20 to 28 patients with results from 1, 3 and 6 months. Five NC domains were assessed, including visual spatial perception, auditory and visual memory, executive functions, language and processing speed. Results There were statistically significant ( p Conclusions The cognitive performance of advanced heart failure patients remained stable or showed slight improvements from Month 1 to Month 6 of continuous-blood-flow support with the HeartMate II LVAD.
Organizational commitment and performance in a professional accounting firm

Abstract In recent years, the concept of employee commitment to the organization has received increased attention as a determinant of employee performance. Research on the relationship between these two variables, however, has produced conflicting results. The study reported herein examines the relationship between a group of antecedent variables and organizational commitment, and the relationship between commitment and employee performance. The study was carried out using a sample of 123 junior-level staff accountants and a validation sample of 46 senior-level accountants. It was found that for both samples, work-related antecedent variables influenced commitment whereas personal variables did not. With respect to the commitment-performance relationship, the results differed between the two samples. At the junior-level, performance was found to be influenced by a willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization, whereas at the senior-level, performance was found to be influenced by a desire to maintain membership in the organization.
p53 post-translational modification: deregulated in tumorigenesis

The p53 tumor suppressor protein has well-established roles in monitoring various types of stress signals by activating specific transcriptional targets that control cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, although some activities are also mediated in a transcription-independent manner. Here, we review the recent advances in our understanding of the wide spectrum of post-translational modifications that act as epigenetic-like codes for modulating specific functions of p53 in vivo and how deregulation of these modifications might contribute to tumorigenesis. We also discuss future research priorities to further understand p53 post-translational modifications and the interpretation of genetic data in appreciation of the increasing evidence that p53 regulates cellular metabolism, autophagy and many unconventional tumor suppressor activities.
Towards a Generic Strategy for Empirical Evaluation of Interactive Computing Systems

Increasingly, the design of interactive computing systems appears to be a process of iterative design and re-design. One important factor in successful iterative design is iterative evaluation-evaluation as part of each design cycle. This paper argues that different evaluation-design cycles may require different types of methodologies and different types of questions or measures to fully satisfy differing evaluation goals. Furthermore, evaluation procedures and measures themselves need to be designed and re-designed, a process more easily accomplished during system development. Examples based upon design projects illustrate some of the ways in which the nature and uses of evaluation procedures and information may change in different cycles of iterative evaluation.
Reducing Primary and Secondary Impact Loads on the Pelvis during Side Impact

Objective. The objective of the study was to determine which vehicle factors are significantly related to pelvic injury in side impact collisions. Identification of relevant parameters could aid in the reduction of these injuries. Method. Side impact crashes from the CIREN database were separated into those in which the occupant sustained a pelvic fracture and those in which no pelvic fracture occurred, although all occupants had serious injuries. A multibody MADYMO model was created of a USDOT SINCAP (U.S. Department of Transportation Side Impact New Car Assessment Program) test of a vehicle with a large center console. Results. From a study of 113 side impact crashes in the ciren database, nearside occupants with pelvic fractures (n = 78) had (i) more door intrusion (mean, 37 vs. 32 cm, p = 0.02) than those who had serious injuries, but not pelvic fractures (ii) a greater likelihood that the lower border of the door intruded more than the upper part (40% vs. 18%, p < 0.025); and (iii) a greater likeliho...
The Migration of People In Mexico

(1967). The Migration of People In Mexico. The Professional Geographer: Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 5-8.
A Trapdoor Hash-Based Mechanism for Stream Authentication

Digital streaming Internet applications such as online gaming, multimedia playback, presentations, news feeds, and stock quotes involve end-users with very low tolerance for high latency, low data rates, and playback interruption. To protect such delay-sensitive streams against malicious attacks, security mechanisms need to be designed to efficiently process long sequence of bits. We study the problem of efficient authentication for real-time and delay-sensitive streams commonly seen in content distribution, multicast, and peer-to-peer networks. We propose a novel signature amortization technique based on trapdoor hash functions for authenticating individual data blocks in a stream. Our technique provides: 1) Resilience against transmission losses of intermediate blocks in the stream; 2) Small and constant memory/compute requirements at the sender and receiver; 3) Minimal constant communication overhead needed for transmission of authenticating information. Our proposed technique renders authentication of digital streams practical and efficient. We substantiate this claim by constructing DL-SA, a discrete-log-based instantiation of the proposed technique. DL-SA provides adaptive stream verification, where the receiver has control over modulating computation cost versus buffer size. Our performance analysis demonstrates that DL-SA incurs the least per-block communication and signature generation overheads compared to existing schemes with comparable features.
Solvatochromism of the Green Fluorescence Protein Chromophore and Its Derivatives

The solvatochromic behavior of the green fluorescence protein (GFP) chromophore (p-hydroxybenzylideneimidazolone, p-HBDI) and its derivatives (p-methoxybenzylideneimidazolone, p-MeOBDI, and N-methyl-p-hydroxybenzylideneimidazolonium iodide, p-HBDIMe+) was studied using UV−vis−absorption spectroscopy in a wide array of solvents. The relative contribution of specific (polarity) vs nonspecific (hydrogen-bonding) solvation to the absorbance spectra was studied. On the basis of these data, we discuss the nature of the absorption peak of the protonated and deprotonated forms of the wild-type GFP.
A unified N-body and statistical treatment of stellar dynamics. III - Early postcollapse evolution of globular clusters

The period immediately following the core collapse phase in the evolution of a globular cluster is studied using a hybrid N-body/Fokker-Planck stellar dynamical code. Several core oscillations of the type predicted in earlier work are seen. The oscillations are driven by the formation, hardening, and ejection of binaries by three-body processes, and appear to decay on a timescale of about 10 to the 7th yr, for the choice of 'typical' cluster parameters made here. There is no evidence that they are gravothermal in nature. The mechanisms responsible for the decay are discussed in some detail. The distribution of hard binaries produced by the oscillations is compared with theoretical expectations and the longer term evolution of the system is considered.
Magnetic and electrical properties of surfaces and interfaces

Abstract The development of the controlled growth of monolayers and thin metallic films has led to a number of studies in which the magnetic and electrical properties are modified by interfaces. This paper considers cases where the property modifications are caused by structural changes driven by the interfaces. Types of systems considered include free surfaces, thin layers, film sandwiches and superlattices. As is shown, there are often observed property changes were the underlying structural change is not clearly delineated. The literature is extensive and only a sample is given here.
Resistance is futile: The unwitting insertion of analogical inferences in memory

Analogical inferences can modify people’s understanding, but can this occur even when the inferences are unpalatable? We report two experiments suggesting that this is the case. Participants read a source passage on the role and status of gay people in society. Half then read an analogy describing the historical persecution of left-handers. On a subsequent recognition test, the participants who read the analogy were more likely than the control participants to misrecognize analogical inferences as statements explicitly presented, but the two groups did not differ in recognition rates for other kinds of statements. A priori explicit attitudes toward gays did not moderate these findings, although the participants with more positive attitudes toward gays saw the analogy to left-handers as more sound. Our findings demonstrate that analogical inferences can be seamlessly integrated into mental representations of the target domain even when those inferences are unpalatable; in short, resistance to analogy is futile.
Paleoclimatic implications of late Pleistocene sediment yield rates for the Bonneville Basin, northern Utah

Abstract Climate factors such as precipitation and temperature as well as climate-driven geomorphic processes such as glaciation affect rates of erosion and the amount of sediment supplied from a drainage basin (sediment yield). Thus, sediment yield rates provide paleoclimatic implications, although very little work has been published on ancient sediment yield rates. Late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville (Utah, Idaho and Nevada), with its well-documented lake level history and well-preserved deltaic sequences, provides a unique opportunity to estimate ancient sediment yield rates. Two end-member delta systems, coarse-grained (gravel) classic Gilbert-type deltas and fine-grained (sand, silt and clay) deltas, are exposed along the eastern margin of paleolake Bonneville. One example of each end-member delta is examined in this study (American Fork and Weber River deltas). The established Bonneville hydrograph can be used to determine time of deposition for a given package of sediments because these shoreline deltaic sediments were deposited in shallow water. The geomorphic expressions of these deltas are well-preserved and their sediment volumes can be determined. River drainage basin area can be combined with time constraints and delta volumes to estimate sediment yield rates. Sediment yield rate estimates for the coarse-grained American Fork and fine-grained Weber River deltas are 478 m 3 km −2 yr −1 ± 34% and 705 m 3 km −2 yr −1 ± 15%, respectively. The similarity of these values is somewhat surprising due to the large difference in drainage basin sizes (American Fork ≈ 160 km 2 and Weber River ≈ 3328 km 2 ). However, this similarity suggests that precipitation may be the dominant control on sediment yield. Using sediment yield/precipitation regression equations developed for similar modern basins in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, a first-order approximation of paleoprecipitation is 1.6 m/yr (± 14% for American Fork delta) and 1.9 m/yr (± 7% for Weber River delta). These paleoprecipitation value are comparable to modern precipitation values of 0.4–1.5 m/yr (range of mean values over both drainage basins). A maximum late Pleistocene precipitation increase of 33% over the modern day value is suggested. This is determined by the difference between the highest paleoprecipitation rate (1.9 m/yr + 7% of the Weber River delta) and the modern value (1.5 m/yr). Previous climate models and this 33% paleoprecipitation increase, suggest a maximum decrease in basin floor paleotemperature of approximately 13°C. This paleotemperature decrease is consistent with previous estimates of late Pleistocene temperatures (using amino acid epimerization rates and periglacial wedges) in the Bonneville Basin and adjacent areas. These estimates suggest that although late Pleistocene precipitation rates may have been slightly higher than present (up to 33% higher), late Pleistocene temperature and evaporation rates were more important in the development of Lake Bonneville and associated glaciers.
Evidence for an association between dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and nonfatal, premature myocardial infarction in males.

BACKGROUNDSeveral studies indicate that endogenous hormones play a role in the etiology of coronary artery disease, either as independent risk factors or indirectly, via an effect on lipids, lipoproteins, or other heart disease risk factors.METHODS AND RESULTSThe relation between endogenous hormone levels and premature ( or = 12-hour fast and frozen at -70 degrees C for subsequent hormonal analysis. Among the male patients, the average duration between the most recent myocardial infarction and blood sampling was 3.4 years (range, 0.7 to 19.2 years). Individuals reporting the use of any medications with the potential to alter lipid, lipoprotein, or hormone levels were excluded from these analyses. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels were significantly...
Isothermal Community College

This chapter provides a glimpse of student affairs assessment at Isothermal Community College including a specific example of assessment, tips to implementing assessment at your institution, and barriers encountered when implementing the process at Isothermal Community College.
Classical skin conductance response conditioning: effects of random intermittent reinforcement.

To assess some implications of incremental-decremental learning theories for classical conditioning, skin conductance response conditioning in humans was examined as a function of reinforcement schedule. First anticipatory responses (FARs: latency from 1.0 to 3.5 sec after signal onset) were not affected by reinforcement ratio, but, during the first half of training, the probability of second anticipatory responses (SARs: latency from 3.6 to 7.0 sec after signal onset) increased with increases in reinforcement ratio. FAR and SAR probabilities decreased across sequences of successively reinforced trials and increased across sequences of successively nonreinforced trials. These results are incompatible with the theoretical expectation that response likelihood should increase following reinforced trials and decrease following nonreinforced trials. Alternative accounts of the results are discussed.