cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a Video Game Design program in the college of engineering

The global video game industry's revenues reached 7.2 billion in 2007 and over $65 billion in 2012 with projected growth over $80 billion by 2017. As new consoles, PC, and mobile devices penetrate more foreign markets, revenues derived from these devices and software will continue to increase. In a nationally representative sample of U.S. teens, 99% of boys and 94% of girls played video games. Over 45% of women play video games and 30% of people over the age of 50 play games on a regular basis. Overall, 72% of Americans play video games in the U.S. and the amount of time spent playing games continues to increase, as do foreign markets. The increased market capitalization of the industry increases demand of qualified applicants. Other industries leveraging similar technology are beginning to grow and have topped over $10 billion in revenue in 2014. Students with expertise in game and related technology will have an advantage in these new job opportunities. Christian Brothers University (CBU) seeks to fill this need by the creation of a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management (BSEM - Information Management) in Video Game Design. This degree will give students the skills needed to pursue a career within the game industry and others while developing engineering skills.
Multidisciplinary Alternatives to CPAP Program for CPAP-Intolerant Patients

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) intolerance remains a persistent problem for many obstructive sleep apnea patients. Clinicians and researchers continue to search for other effective trea...
Spatial Modeling of Social-Ecological Management Zones of the Ali'i Era on the Island of Kaua'i with Implications for Large-Scale Biocultural Conservation and Forest Restoration Efforts in Hawai'i

Policy makers and resource managers in Hawai‘i often look to the ancient Hawaiian system of resource management, known as the ahupua‘a system, as a holistic and sustainable mountains-to-sea model for restoration of social-ecological system health and function. Many components of this ancient system, such as agriculture, aquaculture, and nearshore fishery management, have been documented, studied, and revived in the name of both sustainability and perpetuation of Hawai‘i's indigenous culture. One relatively glaring hole in the context of our understanding of this ancient system is management of forest resources on a system (i.e., large-scale plant community) level. Five terms for identified and managed social-ecological zones, wao kānaka, wao lā‘au, wao nāhele, wao kele, and wao akua, were used to delineate GIS layers in the model ahupua‘a of Hā‘ena. These were then extrapolated across the entire island of Kaua‘i. The resulting map indicates that not all ahupua‘a on Kaua‘i had all five social-ecological zones, which gives valuable insight into how upland regions of the various ahupua‘a may have been managed in the ali‘i era. This research has implications for contemporary approaches to large-scale biocultural conservation initiatives and other resource management plans that aim toward having broader community support for such efforts. Analysis shows that broad overlap between the ancient system and contemporary management zones exists, which implies that it may be feasible to adapt this ancient approach in the bureaucratic system of the contemporary era.
AEP: an error-bearing neural network accelerator for energy efficiency and model protection

Neural Networks (NNs) have recently gained popularity in a wide range of modern application domains due to its superior inference accuracy. With growing problem size and complexity, modern NNs, e.g., CNNs (Convolutional NNs) and DNNs (Deep NNs), contain a large number of weights, which require tremendous efforts not only to prepare representative training datasets but also to train the network. There is an increasing demand to protect the NN weight matrices, an emerging Intellectual Property (IP) in NN field. Unfortunately, adopting conventional encryption method faces significant performance and energy consumption overheads. In this paper, we propose AEP, a DianNao based NN accelerator design for IP protection. AEP aggressively reduces DRAM timing to generate a device dependent error mask, i.e., a set of erroneous cells while the distribution of these cells are device dependent due to process variations. AEP incorporates the error mask in the NN training process so that the trained weights are device dependent, which effectively defects IP piracy as exporting the weights to other devices cannot produce satisfactory inference accuracy. In addition, AEP speeds up NN inference and achieves significant energy reduction due to the fact that main memory dominates the energy consumption in DianNao accelerator. Our evaluation results show that by injecting 0.1% to 5% memory errors, AEP has negligible inference accuracy loss on the target device while exhibiting unacceptable accuracy degradation on other devices. In addition, AEP achieves an average of 72% performance improvement and 44% energy reduction over the DianNao baseline.
Precision Medicine: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promises.

See related article by Chae et al., [p. 2645][1] Cancer initiation and progression are driven by the accumulation of deleterious aberrations in key tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes. These are anomalies that give way to a network of interconnected, highly regulated pathways and biochemical
Promotion of Maternal and Child Health: A Path Model of Care for Substance Using Pregnant Women

Maternal use of licit and illicit substances during pregnancy has been shown to have serious effects on the fetus, the pregnancy outcome, and the physical, emotional, and social growth of children after birth. Such children require specialized and intensive care during their growing years. Substance using women themselves face a series of related consequences in physical and mental health, and in social functioning, which in turn limit their parenting abilities, often resulting in neglect and abuse of children. Many substance using pregnant women coming to public attention are economically disadvantaged and Medicaid recipients, requiring costly intensive care during pregnancy and subsequently in the development of children. Four fields of human services, namely, Public Health, Substance Abuse Treatment, Child Welfare, and Criminal Justice, have responded to these problems in recent years. This paper examines the existing treatment models in these fields, and proposes a comprehensive, coordinated, and managed care model for improving the current service delivery.
Applications of the Hasse–Weil bound to permutation polynomials

Abstract Riemann's hypothesis on function fields over a finite field implies the Hasse–Weil bound for the number of zeros of an absolutely irreducible bi-variate polynomial over a finite field. The Hasse–Weil bound has extensive applications in the arithmetic of finite fields. In this paper, we use the Hasse–Weil bound to prove two results on permutation polynomials over F q where q is sufficiently large. To facilitate these applications, the absolute irreducibility of certain polynomials in F q [ X , Y ] is established.
Action-Based Scheduling: Leveraging App Interactivity for Scheduler Efficiency

The dominant portion of smartphone traffic is generated by apps that involve human interactivity. Particularly, when human users receive information from a server, they spend a few seconds of information processing before taking an action. The user processing time creates an idle communication period during the app session. Moreover, the generation of the future traffic depends on the service of the current query-response pair. In this paper, we aim at leveraging the properties of such interactions to reap quality-of-experience gains. Existing schedulers, both in practice and theory, are not designed in view of the aforementioned traffic characteristics. Theoretical works predominantly focus on scheduling of traffic that is either generated independently or directly controlled, but not governed by the specific dynamics caused by human interactions. Schedulers in practice, on the other hand, employ round-robin and processor-sharing methods to serve multiple ongoing sessions. We show that neither of these approaches is effective for serving apps that involve human interactivity. Instead, we show that optimal scheduling for interactive traffic is non-randomized over packets, which we call action-based, as it avoids breaking ongoing service of actions in order to align human response times with the service of other actions. Since the design of optimal action-based policy is computationally prohibitive, we develop low-complexity suboptimal action-based policies that are optimal for two ongoing sessions. Our numerical studies based on a real-data trace reveal that our proposed action-based policies can reduce total delay by 22% with respect to packet-based equal processor sharing.
“The glory of each generation is to set its own precedent”: Belva Lockwood and the rhetorical construction of female presidential plausibility

This study seeks to understand the rhetorical tactics of Belva Bennett Lockwood, the first woman to run a campaign for U.S. President. Lockwood attempted to make a female presidential candidacy see...
Methane Dynamics Associated with Tidal Processes in the Lower Columbia River

Tidally varying methane (CH4) concentrations in estuaries may arise from physical advection and by chemical effects tied to varying exposure to salinity. An investigation of spatial and temporal variability in water-column CH4 was conducted in the lower Columbia River using shipboard surveys and time series data from fixed stations. Peaks in CH4 coincided with ebb tides at multiple sites located along the flank of the estuary adjacent to tidal flats and wetlands. High-resolution measurements taken at the outflow of a shallow lateral bay revealed that these CH4 peaks were positively related to tidal amplitude when the lateral bay was exposed exclusively to freshwater over the tide cycle; in contrast, this relationship was inversed when brackish waters were involved. A positive relationship between tidal amplitude and CH4 is consistent with a mechanism of tidal pumping from bottom sediments in the bay. In the presence of saltwater, however, a higher-than-expected flux of CH4 could occur via suppression of removal processes such as biological oxidation. We present a conceptual model of tidal pumping modified by diurnal inequality in tidal amplitude and effects of salinity on sediment CH4 oxidation to explain CH4 variability on tidal to seasonal time-scales. The combined influences of tides and salinity likely affect CH4 emissions in estuaries worldwide, making sea level rise and estuarine geomorphological change relevant factors for consideration when accounting for estuarine contributions to global methane budgets.
Teleoperated Rover for the Standoff Ultracompact micro-Raman Spectroscopy Instrument

Recent developments on micro-Raman spectroscopy at NASA Langley Research Center has resulted in a instrument for future space missions. This instrument is capable of inspecting minerals and potentially biogenic materials on other planets. As this Raman instrument is designed to be a standoff, remote measuring system it is desirable to test remote data collection capabilities with a mobile robot. We developed a platform with base sensors to support the instrument and auxiliary hardware. We also developed software interfaces written to control the robot and display sensor data. We discuss our approach, system architecture, and implementation of the teleoperated rover, known as "The Snorkeling crocodilian".
The Promise of the Open Science Movement for Research on Identity

The study of identity development has changed a great deal in the last couple of decades. The purpose of this essay is to reflect on these changes, what they mean for the study of identity, and wha...
Spatial Metaphor Facilitates Word Learning

Why are spatial metaphors, like the use of "high" to describe a musical pitch, so common? This study tested one hundred and fifty-four 3- to 5-year-old English-learning children on their ability to learn a novel adjective in the domain of space or pitch and to extend this adjective to the untrained dimension. Children were more proficient at learning the word when it described a spatial attribute compared to pitch. However, once children learned the word, they extended it to the untrained dimension without feedback. Thus, children leveraged preexisting associations between space and pitch to spontaneously understand new metaphors. These results suggest that spatial metaphors may be common across languages in part because they scaffold children's acquisition of word meanings that are otherwise difficult to learn.
Continuous Auditing in ERP System Environments: The Current State and Future Directions.

Recent research has focused heavily on the practicality and feasibility of alternative architectures for supporting continuous auditing. In this paper, we explore the alternative architectures for continuous auditing that have been proposed in both the research and practice environments. We blend a focus on the practical realities of the current technological options and ERP structures with the emerging theory and research on continuous assurance models. The focus is on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each architectural form as a basis for forming a research agenda that could allow researchers to contribute to the future evolution of both ERP system designs and auditor implementation strategies. There are substantial implications and insights that should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners interested in exploring continuous audit feasibility, capability, and organizational impact.
Spending For Orphan Indications Among Top-Selling Orphan Drugs Approved To Treat Common Diseases.

The Orphan Drug Act of 1983 provides benefits to promote the development of treatments for rare diseases that have limited sales potential. Policy makers have questioned whether this purpose is fur...
“That is Terrible News!”: Media Framing of Mamba Mentality Within Contemporary U.S. Racial and Gender Politics:

On January 26, 2020, former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant passed away suddenly in a helicopter crash. Drawing on theoretical frameworks of racial and gender politics in the U.S. context,...
An ontology based energy management for smart home

Abstract In this work, the main objective is oriented towards the development of a completed system of saving energy at a home in south Algeria. The proposed previously solution (OSEIM) is an intelligent solution based on domain ontology for the electrical energy management in the home; these are designed, built, and operated with increasingly complex technologies. However, the ontology used in this work brings together a body of knowledge that represents all the objects that can positively or negatively influence the consumption of electrical energy, all of this information is linked to each other by meaningful and useful relationships. In addition, the NewOSEIM solution comprising a knowledge base of the OWL (Web Ontology Language) and SWRL rules (Semantic Web Rule Language) providing a reasoning mechanism is developed to offer an optimal solution in energy saving. This work mainly depends on the import of the OSEIM ontology and other ontologies in the field of energy management. Finally, it is noted that the NewOSEIM solution provides an additional energy saving of 2.11 %.
Are Wearable Sensors Valid and Reliable for Studying the Baseball Pitching Motion? An Independent Comparison With Marker-Based Motion Capture.

Background:In recent years, the prevalence of medial ulnar collateral ligament injuries has increased in throwers of all ages and skill levels. The motusBASEBALL sensor possesses an inertial measur...
Observations related to tetrahydrofuran and methane hydrates for laboratory studies of hydrate‐bearing sediments

The interaction among water molecules, guest gas molecules, salts, and mineral particles determines the nucleation and growth behavior of gas hydrates in natural sediments. Hydrate of tetrahydrofuran (THF) has long been used for laboratory studies of gas hydrate-bearing sediments to provide close control on hydrate concentrations and to overcome the long formation history of methane hydrate from aqueous phase methane in sediments. Yet differences in the polarizability of THF (polar molecule) compared to methane (nonpolar molecule) raise questions about the suitability of THF as a proxy for methane in the study of hydrate-bearing sediments. From existing data and simple macroscale experiments, we show that despite its polar nature, THF's large molecular size results in low permittivity, prevents it from dissolving precipitated salts, and hinders the solvation of ions on dry mineral surfaces. In addition, the interfacial tension between water and THF hydrate is similar to that between water and methane hydrate. The processes that researchers choose for forming hydrate in sediments in laboratory settings (e.g., from gas, liquid, or ice) and the pore-scale distribution of the hydrate that is produced by each of these processes likely have a more pronounced effect on the measured macroscale properties of hydrate-bearing sediments than do differences between THF and methane hydrates themselves.
Fuzzy Comparison of Frequency Distributions

Comparing empirical distributions is one of the fundamental tasks in data analysis. We start with a survey of existing statistical approaches to this problem. The current numeric methods are shown to suffer from several limitations, including restrictive assumptions about the underlying distributions and non-use of available domain knowledge. These limitations can be partially overcome via the time-consuming visual examination of frequency histograms by a human expert. In this paper, we present a fuzzy-based method for automating the process of comparing frequency histograms. Our approach builds upon a novel concept of automated perceptions, introduced in our previous work. We use the evolving approach of type-2 fuzzy logic for representing the domain knowledge of human experts. The proposed method provides an automated interpretation of the differences between histogram plots, based on a cognitive model of human perception. The perception-based approach to comparison of frequency histograms is demonstrated on several samples of real-world data.
Kinetics of metastatic breast cancer cell trafficking in bone

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 3980 Breast cancer has a high propensity for bone colonization. When present in the bone microenvironment, metastatic breast cancer cells induce osteolysis by increasing bone resorbing osteoclast activity and decreasing bone depositing osteoblast activity. Most in-vivo studies have focused on the later stages of bone metastasis, where breast cancer cells characteristically colonize the ends of long bones in humans. While this localization is of significant clinical importance, little is understood about early bone metastastic events including cell arrival, localization, and initial cancer cell colonization, which may be of importance in therapeutic intervention. MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cells engineered to contain green fluorescent protein were injected into the left ventricle of female athymic mice, thereby minimizing first-pass filtration through pulmonary capillaries and allowing a maximal number of cells to reach the bone. Mice were then euthanized at times from 1 hr to 6 wks, and femurs isolated and analyzed by fluorescent microscopy, immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, and histomorphometry. As early as 1 hr post-injection, single tumor cells could be detected throughout the bone, with the majority (∼90%) found in the distal metaphyses as opposed to the diaphysis. Tumor cells remained in a single cell state in bone ends for up to 72 hrs indicating a lack of tumor cell proliferation. Solitary cells in the diaphysis were rarely detected beyond 24 hrs. Numerous foci (2-10 cells) were observed at 1 wk, and by 2 wks, fewer but larger foci (≥50 cells) were seen. By 4 wks, most bones had a single large mass (either originating from a single colony or coalescing foci) which extended into the diaphysis by 4-6 wks. While little change (<20%) was seen in osteoblast or osteoclast number at 2 wks, by 4-6 wks, the number of osteoblasts was drastically reduced (to 8% of control), with osteoclast numbers being modestly reduced (to ∼60% of control). These data confirm previous in-vitro evidence that suggest breast cancer cells induce osteoblast apoptosis and impede osteoblast replacement. This is the first in vivo study to describe the kinetics of breast cancer cells at the earliest time after arrival in the femur (a common site of metastatic breast cancer cell colonization). It also supports in vivo our recent in vitro studies that indicated osteoblasts, in the presence of breast cancer cells, undergo increased apoptosis and are prevented from differentiating. Since skeletal structural integrity is integral to survival and quality of life, comprehensive treatment of bone metastases must restore bone matrix deposition as well as limit osteolysis. Supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (DAMD-17-02-1-0541, DAMD-17-03-01-0584, and DAMD-17-02-1-0358), the University of Alabama Breast SPORE (P50-CA89019), and the National Foundation for Cancer Research and the PA Dept. of Health (CA87728).
System parameter analysis on devices with Bi-stable characteristics

In this paper an investigation has been done on the parameters of a hysteretic bi-stable device. From a design point of view it is important to know the regions where this bi-stability occurs and is fully functional with respect to its subsystem parameters. Specifically a known structure of photonic Schmitt trigger that consist of two inverting amplifiers, each characterized by −m (slope), A (y-intercept) and B (constant base) parameters is considered. In addition to a complete mathematical analysis of the system, this paper also describes how m, A and B can be properly chosen in order to satisfy certain system conditions. For a special case of B = 0, it is found and shown that we must have (m 1 2 > 1) as absolute conditions for the bi-stable device (m > 0 is assumed). Also system conditions add more restrictions to these absolute conditions as discussed in the last section of this paper.
S-Adenosylmethionine: molecular, biological, and clinical aspects—an introduction

In clinical research, a novel approach has emerged: some of the essential nutrients are being used to treat pathologic conditions. Many of these nutrients, including methionine, must first be activated in the liver or in other tissues before they can exert their key functions. However, this activating process is impaired in disease states and, as a consequence, nutritional requirements change. For instance, for methionine to act as the main cellular methyl donor, it must first be activated to S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe; also known as ademethionine). SAMe is required and is of fundamental importance for the metabolism of nucleic acids and polyamines, the structure and function of membranes, and as a precursor of glutathione. These processes are often seriously altered in various pathologic states addressed in this symposium, but they cannot be restored by simply administering methionine. For instance, in liver disease associated with impairment of the enzyme that activates methionine to SAMe, supplementation with methionine is useless and may even become toxic as it accumulates because it is not used. Accordingly, one must correct the lack of SAMe by bypassing the deficiency in enzyme activation; this is done by providing the product of the defective reaction, namely SAMe. Under these pathologic conditions, SAMe becomes crucial for the functioning of the cell. Thus SAMe, which is found in all living organisms, becomes the essential nutrient instead of methionine. This symposium reviewed the biological and corresponding molecular aspects of SAMe metabolism and the clinical consequences of its deficiency or supplementation in various tissues.
Early operational risk assessment of software using fuzzy expert systems

Operational risk of software is the likelihood of bad events occurring during operations due to software failures. NASA IV&V Facility is an independent institution which conducts independent assessments for various NASA projects. Its responsibilities, among others, include the assessments of operational risks of software systems. In this study, we investigated independent assessments that are conducted very early in the software development life cycle. Existing methods for risk assessment are largely based on checklists and the analysis of risk matrix. Due to the incompleteness of the available software project information during the very early phases of the software life cycle, it is infeasible to use a quantitative method such as risk matrix to assess the operational risk of the software. We developed a fuzzy expert system, called the research prototype early assessment system, to support independent assessments of projects at the very early phases of the software life cycle. We applied the fuzzy expert system to two previous NASA projects, and the results demonstrate that the fuzzy expert system is a very promising technology for early operational risk assessment of software.
Students at CHI

The Students at CHI SIG provides an open session where all students attending CHI'97 can meet and discuss graduate student issues. The SIG is intended for graduate students (beginning through senior), recent graduates, undergraduates, and friends.
Quantitative relationship of carboplatin dose to magnitude of inner and outer hair cell loss and the reduction in distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitude in chinchillas.

The outer hair cells (OHCs) are thought to be the dominant source of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in the mammalian cochlea; however, little is known about the quantitative relationship between reduction in DPOAE amplitude and the degree of inner hair cell (IHC) and OHC loss. To examine this relationship, we measured the DPOAE input/output functions in the chinchilla before and after destroying the IHCs and/or OHCs with carboplatin. Low-to-moderate doses (38-150 mg/kg, i.p.) of carboplatin selectively destroyed some or all of the IHCs along the entire length of the cochlea while sparing the OHCs. Selective loss of all the IHCs had little effect on DPOAE amplitude as long as the OHCs were present. With high doses of carboplatin (200 mg/kg, i.p.), there was complete destruction of IHCs plus massive OHC loss that decreased from the base towards the apex of the cochlea. OHC loss resulted in a large decrease in DPOAE amplitude. DPOAE amplitude at 9.6 kHz decreased at the rate of 4.1 dB for every 10% loss of OHCs. At 7.2 and 4.8 kHz, DPOAE amplitude decreased 3.1 dB and 2.4 dB per 10% OHC loss, respectively. These results indicate that OHCs are the dominant source of DPOAEs.
Standard and non-standard Lagrangians for dissipative dynamical systems with variable coefficients

Dynamical systems described by equations of motion with the first-order time derivative (dissipative) terms of even and odd powers, and coefficients varying either in time or in space, are considered. Methods to obtain standard and non-standard Lagrangians are presented and used to identify classes of equations of motion that admit a Lagrangian description. It is shown that there are two general classes of equations that have standard Lagrangians and one special class of equations that can only be derived from non-standard Lagrangians. In addition, each general class has a subset of equations with non-standard Lagrangians. Conditions required for the existence of standard and non-standard Lagrangians are derived and a relationship between these two types of Lagrangians is introduced. By obtaining Lagrangians for several dynamical systems and some basic equations of mathematical physics, it is demonstrated that the presented methods can be applied to a broad range of physical problems.
Exploring Attributes of Trustworthiness: A Classroom Exercise.

Interest in the topic of trust both within and between organizations has grown greatly in recent years. One key issue to understanding trust and how it can be more effectively fostered is understanding its causes. Based on the 1995 Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman model of trust, this article describes exercises that allow students to inductively discover the importance of a trustee’s ability, benevolence, and integrity to the assessment of trustworthiness. Parallel exercises are described that can be used to teach both trust between people and trust between organizations.
References to racial issues

This paper explores the readiness with which the issue of race comes to the minds of ordinary Americans—the “accessibility” of racial issues—by assessing the frequency with which ordinary Americans refer to racial issues when talking about politics. Explicitly racial issues have declined dramatically in accessibility among the general public over the past thirty years. Coinciding with the decrease in the accessibility of issues explicitly involving race there has been some increase in the accessibility of other issues—crime, poverty, and welfare—that some regard as code words with which whites communicate, in socially acceptable language, continued anxiety about race. There is little evidence, however, that many white Americans use references to such issues to express hostility toward black Americans. Contrary to some interpretations of recent presidential elections, moreover, the increased accessibility of such issues has not produced a windfall of votes for the Republicans.
Comprehensive Analysis of Rhesus Lymphocryptovirus MicroRNA Expression

Rhesus lymphocryptovirus (rLCV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are closely related gammaherpesviruses that infect and cause disease in rhesus monkeys and humans, respectively. Thus, rLCV is an important model system for EBV pathogenesis. Both rLCV and EBV express microRNAs (miRNAs), several conserved in sequence and genomic location. We have applied deep sequencing technology to obtain an inventory of rLCV miRNA expression in latently rLCV-infected monkey B cells. Our data confirm the presence of all previously identified mature rLCV miRNAs and have resulted in the discovery of 21 new mature miRNAs arising from previously identified precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs), as well as two novel pre-miRNAs (rL1-34 and rL1-35) that together generate four new mature miRNAs. Thus, the total number of rLCV-encoded pre-miRNAs is 35 and the total number of rLCV mature miRNAs is 68, the most of any virus examined. The exact 5′ and 3′ ends of all mature rLCV miRNAs were pinpointed, many showing marked sequence and length heterogeneity that could modulate function. We further demonstrate that rLCV mature miRNAs associate with Argonaute proteins in rLCV-infected B cells.
Scaling‐up participation at USAID

Since the 1970s many non-governmental development organisations have moved away from top-down modes of operation toward participatory practices that hand over decision-making power to the poor. The bilateral development agencies of the industrialised states have been slower to follow suit, but in the 1980s and 1990s a number of such agencies also initiated participatory-oriented reforms. Development scholars have paid little attention to reforms of the larger organisations. In this article, we analyse the efforts of the United States Agency for International Development to embrace participation in the 1990s. Internal reformers managed to change some agency procedures but had only limited success in institutionalising participatory practices. Forces internal to the agency, including rigid rules and employee incentive structures, hampered reform efforts. Also, while some developments external to the agency facilitated participation, many others, including legislative interference and shifting national policy priorities, hindered change toward participation. The case reveals how complex webs of accountability relationships make participatory-oriented transformation a cumbersome process in large development organisations. Change towards participation can succeed, but only if reformers acknowledge and consider existing institutional constraints. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Executive function in Parkinson's disease: Set-shifting or set-Maintenance?

In order to distinguish impairment in set-shifting in Parkinson's disease (PD) from inability to inhibit distraction by stimuli that compete for attention, 18 nondemented patients with idiopathic PD and 13 normal controls equated for age and education, were administered the Odd-Man Out (OMO) test and the Stroop Color-Word Test. PD patients were significantly impaired on the OMO test but showed no evidence of interference during the Stroop test. Analysis of error patterns during the OMO test indicated that the requirement to repeatedly switch rules, rather than the requirement to maintain steady responding between rule switches, was responsible for impaired OMO performance. It is concluded that the OMO test is fundamentally a test of set shifting, rather than a test of set maintenance in PD. In addition, analysis of a larger sample of PD patients revealed a significant positive relationship between number and severity of extrapyramidal signs and error production on the OMO, and between the latter and global mental function. These relationships were independent of each other, suggesting that impairment in set-shifting function in PD may arise from pathology of the fronto-striatal system independently of changes in cognitive ability.
Bilingual Development and Literacy Learning: East Asian and International Perspectives, by Norbert Francis

The recently released book, Bilingual Development and Literacy Learning: East Asian and International Perspectives, by Norbert Francis covers issues in bilingualism and second-language learning in ...
Discussion of “Latent Structures-Based Multivariate Statistical Process Control: A Paradigm Shift”

In this discussion of the article "Latent Structures-Based Multivariate Statistical Process Control: A Paradigm Shift" by Alberto Ferrer (Quality Engineering, Volume 26, Issue 1, pp. 72-91), Woodall focuses on some technical issues.
A study of the bispectral index monitor during procedural sedation and analgesia in the emergency department

Abstract Study objectives: The Bispectral Index Monitor has been validated as an objective measure of sedation depth in the operating room; however, its value for states other than general anesthesia remains unclear. We hypothesized that bispectral index monitoring would reliably correlate with traditional definitions of sedation depth in emergency department patients undergoing procedural sedation and analgesia. Methods: In this prospective observational study we measured the Bispectral Index score and a modified Ramsay Sedation Scale score every 5 minutes in a convenience sample of adult ED patients undergoing procedural sedation and analgesia. Investigators and treating physicians were blinded to Bispectral Index scores, which were later correlated with modified Ramsay Sedation Scale scores. We constructed receiver operating characteristic curves to determine the most discriminatory Bispectral Index score thresholds for sedation depth. Results: Two hundred seventy paired readings were obtained from 37 patients. Despite being statistically significant ( P Conclusion: Bispectral index monitoring reliably predicted patients undergoing procedural sedation and analgesia who were sedated to the point of general anesthesia from those with lesser degrees of sedation but did not discriminate mild-to-moderate sedation or moderate-to-deep sedation, as measured by the Ramsay Sedation Scale score for the patients undergoing procedural sedation and analgesia in our ED. [ Ann Emerg Med. 2003;41:234-241.]
T cell receptor expression and receptor-mediated induction of clonal growth in the developing mouse thymus: high surface β-chain density is a requirement for functional maturity

The ontogeny of T cell antigen receptor expression and function in the mouse thymus has been studied using a monoclonal antibody, F23.1, which recognizes a determinant on the beta chain of the receptor, and stains 25% of mature T cells and around 7-15% of adult thymocytes from most mouse strains. The same monoclonal antibody selectively activates Lyt-2+ peripheral T cells. Receptors are detectable by staining and fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis from fetal day 17, and thereafter the overall frequency increases steadily towards adult levels. However, late fetal thymocytes express all of their antigen receptor beta chain at a very low level, visible by staining as a "shoulder" on the peak of negative cells. Thymocytes with high-density surface beta chain, visible by staining as a distinct peak, appear only after birth and are a prominent feature at neonatal day 4. In the late fetus, expression of beta chain can be detected on thymocytes with the "mature" L3T4-, Lyt-2+ phenotype. Despite this, F23.1-responsive precursors are not found in the fetal thymus, and appear in two waves, the first during day 1 of postnatal life and the second between days 3 and 4. These data suggest that high-density surface expression of T cell receptor beta chain occurs in parallel with functional maturation.
Single molecule studies of quantum dot conjugates in a submicrometer fluidic channel

A microfluidic and optical system was created for the detection and analysis of single molecules in solution. Fluidic channels with submicrometer dimensions were used to isolate, detect and identify individual quantum dots conjugated with organic fluorophores. The channels were fabricated in fused silica with a 500 nm square cross section. The resulting focal volume of approximately 500 aL reduced fluorescent background and increased the signal to noise ratio of single molecule detection. The channels also enabled the rapid detection of 99% of quantum dots and organic fluorophores traversing the focal volume. Conjugates were driven through the channels electrokinetically at 2.3 kV cm−1, excited with a single 476 nm wavelength laser and detected with a confocal microscope. Fluorescence emission was collected simultaneously from green (500–590 nm) and red (610–680 nm) regions of the spectrum. Signal rejection was minimized by the narrow and symmetric emission spectra of the quantum dots. To demonstrate efficient multicolor detection and characterization of single molecule binding, Qdot 655 Streptavidin Conjugates were bound to Alexa Fluor 488 molecules and individually detected. Photon counting histogram analysis was used to quantify coincident detection and degree of binding. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy was used to measure the mobility of bound and unbound species. The union of fluidic channels with submicrometer dimensions and quantum dots as fluorescent labels resulted in efficient and rapid multiplexed single molecule detection and analysis.
Measurement and improvement of humanistic skills in first-year trainees.

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has recently emphasized the development of bumanistic skills in trainees. Using video technology, transition outpatient visits of first-year bouse officers in a primary care training program were evaluated for the presence or absence of nine bumanistic skills before and after the initiation of an instructional program to reinforce the skills. Thirteen videotaped PGY-1 encounters constituted the preintervention group and 16 videotaped PGY-1 encounters constituted the postintervention group. The preintervention group performed a mean of 1.38 skills while the postintervention group performed a mean of 3.56 skills, a statistically significant improvement (p<0.05). The authors conclude that an educational approach that focuses on specific elements of interactions facilitates the incorporation of skills associated with bumane medical care
Planting Method and Timing Effects on Sugarcane Yield

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in Louisiana is propagated from vegetative plantings in late summer and early fall as either whole stalks with 4 to 8 nodal buds or as stalk pieces (billets) with 2 to 4 buds. This research was conducted to determine if planting method and planting date affects yields of the varieties currently grown in Louisiana. Billet planting was compared to whole-stalk planting at three planting dates (August 15, September 15, and October 15) for 2 years with three different varieties (LCP 85-384, HoCP 85-845, and HoCP 95-555). Cane and sugar yields were compared in plant-cane and first-ratoon production years. When compared to whole-stalk planting, cane and sugar yields from billet planting were inconsistent, and no clear trends were observed. Averaged across varieties and planting method, the August planting date had higher cane and sugar yields than the September and October plantings. All varieties responded similarly to billet and whole-stalk planting. Our data suggest that farmers should attempt to plant the majority of their crop in August to maximize yields and should be aware that billet planting may give inconsistent yields compared with whole-stalk planting.
Systems for therapeutic angiogenesis in tissue engineering

The goals in tissue engineering include the replacement of damaged, injured, or missing body tissues with biologically compatible substitutes. To overcome initial tissue-mass loss, improved vascularization of the regenerated tissue is essential. Two pathways of tissue neovascularization are known: vasculogenesis, the in situ assembly of capillaries from undifferentiated endothelial cells (EC), and angiogenesis, the sprouting of capillaries from preexisting blood vessels. Recent advances in our understanding of the process of blood-vessel growth have provided significant tools for the neovascularization of bioengineered tissues. Several growth factors serve as stimuli for EC proliferation and migration as well as the formation of new blood vessels. They convey their effects via specific receptors expressed on the surface of EC. Vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major regulator of neovascularization. VEGF plays a major role in the early development of blood-cell progenitors. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was identified as the first angiogenic factor. It is a potent inducer of EC proliferation and blood-vessel growth in vitro and in vivo. VEGF and bFGF have been injected into undervascularized ischemic tissues, resulting in new blood-vessel formation and tissue perfusion. Gene-therapy approaches using VEGF cDNA injection into ischemic tissues have augmented the formation of collateral vessels. Angiogenic factors such as VEGF and bFGF have also been incorporated into bioengineered tissues and have facilitated blood-vessel growth. Other approaches such as prevascularization of the matrix prior to cell seeding and incorporation of EC into the bioengineered tissues have produced encouraging results. This article reviews the process of blood-vessel growth and tissue vascularization, placing emphasis on strategies that can be employed for efficient vascularization of engineered tissues in vitro and in vivo.
Unexpected Reduction and Removal of An Obturator in a Patient with Palate Paralysis

The speech prosthesis has proven to be a valuable and conservative treatment measure for children with palatal incompetence (Blakeley, i960; Harkens et ah, i960; Rosen & Bzoch, 1958). Surgical management as a general approach, at least in young children, may now prove to be somewhat heroic. After palate repair in cases of cleft palate, or prior to palato-pharyngoplasty in non-cleft palatal incompetence, the speech appliance may serve as a valuable “test” device in addition to its treatment function.
Synthetic Reversal of Epigenetic Silencing

Controlling cell fate-determining gene expression is key to stem cell differentiation, tissue regeneration, and cancer therapy. To date, custom-built transcription factors recognize the information encoded in specific DNA sequences. Chromatin proteins undergo covalent modifications and form complexes that encode a second layer of information that determines proximal gene activity. Here, we employ a novel gene-targeting approach that exploits a specific chromatin modification to reactivate silenced loci in human cells. We used the human Polycomb chromatin protein and homologues from other species to construct modular synthetic transcription factors, called Pc-TFs, that recognize the repressive trimethyl-histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) signal and switch silenced genes to an active state. Pc-TF expression in U2OS osteosarcoma cells leads to increased transcription of the senescence locus CDKN2A (p16) and other loci in a chromodomain- and activation module-dependent manner, a switch to a senescence phenotype, and reduced cell proliferation. These results indicate that silenced developmental regulators can be reactivated by a synthetic transcription factor that interacts with chromatin rather than DNA, resulting in an altered cell state. As such, our work extends the flexibility of transcription factor engineering and is the first example of chromatin-mediated synthetic transcription factor targeting.
The Evolution of Tax Advice and the Taxation of Capital Income in the USA

In this paper, a description is given of the most important statutory changes in federal taxation of capital income that have occurred in the USA since 1978, and of the changes in the predominant views of academic tax experts that preceded them. In addition, selected quantitative analyses that may have been influential in gaining reduction in the taxation of capital income are reviewed. It is shown that recent shifts in federal tax policy are broadly consistent with pervasive changes in the dominant thinking of professional tax economists, and especially consistent with the well-publicized writings of particular highly visible quantitative economists who hold the newer nontraditional views on tax policy.
Matters of Sex and Gender in F. J. Gall’s Organology: A Primary Approach

The originator of phrenology, F. J. Gall (1758-1828), saw himself as a natural scientist and physiologist. His approach consisted of brain anatomy but also of palpating skulls and inferring mental faculties. Unlike some of the philosophical principles underlying Gall's work, his conception of sex/gender has not yet been examined in detail. In this article, I will focus on Gall's treatment of men and women, his idea of sex differences, and how far an assumed existence of dichotomous sexes influenced his work. In examining his primary writings, I will argue that Gall held some contradictory views concerning the origin and manifestation of sex/gender characteristics, which were caused by the collision of his naturalistic ideas and internalized gender stereotypes. I will conclude that Gall did not aim at deducing or legitimizing sex/gender relations scientifically, but that he tried to express metaphysical reasons for a given social order in terms of functional brain mechanisms.
X-ray server: an online resource for simulations of x-ray diffraction and scattering

X-ray Server is a public project operational at the APS since 1997 with the goals to explore novel network technologies for providing wide scientific community with access to personal research results, establishing scientific collaborations, and refining scientific software. The Server provides Web-based access to a number of programs developed by the author in the field of X-ray diffraction and scattering. The software code operates directly on the Server available for use without downloading. Currently seven programs are accessible that have been used more than 85,000 times. This report discusses the Server philosophy, provides an overview of the physical models and algorithms beneath the codes and demonstrates some applications of the programs. It is shown with examples and statistics how the Server goals are achieved. The plans for further X-ray Server development are outlined.