cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generality in student and expert epistemic stance: A corpus analysis of first-year, upper-level, and published academic writing

Abstract Research highlights the importance of stance in academic writing, and recent research shows increasing emphasis on stance in undergraduate writing. Most studies of student writing focus on epistemic stance in terms of certainty and not generality; yet instructional materials suggest that developing writers need to learn to limit generalizations. This study examines the use of certain indefinite pronouns and extreme amplifiers that help indicate generality as a part of stance in three corpora: new college writing, advanced student writing, and published academic writing. The study shows two specific and shared rhetorical uses of generalization markers, emphasizing the wide applicability of a claim and projecting shared ideas. The study also shows clear differences in the frequency of generalizations used and the breadth or scope of generalizations made. Published academic writing contains the fewest generalization markers, while new college writing shows the most generalizations as well as generalizations that span large groups and periods of time. The findings suggest that in non-discipline specific essay writing, new college students' frequent use of generalization markers contrasts the more circumspect stance features in advanced student and published discipline-specific writing, posing questions for writing instruction as well as essay-based writing assessment.
Natural hermaphroditic toad (Bufo microscaphus x Bufo woodhousii)

Hermaphrodites, although well documented among fishes, are relatively rare among the tetrapods (Warner, 1978). Among the amphibians, it has long been known that the Bidder's organ of male toads (attached to the anterior of the testes) will develop into functional ovarian tissue if the testes are removed (Pancak, 1987; Pancak-Roessler et al., 1990). However, this phenomenon has rarely been reported under natural conditions (see reviews in Witschi, 1933; Pancak, 1987; Pancak-Roessler and Norris, 1991). Herein we report on a toad taken from an area of hybridization between Bufo microscaphus and B. woodhousii that exhibited typical male secondary sexual characters (advertisement and release call production, well-developed nuptial pads, and clasping behavior) while it simultaneously extruded eggs. We observed the toad in a breeding aggregation of B. microscaphus, B. woodhousii, and putative hybrids along Black Canyon Creek, 1 km north of Black Canyon City, Yavapai County, AZ, at 2030 h on 15 March 1994. The toad was producing advertisement calls in alternation with six other males (hybrids and B. microscaphus) chorusing along 6 m of shoreline. We saw a recently (< 12 h based on developmental stage and absence of silt) deposited clutch at the calling site of the hermaphrodite, although no females were observed in the vicinity and chorusing activity had just been initiated (< 30 min). For each toad, we recorded three or more advertisement calls with a Sennheiser ME 80 microphone (K3U power module) and Marantz PMD 430 cassette recorder. We collected each
Inventory and Assessment of the Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1799) Skeletal Collection Housed at the Yale Peabody Museum

Museum collections are critical resources for examining comparative anatomy, developmental biology and life history hypotheses. Evaluation of skeletal collections provides insight into spatiotemporal, species, population and individual variation associated with environmental, social and epidemiological history. For endangered species such as primates, these collections provide data that are nearly impossible to replicate today.In this first in a series of papers reviewing the great ape holdings of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, we describe the Pan troglodytes skeletal collection. Although most of the collection is from Central Africa's Atlantic coast, it includes several Pan troglodytes subspecies. Multiple age and sex classes are present, with craniodental and postcranial elements available for each age class. All material was assessed for developmental, disease, trauma and socioecological indicators. Multiple indicators of metabolic stress are present and likely associated with nutritional and epidemiological factors. Instances of trauma and injury, ranging from antemortem to perimortem events, are described. For some individuals, these injuries are likely associated with intraspecific and intrasexual competition and violence, whereas others are suggestive of infanticide attempts. Other injuries associated with interspecific violence are of value for forensic examination.Our evaluation of the Yale Peabody Museum collection provides a baseline for future research and testable hypotheses for alternate techniques, such as isotopic analyses of calculus and noninvasive genetic testing. Museum collections continue to provide new insights into taxonomic and individual variation and environmental cues, and ultimately allow for comparisons between modern and historical environmental and behavioral variables.
Dehumanization in theory: anti-humanism, non-humanism, post-humanism, and trans-humanism

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the challenges to critical realism posed by the ways in which the original postmodern sensibility has transformed into various forms of anti-humanism, trans-humanism, and post-humanism. These transformations, largely growing out of poststructuralism, are reinforced by developments in psychology and computer science but also incorporate a new turn toward ontology in alternate forms of realism such as Object-Oriented-Ontology. This paper identifies what is new and what is old in these trends and argues that, while there is something to be learned from them, some of which implicitly and even explicitly borrow from CR, the humanist orientation of CR continues to deserve defense.
A New Histochemical Stain for Intracellular Oxygen

The observation of Vaughan and Weberl that oxygen concentrations in the physiological range would quench the fluorescence of pyrenebutyric acid in solution suggested to us that this principle might be used to measure intracellular PO2. Such a technique could eliminate the disadvantages encountered with techniques using electrodes, namely tissue damage and alteration of oxygen tensions by consumption of oxygen, providing that the following criteria could be fulfilled: (a) Penetration of the fluorescent probe into the cell. (b) Absence of metabolic damage as determined by respiration rate. (c) The quenching of the fluorescence of the intracellular probe by oxygen should occur according to a known relationship, preferably Stern-Volmer2.
Book Review: The Mission of the Church: Five Views in Conversation:

The Mission of the Church: Five Views in Conversation. Edited by Craig Ott. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2016. 224 pp. $22.99 (paper).The missionary nature of the church has become increasingly recognized and affirmed within recent years by scholars and church leaders from across the ecumenical spectrum. Yet when it comes to construing precisely what this entails, significant differences remain. This volume convenes a conversation among five leading missiologists who reflect a range of ecclesial traditions to provide a rich and concise window onto that broader debate.Editor Craig Ott, a missiologist at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, frames the book with an introductory essay that traces the evolution of missiological thinking about the church over the past hundred years, highlighting the mid-twentieth century consensus that emerged around refocusing mission theology within the triune Gods life (missio Dei). That consensus diverged into competing trajectories in the 1960s within Western churches between those who looked to God's activity primarily within movements for justice and liberation in the broader world, and those who stressed personal conversion and discipleship. These bifurcations, shaped by modernity's fact/ value split, continue to haunt Western Christians to this day. They show up within the pages of this book, alongside attempts to chart out a holistic missiology that embraces the full range of dimensions of Christian mission.Roman Catholic scholar Stephen Bevans recapitulates the "prophetic dialogue" approach that he and Roger Schroeder first proposed in their monumental Constants in Context (2004). Mission must affirm Gods activity in creation and human culture generally. In dialogue with the worlds cultures and faiths, Christians offer a prophetic witness that confronts injustice in the name of Jesus.Presbyterian missiologist Darrell Guder, editor of the seminal volume Missional Church (1998), offers a "multicultural and translational" approach that builds on Lamin Sannehs work on the translatability of the gospel. Guder notes how Christendom overly identified Christianity with Western culture. Reclaiming the church's apostolic character invites vital new engagements in contextualization. Somewhat ironically, however, Guder then turns to the "solas" of the European magisterial Reformation as the key criteria for contextualization without noting how contextual those confessions are. …
The emoji scale: A facial scale for the 21st century

Abstract Emojis have grown in popularity as a method for digital communication. Recently, there has been interest in the connection between emojis and emotional response to consumer products. Research has been conducted linking emojis and the emotional response from food stimuli in adults via avenues such as Twitter, and in children. An online study was conducted to assess the application of an emoji-based pictorial facial scale with childFrren ages 8–11 (grades 3rd, 4th, and 5th). Two hundred and fourteen participants were asked to evaluate their liking and emotional response using the Peryam and Kroll (P&K) scale (super good/super bad) and pictorial emoji scale, respectively, for both food and non-food experiences. Scores from each grade level were not statistically different. The responses from both scales had similar mean scores and distribution patterns for all experiences with no incidence of bias toward any one emoji. These results support the suitability of the emoji scale for measuring emotional response using verbal stimuli names with children ages 8–11 in the United States and indicate it is a reasonable alternative to the P&K scale for this demographic.
Exploiting parallelism in resonators for large voltage gain in low power wake up radio front ends

This paper reports a lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) resonator array that, when used as a passive voltage amplifier, can produce a passive resonant voltage gain among the highest reported thus far for low-power wake-up radio front-ends. The high voltage gain is obtained by exploiting parallelism in the form of 56 arrayed identical shear horizontal mode resonators. The array of LiNbO 3 devices is designed to simultaneously enable a large static capacitance of 1.05 pF, a spurious mode free response, and a large figure of merit (FoM=k t 2-0 of 120, all of which are subsequently demonstrated for the first time for a large resonator array. As a result, voltage gains over 20 or 26 dB have been achieved for highly reactive loadings of typical CMOS wakeup radio front-end input. In addition to the high voltage gain, the array also features a high Q of 915, which produces to 3 dB FBW of 0.1% for filtering noise and interference in the RF ambience.
The Gemstone Example

In this chapter, a simple example is provided to explain several concepts which are important to measure the performance of a set of homogenous factories, organizations, firms and so on. No computer knowledge is needed in this chapter, but a very elementary knowledge of mathematics will be required, such as sketching a line in a plane. The section is started with a question about a jewelry company which would like to evaluate 17 candidates according to the results of a task. The concepts are logically discussed to pave the way to introduce different aspects of the company and to establish the corresponding mathematical foundation for further complex questions on measuring the performance of firms. Several figures are provided to elucidate the concepts. Of course, the provided concepts are not new and have been mentioned in the literature of Economics, Management, Engineering and Operations Research; however, in order to avoid any confusion, these concepts are re-introduced and the pros and cons of each concept are generally illustrated. At the end of this chapter, readers will have learned the elementary requirements and concepts of measuring the performance evaluation of firms.
Information Gain Versus Gain Ratio: A Study of Split Method Biases.

One corollary of the Cullen Scha er's Conservation Law of Generalization Performance indicates that no learner is generally better than another learner. If the rst learner performs better than the second learner on some learning situations, the rst learner must perform worse than the second learner on other learning situations. Unfortunately, the corollary does not provide a description of the circumstances where a speci c learner has an advantage. This article focuses on two decision tree learners. One uses the information gain split method and the other uses gain ratio. It presents a predictive method that helps to characterize problems where information gain performs c 2001 The MITRE Corporation. All Rights Reserved. better than gain ratio (and vice versa). To support the practical relevance of this research, it shows that the predictive method works e ectively on the contraceptive method choice problem from the Cal-Irvine Machine Learning Repository. This article brings new insight on how these two split methods a ect a decision tree learner's bias.
Advanced Capabilities for Evaluating Student Writing: Detecting Off-Topic Essays Without Topic-Specific Training

We have developed a method to identify when a student essay is off-topic, i.e. the essay does not respond to the test question topic. This task is motivated by a real-world problem: detecting when students using a commercial essay evaluation system, CriterionSM, enter off-topic essays. Sometimes this is done in bad faith to trick the system; other times it is inadvertent, and the student has cut-and-pasted the wrong selection into the system. All previous methods that perform this task require 200-300 human scored essays for training purposes. However, there are situations in which no essays are available for training, such as when a user (teacher) wants to spontaneously write a new topic for her students. For these kinds of cases, we need a system that works reliably without training data. This paper describes an algorithm that detects when a student's essay is off-topic without requiring a set of topic-specific essays for training. The system also distinguishes between two different kinds of off-topic writing. The results of our experiment indicate that the performance of this new system is comparable to the previous system that does require topic-specific essays for training, and conflates different types of off-topic writing.
Information and Metaenergy

The prefix meta is used to denote or imply between, with, or after. Meta is used to specify that which transcends, goes beyond, is more highly organized, and yet is associated with something else. Meta also implies change or transformation as in metamorphosis.1 Energy, from the Greek energeia (en in; ergon work) was used in Aristotelian philosophy to denote “existence in actuality”. In general, energy means activity, power of action or the capacity for doing work.2 The term metaenergy is used in this paper as that which occurs between, with or after energy. Metaenergy is also treated as that which is instrumental in the change, transformation and control of energy.
Developing Tomorrow's Statisticians

Many leaders of our profession have called for improvements in the way we educate statisticians. Sound recommendations have been made by many, based on real-world experience in the practice of statistical science. These calls for reform have gone largely unheeded, at least in part because of our current paradigm of statistical education. Statistics is seen, by many, as strictly a graduate discipline, yet constraints on the time to complete a graduate degree makes adopting many of the reforms that have been suggested very difficult. It is argued in this paper that a new paradigm of statistical education is needed that provides for strong undergraduate programs in statistics. Such programs would give the profession wider recognition and provide additional entries into the discipline.
Dynamic Modeling and Motion Control of a Soft Robotic Arm Segment

Soft robotics has shown great potential in manipulation and human-robot interaction due to its compliant nature. However, soft systems usually have a large degree of freedom and strong nonlinearities, which pose significant challenges for precise modeling and control. In this paper, a linear parameter-varying (LPV) model is developed to describe the dynamics of a soft robotic arm segment. Given the different actuation mechanisms, the LPV models for elongation and bending motions are identified through experimental data. A state-feedback $H_{\infty}$ controller is designed for the LPV model using a linear matrix inequality (LMI). Simulation of the state-feedback controller indicates that the closed-loop system is stable but with steady-state errors. As a result, an iterative learning control (ILC) with P-type learning function is implemented to improve the tracking performance. Simulation results of the ILC+state-feedback controller show steady-state errors are significantly reduced with iterations. The ILCs+state-feedback controller successfully moves the soft robotic arm segment to its desired position within several iterations in experiments.
Planning High-Quality Motions for Concentric Tube Robots in Point Clouds via Parallel Sampling and optimization

We present a method that plans motions for a concentric tube robot to automatically reach surgical targets inside the body while avoiding obstacles, where the patient’s anatomy is represented by point clouds. Point clouds can be generated intra-operatively via endoscopic instruments, enabling the system to update obstacle representations over time as the patient anatomy changes during surgery. Our new motion planning method uses a combination of sampling-based motion planning methods and local optimization to efficiently handle point cloud data and quickly compute high quality plans. The local optimization step uses an interior point optimization method, ensuring that the computed plan is feasible and avoids obstacles at every iteration. This enables the motion planner to run in an anytime fashion, i.e., the method can be stopped at any time and the best solution found up until that point is returned. We demonstrate the method’s efficacy in three anatomical scenarios, including two generated from endoscopic videos of real patient anatomy.
Deep Theory of Functional Connections: A New Method for Estimating the Solutions of Partial Differential Equations.

This article presents a new methodology called Deep Theory of Functional Connections (TFC) that estimates the solutions of partial differential equations (PDEs) by combining neural networks with the TFC. The TFC is used to transform PDEs into unconstrained optimization problems by analytically embedding the PDE’s constraints into a “constrained expression” containing a free function. In this research, the free function is chosen to be a neural network, which is used to solve the now unconstrained optimization problem. This optimization problem consists of minimizing a loss function that is chosen to be the square of the residuals of the PDE. The neural network is trained in an unsupervised manner to minimize this loss function. This methodology has two major differences when compared with popular methods used to estimate the solutions of PDEs. First, this methodology does not need to discretize the domain into a grid, rather, this methodology can randomly sample points from the domain during the training phase. Second, after training, this methodology produces an accurate analytical approximation of the solution throughout the entire training domain. Because the methodology produces an analytical solution, it is straightforward to obtain the solution at any point within the domain and to perform further manipulation if needed, such as differentiation. In contrast, other popular methods require extra numerical techniques if the estimated solution is desired at points that do not lie on the discretized grid, or if further manipulation to the estimated solution must be performed.
Change in an urban food environment within a single year: Considerations for food-environment research and community health

Abstract Past research on food-environment change has been limited in key ways: (1) considering only select storefront businesses; (2) presuming items sold based on businesses category; (3) describing change only in ecological terms; (4) considering multi-year intervals. The current study addressed past limitations by: (1) considering a full range of both storefront and non-storefront businesses; (2) focusing on items actually offered (both healthful and less-healthful varieties); (3) describing individual-business-level changes (openings, closings, changes in offerings); (4) evaluating changes within a single year. Using a longitudinal, matched-pair comparison of 119 street segments in the Bronx, NY (October 2016-August 2017), investigators assessed all businesses—food stores, restaurants, other storefront businesses (OSBs), street vendors—for healthful and less-healthful food/drink offerings. Changes were described for individual businesses, individual street segments, and for the area overall. Overall, the number (and percentage) of businesses offering any food/drink increased from 45 (41.7%) in 2016 to 49 (45.8%) in 2017; businesses newly opening or newly offering food/drink cumulatively exceeded those shutting down or ceasing food/drink sales. In 2016, OSBs (gyms, barber shops, laundromats, furniture stores, gas stations, etc.) together with street vendors represented 20.0% and 27.3% of businesses offering healthful and less-healthful items, respectively; in 2017, the percentages were 31.0% and 37.0%. While the number of businesses offering healthful items increased, the number offering less-healthful items likewise increased and remained greater. If change in a full range of food/drink availability is not appreciated: food-environment studies may generate erroneous conclusions; communities may misdirect resources to address food-access disparities; and community residents may have increasing, but unrecognized, opportunities for unhealthful consumption.
Isoconversion method for kinetic analysis of solid-state reactions from dynamic thermoanalytical data

The activation energy for a heterogeneous reaction involving a solid may be obtained from a plot of ∫α0 ln(dα/dt) dα against ∫α0(1/T) dα, where α represents the fractional conversion of the solid reactant, and T(t) is the (time-dependent) reactant temperature. This new approach to the analysis of dynamic thermoanalytical kinetic data has distinct advantages over existing methods, as it needs to make no assumption about the kinetic model, involves no approximation to the temperature integral, and is easy to implement on the computer.
Provider-Level Caseload of Psychosocial Services for Medicaid-Insured Children:

ObjectiveWe estimated the caseload of providers, practices, and clinics for psychosocial services (including psychotherapy) to Medicaid-insured children to improve the understanding of the current ...
Beyond the beach: Tradeoffs in tourism and recreation at the first offshore wind farm in the United States

Abstract Despite the growth of offshore wind energy and concerns that projects will harm tourism and recreation, there is a lack of empirical research on the effects of operating wind farms on tourism and recreation. The existing literature tends to treat tourists and recreationists as a monolithic group, focused almost entirely on beachgoers. Further, research regarding offshore wind energy and tourism puts forth a narrow conception of tourists, concerned primarily with a natural seascape. The 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore wind farm in the United States, is located offshore an iconic tourism destination and provides a laboratory for understanding interactions between offshore wind energy and the tourism and recreation sectors. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study through which tourism and recreation professionals and participants met in focus groups to discuss experiences with and observations of this project. Analysis revealed diverse viewpoints and largely positive encounters; though, some negative impacts were identified, and participants weighed project costs and benefits. Perspectives were shaped, in part, by experiences with the planning process. Visual impacts were a major concern; however, most participants described the project’s appearance in neutral or positive terms. Overall, the wind farm is functioning as an attractant, either as a novel sight or as a recreational fishing destination. Participants felt the wind farm should be promoted for tourism but cautioned that interest may be short-lived and there may be less support for larger offshore developments. Findings support tourism and recreation sector engagement throughout offshore wind project planning and operation.
Development and Validation of Machine Learning–Based Race-Specific Models to Predict 10-Year Risk of Heart Failure: A Multicohort Analysis

Background: Heart failure (HF) risk and the underlying risk factors vary by race. Traditional models for HF risk prediction treat race as a covariate in risk prediction and do not account for significant parameters such as cardiac biomarkers. Machine learning (ML) may offer advantages over traditional modeling techniques to develop race-specific HF risk prediction models and elucidate important contributors of HF development across races. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of four large, community cohort studies (ARIC, DHS, JHS, and MESA) with adjudicated HF events. Participants were aged >40 years and free of HF at baseline. Race-specific ML models for HF risk prediction were developed in the JHS cohort (for Black race-specific model) and White adults from ARIC (for White rate-specific model). The models included 39 candidate variables across demographic, anthropometric, medical history, laboratory, and electrocardiographic domains. The ML models were externally validated and compared with prior established traditional and non-race specific ML models in race-specific subgroups of the pooled MESA/DHS cohort and Black participants of ARIC. Harrell's C-index and Greenwood-Nam-D'Agostino chi-square tests were used to assess discrimination and calibration, respectively. Results: The ML models had excellent discrimination in the derivation cohorts for Black (N=4,141 in JHS, C-index=0.88) and White (N=7,858 in ARIC, C-index=0.89) participants. In the external validation cohorts, the race-specific ML model demonstrated adequate calibration and superior discrimination (C-indices=0.80-0.83 [for Black individuals] and 0.82 [for White individuals]) compared with established HF risk models or with non-race specific ML models derived using race as a covariate. Among the risk factors, natriuretic peptide levels were the most important predictor of HF risk across both races, followed by troponin levels in Black and EKG-based Cornell voltage in White individuals. Other key predictors of HF risk among Black individuals were glycemic parameters and socioeconomic factors. In contrast, prevalent cardiovascular (CV) disease and traditional CV risk factors were stronger predictors of HF risk in White adults. Conclusions: Race-specific and ML-based HF risk models that integrate clinical, laboratory, and biomarker data demonstrated superior performance when compared with traditional HF risk and non-race specific ML models. This approach identifies distinct race-specific contributors of HF.
The Effect of Bariatric Surgery and Endoscopic Procedures on Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Obesity is a global epidemic posing a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is associated with obesity and its prevalence is also growing worldwide. Numerous bariatric surgeries and endoscopic procedures have arisen to assist with weight loss and management of obesity-related conditions. However, the effect of these interventions on reflux is variable and the evidence is often conflicting. To date, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass remains the gold-standard for attaining both reflux and weight loss management, however novel endoscopic techniques are quickly becoming more prevalent as an alternative to surgery. This review aims to summarize currently available endoscopic and surgical weight loss procedures and their impact on reflux symptoms while emphasizing areas requiring additional investigation.
The effects of signalment, diet, geographic location, season, and colitis associated with antimicrobial use or Salmonella infection on the fecal microbiome of horses.

BACKGROUND The fecal microbiome of healthy horses may be influenced by signalment, diet, environmental factors, and disease. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of age, breed, sex, geographic location, season, diet, and colitis caused by antibiotic use (antimicrobial-associated diarrhea [AAD]) and Salmonella infection on fecal microbiota. ANIMALS Healthy horses (n = 80) were sampled from nonhospital environments across multiple geographical locations in the United States. Horses with AAD (n = 14) were defined as those that developed diarrhea secondary to antimicrobial use. Horses with Salmonella infection (n = 12) were presented with spontaneous onset of colitis and subsequently tested positive on Salmonella quantitative polymerase chain reaction. All horses were >1 year of age and stratified by a dietary scale that included forages (pasture and hay) and concentrates grouped by percentage of fiber and amount. METHODS Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes was performed on fecal DNA. RESULTS Healthy horses fed higher amounts of grain clustered separately from those fed lower amounts of grain (analysis of similarities [ANOSIM], R = 0.356-0.385, Q = 0.002). Horses with AAD and Salmonella had decreased richness and evenness compared to healthy horses (P < .05). Univariable analysis of the 3 groups identified increases in Bacteroidetes (Q = 0.002) and Protebacteria (Q = 0.001) and decreases in Verrucomicrobia (Q = 0.001) in AAD horses whereas Salmonella horses had less Firmicutes (Q = 0.001) when compared to healthy horses. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Although the amount of grain in the diet had some impact on the fecal microbiome, colitis had a significantly larger influence. Horses with ADD have a more severe dysbiosis than do horses with Salmonella.
α-Tocopherol Protects Against a Reduction in Adenosylcobalamin in Oxidatively Stressed Human Cells

Excretion of methylmalonic acid by vitamin E-deficient patients and decreased labeling of adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) from cyanocobalamin in vitamin E-deficient rats suggest an interaction of vitamins E and B-12. We studied this interaction in two human cell culture systems: foreskin fibroblasts and a hepatoma cell line (HepG2). We measured radiolabeling of AdoCbl and methylcobalamin from [57Co]hydroxycobalamin for 6 d in the presence and absence of linoleate (an oxidative stressor) and alpha-tocopherol. In both cell types, labeling of AdoCbl was lower in the presence of linoleate unless alpha-tocopherol was present. The decrease was accentuated by peroxidized linoleic acid; AdoCbl synthetic rate was inversely associated with thiobarbituric acid-reactive compound concentration. Subcellular partitioning of labeled cobalamin revealed less in mitochondria in the linoleate-stressed cells that were not treated with alpha-tocopherol. We conclude that lipoperoxidation reduces mitochondrial AdoCbl formation and that alpha-tocopherol exerts a protective effect in oxidatively stressed cells. We suggest that this subcellular deficiency in AdoCbl may be one mechanism by which vitamin E deficiency leads to neurologic injury. The mechanism seems primarily to involve an alteration in intracellular cobalamin distribution with perhaps a minor effect upon enzymes of AdoCbl synthesis.
Home for the precious few

Live imaging reveals that branching of blood vessels in the mammalian testes may define the location of niches for germline stem cells.
Improvement of Spatial Ability Using Innovative Tools: Alternative View Screen and Physical Model Rotator.

Spatial ability, which is positively correlated with retention and achievement in engineering, mathematics, and science disciplines, has been shown to improve over the course of a Computer-Aided Design course or through targeted training. However, which type of training provides the most beneficial improvements to spatial ability and whether other means would be more effective, is not known. In this research project, two tools for use in spatial ability training were developed and evaluated. One tool, a Physical Model Rotator (PMR), rotates a physical model of an object in synchronous motion with a model of the same object in CAD software. The other training tool, the Alternative View Screen (AVS), provides the user of CAD software with both a solid model (including shading) and a line version view of the object. Students with poor spatial ability were identified through standardized testing and they were then trained over a four week period for one hour each week. The effectiveness of the training tools was evaluated by comparing spatial ability test scores before and after training. Results showed an increase did exist when targeted training was provided. However, this effect was not statistically significant, possibly due to the small sample size.
Human Aspects of Construction Safety

The environment of construction workers influences their susceptibility to injury. A study of construction road maintenance crews in Missouri shows that the safety performance of individual workers depends substantially on how the worker responds to the work environment, particularly the mental work environment. The safer workers were those who had good working relationships with their foreman and with the employer. In addition, the safer workers were those who indicated that they had good working relationships with their fellow crew members.
A Statistical Treatment of Low-N Systems

The long-term evolution of N-body systems with high N (>104) cannot yet be studied by direct integration of the equations of motion. Instead, the study of systems with smaller N can give insight into the higher N limit in two ways. First, we can measure the dependence on N of all quantities of interest for a range of N-values, and extrapolate the results to higher N. Second, even a very high-N system will eventually undergo core collapse, at which point the central dynamics will be dominated by a subset of stars with small N (10–100).
Critical Experiences for Field Geologists: Emergent Themes in Interest Development

ABSTRACT Geoscience education researchers are working to understand how we can most effectively increase our overall geoscience workforce capacity. The present study employed an inductive approach to explore the critical experiences that led to the persistence of successful field geologists in this STEM field. Interviews with 29 professional field geologists and 8 upper level undergraduates were analyzed to identify emergent themes. Three overarching themes emerged: Academic Experiences, Connections with People, and Engagement with Earth. Academic experiences, such as introductory courses and field trips, were commonly mentioned as being significant in recruitment. Relationships with people, such as professors and family members, provided encouragement for and exposure to geology-related activities. Participants provided detailed description of the regional geology where they grew up and the geology of locales from family trips as experiences with Earth influenced their interest in geology. The results of...
Aggregation of digital terrain data using a modified fractal interpolation scheme

Abstract A modified fractal interpolation scheme that can be used to produce consistent digital terrain models at different spatial resolutions is introduced in this paper. The focus of the paper is on the aggregation of fine resolution terrain data to coarser scales (up-scaling), although the algorithm is equally useful for disaggregation purposes (down-scaling). Applications with digital elevation models (DEMs) for California and for Pennsylvania are used to illustrate the methodology. Comparisons with alternative approaches such as sampling of fine resolution DEMs, the use of mean and envelope orography representations, and the Cressman-type objective analysis are presented. The modified fractal interpolation scheme preserves well both the spatial structure of the elevations and orographic gradients and performed consistently better than other algorithms, especially for high level aggregation (coarse discretization).
Disordered silica with tridymite-like structure in the Twiggs clay

The existence of a disordered silica polymorph dominated by tridymite-like stacking is implied by the long-held interpretation of opaline silica as disordered intergrowths of cristobalite-like and tridymite-like domains. The currently accepted model for diagenetic transformation of amorphous silica also predicts that early formed structures will be dominated by tridymite stacking. Although the cristobalitic end-member (opal-c) and intermediate structures (opal-ct) have long been acknowledged, the tridymitic end-member has not yet been recognized. Evidence for such an end-member is found in 54 Twiggs clay samples examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mineralogy of the samples is dominated by smectite and disordered silica. The silica phase is biogenic in origin and presents an XRD signature consistent with that of line-broadened tridymite, with a broad primary reflection near 4.107 A (21.6 °2𝛉), additional broad peaks of lower intensity at approximately 4.328 A (20.5 °2𝛉) and 2.50 A (35.9 °2𝛉), and lacking diagnostic cristobalite peaks at 3.14 A (28.5 °2𝛉) and 2.84 A (31.5 °2𝛉). At present, the most widely used classification of disordered silica is a threefold system that recognizes an amorphous phase (opal-a), a cristobalite-like end-member (opal-c), and intermediate structures incorporating both cristobalite and tridymite domains (opal-ct) (Jones and Segnit 1971). This classification does not accommodate a dominantly tridymite-like structure as is observed in the Twiggs clay. The silica phase in these samples is more accurately described as “disordered tridymite.” A new term “opal-t” is proposed to describe this end-member phase.
The reaction of B-alkyl-9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes with aldehydes and ketones. A facile elimination of the alkyl group by aldehydes

Abstract Certain B-alkyl-9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes (9-BBN) reduce benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol under exceptionally mild conditions. Factors which contribute to a high rate of reaction include: an increase in the degree of substitution at the position β to the boron (isobutyl > 1-butyl >> ethyl), the ability of the alkyl group to form a syn-planar B—C—C—H conformation (cyclopentyl ⋍ norbornyl > sec-butyl >> cyclohexyl), and the presence of an electron-withdrawing para-substituent on the benzaldehyde (p-Cl > p-H > p-CH3O). The B-alkyl group is transformed into an olefin as the benzaldehyde is reduced. Elimination takes place predominantly if not exclusively towards the more highly substituted β hydrogen. The reaction obeys second order kinetics. The observations are consistent with a cyclic mechanism rather than a dehydroboration-reduction pathway.
The determination and conceptual structuring of restricted domains of discourse for "intelligent" interactive systems

With the recent development of Artificial Intelligence, it has become possible to develop programs which enable a computer to "understand" and act upon natural language input in a far more powerful manner than was previously feasible. In many cases, processing time of even fairly complex sentences can be reduced to the point that quasi-natural dialogue interaction can take place between the computer and human-user. Storage requirements and program complexity have increased accordingly, however, rendering such systems unmanageable except by highly sophisticated programmers and on all but large machines. It is the intention of the proposed project to explore ways in which proportionately powerful mini-systems can be developed, using some of the main AI strategies alluded to above.
Quantitative Conformationally Sampled Pharmacophore for δ Opioid Ligands: Reevaluation of Hydrophobic Moieties Essential for Biological Activity

Recent studies have indicated several therapeutic applications for δ opioid agonists and antagonists. To exploit the therapeutic potential of δ opioids developing a structural basis for the activity of ligands at the δ opioid receptor is essential. The conformationally sampled pharmacophore (CSP) method (Bernard et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 3103−3107) is extended here to obtain quantitative models of δ opioid ligand efficacy and affinity. Quantification is performed via overlap integrals of the conformational space sampled by ligands with respect to a reference compound. Iterative refinement of the CSP model identified hydrophobic groups other than the traditional phenylalanine residues as important for efficacy and affinity in DSLET and ICI 174 864. The obtained models for a structurally diverse set of peptidic and nonpeptidic δ opioid ligands offer good predictions with R2 values >0.9, and the predicted efficacy for a set of test compounds was consistent with the experimental values.
Contamination métallique de l’eau et du sédiment d’Oued Bouhamra

Les ecosystemes aquatiques sont soumis a une importante pollution metallique suite aux rejets anthropiques. L’objet de cette etude est l’estimation des concentrations en elements traces metalliques (ETM) de l’eau et du sediment d’Oued Bouhamra, qui constitue l’une des principales sources anthropiques de pollution du Golfe d’Annaba. Les echantillons ont ete preleves en differentes saisons de l’annee. Treize (13) ETM ont ete doses par spectrometrie de plasma a couplage inductif (ICP-OES) et fluorescence atomique. Les resultats obtenus montrent une importante contamination metallique de l’eau et du sediment. Selon les normes francaises, en vigueur, l’eau est souillee respectivement par le Pb, le Zn, le Cu, le Cd et le Cr qui lui conferent une tres mauvaise qualite. Quand au sediment, il est contamine principalement par le Cd, l’As, le Cr, le Zn et le Pb qui lui attribuent une aptitude passable a la biologie. Enfin, l’analyse statistique en composantes principales (ACP), nous a permis d’identifier les origines industrielle, agricole et domestique de cette pollution. Mots-cles : elements traces metalliques- rejets urbains en mer – eau superficielle – sediment - Golfe d’Annaba. Metal contamination of water and sediment from Wadi Bouhamra Aquatic ecosystems are highly polluted with heavy metals arising from anthropogenic and terrigeous sources. The object of this study was to investigate the current status of metal pollution of water and sediment from Wadi Bouhamra which is a major antropic source of Annaba Gulf pollution. Samples were collected during the various seasons and 13 metallic trace elements (MTE) were analyzed by inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) and atomic fluorescence. The obtained results showed high metal contamination of water and sediment. According to French standards, water is altered respectively by Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd and Cr giving it a poor quality, whereas, sediment is mainly contaminated by Cd, As, Cr, Zn and Pb that assign it a passable ability to biology. Finally, the statistical principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the industrial, agricultural and domestic sources of this pollution. Keywords : metallic trace elements - urban discharges in seawater - surface water – sediment – Gulf of Annaba.
Case reports: periurethral bulking agents and presumed urethral diverticula

Urethral bulking agents are a commonly employed modality utilized for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence. These primarily collagen-based agents are placed in the proximal urethra to facilitate mucosal coaptation during increases of intra-abdominal stress. Several known complications of these agents exist, including urethral prolapse, retention, and urinary infection. Herein, we report two cases diagnosed as urethral diverticuli which were ultimately determined anatomic aberration secondary to prior bulking agent therapy. Recognition of this potential sequela of bulking agent placement is important for the female pelvic surgeon to recognize to avoid the morbidity of potential invasive interventions.
Characterization of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in aging

Adult mesenchymal stem cells are a resource for autologous and allogeneic cell therapies for immune-modulation and regenerative medicine. However, patients most in need of such therapies are often of advanced age. Therefore, the effects of the aged milieu on these cells and their intrinsic aging in vivo are important considerations. Furthermore, these cells may require expansion in vitro before use as well as for future research. Their aging in vitro is thus also an important consideration. Here, we focus on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), which are unique compared to other stem cells due to their support of hematopoietic cells in addition to contributing to bone formation. BMSCs may be sensitive to age-related diseases and could perpetuate degenerative diseases in which bone remodeling is a contributory factor. Here, we review (1) the characterization of BMSCs, (2) the characterization of in vivo-aged BMSCs, (3) the characterization of in vitro-aged BMSCs, and (4) potential approaches to optimize the performance of aged BMSCs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Stem Cells and Bone".
Fostering emergent resilience: the complex adaptive supply network of disaster relief

The frequency and intensity of disasters continue to increase. Following large-scale and catastrophic disasters, local organisations integrate with other responding organisations to form hastily disaster relief supply chain networks. Such supply networks are infrequently activated in a single location, generate unparalleled uncertainty, change quickly, and are driven by the urgency of saving lives and restoring livelihoods. Unfortunately, even where sound supply chain management practices are used, supply networks have encountered diverse levels of resilience and adequate disaster relief performance has remained elusive. In this paper, several unique characteristics that disaster relief efforts exhibit are examined as compared with demand-driven, steady-state supply chains. Important differences in the flows of resource, money, and information are identified. A complex adaptive supply network (CASN) lens is used to frame what existing literature has uncovered regarding disaster relief efforts, showing how...