cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Public Perceptions of Resuming Elective Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract Background Many United States health-systems are grappling with how to safely resume elective surgery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We used online crowdsourcing to explore public perceptions and concerns towards resuming elective surgery during the pandemic, and to determine factors associated with the preferred timing of surgery after health-systems reopen. Methods A 21-question survey was completed by 722 members of the public using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with the timing of preferred surgery after health-systems reopen. Results Most (61%) participants were concerned with contracting COVID-19 during the surgical process, primarily during check-in and in waiting-room areas, as well as through excessive interactions with staff. Overall, 57% would choose to have their surgery at a hospital over an outpatient surgery center. About 1 in 4 (27%) would feel comfortable undergoing elective surgery in the first month of health-systems reopening. After multivariable adjustment, native English speaking (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.04-6.4; P=0.042), male sex (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3-2.7; P Conclusion Women and non-native English speakers may be more hesitant to undergo elective surgery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite concerns of contagion, more than half of the public favors a hospital setting over an outpatient surgery center for their elective surgery. Concerted efforts to minimize patient congestion and unnecessary face-to-face interactions may prove most effective in reducing public anxiety and concerns over the safety of resuming elective care.
Evolving Wage Cyclicality in Latin America

A vector autoregression model with time-varying coefficients is used to examine the evolution of wage cyclicality in four Latin American economies: Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, during the period 1980-2010. Wages are highly pro-cyclical in all countries up to the mid-1990s except in Chile. Wage cyclicality declines thereafter, especially in Brazil and Colombia. This decline in wage cyclicality is in accordance with declining real-wage flexibility in a low-inflation environment. Controlling for compositional effects caused by changes in labor force participation along the business cycle does not alter these results.
A Collaborative Approach to Paraeducator Training

Many schools struggle to provide appropriate training for paraeducators to ensure the necessary knowledge and skills required to support students with challenging behaviors. This article provides a...
Clinical Costs: Separating Fact From Opinion

Some argue that expanding clinical legal education to follow the lead of other professional schools and ensure that every student graduates with a clinical experience is too expensive. Yet the facts show otherwise. A growing number of schools already require a clinical experience as a condition of graduation without noticeable impacts on their tuition. In addition, regression analysis indicates that there is no relationship, or even an inverse relationship, between the availability of clinical courses and a school's published tuition rate. These facts show that it is the will of law schools and legal education officials, not the costs of clinical legal education, that are preventing a required clinical experience for all law students.
The origin of secondary tissue systems and the effect of their formation on the primary body in seed plants

Perspective: role of the vascular cambium As the vascular cambium becomes active and secondary tissues are formed, the consequent increase in diameter of the stem may have profound effects on the primary body. This is especially true in woody, arborescent taxa among conifers and dicotyledons. The vascular cambium is an extensive, permanent secondary meristem, one cell thick, conical in form, often described as cylindrical, that begins its development between primary xylem and primary phloem. In most gymnosperms and dicotyledons it is present in all main stems and roots and their branches, extending from near their tips to the bases of stems and roots. In some woody plants it even extends into leaf petioles. In most woody taxa it differentiates first in developing vascular bundles at about the same time as metaxylem begins its development (Figs. 9.1a, b, 9.2), that is, after elongation in the provascular strands has ceased. This fascicular cambium may become active, producing some secondary xylem and phloem before cambial differentiation occurs between the bundles (Fig. 9.1b), that is, in the interfascicular regions . In many woody, arborescent taxa, additional provascular strands differentiate between the initial vascular bundles, often so close together that they may contact each other laterally (Fig. 9.1b, c). The vascular cambium then becomes continuous across the vascular bundles (Fig. 9.1c, d).
Structural mechanisms of assembly, permeation, gating, and pharmacology of native human rod CNG channel.

Summary Mammalian cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels are nonselective cation channels activated by cGMP or cAMP and play essential roles in the signal transduction of the visual and olfactory sensory systems. CNGA1, the principal component of the CNG channel from rod photoreceptors, can by itself form a functional homotetrameric channel and has been used as the model system in the majority of rod CNG studies. However, the native rod CNG functions as a heterotetramer consisting of three A1 and one B1 subunits and exhibits different functional properties than the CNGA1 homomer. Here we present the functional analysis of human rod CNGA1/B1 heterotetramer and its cryo-EM structures in apo, cGMP-bound, cAMP-bound, and L-cis-Diltiazem-blocked states. These structures, with resolution ranging from 2.6 to 3.3 A, elucidate the structural mechanisms underlying the 3:1 subunit stoichiometry, the asymmetrical gating upon cGMP activation, and the unique pharmacological property of the native rod CNG channel.
In Vitro Transcription

In vitro analysis of transcription and the factors that play a role in transcription require preparation of an extract that faithfully reproduces in vivo transcription. This unit describes protocols for generating extracts of mammalian cells and Drosophila embryos that are competent for in vitro transcription reactions using naked DNA or chromatin templates and for primer extension analysis of transcripts.
WAVE PROPAGATION IN PLASMAS WITH VERY STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD

Third moment equation derived from Boltzmann- Vlasov equation for wave propagation in plasmas with very strong magnetic field used instead of state equation
Improved nutrition: key to solving the populationwide blood pressure problem.

2. Stamler J, Neaton J, Garside D, Daviglus M. Current status: six established major risk factors – and low risk. In: Marmot M, Elliott P, eds. Coronary Heart Disease Epidemiology: From Aetiology to Public Health. London: Oxford University Press 2005; Second edition: 32–70. 3. Burt VL, Whelton P, Roccella EJ, et al. Prevalence of hypertension in the adult U.S. population: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–91. Hypertension 1995;25:305–13. 4. National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Cardiovascular Health for All: NHLBI Sets New Heart Health Agenda. Heart Memo. 1999(Summer): 1–4. 5. Lauer R, Burns TL, Daniels RS, eds. Pediatric Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. Oxford University Press, 2006. 6. Mancilha-Carvalho JJ, Baruzzi RG, Howard PF, et al. Blood pressure in four remote populations in the INTERSALT Study. Hypertension 1989;14:238–46.
Prototypes in Person Perception1

Publisher Summary The chapter provides a brief glimpse on the various theoretical and empirical approaches taken to study person categories and categorization. The chapter provides a comprehensive and representative survey of the literature on person perception and social cognition emerging from other laboratories. Interest in the issues of category accessibility has been renewed recently as cognitive-social psychologists attempt to understand the person categorization process. The chapter discusses the nature of categories at different level of abstractions. The prototype approach, prototypicality rules (full view and the restricted view), and from prototype to social behavior is also discussed. Knowledge about person prototypes not only makes information processing easier, it also helps the perceiver to plan behavior in social interactions . It is easier to process information about characters that fit well with and are, therefore, prototypical of shared beliefs about various personality types. Character prototypicality was manipulated in a free-recall and personality impression paradigm through variations in the consistency of a character's identification with preexisting beliefs about two personality-type categories-extraversion and introversion. The chapter discusses the purpose, the goals and functions of person categorization, the nature of categories at different levels of abstraction, and determining prototypicality in detail.
Development of anti-idiotypic antibodies in a patient with a factor VIII autoantibody

Antibodies against coagulation factor VIII were detected in a 33-year-old who developed severe bleeding 2 months postpartum. After treatment with plasmapheresis and immunosuppressive agents, the inhibitor was no longer detectable, but anti-idiotypic antibodies were detected, as demonstrated by binding in immunoradiometric assays, and by in vitro neutralization of the initial factor VIII autoantibodies. The anti-idiotypic titer subsequently declined but was still detectable 1 year later. Three commercial immunoglobulin preparations and pooled multiparous IgG also bound to (but did not neutralize) the patient's factor VIII antibody. These studies suggest that anti-idiotypic antibodies, arising in the face of immunosuppressive therapy, might suppress autoimmunity to factor VIII and confirm the presence of anti-idiotypic antibodies in pooled normal immunoglobulins.
Communication competence mediates the link between shyness and relational quality

Abstract Human relationships are vital for well-being, however shy individuals report lower relational quality than the non-shy. In an effort to explore how shyness affects people’s interpersonal relationships, this study focused on communication competence (as perceived by self and other) as the process by which shyness influences relational quality. Undergraduate students recruited a same-sex platonic friend to participate in this study along with them; participants (N = 310; dyads = 155) were directed to an online questionnaire to complete a series of measures about themselves, their friend, and their relationship. Results showed that self-perceived and other-perceived communication competence mediate the relationship between shyness and relational quality, such that shy people’s difficulty maintaining quality personal relationships is partially a function of their lower self- and other-perceived communication competence.
Morphometric analysis of unbalanced common atrioventricular canal using two-dimensional echocardiography

AbstractObjectives. This study was designed to define morphometric echocardiographic variables of unbalanced common atrioventricular canal (CAVC) that could aid in appropriate referral for surgical...
Ba diffusion in feldspar

Diffusion of Ba in natural sanidine and plagioclase has been characterized under dry 1 atm conditions. Polished or cleaved sections of the feldspars were surrounded by source powders in Pt capsules and annealed in air. Sources of diffusant consisted of BaO, SiO2 and Al2O3 powders mixed with ground feldspar and prereacted in Pt crucibles at 975°C. Prepared sample capsules were annealed for times ranging from 1 h to a few months at temperatures from 775 to 1124°C. The Ba distributions in the feldspars were profiled by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). The following Arrhenius relation is obtained for Ba diffusion in sanidine (Or61) for diffusion normal to the (001) cleavage face: Diffusion normal to (010) appears to be slightly slower than diffusion normal to (001). For diffusion normal to (001) and normal to (010) in labradorite (An67), the Arrhenius relations are, respectively, Diffusion in oligoclase (An23) can be described by the following Arrhenius relations: Ba diffusion in sanidine is more than an order of magnitude slower than Sr diffusion measured on specimens of the same composition (Cherniak, 1996), a not unexpected result given the significantly larger ionic radius of Ba. Similarly, in both of the plagioclase compositions, Ba diffusion is slower than Sr or Pb diffusion by about two orders of magnitude. These slower diffusivities indicate that Ba zoning will be preserved under more extreme thermal conditions than those under which Sr zoning is retained. For example, at 700°C, zones on the scale of 100-μm width will retain Ba chemical signatures for times > 10 Ma. Sr zoning in regions of comparable width will be preserved for time periods approximately an order of magnitude shorter at this temperature.
Investigation of BaTiO3 and Gd2(MoO4)3 crystal surfaces by complementary AES and ISS techniques

Abstract The chemical nature of the intrinsic surface layer in BaTiO 3 single crystals and the positive and negative surfaces of gadolinium molybdate have been determined using AES and ISS. Potassium and fluorine were detected in BaTiO 3 crystals grown by the Remeika method. The ratio of the AES 417 eV to 411 eV peaks of Ti in BaTiO 3 was stable under ion and electron beam irradiation. ISS showed that the positive and negative surface of gadolinium molybdate crystals were chemically identical, with both types exhibiting similar variations in the Gd and Mo signals with ion bombardment time. However, marked differences in the spectra of sputtered and scattered ions from each type were observed.
Relational closeness: Comparing undergraduate college students' geographically close and long-distance friendships

As interpersonal relationships change with the advent of new technology, researchers need to reexamine their theoretical constructs (R. G. Adams, 1998). This study uses survey methodology to examine college undergraduates from the United States. It explores the concept of relational closeness by comparing how geographically close and long-distance friends define closeness in their relationships. It assesses prior methods of defining and measuring closeness in interpersonal relationships for the impact of physical distance between the friends. Differences illustrate factors that are important in understanding relational closeness in general and in long-distance relationships in particular.
Coalition Work in the Pro-Choice Movement: Organizational and Environmental Opportunities and Obstacles

This paper examines inter-organizational cooperation and competition in the abortion rights, or pro-choice, movement. Drawing on documents and interviews with activists from 13 movement organizations and six coalitions formed nationally and in Illinois between 1966 and 1983, I show that coalitions are likely to form under conditions of exceptional opportunity or threat. Individual pro-choice organizations also formed coalitions when they lacked the resources to meet environmental opportunities or threats, or when such coalition work allowed them to conserve resources for their own individual programs. On the other hand, ideological conflicts and competition between the maintenance needs of individual organizations versus those of coalitions led to coalition dissolution. I also found that tensions within coalitions were alleviated by external funding and/or aid from established organizations, by an organizational structure which allowed for different levels of contributions from organizations with varying interests in the work of the coalition, and by a continued focus on activities (e.g., lobbying) which are too expensive for any one movement organization to carry out alone.
MEMORIAL LECTURE : TRENDS AND ISSUES INFLUENCING HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

In conclusion, we have tried to partially answer the questions about “What is on the other side of the 21st century doorway?” The answers were discussed in the light of a “third-wave” framework. Five major factors of 1) information management, 2) demographic changes, 3) global environment, 4) world economics and political forces, and 5) health and wellness lifestyles, were introduced to help us prepare for effective health care practice in the next century. Also, it was mentioned that successful health care delivery was incumbent upon professional care giver skills of 1) critical thinking, 2) care management, 3) primary care, 4) community focused, and 5) relationship-centered care. Finally, I believe that collegiality and sharing of better ways of health care delivery such as those demonstrated between our two Universities for more than 16 years is one of the most significant demonstrations of “forecasting a healthier future” for all of us.
Assessment of the economic feasibility of robotic assembly while conveyor tracking (RACT)

SUMMARY This paper is the third in a series of publications by Abdel-Malek (1986, InlernationalJournal of Production Research, 24, 1025-1041) and Abdel-Malek and Boucher (1985, International Journal of Production Research, 23, 197-208). It extends the previous work to cover the concept of robotic assembly while conveyor tracking (RACT). Analytical models are developed to aid the application engineers to depict the effect of RACT implementation on the assembly process throughput. The models also help in assessing the susceptibility of the RACT concept to the different design parameters and its economic feasibility.
Identification and distribution of a proctolin-like neuropeptide in the nervous system of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, and in other lepidoptera

Although the neuropeptide proctolin has important functions in many arthropods, it is reported to be absent in Lepidoptera. Its possible occurrence in these insects was reinvestigated by bioassays of HPLC fractions and immunocytochemistry. A proctolin-like substance was recovered from the frontal and subesophageal ganglia of Lymantria dispar. This substance has the same chromatographic retention time as proctolin; enzymatic degradation indicates that it is a peptide; it is bound by proctolin antisera; and thus it is indistinguishable from authentic proctolin. A small subpopulation of proctolin-like immunoreactive (PLI) neurons was stained in the larval CNS of L. dispar, Manduca sexta, Trichoplusia ni, Galleria mellonella, and Vanessa cardui. Most prominent of these cells are median neurosecretory neurons in the brain, paired neurons in the frontal ganglion, two clusters of neurons in the subesophageal ganglion, paired lateral neurons in the thoracic ganglia, and dorsomedial neurons in the abdominal ganglia. Also, varicose PLI axons are found in the corpora cardiaca and perivisceral organs. In L. dispar, PLI cells also were found in the corpora cardiaca. The results of this study indicate that proctolin is of general occurrence in the Lepidoptera, that it has an important role in the stomatogastric nervous system, and that it may be released as a local neurohormone from various neurohemal organs.
Everyday Discrimination in a National Sample of Incoming Law Students

Everyday discrimination experiences are associated with negative mental and physical health, less positive cross-racial counseling relationships, and alienation in educational environments for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. This report describes the prevalence and experiential and attitudinal correlates of self-reported everyday discrimination in a national sample of over 8,000 incoming students from 64 U.S. ABA-accredited law schools. Race/ethnicity, gender, past lifetime discrimination, neighborhood context, beliefs about societal discrimination experienced by minorities, and expectations about future professional encounters with racial discrimination were associated with reported everyday discrimination. Parental racial socialization and affirmative action support did not show associations. These data provide diversity officers and admissions professionals with a descriptive snapshot of this experiential diversity that exists as students begin their legal education. This diversity may provide insight into student differences in managing of academic stress, forming relationships with faculty and students, and assessing the quality of the educational experience.
Microbial Community Succession in an Unvegetated, Recently Deglaciated Soil

Primary succession is a fundamental process in macroecosystems; however, if and how soil development influences microbial community structure is poorly understood. Thus, we investigated changes in the bacterial community along a chronosequence of three unvegetated, early successional soils (∼20-year age gradient) from a receding glacier in southeastern Peru using molecular phylogenetic techniques. We found that evenness, phylogenetic diversity, and the number of phylotypes were lowest in the youngest soils, increased in the intermediate aged soils, and plateaued in the oldest soils. This increase in diversity was commensurate with an increase in the number of sequences related to common soil bacteria in the older soils, including members of the divisions Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia. Sequences related to the Comamonadaceae clade of the Betaproteobacteria were dominant in the youngest soil, decreased in abundance in the intermediate age soil, and were not detected in the oldest soil. These sequences are closely related to culturable heterotrophs from rock and ice environments, suggesting that they originated from organisms living within or below the glacier. Sequences related to a variety of nitrogen (N)-fixing clades within the Cyanobacteria were abundant along the chronosequence, comprising 6–40% of phylotypes along the age gradient. Although there was no obvious change in the overall abundance of cyanobacterial sequences along the chronosequence, there was a dramatic shift in the abundance of specific cyanobacterial phylotypes, with the intermediate aged soils containing the greatest diversity of these sequences. Most soil biogeochemical characteristics showed little change along this ∼20-year soil age gradient; however, soil N pools significantly increased with soil age, perhaps as a result of the activity of the N-fixing Cyanobacteria. Our results suggest that, like macrobial communities, soil microbial communities are structured by substrate age, and that they, too, undergo predictable changes through time.
Factors Affecting Colonization of an Orchard by Leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Vectors of Peach X-Disease

The importance of distance from wild host plants, plant species composition of ground cover, and symptomatic discoloration of foliage to pattern of colonization by leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) vectors of X-disease was studied in an unsprayed peach orchard in Middlefield, Middlesex County, Conn., during 1980. Five leafhopper vectors captured from 22 May to 4 November on yellow sticky traps hung in 90 peach trees and at 10 locations among wild host plants at the orchard edge were Scaphytopius acutus (Say) ( n = 34,262), Colladonus clitellarius (Say) ( n – 5,640), Paraphlepsius irroratus (Say) ( n = 1,717), Norvellina seminuda (Say) ( n = 105), and Gyponana lamina DeLong ( n = 43). Each species was more abundant at the orchard edge than in the orchard. There were significant, negative correlations between the densities of S. acutus, C. clitellarius , and P. irroratus on peach trees and distance of peach trees from bordering wild host plants for the first 2-week trapping period during which these leafhoppers were abundant. These data indicate that adults invaded the orchard from its edge. However, after this initial invasion by adults, leafhopper distributions in the orchard were not affected by proximity of peach trees to wild host plants bordering the orchard. Instead, leafhoppers selectively colonized trees whose ground cover was predominantly wild host plants. Hosts for S. acutus and C. clitellarius included red clover, Trifolium pratense L. (Leguminosae), and several species of Rosaceae; hosts for P. irroratus included these and Graminae, in particular Dactylis glomerata L. Density of S. acutus was positively correlated with percent T. pratense in ground cover and also was significantly lower on X-diseased trees with discolored foliage than on nondiseased trees.
Long-term Structural Health Monitoring System for a FRP Composite Highway Bridge Structure:

This article discusses the implementation of a long-term structural health monitoring system for a FRP highway bridge using vibration-based monitoring techniques. The design and installation of such a system is prompted by the need to present a quantitative assessment of structural response to owners and operators in order to provide early warnings for major changes in response in the case of impending catastrophic failures. The bridge under discussion is instrumented with accelerometers as well as corresponding data acquisition and transmission equipment for automatic data collection. Ambient vibration based techniques are used to extract modal parameters from measured bridge response. Information regarding the change of internal structural characteristics is then obtained through a mode shape curvature based approach. Structural stiffness change is based on the analysis of collected data. A finite element model updating technique is used to provide an improved baseline model. The updated model is then u...
Effect of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus on the growth and glycoside accumulation in Digitalis lanata. I. Leaf yield and total glycosides.

Plants of Digitalis lanata were grown in experimental soil cultures with a high level of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. It was observed that plants grown on the high level phosphorus produced a significantly less growth. No significant effects in total glycoside accumulation were observed in plants grown in high level potassium and nitrogen. On the other hand, leaf material from plants grown with a high level phosphorus showed a significant decrease in total glycoside yield.
DEPICTING THE ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY OF AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION FROM AN OVERALL PERSPECTIVE

Over the past few years public interest in value for money from educational institutions has obliged administrative and teaching staff in such organisations to plan, organise and control more effectively, and in some cases to upgrade quality. Improved performance in an educational establishment, by the use of strategy formulation and implementation, is possible and is demonstrated by reference to Southeastern Louisiana University which has recently undergone such an experience.
Scar wars: implications of fetal wound healing for the pediatric burn patient

Scar formation and fibrosis often cause devastating disabilities in children suffering severe burn injury. In contrast to the child, the fetus has the ability to heal skin injury without scar formation, and instead with regeneration of epithelial and mesenchymal tissues and restoration of normal skin architecture. In this paper we review those unique features of the fetus and fetal wound healing that may contribute to the scarless repair process. It is hoped that an understanding of these remarkable reparative capabilities may lead to the development of new wound healing therapies that reduce or prevent scar formation and fibrosis in the management of children with burns.
Insulation haracteristics of Outdoor Garments and Fabric Systems

The thermal insulation (clo) values of different combinations of shell fabrics, linings, and filling materials were measured using a guarded hot plate. The same fabric systems were constructed into long and short coats, and an electrically heated manikin was used to measure the insulation provided by each coat worn with a standard set of indoor garments. The type of fabric and/or filling material significantly affected the insulation provided by fabric systems and coat ensem bles. The long coats were significantly warmer than their shorter counterparts, and the sensitivity of garment clo to fabric clo was greater for the long coats than for the short coats. It appears that small differences in the thermal insulation of fabric systems become more important when most of the body is covered with a given fabric system. However, when an outdoor garment covers only part of the body and is worn over garments with less thermal resistance, the garment's contribution to total body insulation is lessened.
Pilot Identification of Proposed Electronic Symbols for Displays of Aeronautical Charting Information

Many electronic displays of aeronautical charting information currently use different symbols for common display elements, creating the risk of confusion and misinterpretation. The SAE International Aerospace Behavior and Technology (G-10) Aeronautical Charting Committee, an industry group of subject matter experts, is developing an updated recommendations document that would provide guidance on what symbols to use on these displays. This paper describes a study conducted to evaluate some of the symbology proposed by the committee. Instrument-rated pilots were asked to identify proposed electronic symbols, and to rate their confidence in their response. The goal of this task was to determine whether pilots could correctly identify the proposed symbols, even though they may not be familiar with some of the specific symbols. Most of the symbols were well recognized, but a few were problematic.
On performance evaluation of swarm-based live peer-to-peer streaming applications

During recent years, swarm-based peer-to-peer streaming (SPS) mechanisms have become increasingly popular for scalable delivery of live streams over the Internet. The performance of SPS mechanisms depends on the overall effect of several factors including the connectivity of the overlay, the details of packet scheduling scheme and environment settings (e.g., peer and source bandwidth). Prior studies often presented overall performance of their proposed techniques in terms of delivered quality to all peers at a particular setting without demonstrating their inherent performance bottlenecks. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether and how the reported performance of an SPS mechanism might change as a function of available resources or the connectivity of the overlay. In this paper, we present a simple yet effective methodology for performance evaluation of SPS mechanisms. Our methodology leverages an organized view of an overlay coupled with a two-phase notion of content delivery in SPS mechanisms to derive a set of metrics that collectively capture the behavior of each phase of content delivery. Therefore, the collection of our metrics can be viewed as the "signature of content delivery" of a given SPS mechanism. We also present the signature of a well-performing SPS mechanism that can be used as a reference for assessment of other mechanisms. To demonstrate the ability of our proposed evaluation methodology in identifying performance bottlenecks of SPS mechanisms and their underlying causes, we conduct two case studies: (1) assessing the performance of a set of candidate packet scheduling schemes; and (2) examining the effect of overlay localization on the performance of SPS mechanisms. In addition to illustrating the use of our methodology through examples, our case studies shed an insightful light on the performance bottlenecks in our target scenarios.
Fukuoka Japanese wh prosody in production and perception

The relationship between wh prosody and wh scope in Tokyo Japanese has been both empirically and theoretically controversial. This paper examines the production and perception of wh prosody in the Fukuoka dialect. Results confirm that the characteristic wh prosodic contour and the relationship between wh prosody and wh scope identified in earlier impressionistic and small-scale empirical studies can be observed in the speech of young-adult, linguistically naive speakers of this dialect. However, wh prosody and the prosody/scope relationship show variation both within and between speakers. In particular, the relationship between wh prosody and wh scope is not necessarily the same in perception and production, even for the same speaker; this is consistent with previous findings from Tokyo Japanese.
Initial investigation into the Suzuki–Miyaura vinylation of hindered aryl bromides utilizing potassium vinyltrifluoroborate

Abstract An initial study of the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling of potassium vinyltrifluoroborate (2) and hindered aryl bromides is presented. Coupling of benzyl 3,5-bis(benzyloxy)-4-bromobenzoate (1) leads to a mixture of the desired styrene derivative, and the reduced product.
Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 2: structure, function, and diseases.

Abstract Objectives To systematically review literature about the structure and function of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 2 (NOD2) and its disease association. Methods The English literature was searched using keywords “NOD2” and “disease”. Relevant original and review articles were reviewed. Results NOD2 is an intracellular protein and shares similar molecular structure with NOD1, pyrin, and cryopyrin. There are more than 100 NOD2 gene mutations, some of which have been linked to diseases such as Crohn disease, Blau syndrome, and NOD2-associated autoinflammatory disease (NAID). The NOD2 variants located in the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) region are susceptible to Crohn disease, and the variants in the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) and in between the NBD and LRR are associated with Blau syndrome and NAID, respectively. No disease association with the gene variants has been found in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, adult sarcoidosis, granulomatous polyangiitis, or multiple sclerosis. The potential association of the NOD2 variants with graft-versus-host-disease remains controversial. NOD2 functions mainly through RICK or RIP2 to activate p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases and NF-κB, resulting in inflammatory response, and enhanced autophagic activity. Biologic therapy may be beneficial for NOD2-associated diseases, and new drug development may be realized based upon the signaling pathways. Conclusions NOD2 gene mutations are associated with several diseases, and some of the mutations are of diagnostic value in Blau disease and NAID. To understand the NOD2 function, disease association, and its pathogenesis is important given the ever increasing clinical significance of NOD2.
Preliminary investigation of elongational flow of dilute polymer solutions

A tubeless siphon apparatus has been set up to measure extensional flow. In this apparatus, the liquid is continuously drawn into a capillary and, after steady flow has been established, the tube is raised above the liquid surface. With viscoelastic liquids, the flow continues and a column can be lifted from the reservoir. At the capillary entrance, an oscillating bead of excess liquid collects which interferes with both the flow and the measurements. This can be minimized by careful control of the liquid-column height. For homogeneous solutions, the column is symmetrical and tapers steadily from the liquid surface to the capillary entrance, with no bulging. Preliminary results show tensile viscosities 1000 times that of the Trouton coefficient and having a very strong dependence on deformation rate. A concentration-stretch rate-reduced variable scheme is proposed.
Unwed fathers’ ability to pay child support: New estimates accounting for multiple-partner fertility

We present new estimates of unwed fathers’ ability to pay child support. Prior research relied on surveys that drastically undercounted nonresident unwed fathers and provided no link to their children who lived in separate households. To overcome these limitations, previous research assumed assortative mating and that each mother partnered with one father who was actually eligible to pay support and had no other child support obligations. Because the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study contains data on couples, multiple-partner fertility, and a rich array of other previously unmeasured characteristics of fathers, it is uniquely suited to address the limitations of previous research. We also use an improved method of dealing with missing data. Our findings suggest that previous research overestimated the aggregate ability of unwed nonresident fathers to pay child support by 33% to 60%.
Developmental Outcome of Infants with Severe Intracranial-intraventricular Hemorrhage and Hydrocephalus with and without Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt

Thirty-six infants who developed grade III and IV intraventricular hemorrhages during the neonatal period were followed up to determine their developmental quotient. All of these infants had ventriculomegaly and 15 of them required a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt during the neonatal period prior to discharge from Intensive Care Nursery. The mean developmental quotient for the infants with the VP shunt was 67.93. The mean developmental quotient for the infants with ventriculomegaly but no VP shunt was 88.71 (P<0.02). Among the nonshunted group of infants, 13 (61.9%) had developmental quotients greater than 85, and among the shunted group 5 infants (33.3%) had developmental quotients greater than 85. Fifty percent of the total group of infants had normal developmental quotients at a mean chronological age of 16.25±7.5 months (and corrected age 14 months). Infants developing posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus and requiring VP shunts had a poorer developmental outcome compared to those who did not require shunts.
Parties as reflectors of the feminine sensibility: Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway counters James's the wings of the dove

This article examines the ways in which parties conceived by women writers elucidate the feminine sensibility and feminine concerns with communication. Communication occurs through the preparation of a context—the making of the party from the planning stage, through the purchasing and preparation of food, to its opening in an artfully ordered drawing‐room. It occurs through attention to relationships between partygoers spatially; through attention to people over objects; through attention to the individual hostesses’ attempts to shape the meaning of events internally, intrapersonally; and through an exchange of meaning between individuals through a system of symbols constellated around death. A comparison of Clarissa Dalloway's party in Virginia Woolf's novel with Milly Theale's in Henry James's The Wings of the Dove aptly conveys the differences between male/female reflections of the party and illuminates how death figures prominently in feminine imaginings of social gatherings. Death is the metaphor to ...
Contractile Activity Modulates Atrial Natriuretic Factor Gene Expression in Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes

Abstract [Ca 2+ ] i transients, and the activation of Ca 2+ -sensitive kinases have been considered potential signaling mechanisms regulating ANF gene expression in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM). However, it is unclear whether [Ca 2+ ] i is directly involved, or is indirectly involved by generating additional mechanical signals via contractile activity. Primary cultures of spontaneously contracting NRVM (CON), and NRVM treated for 48 h with verapamil (V, 10μ m ), KCl (50 m m ), or 2,3-butanedione monoxime (BDM, 7.5 m m ) were used to delineate the affects of contractile activity v [Ca 2+ ] i . Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, inhibits contraction and decreases [Ca 2+ ] i . High [K + ] o causes membrane depolarization, loss of contraction, and elevates [Ca 2+ ] i ; whereas BDM strongly inhibits contractile activity but only modestly reduces [Ca 2+ ] i transients. ANF production, as assessed by radioimmunoassay, was significantly reduced upon contractile arrest independently of [Ca 2+ ] i levels. Northern blotting analysis demonstrated that contractile arrest also reduced ANF mRNA levels. Transient transfection of a 3003 bp ANF promoter-luciferase expression plasmid in CON, V, KCl, and BDM-treated NRVM demonstrated marked down-regulation of ANF promoter activity in all of the contractile arrested myocytes. These results indicate that the activation of Ca 2+ -sensitive processes alone are insufficient to maintain high levels of ANF gene expression and peptide production in NRVM.
Ultrasound-Induced Thermal Elevation in Clotted Blood and Cranial Bone

Ultrasound thermal effects have been hypothesized to contribute to ultrasound-assisted thrombolysis. To explore the thermal mechanism of ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) for the treatment of ischemic stroke, a detailed investigation is needed of the heating produced in skull, brain and blood clots. A theoretical model is developed to provide an estimate for the worst-case scenario of the temperature increase in blood clots and on the surface of cranial bone exposed to 0.12- to 3.5-MHz ultrasound. Thermal elevation was also assessed experimentally in human temporal bone, human clots and porcine clots exposed to 0.12 to 3.5-MHz pulsed ultrasound in vitro with a peak-to-peak pressure of 0.25 MPa and 80% duty cycle. Blood clots exposed to 0.12-MHz pulsed ultrasound exhibited a small temperature increase (0.25° C) and bone exposed to 1.0-MHz pulsed ultrasound exhibited the highest temperature increase (1.0° C). These experi- mental results were compared with the predicted temperature elevations. (E-mail: nahirnvm@email.uc.edu) © 2007 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Inherent differences in sensitivity to methylxanthines among inbred mice

Abstract The behavioral effects of caffeine, theophylline, paraxanthine, and theobromine on locomotor activity were analyzed in four strains of inbred mice that were previously shown to differ in their acute toxic responses to caffeine administered at high dosages. Dose response curves for the effects of caffeine, theophylline, paraxanthine and theobromine on locomotor activity were established in CBA/J, C57BL/6J, DBA/2J and SWR/J strains of inbred mice. Paraxanthine was the maximally effective methylxanthine in the CBA/J, DBA/2J and SWR/J strains, while in the C57BL/6J strain, caffeine was the maximally effective methylxanthine. Theophylline failed to stimulate locomotor activity in the C57BL/6J strain and theobromine failed to stimulate activity in all of the strains tested. Decreases in locomotor activity were seen at the 100 mg/kg dose of caffeine in the C57BL/6J mice and at the 100 mg/kg dose of theophylline in the C57BL/6J, DBA/2J and SWR/J strains. Theobromine produced decreases in locomotor activity in the C57BL/6J, DBA/2J and SWR/J strains of mice. In contrast to the other methylxanthines, paraxanthine failed to decrease activity across the range of doses tested (1.0–150 mg/kg). These data suggest that the methylxanthines have genetically specified multiple modes of action upon locomotor activity and that the use of genetically distinct strains of mice may have important value in the neurochemical and pharmacological dissection of methylxanthine-induced behavioral effects.
A prognostic signature of G₂ checkpoint function in melanoma cell lines

As DNA damage checkpoints are barriers to carcinogenesis, G2 checkpoint function was quantified to test for override of this checkpoint during melanomagenesis. Primary melanocytes displayed an effective G2 checkpoint response to ionizing radiation (IR)-induced DNA damage. Thirty-seven percent of melanoma cell lines displayed a significant defect in G2 checkpoint function. Checkpoint function was melanoma subtype-specific with “epithelial-like” melanoma lines, with wild type NRAS and BRAF displaying an effective checkpoint, while lines with mutant NRAS and BRAF displayed defective checkpoint function. Expression of oncogenic B-Raf in a checkpoint-effective melanoma attenuated G2 checkpoint function significantly but modestly. Other alterations must be needed to produce the severe attenuation of G2 checkpoint function seen in some BRAF-mutant melanoma lines. Quantitative trait analysis tools identified mRNA species whose expression was correlated with G2 checkpoint function in the melanoma lines. A 165 gene signature was identified with a high correlation with checkpoint function (p < 0.004) and low false discovery rate (≤ 0.077). The G2 checkpoint gene signature predicted G2 checkpoint function with 77–94% accuracy. The signature was enriched in lysosomal genes and contained numerous genes that are associated with regulation of chromatin structure and cell cycle progression. The core machinery of the cell cycle was not altered in checkpoint-defective lines but rather numerous mediators of core machinery function were. When applied to an independent series of primary melanomas, the predictive G2 checkpoint signature was prognostic of distant metastasis-free survival. These results emphasize the value of expression profiling of primary melanomas for understanding melanoma biology and disease prognosis.
Missing Observations in Multivariate Statistics I. Review of the Literature

Abstract In this paper we review the literature on the problem of handling multivariate data with observations missing on some or all of the variables under study. We examine the ways that statisticians have devised to estimate means, variances, correlations and linear regression functions from such data and refer to specific computer programs for carrying out the estimation. We show how the estimation problems can be simplified if the missing data follows certain patterns. Finally, we outline the statistical properties of the various estimators.
Empirically-Based Guidelines for the Design of Interactive Multimedia.

While interest in interactive multimedia continues to grow, thus far its activities have been driven more by technological capacity than research and theory. Typically, guidelines for interactive multimedia design are based not upon empirical evidence, but on the intuitive beliefs of designers. In this article, relevant research and theory are organized within an overarching framework, and their principles and implications for the design of interactive multimedia are derived.
COMPARISON OF RATES OF WATER INTAKE IN CONTIGUOUS REGIONS OF INTACT AND ISOLATED ROOTS.

Although extensive investigations dealing with the problem of water absorption in roots have been carried out for many years, practically no attempt has been made to obtain quantitative data on water absorption by root tissue per se. Most of the investigations in the past have been made on intact and topped plants. When, however, it is desirable to compare the activities of the root in the presence of shoot influences with those in its absence, it is imperative that all of the shoot tissue be removed ; since it has been shown (16) that auxin applied to the topped stem influences translocation of water and solutes in the roots, it may be that substances produced by the stem will do the same. It might be objected that roots removed from their "normal'' connections by excision are in an "abnormal" state. Such roots nevertheless continue to grow and transport water and solutes for many hours after excision. As pointed out later, a given region in a single root under controlled conditions may even transport greater volumes of water after excision.