cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reciprocity between maternal questions and child contributions during book-sharing

Abstract We examined reciprocal associations between maternal questions and children’s narrative contributions during book-sharing. Participants were 235 U.S. mothers and their 4-year-old children from low-income, African American, Dominican, Mexican, and Chinese backgrounds. Maternal questions and child narrative contributions were coded for their cognitive level and contingency. For example, the question “What’s that?” was coded as a basic referential question and the question “What will happen next?” was coded as a more advanced inferential question. Contingency was indicated when child contributions preceded (child-to-mother sequence) or followed (mother-to-child sequence) maternal questions at likelihoods greater than chance. Across all ethnic groups, maternal questions and child contributions were contingent on one another, with the magnitudes of mother-to-child effects being larger than child-to-mother effects. Children’s responsive contributions and mothers’ responsive questions were matched in their cognitive level. Children actively shape the inputs they receive during book-sharing interactions, and in turn benefit from questions at different cognitive levels.
Evolution of Multivalent Nanoparticle Adhesion via Specific Molecular Interactions.

The targeted delivery of nanoparticle carriers holds tremendous potential to transform the detection and treatment of diseases. A major attribute of nanoparticles is the ability to form multiple bonds with target cells, which greatly improves the adhesion strength. However, the multivalent binding of nanoparticles is still poorly understood, particularly from a dynamic perspective. In previous experimental work, we studied the kinetics of nanoparticle adhesion and found that the rate of detachment decreased over time. Here, we have applied the adhesive dynamics simulation framework to investigate binding dynamics between an antibody-conjugated, 200-nm-diameter sphere and an ICAM-1-coated surface on the scale of individual bonds. We found that nano adhesive dynamics (NAD) simulations could replicate the time-varying nanoparticle detachment behavior that we observed in experiments. As expected, this behavior correlated with a steady increase in mean bond number with time, but this was attributed to bond acc...
Properties of Transformations

The identity transformation i is defined by i(P) = P for every point P. No other transformation is allowed to use this Greek letter iota. As you can see, i is in some sense actually the least exciting of all the transformations. If I is in set G of transformations, then G is said to have the identity property. We continue below to look at properties of a set G of transformations that make G algebraically interesting.
Turning skin “check” into checkmate

Artificial intelligence algorithm performs on par with dermatologists to distinguish malignant from benign skin tumors.
Who Are the “Lazy” Ants? The Function of Inactivity in Social Insects and a Possible Role of Constraint: Inactive Ants Are Corpulent and May Be Young and/or Selfish

Social insect colonies are commonly thought of as highly organized and efficient complex systems, yet high levels of worker inactivity are common. Although consistently inactive workers have been documented across many species, very little is known about the potential function or costs associated with this behavior. Here we ask what distinguishes these "lazy" individuals from their nestmates. We obtained a large set of behavioral and morphological data about individuals, and tested for consistency with the following evolutionary hypotheses: that inactivity results from constraint caused by worker (a) immaturity or (b) senescence; that (c) inactive workers are reproducing; that inactive workers perform a cryptic task such as (d) acting as communication hubs or (e) food stores; and that (f) inactive workers represent the "slow-paced" end of inter-worker variation in "pace-of-life." We show that inactive workers walk more slowly, have small spatial fidelity zones near the nest center, are more corpulent, are isolated in colony interaction networks, have the smallest behavioral repertoires, and are more likely to have oocytes than other workers. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that inactive workers are immature and/or storing food for the colony; they suggest that workers are not inactive as a consequence of senescence, and that they are not acting as communication hubs. The hypotheses listed above are not mutually exclusive, and likely form a "syndrome" of behaviors common to inactive social insect workers. Their simultaneous contribution to inactivity may explain the difficulty in finding a simple answer to this deceptively simple question.
Extreme Solar Eruptions and their Space Weather Consequences

Abstract Solar eruptions generally refer to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and flares. Both are important sources of space weather. Solar flares cause sudden change in the ionization level in the ionosphere. CMEs cause solar energetic particle (SEP) events and geomagnetic storms. A flare with unusually high intensity and/or a CME with extremely high energy can be thought of as examples of extreme events on the Sun. Ultimately, the energy that powers CMEs and flares is stored in magnetic regions on the Sun, known as active regions. Active regions with extraordinary size and magnetic field have the potential to produce extreme events. Based on current data sets, we estimate the sizes of one-in-hundred and one-in-thousand year events as indicators of the extremeness of the events. We consider the extremeness in both the source of eruptions and in the consequences. We then compare the estimated 100-year and 1000-year sizes with the sizes of historical extreme events measured or inferred.
Determinants of Variation in Pneumonia Rates After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Background Although conventional wisdom suggests that differences in patient risk profiles drive variability in postoperative pneumonia rates after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), this teaching has yet to be empirically tested. We determined to what extent patient risk factors account for hospital variation in pneumonia rates. Methods We studied 324,085 patients undergoing CABG between July 1, 2011, and December 31, 2013, across 998 hospitals using The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Database. We developed 5 models to estimate our incremental ability to explain hospital variation in pneumonia rates. Model 1 contained patient demographic characteristics and admission status, while Model 2 added patient risk factors. Model 3 added measures of pulmonary function, Model 4 added measures of cardiac anatomy and function and medications, and Model 5 further added measures of intraoperative and postoperative care. Results Although 9,175 patients (2.83%) experienced pneumonia, the median estimated distribution of pneumonia rates across hospitals was 2.5% (25th to 75th percentile: 1.5% to 4.0%). Wide variability in pneumonia rates was evident, with some hospitals having rates more than 6 times higher than others (10th to 90th percentile: 1.0% to 6.1%). Among all five models, Model 2 accounted for the most variability at 4.24%. In total, 2.05% of hospital variation in pneumonia rates was explained collectively by traditional patient factors, leaving 97.95% of variation unexplained. Conclusions Our findings suggest that patient risk profiles only account for a fraction of hospital variation in pneumonia rates; enhanced understanding of other contributory factors (eg, processes of care) is required to lessen the likelihood of such nosocomial infections.
Adventures from Justin’s Life: Engaging Your Physics Students

Many teachers have had students ask the proverbial question, “When will I ever use this in my life?” In the sciences, especially physics, teachers seem to battle this torrent of indifference continually. Although many areas of our students’ lives can distract them from their academic pursuits, we as teachers must be introspective in order to prevent our teaching style from becoming one of our students’ potential distractions. For example, a problem source with teaching physics may be an inability to successfully pique students’ interest in our lessons. According to Barrett, student engagement is critical in order for learning to occur. Student engagement is so crucially important that researchers from across the globe attempt to assist teachers in the careful construction of pedagogical “hooks” whereby they can actively engage their students. A student who is not academically engaged may find little use for what is presented and may be bored stiff during the lesson. Regardless of your theoretical perspect...
The Politics of International Oversight: Strategic Monitoring and Legal Compliance in the European Union

States often violate international agreements, both accidentally and intentionally. To process complaints efficiently, states can create formal, pretrial procedures in which governments can negotiate with litigants before a case ever goes to court. If disputes are resolved during pretrial negotiations, it can be very difficult to tell what has happened. Are governments coming into compliance? If so, are they only doing so when they have accidentally committed a violation or even when they are intentionally resisting? Or are challenges simply being dropped? This paper presents a formal model to address these questions. We develop our theory in the context of the European Union (EU). To test our model, we collect a new dataset of over 13,000 Commission infringement cases against EU member states (2003–2013). Our results suggest that accidental and intentional noncompliance both occur, but that intentional noncompliance is more common in the EU. We find that the Commission is an effective, if imperfect, monitor and enforcer of international law. The Commission can correct intentional noncompliance, but not always. It strategically drops cases that it believes it is unlikely to win.
Impact of a clinical interventions bundle on uptake of HPV vaccine at an OB/GYN clinic

Abstract Introduction HPV vaccine uptake is lowest among young adults. Little is known about the most effective way to decrease missed opportunities (MO) and increase uptake of the vaccine in this vulnerable population. Objectives To determine the impact of a clinical intervention bundle on the rate of MO and uptake of the vaccine among young adult women. Methods From 2/2014 to 7/2015, an intervention bundle (designating physician and nurse champions, pre-screening patients’ charts, empowering nurses to recommend immunization, providing no-cost vaccinations, placing prompts in clinic note templates, eliminating requirement for pre-vaccination pregnancy test) was implemented at an urban, hospital-based OB/GYN clinic. Medical records were reviewed for all vaccine-eligible (non-pregnant, 11–26 years) women seen between 2/2013 and 9/2016. Impact of the bundled interventions on the monthly rates of MO and vaccine uptake was estimated by analyzing immunization trends with an interrupted time-series model using counterfactual comparison groups in order to control for pre-existing trends. Results There were 6,463 vaccine-eligible visits during our study period. The prevalence of women who had both completed and initiated the series was significantly higher, 20.3% and 29.7% respectively, in the last month, compared to their counterfactuals (p Conclusions Implementation of this intervention bundle effectively reduced the monthly rate of MO and increased the prevalence of women who had initiated and completed the HPV vaccine series. The reduction of MO was most drastic among Hispanic, publicly insured and uninsured women compared to White and privately insured.
Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair: Review of Current Devices and Treatments Options

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair is a minimally invasive approach to repairing a number of mechanical defects of the thoracic aorta utilizing an intraluminally deployed stent graft, usually without the need for open surgery. A number of manufacturers have developed endograft systems, utilizing various stent materials (ie stainless steel vs nickel titanium [nitinol]), cover material (ie polytetrafluoroethylene vs woven polyester), radial force, flexibility, and seal zone attachment methods. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the four FDA-approved endografts currently used in the United States for descending thoracic aortic pathologies and compare their most salient features. This overview is aimed to assist the vascular interventionalist in further guidance of device selection on a case-by-case basis.
Identification of hinging hyperplane autoregressive exogenous model using efficient mixed-integer programming.

Abstract A computationally efficient algorithm for hinging hyperplane autoregressive exogenous (HHARX) model identification via mixed-integer programming technique is proposed in this paper. The HHARX model is attractive since it accurately approximates a general nonlinear process as a sum of hinge functions and preserves the continuity even in a piecewise affine form. Traditional mixed-integer programming-based method for HHARX model identification can only be applied on small-scale input/output datasets due to its significant computational demands. The contribution of this paper is to develop a sequential optimization approach to build accurate HHARX model more efficiently on a relatively large number of experimental data. Moreover, the proposed framework can handle more difficult and practical cases in piecewise model identification, such as: limited submodel switching, missing output data and specified steady state. Finally, the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed computational scheme are demonstrated through modeling of two simulated examples and a pilot-scale heat exchanger.
Mapping the diploid genome, one cell at a time.

Attempts to develop a method for 3D genome reconstruction of single cells have been frustrated by the inability to distinguish between chromosome homologs. A novel Hi-C workflow uses haplotype imputation to map the nuclear organization of single diploid cells.
Females are less sensitive than males to the motivational- and dopamine-suppressing effects of kappa opioid receptor activation.

Abstract The neuropeptide dynorphin (DYN) activates kappa opioid receptors (KORs) in the brain to produce depressive-like states and decrease motivation. KOR-mediated suppression of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is considered one underlying mechanism. We previously showed that, regardless of estrous cycle stage, female rats are less sensitive than males to KOR agonist-mediated decreases in motivation to respond for brain stimulation reward, measured with intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS). However, the explicit roles of KORs, circulating gonadal hormones, and their interaction with dopamine signaling in motivated behavior are not known. As such, we measured the effects of the KOR agonist U50,488 on ICSS stimulation thresholds before and after gonadectomy (or sham surgery). We found that ovariectomized females remained less sensitive than sham or castrated males to KOR-mediated decreases in brain stimulation reward, indicating that circulating gonadal hormones do not play a role. We used qRT-PCR to examine whether sex differences in gene expression in limbic brain regions are associated with behavioral sex differences. We found no sex differences in Pdyn or Oprk1 mRNA in the NAc and ventral tegmental area (VTA), but tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) mRNA was significantly higher in female compared to male VTA. To further explore sex-differences in KOR-mediated suppression of dopamine, we used fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) and demonstrated that U50,488 was less effective in suppressing evoked NAc dopamine release in females compared to males. These data raise the possibility that females are protected from KOR-mediated decreases in motivation by an increased capacity to produce and release dopamine.
Physician characteristics associated with patient experience scores: implications for adjusting public reporting of individual physician scores

Public reporting of individual physician patient experience scores is becoming widespread on hospital websites and may be included on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Physician Compare website in the future.1 2 Moreover, physician groups can submit patient experience scores for incentive compensation through the Merit-based Incentive Payment System, and many groups are including patient experience scores in the allocation of incentive compensation.3 However, there is concern that certain physician characteristics (eg, gender, age, training) may unduly influence these scores and may merit consideration of adjustment when used in these ways. It is important to understand whether uncontrollable factors beyond the patient–physician encounter may influence patients’ scores regarding a physician. It was our hypothesis that physician factors such as age, sex and aspects of his or her medical training significantly influence patient experience scores. Therefore, our objective was to assess the association between physician characteristics and patient experience scores from a diverse group of hospitals and medical groups. Patient experience survey data were acquired for all physicians from a large, diverse, six-hospital (one academic medical centre, one large community hospital, four small community hospitals) health system consisting of 252 outpatient clinic locations for fiscal years (FY) 2013–2017. Only the outpatient survey (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, Clinican and Group (CG-CAHPS)) was examined as the inpatient survey (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, Hospital (HCAHPS)) is not attributable to a single physician. Delivered nationally by a commercial third-party vendor, the survey contains 10 unique questions specifically addressing the …
Maximum advantage of quantum illumination

Discriminating between quantum states is a fundamental problem in quantum information protocols. The optimum approach saturates the Helstrom bound, which quantifies the unavoidable error probability of mistaking one state for another. Computing the error probability directly requires complete knowledge and diagonalization of the density matrices describing these states. Both of these fundamental requirements become impractically difficult to obtain as the dimension of the states grow large. In this article, we analyze quantum illumination as a quantum channel discrimination protocol and circumvent these issues by using the normalized Hilbert-Schmidt inner product as a measure of distinguishability. Using this measure, we show that the greatest advantage gained by quantum illumination over conventional illumination occurs when one uses a Bell state.
Dueling Decoders: Regularizing Variational Autoencoder Latent Spaces.

Variational autoencoders learn unsupervised data representations, but these models frequently converge to minima that fail to preserve meaningful semantic information. For example, variational autoencoders with autoregressive decoders often collapse into autodecoders, where they learn to ignore the encoder input. In this work, we demonstrate that adding an auxiliary decoder to regularize the latent space can prevent this collapse, but successful auxiliary decoding tasks are domain dependent. Auxiliary decoders can increase the amount of semantic information encoded in the latent space and visible in the reconstructions. The semantic information in the variational autoencoder's representation is only weakly correlated with its rate, distortion, or evidence lower bound. Compared to other popular strategies that modify the training objective, our regularization of the latent space generally increased the semantic information content.
The Importance of Brokers in Collaborative Marine Ecosystem-Based Management of Social Ecological Systems

AbstractPractitioners play a critical yet largely unexamined role in translating collaborative, ecosystem-based management (EBM) for social-ecological systems from theory to practice. We paired men...
Developing Spatial Thinking in the Middle Grades: Designing a Space Station.

recently published Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Commission on Standards for School Mathematics 1989, 21) clearly states that educators should devote less attention to "complex paper-andpencil computations" and "rote memorization of rules." The time currently spent in the elementary school mathematics curriculum on these topics should instead be devoted to other areas, such as geometry and problem solving. Students should "visualize and represent geometric figures with special attention to developing spatial sense" and learn to appreciate "geometry as a means of describing the physical world" (p. 112). But elementary school mathematics textbooks typically contain few activities that deal with the development of spatial
Lattice strains and diffraction elastic constants of cubic polycrystals

Abstract In situ synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments provide a powerful approach to measure lattice strains in bulk polycrystalline materials. They are being increasingly used for quantitative characterization of microscale deformation within and between grains and phases. Here we use a self-consistent micromechanics model to obtain a general analytic solution of the grain-level lattice strains and diffraction elastic constants for a broad class of elastically isotropic polycrystals with cubic crystal symmetry. This analytic solution reveals a direct linear relationship between the reciprocal of the elastic diffraction constant and the orientation index parameter along the direction of any diffraction vector, including tensile loading and transverse directions. The straightforward numerical implementation of this solution provides diffraction elastic constants for 26 representative cubic polycrystals. Analytic solutions of this kind can serve to benchmark in situ diffraction measurements of lattice strains and also facilitate high-throughput studies of microscale stresses and diffraction elastic constants in polycrystalline materials.
Indirect immunofluorescent assay for detection of antibodies of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus in healthy population

Objective To explore the early diagnostic value of indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in detection of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus (SFTSV),and to have an overview on the level of antibody against SFTSV in healthy population of Ningbo Xiangshan.Methods Local SFTSV strains isolated from African green monkey kidney cells (Vero cells) were used to produce antigen films.SFTSV antibody in blood samples from 265 healthy individuals in Xiangshan were detected by IFA and ELISA.The results of IFA and ELISA were compared with that of micro-neutralization test (MNT).Results Of 265 serum samples,the positive rates of SFTSV-IgG detected by IFA and ELISA were 13.58％ (36/256) and 8.68％ (23/256),respectively,with a significant difference (x2=9.624,P＜0.05).The coincidence rate of MNT and IFA was 89.19％ (33/37) which was higher than 70.27％ (26/37) of MNT and ELISA,with a significant difference between them (x2=4.097,P＜0.05).Both of IgM and IgG were detected positive in 23 samples,accounting for 62.16％ (23/37) of IgG positive samples.Conclusions IFA can be used as a complementary method for diagnosis of SFTSV infection when viremia is absent because of its ability to detect IgM and IgG together.IFA is also suitable for antibody detection.High level of SFTSV-IgG antibody in healthy population of Ningbo Xiangshan suggests the epidemic and latent infection of SFTSV in local area.SFTSV-IgM detected positive in healthy individuals means the possibility of new infection in recent years. Key words: Bunyavirideae infections; Antibody level; Indirect immunofluorescence assay
Functional and Visionary Leadership in Self-Managing Virtual Teams:

In this conceptual article, we present a theory of leadership in self-managing virtual teams. We describe leadership in this setting as a process that results in the creation, reinforcement, and ev...
Intuitive robot teleoperation for civil engineering operations with virtual reality and deep learning scene reconstruction

Abstract Robotic teleoperation, i.e., manipulating remote robotic systems at a distance, has gained its popularity in various industrial applications, including construction operations. The key to a successful teleoperation robot system is the delicate design of the human-robot interface that helps strengthen the human operator’s situational awareness. Traditional human-robot interface for robotic teleoperation is usually based on imagery data (e.g., video streaming), causing the limited field of view (FOV) and increased cognitive burden for processing additional spatial information. As a result, 3D scene reconstruction methods based on point cloud models captured by scanning technologies (e.g., depth camera and LiDAR) have been explored to provide immersive and intuitive feedback to the human operator. Despite the added benefits of applying reconstructed 3D scenes in telerobotic systems, challenges still present. Most 3D reconstruction methods utilize raw point cloud data due to the difficulty of real-time model rendering. The significant size of point cloud data makes the processing and transfer between robots and human operators difficult and slow. In addition, most reconstructed point cloud models do not contain physical properties such as weight and colliders. A more enriched control mechanism based on physics engine simulations is impossible. This paper presents an intelligent robot teleoperation interface that collects, processes, transfers, and reconstructs the immersive scene model of the workspace in Virtual Reality (VR) and enables intuitive robot controls accordingly. The proposed system, Telerobotic Operation based on Auto-reconstructed Remote Scene (TOARS), utilizes a deep learning algorithm to automatically detect objects in the captured scene, along with their physical properties, based on the point cloud data. The processed information is then transferred to the game engine where rendered virtual objects replace the original point cloud models in the VR environment. TOARS is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of 3D scene reconstruction and situational awareness of human operators in robotic teleoperation.
Governing the Extractive Sector : Regulating the Foreign Conduct of International Mining Firms

This book considers, and offers solutions to, the problems faced by local communities and the environment with respect to global mining. The author explores the idea of grievance mechanisms in the home states of the major mining conglomerates. These grievance mechanisms should be functional, pragmatic and effective at resolving disputes between mining enterprises and impacted communities. The key to this provocative solution is two-fold: the proposal harnesses the power of industry-sponsored dispute mechanisms to reduce the costs and other burdens on home state governments and judicial systems. Critically, civil society actors will be given a role as both advocates and mediators in order to achieve a fair result for those impacted abroad by extractive enterprises. Compelling, engaging and timely, this book presents an innovative approach for regulating the foreign conduct of the extractive sector.
A Seat at the Table: Just How Representative is the Legislative Process? An Analysis of the Gender Distribution of Witnesses Before a Select Group of Committees in the U.S. Congress

This paper documents and analyzes the 2,277 witnesses who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means (Ways & Means) and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (Finance) for the 110th (2007-2008), 111th (2009-2010) and the 112th Congresses (2011-2012). This allows us to measure the frequency of women as witness before committees controlled by Democrats (Nancy Pelosi as Speaker (2007-2010); Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader (2007-2012)), and Republicans (John Boehner as Speaker (2011-2012)). We construct a unique Congressional Record Representation Dataset (CRRD) using publicly-available committee reports and hearing transcripts to identify witnesses testifying before these committees to measure each committee as to its efforts to represent women and persons of color. This paper is the initial summary of our findings for witness representation before the tax-writing committees in terms of gender for the 110th through the 112th Congresses (the Review Period), and is the preliminary analysis of a larger project to measure and study the impact of women and persons of color testifying before multiple congressional committees from the 110th through the 115th Congresses. We presented this paper at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association. Extended versions of the CRRD are included in a forthcoming article by Caroline Bruckner titled, Doubling Down on a Billion Dollar Blind Spot: Women Business Owners and Tax Reform, which the American University Washington College of Law Business Law Review is publishing in Spring 2020.
Contraceptive Method Uptake at Title X Health Centers in Utah.

Abstract Background The Title X family planning program previously supported contraception for Utah clients with low incomes, yet its contributions may not have been sufficient to allow clients to select their preferred methods, including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). In this study, we compare the contraceptive method choices of self-paying clients with low incomes at three participating Title X health centers in Salt Lake County, Utah, before and after the removal of additional cost barriers. Methods We used retrospective medical record review to assess clients’ contraceptive choices during two 6-month periods: a control period with Title X-assisted sliding scale payment schedules (n = 2,776) and an intervention period offering no-cost contraceptive care (n = 2,065). We used logistic regression to identify the likelihood of selecting a LARC during the intervention period and multinomial regression to identify the selection probability of different types of available LARCs. Results During the control period, 16% of participants chose a LARC compared with 26% in the intervention period (p ≤ .001). During the intervention period, participants were 1.8 times more likely to select LARCs (95% confidence interval, 1.65–2.13) compared with non-LARC methods, holding covariates constant. In the multinomial regression, participants were three times more likely during the intervention period to select an implant than a pill, patch, or ring, holding all other covariates constant (odds ratio, 3.08; 95% confidence interval, 2.47–3.83). Conclusions Title X clients offered contraceptive methods without cost more frequently selected a LARC method. Title X funding reductions may impede individuals’ access to their contraceptive methods of choice.
An architecture to address uncertain requirements and composability for intelligent agents in distributed simulations

In this paper we describe an architecture for computer-generated intelligent agent actors (CGAs) that exploits the technological advantages provided by object-orientation, component software, software frameworks, gauges, migration assistants, containerization, and rapid prototyping. These teclnologies allow the architecture to support composability, flexibility, re-usability, and generality for the CGAs that the architecture supports. The architecture consists of highly modular components and two frameworks where interdependencies are well defined, documented, and minimized. In this paper we discuss the architecture, its constituent elements and their functionality, and discuss some conclusions about CGA architectures.
Is Graduate Hospitality Education Relevant? Ask Graduates

(1994). Is Graduate Hospitality Education Relevant? Ask Graduates. Hospitality & Tourism Educator: Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 13-16.
Isolation and analysis of mitochondrial inheritance mutants from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the isolation and analysis of mitochondrial inheritance mutants from saccharomyces cerevisiae . One approach to the study of mitochondrial inheritance has been the isolation and analysis of the mutants of saccharomyces cerevisiae that are defective for the transfer of mitochondria from the mother portion of the yeast cell into the developing daughter bud. This transfer begins at a very early stage in the cell division cycle, almost as soon a bud appears on a mother cell. Mutants of mitochondrial distribution and morphology (mdm mutants) were isolated by screening the collections of temperature-sensitive strains for ceils that failed to transfer mitochondria into daughter buds during incubation at the nonpermissive temperature. Genetic analysis indicated that the defects in growth and mitochondrial inheritance in many of these strains were caused by single, recessive, nuclear mutations. The subsequent isolation of novel, distinct mdm mutants suggests that many additional components mediating mitochondrial distribution remain to be identified.
Safe and Principled Language Interoperation

Safety of interoperation of program fragments written in different safe languages may fail when the languages have different systems of computational effects: an exception raised by an ML function may have no valid semantic interpretation in the context of a Safe-C caller. Sandboxing costs performance and still may violate the semantics if effects are not taken into account. We show that effect annotations alone are insufficient to guarantee safety, and we present a type system with bounded effect polymorphism designed to verify the compatibility of abstract resources required by the computational models of the interoperating languages. The type system ensures single address space interoperability of statically typed languages with effect mechanisms built of modules for control and state. It is shown sound for safety with respect to the semantics of a language with constructs for selection, simulation, and blocking of resources, targeted as an intermediate language for optimization of resource handling.
Why Rules Matter in Complex Event Processing...and Vice Versa

Many commercial and research CEP solutions are moving beyond simple stream query languages to more complete definitions of "process" and thence to "decisions" and "actions". And as capabilities increase in event processing capabilities, there is an increasing realization that the humble "rule" is as relevant to the event cloud as it is to specific services. Less obvious is how much event processing has to offer the process and rule execution and management technologies. Does event processing change the way we should manage businesses, processes and services, together with their embedded (and hopefully managed) rulesets?
Perspectives: Adaptive Markets and the New World Order

In the adaptive markets hypothesis (AMH) intelligent but fallible investors learn from and adapt to changing economic environments. This implies that markets are not always efficient but are usually competitive and adaptive, varying in their degree of efficiency as the environment and investor population change over time. The AMH has several implications, including the possibility of negative risk premiums, alpha converging to beta, and the importance of macro factors and risk budgeting in asset allocation policies.
The role of (alpha beta) protomer interaction in determining functional characteristics of red cell Na,K-ATPase.

We have examined the possibility that interaction of (alpha beta) protomers within a diprotomer is responsible for some anomalous characteristics of red cell Na,K-ATPase by examining their response to two inhibitors, FITC and H2DIDS, which bind covalently, and to ouabain, which debinds slowly from red cell pumps. The phenomena we examined were: (1) the biphasic curve relating Na,K-ATPase activity to ATP concentration, and (2) protection of Na pumps against vanadate inhibition by external Na. If interaction of (alpha beta) protomers within a diprotomer were responsible for these phenomena, random inactivation of (alpha beta) protomers should have resulted in a high proportion of (alpha beta) promtomers with an inhibited protomer as a partner, and therefore should have significantly altered the consequences of subunit interaction. With each inhibitor, 60-70% inhibition of ATPase activity did not alter the functional characteristics of the residual activity. We conclude that interaction of functional (alpha beta) protomers does not explain the phenomena which we investigated. This is consistent with our previous observation that Na,K pumps of red cell membranes exist as monomeric (alpha beta) protomers (Martin, D.W. and Sachs, V.R. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 23922-23929).
Diagnosis and management of lipomatous tumors

Lipomatous tumors range from benign lipomas to high-grade liposarcomas. Liposarcomas are classified into five histologic subtypes: well-differentiated, dedifferentiated, myxoid, round cell, and pleomorphic, which differ in outcomes and patterns of recurrence. Surgical resection is the mainstay of curative treatment; however, large, high grade liposarcomas may benefit from multimodality treatment with chemotherapy and radiation. A histologic-subtype specific nomogram provides accurate survival predictions. Prospective randomized clinical trials will continue to improve our care of patients with liposarcoma. J. Surg. Oncol. 2008;97:298–313. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Laser-induced Acoustic Breakage of Tobacco Mosaic Virus

CAROME, in a recent letter1 commenting on our article on the mechanical disruption of tobacco mosaic virus2 by laser-induced transients, suggests that the effect we detected may have been caused by a number of complicating factors related to pulse reflexions and/or cavitation of the suspending medium. Although the points made by Carome are certainly valid we would like to clarify the issue. We obtained TMV breakage in all of the cases mentioned by Carome; namely, pulses reflected back through the liquid sample at a water-to-air interface; or totally transmitted without reflexion; or transmitted into a finite thickness water layer and then reflected at a water–air interface. The fact that breakage was obtained with totally transmitted pulses, which corresponds to transmission of a positive pressure transient through the virus suspension, is particularly important. As mentioned in our previous communication2, the effect was enhanced when the reflexions occurred at the liquid–air interface of the virus suspension. Breakage was not, however, significantly increased by reflexions (including negative transients) generated at other interfaces in the system. The details of the hydrodynamical analysis of the stress engendered in the TMV by the laser-induced acoustic transient have been presented in greater detail elsewhere3.
The use of block tridiagonal methods to improve convergence of DADI solutions to coupled elliptic partial differential equations

Abstract A new solution method for coupled sets of elliptic equations, Coupled Equation Dynamic Alternating Direction Implicit (CEDADI), was recently developed for solution of the Streamlined Darwin Field (SDF) model and shows promise for other applications. In the SDF simulations of plasmas, CEDADI has been shown to dramatically reduce the required CPU time to achieve a chosen residual. In these simulations, the coupling between the equations was very strong. For intermediate equation coupling which will occur in general sets of coupled elliptic equations, the method slows considerably. We will show that the problem is corrected by time centering both second and first-order derivatives. The iteration count is then reduced by a factor of 8 for the intermediate coupling case. The new time centering requires a block tridiagonal inversion in each direction instead of the previously used tridiagonal inversion. Despite the fact that the new method takes more CPU time per iteration compared to the old method, an overall factor of 6.28 reduction in CPU time is then gained for this case. Reduction in CPU time is obtained for cases over a wide range of coupling parameters.
Procedural applications of ultrasound.

Invasive procedures are essential to the daily practice of emergency medicine. Many of these procedures, ranging from a simple incision and drainage to an emergent pericardiocentesis, can be performed under ultrasound guidance. A growing body of evidence suggests that sonographically guided procedures are more efficient and safer than conventional techniques. This article reviews the use of ultrasound to facilitate common procedures in the emergency department.
Shushing down the epigenetic landscape towards stem cell differentiation

In February 2010, researchers interested in stem cell biology gathered in Keystone, Colorado, USA to discuss their findings on the origins and behaviors of pluripotent and multipotent stem cells, and their therapeutic potential. Here, we review the presentations at that meeting and the questions that emerged concerning how a stem cell `decides9 to self-renew or differentiate, what their distinct properties are and how this information can be used to develop novel therapies.
Femoral vein access

A ccess to the central venous system can be readily achieved by percutaneous puncture of the jugular, subclavian, or femoral vein. Although the femoral vein can be easily found in most patients, many physicians are more familiar with approaches to the jugular or the subclavian vein. The choice of a specific access site may be dictated by the clinical situation; however, despite many studies demonstrating its efficacy and safety, the femoral vein is less commonly used. 1-5 Femoral vein access was first described by Shaffer 5 in 1946 for the purpose of rapid volume infusion in hypotensive patients. In 1950, Bosch and colleagues 6 confirmed the safety and efficacy of using this site. Since then, a few series have shown a trend toward more complications and lower success rates associated with femoral veto access. TM However, many reports have demonstrated both success and complication rates comparable to those associated with the internal jugular and subclavian veins. 1-4 Femoral vein access can be easily achieved, and the success rate varies from 75% to 96%. 1'2'8-~~ Direct comparisons with alternative sites have shown mixed results. Although some had better success with the femoral vein than the subclavian vein, s the opposite has also been demonstratedfl Indeed, one direct comparison between the femoral and subclavian sites found little difference in success and complication rates) Examining the differences between access sites, Emerman and colleagues s reported a high degree of interoperator variability, with success rates ranging from 56% to 100% for the femoral vein and from 88% to 100% for the subclavian vein. More recently, the use of ultrasound guidance to aid femoral access in the emergency setting has been reported to result in more rapid catheterization times and very precise localization.11
Selling ourselves: the ethics of paid living kidney donation.

In “Assessing the Likely Harms to Kidney Vendors in Regulated Organ Markets,” Julian Koplin (2014) argues that paid living kidney donation would result in physical, psychological, social, and finan...
A Pan-African army : the evolution of an idea and its eventual realisation in the African Standby Force

The idea of establishing a permanent Pan-African army has for long caught the imagination of Africans as a potential solution to many of their continent's manifold security problems. This feature tracks the quest for a Pan-African military force through the past five decades covering the feeble attempts of Africa's freedom fighters to join forces, the repeated failure to establish an African High Command (AHC) in the early years of decolonisation, the subsequent inability of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Defence Commission to agree on a common defence structure, and the various fruitless initiatives of the international community to set up a Pan-African peacekeeping force in the 1990s. On the basis of this retrospective journey, the article argues that the African Union's current initiative to establish an African Standby Force (ASF) based on five regionally administered standby brigades should be seen in the tradition of this long quest and not as a groundbreaking new conceptual development, as...
CTCF establishes discrete functional chromatin domains at the Hox clusters during differentiation

Polycomb and Trithorax group proteins encode the epigenetic memory of cellular positional identity by establishing inheritable domains of repressive and active chromatin within the Hox clusters. Here we demonstrate that the CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) functions to insulate these adjacent yet antagonistic chromatin domains during embryonic stem cell differentiation into cervical motor neurons. Deletion of CTCF binding sites within the Hox clusters results in the expansion of active chromatin into the repressive domain. CTCF functions as an insulator by organizing Hox clusters into spatially disjoint domains. Ablation of CTCF binding disrupts topological boundaries such that caudal Hox genes leave the repressed domain and become subject to transcriptional activation. Hence, CTCF is required to insulate facultative heterochromatin from impinging euchromatin to produce discrete positional identities.
Monomer and Dimer Complexes of Coronene with Atomic Ions

Formation of ML+ and ML2+ complexes of coronene was investigated with 25 atomic ions (M+) in the low-pressure gas-phase environment of the Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) ion trapping mass spectrometer. All of the atomic ions formed M+(Cor) except the alkalis (and also excepting a few cases which were dominated by charge transfer). All the other cases reacted with large, collisionally saturated rates, implying bond strengths >35 kcal mol-1, except for the larger alkaline earths Sr+ and Ba+, whose noticeably slower rates were attributed to relatively lower bond strengths around 32 kcal mol-1. Many of the M+(Cor) complexes reacted further to M+(Cor)2 with collisionally saturated rates, but several cases (Mg+, Al+, Si+, In+, Pb+, Bi+) reacted more slowly or not at all, indicating weaker bonds. The important role of transition-metal character in M+(Cor)2 bonding is suggested by the observation that transition metal ions (Sc+ and Mn+, for instance) rapidly formed M+(Cor)2 complexes, while co...
A method of reduction of Einstein's equations of evolution and a natural symplectic structure on the space of gravitational degrees of freedom

A program is outlined which addresses the problem of thereduction of Einstein's equations, namely, that of writing Einstein's vacuum equations in (3+1)-dimensions as anunconstrained dynamical system where the variables are thetrue degrees of freedom of the gravitational field. Our analysis is applicable for globally hyperbolic Ricci-flat spacetimes that admit constant mean curvature compact orientable spacelike Cauchy hypersurfaces M with degM=0 andM not diffeomorphic toF6, the underlying manifold of a certain compact orientable flat affine 3-manifold. We find that for these spacetimes, modulo the extended Poincare conjecture and the use of local cross-sections rather than a global cross-section, (3+1)-reduction can be completed much as in the (2+1)-dimensional case. In both cases, one gets as the reduced phase space the cotangent bundleT*TM of theTeichmuller space TMof conformal structures onM, whereM is a given initial constant mean curvature compact orientable spacelike Cauchy hypersurface in a spacetime (V, gV), and one gets reduction of the full classical non-reduced Hamiltonian system with constraints to a reduced Hamiltonian system without constraints onT*TM. For these reduced systems, the time parameter is the parameter of a family of monotonically increasing constant mean curvature compact orientable spacelike Cauchy hypersurfaces in a neighborhood of a given initial one. In the (2+1)-dimensional case, the Hamiltonian is the area functional of these hypersurfaces, and in the (3+1)-dimensional case, the Hamiltonian is the volume functional of these hypersurfaces.