cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Many Facets of PISA

Trying to understand PISA is analogous to the parable of the blind men and the elephant. There are many facets of the PISA program, and thus many ways to both applaud and critique this ambitious in...
Preliminary study of the effects of wind velocities and wind shadows upon suction trap catches of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae).

Suction trap catches of mosquitoes on land were compared with catches from 2 traps placed on the main axis of a raft moored in the center of a 215 × 215-m water-filled borrow pit. Traps on the raft captured fewer females of Aedes, Anopheles, Coquillettidia, Culiseta, Psorophora, and Uranotaenia but greater numbers of Culex and Mansonia than traps on land. When a burlap-covered framework was erected that covered the raft and displaced the wind shadow from the downwind edge of the trap to the downwind edge of the raft, results were similar except that fewer Culex were captured on the raft than on land. Unlike females of most species, Culex females, and to a lesser extent females of Ps. columbiae, accumulated in the wind shelter and delayed their departure from the raft. Only upwind flight was indicated, whether winds were calm or greater than cruising flight speeds. Winds between 0.00 and 0.24 m/s had no discernable effect upon numbers of mosquitoes captured, but with winds between 0.25 and 0.49 m/s catches were reduced 75%. No evidence was found of downwind flight at any velocity. The inverse relation between wind velocity and the numbers of mosquitoes captured while flying over burlap appeared to be due to reduced flight activity rather than lower flight levels.
Application of Fuzzy Decision on Decision Assistant System for Naval Aircraft Antisubmarine

The characteristics of naval aircraft antisubmarine were analyzed based on the concept of decision assistant system. The single and various factors decision evaluation modes were set up by fuzzy integrated evaluation for the five common equipments that were radar, forward looking infrared, sonobuoy, magnetic detector and electronic system. The evaluation example for two searching schemes was given. The analysis results showed that the quantity computation by fuzzy mathematic method was one of the effective ways to found decision assistant system, and the whole process could be realized by program in a computer.
Myeloid Growth Factor Support for Dose-Dense Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

Anthracycline- and taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy regimens have become the most commonly used regimens in the United States for high-risk, early-stage breast cancer. Growth factor support is an essential component of therapy for several of the most commonly used adjuvant chemotherapy regimens that frequently cause substantial myelosuppression and anemia. Extensive data now exist to demonstrate the efficacy of both long- and short-acting myeloid growth factors in patients receiving dose-dense AC --> paclitaxel. This article will explore prophylactic use of both filgrastim (Neupogen) and pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) in recent clinical trials.
Making: an interdisciplinary assistive technology project

We teamed engineering and art students together to develop assistive technology projects in our sculpture and computer science classes. Together, they and their instructors honed their teamwork skills as teachers and learners, as we all collaboratively designed and fabricated the projects. As a group, we examined the notions of ability, the needs of and societal reactions to differently-abled people, and then created assistive devices. We explored alternative designs in foam and 3D modeling software, and cast parts in bronze or aluminum before fabricating the final prototypes. Design was emphasized throughout the project, with respect to both form and function.
Nondestructive Diagnosis of Kidney Cancer on 18-gauge Core Needle Renal Biopsy Using Dual-color Fluorescence Structured Illumination Microscopy.

Objective To present a novel imaging technique used for rapid, nondestructive histological assessment of renal neoplasias using a dual-component fluorescence stain and structured illumination microscopy (SIM). Materials and Methods After Institutional Review Board approval, 65 total biopsies were obtained from 19 patients undergoing partial or radical nephrectomy. Biopsies were stained with a dual-component fluorescent, and optically sectioned SIM images were obtained from the surface of the intact biopsies. Specimens were subsequently fixed and analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) histopathologic methods and compared with SIM images. A single, board-certified pathologist blinded to specimens reviewed all SIM images and H&E slides, and determined the presence or absence of neoplasias. Results of blinded diagnosis of SIM were validated against traditional pathology. Results Of the 19 patients, 15 underwent robotic partial nephrectomies and 4 underwent laparoscopic nephrectomies. Indications included clinical suspicion of renal cell carcinoma. In total, 65 biopsy specimens were available for review. Twenty-one specimens were determined to be neoplastic on H&E, whereas 41 represented benign renal tissue. The final sensitivity and specificity of our study were 79.2% and 95.1%, respectively. Conclusion SIM is a promising technology for rapid, near-patient, ex vivo renal biopsy assessment. By improving the ability to rapidly assess sufficiency of biopsy specimens and enabling immediate diagnostic capability, SIM aids in more effective biopsy performance, tissue triage, and patient counseling regarding management options. Additionally, because tissue is preserved, effective utilization of downstream diagnostic tests and molecular assessments are possible.
Transforming Classroom Norms as Social Change: Pairing Embodied Exercises with Collaborative Participation in the WGS Classroom (with Syllabus)

This article explores tensions between critical feminist pedagogy and the neoliberal corporate university, asking how engaging the body and redistributing student agency highlights larger questions of power that haunt the academy as a whole. Including specific embodied exercises used in WGS classrooms, this essay argues that as students and professors engage within an increasingly corporate university system, embodied activities that incorporate the body as a site of learning and critical analysis can access situated knowledges while projects that de-center power and responsibility are viewed with skepticism. I attribute this discrepancy to the neoliberal structure in which we teach and learn, arguing that we need to value and make visible the labor that goes into critical pedagogy.
Just In Time Architecture (JITA) for dynamically composable data centers

Computer manufacturers, software developers, and service providers spend significant time and resources to ensure that they can optimally support one class of applications. However, they cannot cope with the dynamic and continuous changes in applications and workload types, and consequently their offered services become unstable, fragile, and cannot guarantee the required Quality of Service (QoS). Furthermore, it becomes prohibitively expensive to build data centers (DCs) that are optimized for fixed types of workloads and businesses or to scale up for accommodating new growth in heterogeneous workload demands. Consequently, it is critically important that the architecture of next generation DCs is dynamically customizable to support a wide range of application types or businesses under constrained resources. In this paper, we present some design concepts for our Just In Time Architecture (JITA), a novel data center design to overcome the composable DC challenges by dynamically interconnecting DC components into a virtual DC (VDC) that is optimized to the service level objectives for each class of applications. We present how we can use optical waveguide links to build a passive crossbar that directly interconnects all DC resources at the required throughput and latency.
Community-Enhanced Repository for Engaged Scholarship: A Case Study on Supporting Digital Humanities Research.

ABSTRACTBuilding digital curation and sustainability into digital humanities project development is challenging, and engaging digital humanities researchers fully as partners in curation practices with the library is even more so. How can we represent the longevity and sustainability of digital humanities research projects as a shared responsibility between faculty and student researchers and library staff? Northeastern University Libraries Digital Scholarship Group has designed a series of tools and workflows to ease the burden of sustainable development, support community engagement with digital materials, and enable the library and its partners to work together to build sustainable digital projects.
Dual peptide-mediated targeted delivery of bioactive siRNAs to oral cancer cells in vivo.

Objectives Despite significant advances in cancer treatment, the prognosis for oral cancer remains poor in comparison to other cancer types, including breast, skin, and prostate. As a result, more effective therapeutic modalities are needed for the treatment of oral cancer. Consequently, in the present study, we examined the feasibility of using a dual peptide carrier approach, combining an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting peptide with an endosome-disruptive peptide, to mediate targeted delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) into EGFR-overexpressing oral cancer cells and induce silencing of the targeted oncogene, cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A).
Autophagy, Apoptosis, and Cell Proliferation in Exstrophy-Epispadias Complex.

Objective To investigate the state of autophagy and its interactions with apoptosis and cell proliferation in patients who underwent successful early closure or delayed closure of exstrophy. They compared those outcomes with cell culture samples from patients with vesicoureteral reflux as control. Patients and Methods Primary cultures of bladder smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were established from patients with successful neonatal bladder closure (group 1, N = 5), delayed closure because of small bladder template (group 2, N = 5), and vesicoureteral reflux as control (group 3, N = 5). The myogenicity of the cultures was determined using anti-Desmin antibody. Immunostainings for LC3 to assess autophagy and Ki67 to assess cell proliferation were applied. Apoptosis was assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP digoxigenin nick-end labeling assay. Results Autophagy marker (LC3) expression was significantly higher in the delayed closure group than in the other groups, whereas no significant difference was noted between the neonatal closure and the control groups. Apoptotic indices of the SMCs were remarkably higher in SMC cultures from the delayed closures than in the neonatal closure and the control groups. A significantly lower expression of proliferation marker (Ki67) in the delayed closure group compared with the control and the neonatal closure group was also of note. Conclusion Patients with small bladder template and delayed closure showed upregulated autophagic process and increased apoptotic indices while experiencing a dramatic decrease in the proliferation of their bladder SMCs. Finally, the concept of manipulating autophagy may lead to promising outcomes for patients with bladder exstrophy in the future.
TCT-133 Clinical Impact of Persistent Microvascular Obstruction Following Successful Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute ST segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

In the contemporary era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) to treat acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the frequency and predictors of persistent microvascular obstruction (MVO) have not been elucidated. Real time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RTMCE)
The Murine Antibody Response to Phosphocholine

Idiotypic determinants on immunoglobulin molecules serve two very useful purposes—one to the scientist who studies them, the other to the animal that expresses them. For the researcher they provide an invaluable probe for studies of antibody variability, for mapping V H and V L genes, and for examining the evolution of immunoglobulin genes. In the animal they serve as targets through which idiotypically specific, regulatory cells or molecules modulate immune responses in a highly selected manner. The work in our laboratory has used idiotypy in the former sense, that is, as a tool to investigate the diversity of an antibody response and, because this particular response is preserved in mice, to study the evolution of immunoglobulin genes. In this chapter we will briefly review the events in our laboratory that led to a dissection of the antibody response to phosphocholine (PC), a process in which idiotypes play a crucial role. We will not attempt a review of the literature in the field since the PC system has attracted many talented investigators. Detailed descriptions of much of that work can be found in other chapters of this volume or in reviews.(1–3)
Medical Student Weight Bias: the Relationship of Attitudinal Constructs Related to Weight Management Counseling

Obesity is a prevalent disease that is often a source of stigmatization. Weight bias has been documented in healthcare settings and associated with less physician time spent with patients, less patient-centered communication, and more patient delay or withdrawal from care. Weight bias is widespread in society and the healthcare field, including among medical students. This study examined the hypothesis that weight bias in medical students is related to negative attitudes toward weight management counseling (WMC), perceived WMC skills, and self-efficacy for WMC. A sample of 762 medical students during their core clerkship rotation (graduating class of 2017) from eight US medical schools completed questions related to weight bias, attitudes toward WMC, perceived WMC skills, and self-efficacy for WMC. Results indicated that medical students with more weight bias held more negative attitudes toward WMC, even after adjustment for age, gender, and intended medical specialty. Weight bias was not significantly related to perceived WMC skills or self-efficacy for WMC. Females had a more positive attitude toward WMC, but lower perceived WMC skills and self-efficacy for WMC than males. Males had significantly more weight bias and were less likely to choose primary care than females. Implications for medical education are discussed.
Average stopping powers for electron and photon sources for radiobiological modeling and microdosimetric applications.

This study concerns calculation of the average electronic stopping power for photon and electron sources. It addresses two problems that have not yet been fully resolved. The first is defining the electron spectrum used for averaging in a way that is most suitable for radiobiological modeling. We define it as the spectrum of electrons entering the sensitive to radiation volume (SV) within the cell nucleus, at the moment they enter the SV. For this spectrum we derive a formula that combines linearly the fluence spectrum and the source spectrum. The latter is the distribution of initial energies of electrons produced by a source. Previous studies used either the fluence or source spectra, but not both, thereby neglecting a part of the complete spectrum. Our derived formula reduces to these two prior methods in the case of high and low energy sources, respectively. The second problem is extending electron spectra to low energies. Previous studies used an energy cut-off on the order of 1 keV. However, as we show, even for high energy sources, such as 60Co, electrons with energies below 1 keV contribute about 30% to the dose. In this study all the spectra were calculated with Geant4-DNA code and a cut-off energy of only 11 eV. We present formulas for calculating frequency- and dose-average stopping powers, numerical results for several important electron and photon sources, and tables with all the data needed to use our formulas for arbitrary electron and photon sources producing electrons with initial energies up to ∼1 MeV.
A Social Institution

Children are discouraged from the use of qat before the age of 12, but this rule is not strictly adhered to. Children in qat growing areas and those of poor families of cities and towns often begin occasional chewing at much younger ages than do those of the elite. Poorer children can be seen picking up the remains discarded from adult sessions, or from the streets around the qat markets, and I have observed children of not more than 5 years old being offered a few sprigs from their grandfathers’ robtas in sessions on Jabel Sabr. The common feeling is that qat is too strong for small children but that small amounts occasionally will not harm them. Younger teenage boys and girls gradually begin to attend the qat sessions of parents and relatives, and are thus gently introduced to the pleasures of chewing. In times of famine and among the very poor, qat may sometimes be given to children in the morning to reduce hunger.
A Performance-Weighted Blended Dominant Mode Rejection Beamformer

Adaptive beamformers operating in snapshot deficient situations often estimate regularization parameters such as the diagonal loading level or the signal subspace dimension. We propose a new beamformer that avoids this problem by computing its array weights as a mixture of the array weights for a set of beamformers. The new beamformer's average output power asymptotically approaches the best performance of any of the beamformers in the set. Applying this technique to the Dominant Mode Rejection (DMR) beamformer obviates the need to estimate the dominant signal subspace dimension. An example simulation of a complicated passive sonar scenario illustrates that the blended beamformer's performance rivals the performance of the best fixed subspace DMR beamformer, and may outperform all of them in nonstationary environments.
Identifying Susceptible Agents in Time Varying Opinion Dynamics Through Compressive Measurements

We provide a compressive-measurement based method to detect susceptible agents who may receive misinformation through their contact with ‘stubborn agents’ whose goal is to influence the opinions of agents in the network. We consider a DeGroot-type opinion dynamics model where regular agents revise their opinions by linearly combining their neighbors' opinions, but stubborn agents, while influencing others, do not change their opinions. Our proposed method hinges on estimating the temporal difference vector of network-wide opinions, computed at time instances when the stubborn agents interact. We show that this temporal difference vector has approximately the same support as the locations of the susceptible agents. Moreover, both the interaction instances and the temporal difference vector can be estimated from a small number of aggregated opinions. The performance of our method is studied both analytically and empirically. We show that the detection error decreases when the social network is better connected, or when the stubborn agents are ‘less talkative’.
Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease: An Introduction and Historical Perspective

The serious study of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease is a recent development. Although these organisms were identified more than a century ago, it is only within the last few decades that a full appreciation of their importance as human pathogens has become evident. To a large extent, that emergence has been a consequence of new and evolving diagnostic and microbiologic technologies. Progress has also been made in the realm of NTM therapeutics, but it has unfortunately not kept pace with clinical and laboratory advances. Clinicians are all too aware of the obstacles to effective treatment of NTM disease and the limitations of current NTM therapy. Perhaps the greatest challenge is discovering and overcoming the many mechanisms of antibiotic resistance possessed by NTM. There has been remarkable progress in the diagnosis and management of NTM disease in a relatively short period of time with the promise of an accelerated pace for even more significant developments in the near future.
On the Use of SOA-Based Tunable Dispersion Compensator in Ultrafast Incoherent Fiber-Optic CDMA Systems Under Temperature Variation

The use of semiconductor-optical-amplifier-based tunable dispersion compensator (SOA-TDC) in ultrafast incoherent fiber-optic code-division multiple-access (FO-CDMA) systems with picosecond multiwavelength codes has recently been demonstrated. In this paper, results on the SOA-TOC’s capability of compensating for fiber chromatic dispersion and distorted autocorrelation function caused by fiber temperature variation (FTV) in such a FO-CDMA system with a long fiber link are reported. The deleterious effects of FTV to the system performance are quantified in terms of "chip granularity" and studied by applying a recent multiple-QoS performance-analytical model.
Genetics of novel brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) resistance genes in derived introgression lines from the interspecific cross O. sativa var. Swarna × O. nivara

The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) (Homoptera: Delphacidae) is considered a threat to rice (Oryza sativa ssp.) crop in many parts of the world including India. Among the BPH-resistance (R) genes so far reported in rice, most of them are ineffective against BPH biotype 4 predominant in the Indian sub-continent. In this study, we show the introgression line RPBio4918-230S was identified as BPH resistant after five years of rigorous screening at seedling stage and two years at tillering and reproductive stages. The inheritance of resistance indicated that two recessive genes are involved at seedling and reproductive stages. The allelic relation with known genes using linked reported markers suggested that the genes present in RPBio4918-230S are different. We report here the genetics of the two newly introgressed BPH resistance genes from O. nivara in the background of Swarna which are effective at all the important growth stages. The genes have been tentatively named as bph39(t) and bph40(t). The honeydew area (feeding rate) and days to wilt parameters observed at 30 days after sowing in BC1F3 indicated that newly introgressed genes have both antibiosis and tolerance mechanisms for resistance. The BPH resistance genes identified in this study would facilitate the breeding of broad spectrum and durable resistance in rice against BPH biotype 4.
Maternal Educational Attainment and Child Health in the United States.

Purpose:To identify how child health status differs by mother’s educational attainment for the overall US population and by race/ethnicity and to assess whether these disparities have changed from ...
Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of Spawning Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) along the South Carolina Coast

The Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), a long-lived marine arthropod, is a prime example of a common-pool resource across its native range from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula, being both a vital ecological food source and a valuable commercial commodity. Genetic differentiation and diversity of horseshoe crabs have been assessed on a regional level, but no fine-scale examinations of these measures had been conducted in South Carolina. A suite of 12 microsatellite loci was used to evaluate the population structure and genetic diversity of spawning adult horseshoe crabs (n = 740) collected from seven sites along the coast of South Carolina from the Georgia/South Carolina border to Bulls Bay. No significant genetic differentiation was detected among the sites, indicating that some degree of gene flow is occurring along the South Carolina coast and that spawning adult horseshoe crabs in South Carolina form a single, unified stock. The horseshoe crab stock in South Carolina contains moderately high levels of genetic diversity (Ho = 0.775,He = 0.778) and fairly low levels of inbreeding (FIS = 0.005). The effective population size is on the order of several thousand individuals and within the values recommended to maintain evolutionary potential. The information generated here will be useful for management purposes to aid in the regulation and preservation of the horseshoe crab stock and fishery in South Carolina.
Lean, Shingo, and the Baldrige Framework: A Comprehensive Method to Achieve a Continuous-Improvement Management System

By unifying two respected business concepts — the Shingo Model and the Baldrige Excellence Framework — health care leaders can codify management practices and improve care at their organizations an...
Critical Race Theory: Disruption in Teacher Education Pedagogy

Teacher education programs are charged with preparing teacher candidates to successfully educate student populations that are more racially and culturally diverse than ever. However, a look at graduation rates among teacher education programs proves that the majority still produce, on average, a teaching force that is 80% White, although White students make up less than 49% the total Kindergarten-12th grade public school population (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Absent from the dialogue on diversity in teacher education is a discussion on how race and racism are institutionalized and maintained within such programs (Sleeter, 2016). In this article, the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) offers tools to examine the role of race and racism in teacher education. I further consider the role CRT can play in the disruption of postsecondary rhetoric about teacher education programs. Focus is placed on my own experiences in a Teaching Internship Seminar course when applying the structures of CRT to encourage conversations on disruptive practices that facilitate social justice in a course within a teacher preparation program. The tenets of interest convergence and permanence of racism are examined in the context of course development as pedagogical practices that disrupt normative patterns in teacher education. I conclude by envisioning how faculty in teacher education programs might address these challenges in such a way that offers suggestions derived from these tenets.
Publications of T. Dale Stewart (1901-1997).

T. D. Stewart (1901–1997) published at least 394 works between the years 1929 and 1992. These include 118 reviews, 40 abstracts, 227 articles or book chapters, five edited volumes, and four books or monographs.
Equilibria with Local Governments and Commuting: Income Sorting v. Income Mixing

Tiebout's (1956) model of fiscal competition suggests income sorting between jurisdictions while the Alonso (1964), Mills (1967) and Muth (1969) model of the monocentric city suggests income sorting over space. However, strict income sorting is not empirically observed. We add fiscal competition to the spatial model by considering a circular inner city surrounded by a suburb. The fiscal difference between the jurisdictions and the commuting advantage of locations closer to the city center are capitalized into house prices. In addition to the traditional equilibrium with income sorting, there are equilibria with income mixing - both across jurisdictions and across space.
Feasibility of injected indocyanine green for ureteral identification during robotic left-sided colorectal resections.

Abstract Background Ureteral identification is essential to performing safe colorectal surgery. Injected immunofluorescence may aid with ureteral identification, but feasibility without ureteral catheterization is not well described. Methods Case series of robotic colorectal resections where indocyanine green (ICG) injection with or without ureteral catheter placement was performed. Imaging protocol, time to ureteral identification, and factors impacting visualization are reported. Results From 2019 to 2020, 83 patients underwent ureteral ICG injection, 20 with catheterization and 63 with injection only. Main indications were diverticulitis (52%) and cancer (36%). Median time to instill ICG was faster with injection alone than with catheter placement (4min vs 13.5min, p Conclusion ICG injection alone is faster than with indwelling catheter placement and equally reliable at intraoperative ureteral identification.
Rollout algorithms for discrete optimization: A survey

This chapter discusses rollout algorithms, a sequential approach to optimization problems, whereby the optimization variables are optimized one after the other. A rollout algorithm starts from some given heuristic and constructs another heuristic with better performance than the original. The method is particularly simple to implement, and is often surprisingly e↵ective. This chapter explains the method and its properties for discrete deterministic optimization problems.
Why not Artificial Consciousness or Thought

The purpose of this article is to show why consciousness and thought are not manifested in digital computers. Analyzing the rationale for claiming that the formal manipulation of physical symbols in Turing machines would emulate human thought, the article attempts to show why this proved false. This is because the reinterpretation of ’designation‘ and ’meaning‘ to accommodate physical symbol manipulation eliminated their crucial functions in human discourse. Words have denotations and intensional meanings because the brain transforms the physical stimuli received from the microworld into a qualitative, macroscopic representation for consciousness. Lacking this capacity as programmed machines, computers have no representations for their symbols to designate and mean. Unlike human beings in which consciousness and thought, with their inherent content, have emerged because of their organic natures, serial processing computers or parallel distributed processing systems, as programmed electrical machines, lack these causal capacities.
Nutrition and Metabolism in Sports, Exercise and Health

A key determinant of successful athletic performance is the high-level energy transformation which begins with combustion of the food that we eat. By developing a sound understanding of good nutrition we can improve athletic performance, help maintain good health and prevent disease. This clear and comprehensive introduction to nutrition in sport, exercise and health goes further than any other textbook in integrating key nutritional facts, concepts and dietary guidelines with a thorough discussion of the fundamental biological science underpinning our physiological and metabolic processes. By clearly explaining how nutrients function within our biological system, the book helps students to develop a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms, which, in turn, will help the student to apply their knowledge in practice. The book includes in depth discussion of key contemporary topics within nutrition including: nutrient bioenergetics nutrition and metabolic disease nutritional ergogenic aids nutrition for special populations nutritional assessment. Each chapter includes useful pedagogical features, including case studies, review questions, definitions of key terms, and practical laboratory exercises – such as techniques for assessing nutritional status, body composition and physical activity patterns. A companion website offers additional teaching and learning features, such as PowerPoint slides, multiple-choice question banks and web links. As the most up-to-date introduction to sport and exercise nutrition currently available, this book is essential reading for all students of sport and exercise science, kinesiology, physical therapy, nutrition, dietetics or health sciences. Visit the companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/kang
Evolutionary morphology of the Tenrecoidea (Mammalia) carpal complex

The mammalian carpus can be difficult to interpret both phylogenetically and functionally. It is evolutionarily constrained in terms of functional morphology, yet there is considerable variation among many eutherian and metatherian lower and higher level taxa. The ecologically diverse Tenrecoidea (Mammalia) is a useful model for morphological interpretation of the interplay between function and phylogenetic constraint. Elements from the wrist and hand of 13 tenrecoid species, and one species each from Macroscelididae, Solenodontidae, and Erinaceidae, were compared to test form–function hypotheses of specific carpal, metacarpal, and phalangeal characters. Qualitative comparisons illustrate that several aspects of the tenrecoid carpus can be correlated with positional behaviour. Convergences within Tenrecoidea, and between tenrecoids and nontenrecoids with similar locomotor regimes, confirm a small number of carpal characters and a larger number of distal forearm, metacarpal, and phalangeal characters that reliably correspond with functional expectations. In addition, several features of the carpus appear to be phylogenetically constrained and indicate specific affinities within Tenrecoidea. Finally, there are a significant number of carpal features that vary among the studied taxa and remain ambiguous in terms of phylogenetic and/or functional significance. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 93, 267–288. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: Afrotheria – carpals – hand – Tenrecidae – tenrecs – wrist.
Prioritized, Non-Pointwise, Nonmonotonic Intersection and Union for Commonsense Reasoning

We introduce an new operation called a non-monotonic intersection. This operation has significant applications in default and other commonsense reasoning systems. In addition to being non-monotonic this operator is not a pointwise operator. Futhermore it is neither commutative nor associative but rather supports a concept of priority amongst its arguments.
Flip-flop sharing in standard scan path to enhance delay fault testing of sequential circuits

This paper addresses the problem of testing for delay faults in sequential circuits which incorporate standard scan path design. The technique presented here aims at the reduction or elimination of enhanced-scan flip-flops and their associated overhead. Flip-flop sharing modifies the order of the flip-flops in the scan path such that adjacent flip-flops along the path are from different sequential machines. This allows the application of arbitrary two-vector test sets necessary for delay fault testing. This arrangement is feasible for practical circuits because today's complex ICs consist, in general, of many sequential machines that may need to be delay testable.
The Random Field Problem; Facts and Fiction

Site random fields have profound effects on the ground state properties and critical behavior of magnetically ordered systems. For the random field Ising model (RFIM), it has been proven theoretically that the lower critcal dimension dl = 2. A variety of experimental studies by the author and his colleagues on RFIM systems have demonstrated the phase transition to be destroyed at d = 2 and a sharp, continuous phase transition at TC(H) to exist at d = 3 with new critical exponents corresponding to an effective dimensionality \( \bar{d} \simeq 2 \); suggestive of a dimensionality reduction \( \bar{d} \simeq d - 1 \). Furthermore, extreme critical slowing down has been observed as T→TC(H). This explains why field cooling through TC(H) always traps the d=3 system into a nonequilibrium domain state on what are laboratory time scales. The predicted crossover scaling has been observed for the field dependence of all thermodynamic functions and “phase boundaries” in the dis-tinctly different d=2 and d=3 RFIM systems. Contrary to current theory and the results described above, Birgeneau, Cowley and Shirane — from neutron scattering studies alone — have 1) assumed the low-temperature, field-cooled configuration is always the ground state of the RFIM, 2) “unambiguously” determined dl ≥ 3 and 3) discovered a “temporal” and/or discontinuous phase transition occurs at d=3. I suggest the errors in all of their conclusions represent a confluence of the limitations of the use of a single experimental technique, not doing the key experiments with that technique, incorrect interpretations and a concomitant use of poor and/or badly characterized materials.
Pattern Formation and Dynamics in Nonequilibrium Systems

Many exciting frontiers of science and engineering require understanding the spatiotemporal properties of sustained nonequilibrium systems such as fluids, plasmas, reacting and diffusing chemicals, crystals solidifying from a melt, heart muscle, and networks of excitable neurons in brains. This introductory textbook for graduate students in biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics provides a systematic account of the basic science common to these diverse areas. This book provides a careful pedagogical motivation of key concepts, discusses why diverse nonequilibrium systems often show similar patterns and dynamics, and gives a balanced discussion of the role of experiments, simulation, and analytics. It contains numerous worked examples and over 150 exercises. This book will also interest scientists who want to learn about the experiments, simulations, and theory that explain how complex patterns form in sustained nonequilibrium systems.
An early look at divorce: Mother–child interactions in the first post-separation year.

Sixty-one children, aged six to twelve, were observed while playing with their mothers, all of whom had separated from their husbands within 12 months. Dyads played for 30 minutes while their interactions were videotaped; tapes were then coded into various mother behavior, child behavior, and interchange categories. Analyses of variance comparing dyads with children of different ages (six to eight vs. nine to twelve), gender, and length of parental separation (one to five months vs. six to twelve months) were performed. The involvement and positiveness of mother-child dyads were lower for the younger children observed at the first half than those observed at the last half of the post-separation year. The opposite was true for the older children, especially the older boys. Gender and age are discussed as critical factors in affecting post-divorce relationships.
GaN and AlGaN(p)/GaN p-i-n ultraviolet photodetectors

UV-sensitive, visible-blind photodetectors have potential applications in solar astronomy, missile plume detection, and combustion monitoring. In these applications, one would like to detect the intrinsic UV emission in a background of intense visible radiation. A leading candidate for these tasks is a GaN-based photodetector. To date, the majority of the effort in exploiting this material system for UV detection has concentrated on GaN-based photoconductors which suffer from long decay times and dark current. GaN p-n junction detectors and Schottky junction detectors have also been reported recently. For high speed and low noise applications, p-i-n photodetectors are generally more desirable as they lack the negative attributes of photoconductors. In this letter, we report on the performance of GaN p-i-n photodetectors grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy with ammonia as the nitrogen source.
Midbrain raphe neurons: Spontaneous activity and response to light

Abstract A quantitative computer analysis was made of the spontaneous activity of 46 midbrain raphe units in the anesthetized rat. These units are characterized by a slow and rhythmic discharge rate which remains stable over time. Cells in the dorsal raphe, median raphe and brachium conjunctivum did not differ in this respect. A subpopulation of cells in the dorsal raphe exhibited regular, periodic oscillations in discharge rate. Response of raphe units to light flashes and light and dark conditions was also studied. Of 44 units tested, there was a tendency toward higher rates of discharge in the light. Effects of light flashes were examined in 34 units. Raphe cells were typically unresponsive to light flashes.
Immunohistochemical detection of c-erbB-2 protein in human benign and neoplastic prostate.

Abstract Both the polyclonal anti-c- erb B-2 peptide antiserum pAB 60 and the monoclonal anti-c- erb B-2 protein antibody mAB-1 detect the c- erb B-2 protein in human breast adenocarcinomas. We investigated c- erb B-2 expression in adult human benign hyperplastic and neoplastic prostates, using the avidin-biotin complex immunoperoxidase method. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of benign hyperplastic prostate (13), prostatic adenocarcinoma (22), and prostatic adenocarcinoma lymph node metastases (two) were tested with pAB 60. Ten formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of prostate adenocarcinoma, 11 frozen sections of benign hyperplastic specimens, and eight frozen sections of prostate adenocarcinoma were tested with mAB-1. Our results demonstrated consistent detection of c- erb B-2 immunohistochemically in frozen sections of both benign and malignant prostate. Preincubation of pAB 60 with the immunizing peptide blocked subsequent reactivity with prostatic tumor tissue, indicating specificity. However, fixation and processing protocols significantly affected the reactivity of the antigenic determinants detected by these antibodies, as mAB-1 was nonreactive with formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded prostatic tissues. Differential reactivity of pAB 60 with malignant rather than benign glands was maximized by exposure of the specimen to the antibody at 4°C rather than 22°C. The most frequently observed staining pattern with both antibodies was cytoplasmic. However, mAB-1 produced distinctly membranous staining in two frozen specimens of benign hyperplasia and one specimen of prostate cancer.
Organic matter influences phytotoxicity of cadmium to soybeans

Soybeans (Glycine max L. var. Williams) were grown for six weeks in a greenhouse in quartz sand containing 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 or 8% (w/w) sterilized peat moss. The cation exchange capacities of the organic matter-sand (OM-S) mixtures ranged from 0.01 to 8.88 meq/100 g dry weight. Imposed on each OM-S mixture was a treatment of 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 or 20.0 ppm Cd applied as CdCl2·21/2H2O. Height growth was measured weekly and at harvest plants were separated into leaves, stems and roots for dry weight and tissue Cd determinations. For plants grown in sand alone, height growth and dry matter accumulation in all tissues were reduced and Cd content was increased. These effects were correlated with increasing Cd concentration in the rooting medium. Inhibitions in growth by Cd were reduced by addition of organic matter; the amount of alleviation was dependent on both the level of organic matter and the cadmium treatment. In the 0, 0.5 and 1% OM-S mixtures, Cd content in the various tissues was correlated with metal treatment. Tissue levels were markedly reduced for Cd treatments in the 2, 4 and 8% OM-S mixtures, although there was a positive correlation between tissue Cd and the 1.25 and 2.5 Cd treatments. The order of Cd accumulation in the tissues was roots ≫ stems>leaves.
Metabolic Bone Disease in the Bariatric Surgery Patient

Bariatric surgery has proven to be a life-saving measure for some, but for others it has precipitated a plethora of metabolic complications ranging from mild to life-threatening, sometimes to the point of requiring surgical revision. Obesity was previously thought to be bone protective, but this is indeed not the case. Morbidly obese individuals are at risk for metabolic bone disease (MBD) due to chronic vitamin D deficiency, inadequate calcium intake, sedentary lifestyle, chronic dieting, underlying chronic diseases, and the use of certain medications used to treat those diseases. After bariatric surgery, the risk for bone-related problems is even greater, owing to severely restricted intake, malabsorption, poor compliance with prescribed supplements, and dramatic weight loss. Patients presenting for bariatric surgery should be evaluated for MBD and receive appropriate presurgical interventions. Furthermore, every patient who has undergone bariatric surgery should receive meticulous lifetime monitoring, as the risk for developing MBD remains ever present.
Low-cost fault-tolerant distributed control for fly-by-light systems

Distributed intelligence, fault tolerance, and fiber optic technology hold significant promise when applied to complex sensor/actuator systems such as those found in primary and secondary flight control systems. This paper outlines the theory of operation and configuration of a fault tolerant distributed control system jointly developed by Raytheon Company and Beech Aircraft Corporation. The system's benefits accrue from the union of fiber optic performance advantages with the low cost of fault-tolerant distributed sensing and control techniques. The initial configuration is comprised of low-cost fault-tolerant computers which control, monitor and display the functions of two JT15D-5 engines and their thrust reversers across redundant fiber networks. Pilot inputs are transmitted digitally over a redundant fiber optic network using a distributed fault-tolerant processing architecture. In the Distributed Control-By-Light (CBL) system, low-cost intelligent nodes are placed at the site of the sensors, actuators, control inputs, feedback devices, and displays across the entire aircraft. The nodes communicate across redundant fiber optic networks using an industry standard open architecture protocol. Firmware at each node monitors or controls the local function and responds to commands from or passes digitized processed sensor data to other functions on the aircraft. Proven hardware and software fault-tolerance techniques are applied to provide the ability to withstand multiple faults. The Distributed Control-By-Light system achieves all of the benefits traditionally ascribed to FlyBy-Light: reduced cost and weight, reduced EM!, HIRF, and lightning susceptibility, reduced system grounding problems, reduced certification costs, and increased aircraft range and payload. The distributed architecture also provides decreased production and assembly costs, improved reliability, enhanced operational utility and decreased pilot workload, and enhanced maintenance and diagnostics capabilities.
Passive ultrasonic method for human footstep detection

Methods of human detection utilizing low-frequency seismic signals (typically below a few hundred Hertz) from footsteps are well known in the literature and in a practice. This frequency band is used for seismic detectors. Different walking styles (regular, soft, and stealthy) result in different vibration signatures in the low-frequency range that limit the maximum ranges for this method of footstep detection. For example, the stealthy walking style was undetectable even a few meters from a seismic detector. Human footsteps generate broadband frequency vibrations in the ground/floor and sound in the air from a few Hertz up to ultrasonic frequencies. The dynamic forces from footsteps that are normal to the ground/floor are the primary cause of the low-frequency component in these signals. Striking and sliding contacts between a foot and the ground/floor produce the high-frequency responses. The physical mechanisms involved in the generation of high frequency signals and the possibility of their application for human footstep detection were investigated by the authors [A. Ekimov, and J. M. Sabatier "Vibration and sound signatures of human footsteps in buildings," J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 120, 762-768 (2006)]. The present paper introduces an approach for human footstep detection using a passive ultrasonic method. The passive method employs an ultrasonic sensor that is sensitive to the sound from sliding contacts. Test results for the detection of a walking person indoors and outdoors are presented and discussed.
Sintering of 3 mol % Y2O3-TZP and its fracture after ageing treatment

TZP ceramic of 99.7% theoretical relative final density was obtained by pressureless sintering a commercial co-precipitated 3 mol % Y2O3-ZrO2 powder at 1400° C for 10 h. Fracture surfaces of the aged material revealed that the fracture of TZP ceramic was typified by an intergranular mode in areas where the phase was mainly tetragonal, whereas the transgranular mode was found predominantly in the area containing more monoclinic phase. Microcracks induced by the (t) → (m) transformation provided short paths for water to accelerate the property degradation of TZP upon low-temperature ageing in a humid atmosphere.