cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of color temperatures (kelvin) of LED bulbs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and ocular development indices of broilers grown to heavy weights

Abstract Limited data are available for comparing light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs that are currently available in commercial broiler production facilities. We evaluated the effects of color temperatures (kelvin) of LED bulbs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and ocular development indices of broilers grown to heavy weights (>3.0 kg). The experiment had a randomized complete block design. Four treatments consisted of 3 LED light bulbs (2,700 [warm LED]; 5,000 [cool LED 1]; and 5,000 K [cool LED 2]) and incandescent light (2,010 K [ICD], standard) from day zero to 56 d of age. A total of 960 Ross × Ross 708 day-old chicks were equally and randomly distributed into 16 environmentally controlled rooms at 50% RH (30 males and 30 females/room). Thus, each of the 4 treatments was represented by 4 rooms (4 replicates) per trial. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. All birds were fed the same diet. Ocular specimens were collected on d 42 for development and histopathologic examination. Blood samples were collected on d 21, 28, 42, and 56 to determine plasma corticosterone. On d 56, twenty birds from each room (10 males and 10 females) were processed to determine weights and yields. The BW and BW gain (BWG), live weight, and carcass weights of birds reared under cool LED 1 were different in comparison to birds reared under ICD (P
SBML2LaTEX: Conversion of SBML files into human-readable reports

Summary: The XML-based Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) has emerged as a standard for storage, communication and interchange of models in systems biology. As a machine-readable format XML is difficult for humans to read and understand. Many tools are available that visualize the reaction pathways stored in SBML files, but many components, e.g. unit declarations, complex kinetic equations or links to MIRIAM resources, are often not made visible in these diagrams. For a broader understanding of the models, support in scientific writing and error detection, a human-readable report of the complete model is needed. We present SBML2LaTEX, a Java-based stand-alone program to fill this gap. A convenient web service allows users to directly convert SBML to various formats, including DVI, LaTEX and PDF, and provides many settings for customization. Availability: Source code, documentation and a web service are freely available at http://www.ra.cs.uni-tuebingen.de/software/SBML2LaTeX. Contact:ed.negnibeut-inu@regeard.saerdna Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Multi-gate pHEMT modeling for high-power operation

Multi-gate pHEMTs are key elements in switch circuits in wireless communication applications due to their low loss and high power capacity with relatively small sizes. A great concern on their high power operation is the power step-back at on-state and at certain power level with harmonics deteriorated. In this paper we discuss the mechanism of power step-back. The power that can pass through an on-state pHEMT is dependent on saturation current, or the maximum available channel current. A premature power step-back or gain collapse in a multi-gate pHEMT is due to largely reduced saturation channel current caused by self-heating in center gate or gates. We developed a self-heating thermal model for multi-gate pHEMTs that can predict power level at that the power step-back and related hysteresis occur.
Self-interaction in natural orbital functional theory

Spurious self-interaction is shown to be responsible for essentially exact H2 potential energy curves calculated using simple one-electron density matrix functionals. For molecules with more than two electrons, bond-stretching potentials are unrealistically shallow due to overcorrelation that is most severe in the separated-atom limit. In addition, too much population is shifted into orbitals beyond the formal valence shell. Both problems are remedied by a facile self-interaction correction. At large internuclear distance, the corrected potentials are superior to those obtained from Hartree– Fock and density functional theories. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Sampling-based RBDO using the stochastic sensitivity analysis and Dynamic Kriging method

This paper presents a sampling-based RBDO method using surrogate models. The Dynamic Kriging (D-Kriging) method is used for surrogate models, and a stochastic sensitivity analysis is introduced to compute the sensitivities of probabilistic constraints with respect to independent or correlated random variables. For the sampling-based RBDO, which requires Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) to evaluate the probabilistic constraints and stochastic sensitivities, this paper proposes new efficiency and accuracy strategies such as a hyper-spherical local window for surrogate model generation, sample reuse, local window enlargement, filtering of constraints, and an adaptive initial point for the pattern search. To further improve computational efficiency of the sampling-based RBDO method for large-scale engineering problems, parallel computing is proposed as well. Once the D-Kriging accurately approximates the responses, there is no further approximation in the estimation of the probabilistic constraints and stochastic sensitivities, and thus the sampling-based RBDO can yield very accurate optimum design. In addition, newly proposed efficiency strategies as well as parallel computing help find the optimum design very efficiently. Numerical examples verify that the proposed sampling-based RBDO can find the optimum design more accurately than some existing methods. Also, the proposed method can find the optimum design more efficiently than some existing methods for low dimensional problems, and as efficient as some existing methods for high dimensional problems when the parallel computing is utilized.
Supporting Program Comprehension in Agile with Links to User Stories

Agile software development involves continuously making iterative and incremental changes to source code. When making changes, developers quickly focus on parts of code that they consider to be important, and sometimes miss other relevant parts. Therefore, tool support is needed to help developers locate conceptually related sections of code. In this paper, we present Zelda, a tool designed to work with Agile practices that captures and maintains links between high-level information and source code. We evaluated Zelda with a pilot study where subjects were required to make a change to a small web application (10KLOCs). They were given a task description either on paper or in Zelda. We found that the Zelda Group made more accurate changes, were less likely to become disoriented, and were more willing to access additional information.
Fracture resistance of compromised endodontically treated teeth restored with bonded post and cores: An in vitro study

Abstract Statement of problem It is unclear which post and core system performs best when bonded to severely compromised endodontically treated teeth. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the fracture resistance and mode of failure of severely compromised teeth restored with 3 different adhesively bonded post and core systems. Material and methods Thirty extracted endodontically treated maxillary anterior teeth were randomly divided into 3 groups, CPC, gold cast post and core; TPC, titanium prefabricated post/composite resin core; and FPC, quartz fiber reinforced post/composite resin core. All posts were adhesively cemented. All cores resembled a central incisor preparation with no remaining tooth structure above the finish line. Cast gold crowns were fabricated and cemented adhesively. The specimens were aged with thermocycling and cyclic loading. Two specimens per group were randomly selected for micro-computed tomographic imaging before and after aging. Failure was induced with a universal testing machine. The mode of failure was characterized by the interface separation. Data were analyzed with 1-way ANOVA (α=.05) followed by post hoc tests (Bonferroni). Results A statistically significant difference was found among the 3 groups ( P =.002). CPC was significantly different than TPC ( P =.008) or FPC ( P =.003). The primary mode of failure for CPC and TPC was root fracture, and for FPC post debonding. Conclusions Severely compromised endodontically treated teeth restored with bonded gold cast post and cores showed significantly higher fracture resistance.
Electron‐impact‐induced ring condensation. The mass spectra of some aryl‐alkyl diethers

The mass spectra of catechol polymethylene diether homologs have been determined and the formation of unexpected fragment ions is reported. The size of the aliphatic ring significantly influences the relative intensity of the various ions produced. Possible mechanisms involving a ring contraction process are suggested to explain the formation of one of the common ion fragments (a) in the homologous series. Deuterium labeling experiments indicate that fragment ion a is formed by participation of the α carbons, but extensive isotope scrambling prevents the establishment of a concrete mechanism for the formation of the common catechol ion fragment (m/e 110).
Verification of Fine-grain Concurrent Programs

Intel has announced that in future each standard computer chip will contain many processors operating concurrently on the same shared memory; their use of memory is interleaved at the fine granularity of individual memory accesses. The speed of the individual processors will never be significantly faster than they are today. Continued increase in performance will therefore depend on the skill of programmers in exploiting the concurrency of this multi-core architecture. In addition, programmers will have to avoid increased risks of race conditions, non-determinism, deadlocks and livelocks. To reduce these risks, we propose a theory of correctness for fine-grain concurrent programs. The approach is just an amalgamation of a number of well-known and well-researched ideas, including flowcharts, Floyd assertions, Petri nets, process algebra, separation logic, critical regions and rely/guarantee reasoning. These ideas are applied in combination to the design of a structured calculus of correctness for fine-grain concurrent programs; it includes the main features of a structured concurrent programming language.
Young Children's Spontaneous Utterances of Mental Terms and the Accuracy of Their Memory Behaviors: A Different Methodological Approach

The purpose of this study was to determine whether young children's spontaneous utterances of mental terms would be congruent with the accuracy of their memory behaviours, and whether the use of an incidental memory task would yield similar developmental patterns as other methodologies. It was hypothesized that if children realize that internal mental activities influence behavioural actions, then the children's behavioural actions (recall) would be congruent with their utterances. A total of 27 three- and five-year-old children spontaneously used cognitive verbs such as knowing, forgetting, remembering, thinking, guessing and betting during a recall task. The results revealed that 39% of the 3-year-old children's behavioural responses and 67% of the 5-year-old children were congruent with their spontaneous utterances. These and other findings were consistent with studies that utilized different methodologies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stereotype Susceptibility in Children: Effects of Identity Activation on Quantitative Performance:

A growing body of research indicates that the activation of negative stereotypes can impede cognitive performance in adults, whereas positive stereotypes can facilitate cognitive performance. In two studies, we examined the effects of positive and negative stereotypes on the cognitive performance of children in three age groups: lower elementary school, upper elementary school, and middle school. Very young children in the lower elementary grades (kindergarten-grade 2) and older children in the middle school grades (grades 6-8) showed shifts in performance associated with the activation of positive and negative stereotypes; these shifts were consistent with patterns previously reported for adults. The subtle activation of negative stereotypes significantly impeded performance, whereas the subtle activation of positive stereotypes significantly facilitated performance. Markedly different effects were found for children in the upper elementary grades (grades 3-5). These results suggest that the development of stereotype susceptibility is a critical domain for understanding the connection between stereotypes and individual behavior
Commentary: The Use of Health and Behavior Codes in Pediatric Psychology: Where Are We Now?

This article focuses on the current status of the use of Health and Behavior (H&B) codes by pediatric psychologists. We address the rationale for the use of these codes in a pediatric psychology setting, practice updates since the codes were initiated, and our experience with utilizing these codes in one pediatric hospital. We conclude with a summary of our assertions and future directions for policy and practice. Language: en
Operator Dilations with Prescribed Commutators

A dilation problem with prescribed commutator for pairs of selfadjoint matrices is related constructively to the truncated moment problems in the plane for positive measures as well as for bounded functions. A series of particular cases of this dilation problem reveals its deep connections with the structure of some classes of semi-normal operators.
Talking in circles: selective sharing in google+

Online social networks have become indispensable tools for information sharing, but existing 'all-or-nothing' models for sharing have made it difficult for users to target information to specific parts of their networks. In this paper, we study Google+, which enables users to selectively share content with specific 'Circles' of people. Through a combination of log analysis with surveys and interviews, we investigate how active users organize and select audiences for shared content. We find that these users frequently engaged in selective sharing, creating circles to manage content across particular life facets, ties of varying strength, and interest-based groups. Motivations to share spanned personal and informational reasons, and users frequently weighed ''limiting' factors (e.g. privacy, relevance, and social norms) against the desire to reach a large audience. Our work identifies implications for the design of selective sharing mechanisms in social networks.
Critical role of allyl groups and disulfide chain in induction of Pi class glutathione transferase in mouse tissues in vivo by diallyl disulfide, a naturally occurring chemopreventive agent in garlic

We have shown previously that the chemoprotective activity of diallyl disulfide (DADS), a naturally occurring anticancer agent in garlic, against benzo[a]pyrene (BP)-induced forestomach carcinogenesis in mice correlates strongly with its inductive effects on the expression of Pi class glutathione (GSH) transferase mGSTP1-1. The present structure-activity relationship studies were designed to define the role of allyl groups and the disulfide chain in mGSTP1-inducing activity of DADS. Hepatic mGSTP1 mRNA levels rose rapidly upon treatment of mice with DADS, reached a maximum between 12 and 24 h (< or =5.7-fold induction) and fell to control levels by 48 h after DADS treatment. Induction of mGSTP1 mRNA in the forestomach was maximal between 6 and 12 h after DADS treatment (< or =4.7-fold induction). The mGSTP1 mRNA expression was either unaltered (liver) or moderately increased (forestomach) upon treatment of mice with dipropyl disulfide (DPDS), which is a naturally occurring saturated analog of DADS. These results indicated that the allyl groups are critical for the mGSTP1-inducing activity of DADS. A statistically significant increase in the expression of mGSTP1 mRNA was also observed in the liver and forestomach of mice treated with diallyl monosulfide (DAMS), albeit to a much lesser extent compared with DADS. These results indicated that the oligosulfide chain length in garlic organosulfides (OSCs) is equally important for their mGSTP1-inducing activity. The role of the disulfide chain in DADS-mediated induction of mGSTP1 was further investigated by testing a pair of alkadienes (1,7-octadiene and 1,8-nonadiene) having structural similarity to DADS. Both DADS and the alkadienes carry allyl groups at both ends of a linear molecule and the distance between the allylic carbon atoms is similar in both compounds, but the central disulfide chain of DADS is replaced with an alkyl chain in the alkadienes. The alkadienes were either ineffective or moderately active in increasing mGSTP1 expression. In conclusion, the results of the present study clearly indicate that the presence of terminal allyl groups as well as the central disulfide chain is required for maximum induction of mGSTP1 in vivo by garlic-derived OSCs.
Novel hydrothermal processing (<100/spl deg/C) of ceramic-polymer composites for integral capacitor applications

Synthesis of high K thin films via low cost low temperature process remains a major challenge in realizing integral capacitors for SOP applications. The current study explores synthesis of Barium Titanate by Hydrothermal process. BaTiO/sub 3/ films using hydrothermal synthesis at temperatures less than 100/spl deg/C has been reported previously. However, these films are typically porous and hence give a very low dielectric constant and low yield. Precursor films are hence heat-treated and densified at temperatures higher than 300/spl deg/C to obtain a good yield and hence a high dielectric constant which makes these processes incompatible with organic based build-up processes. Hence the process was modified to infiltrate a polymer into these porous films to improve the yield, reliability and subsequent processing of these films. BaTiO/sub 3/ films were also synthesized on Titanium foils with the goal of integrating them with the standard PWB processes. Dielectric constant of 700 and specific capacitances more than 1000 nF/cm/sup 2/ have been achieved by this modified hydrothermal process. The microstructure of the film and the polymer infiltration can be optimized to synthesize reliable films with high dielectric constant and low loss tangent. Hence, the film morphology and thickness are being studied to optimize the processing conditions for reliable films.
Scheduling jobs to consider physiological factors

We studied scheduling jobs and breaks for a single worker. The processing time of jobs increases as the worker tires. In this study, we assume that conventional machine scheduling models do not always work for humans. So, while determining the break time, we consider the workers' physiological factors. The two objectives considered are the total flow time and makespan. An exact mathematical model and heuristic algorithm are developed to solve large problems. Numerical examples are presented for understanding and analyzing the performance of the mathematical model and the heuristic. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Texting insincerely

Text messaging is one of the most frequently used computer-mediated communication (CMC) methods. The rapid pace of texting mimics face-to-face communication, leading to the question of whether the critical non-verbal aspects of conversation, such as tone, are expressed in CMC. Much of the research in this domain has involved large corpus analyses, focusing on the contents of texts, but not how receivers comprehend texts. We ask whether punctuation - specifically, the period - may serve as a cue for pragmatic and social information. Participants read short exchanges in which the response either did or did not include a sentence-final period. When the exchanges appeared as text messages, the responses that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than those that did not end with a period. No such difference was found for handwritten notes. We conclude that punctuation is one cue used by senders, and understood by receivers, to convey pragmatic and social information. Participants read exchanges in which the response did or did not end with a period.Texts that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than those that did not.For handwritten notes, no such difference was found.
Four Models of Competition and their Implications for Marketing Strategy

This paper by Nelson focuses on four models or views of competition—economic, biological, globalization, and socialpsychological. Each model helps understand competition as a complex social and ind...
Operative Explantation of Inferior Vena Cava Filters

Background: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) has been used since described by Carea in 1956 to treat symptomatic Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) patients with proven efficacy and safety. CEA for asymptomatic patients remains a debate. Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of modified CEA technique in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with significant carotid stenosis. Methods: Retrospective study was held at Mercy University Hospital. Two hundreds and eighty patients were admitted between 2005 to 2010 for CEA; 132 patients were asymptomatic and 148 patients were symptomatic. Preoperative patients’ characteristics & indication of surgery were analysed. Operative details were recorded including selective shunting & patching with modified shorter arteriotomy technique. Immediate, early and late post-operative complications, ICU and hospital stay and death rates were assessed. Results: Postoperative transient ischemic attacks (TIA) rate was 2.5% in all patients. Thirty days postoperative strokes were recorded only in symptomatic group (2.14%). Total TIAs and strokes in 30 days postoperative were significantly associated with symptomatic group comparing to asymptomatic one (P 1⁄4 *0.02). ICU and post-operative hospital stay was longer in symptomatic group. All patients postoperative blood transfusion rate was 1.78%. It was statistically associated with symptomatic group (P 1⁄4 *0.04). Other postoperative complications were analysed in both groups with no statistical difference. Mortality rate was (1.4%). It was only registered in symptomatic group. Conclusion: CEA in asymptomatic CAS patient group is safe & effective. It should be done in high volume centres. Modification of endarterectomy technique with selective shunting and patching shorten the surgery time without compromising safety or outcome.
Prophylactic Bilateral Gonadectomy for Ovotesticular Disorder of Sex Development in a Patient With Mosaic 45,X/46,X,idic(Y)q11.222 Karyotype

Ovotesticular disorder of sex development is historically thought to confer a relatively low risk of germ cell malignancy relative to other disorders of sex development. This is likely due in part to the high prevalence of a normal 46,XX karyotype in these patients. However, disorders of sex development represent a broad phenotypic spectrum, and often patients cannot be neatly categorized with a single diagnosis. We report an atypical case of ovotesticular disorder of sex development in a child with ambiguous genitalia and 45,X/46,XY mosaic karyotype. Prophylactic bilateral gonadectomy was performed at age 14 months.
Steemann Nielsen and the zooplankton

E. Steemann Nielsen is remembered by most biological oceanographers and limnologists as having introduced the 14C method for measuring photosynthesis in 1952. The present paper is to recall that he was interested in the phytoplankton as part of the plankton community and was much aware of the role of grazing in affecting, if not determining, the concentrations of phytoplankton and, thus, also its rate of production. His principal statements to this effect were made with the open, oligotrophic subtropical and tropical oceans in mind where phytoplankton concentrations exhibit little seasonal change. This paper shows that Steemann Nielsen's sentiment also applies to non-static situations, especially phytoplankton blooms. Of the blooms in Cushing's North Sea Calanus patches of 1949 and 1954 and the two low-latitude, open-sea iron fertilization experiments (IronEx I, II) of the 1990s, more than half or even most of the newly formed cells were lost daily. In these examples, the same water was revisited, mixing was considered, and sinking was an unimportant loss term, so that grazing was the principal cause of mortality. Because of the grazing losses and the subsequent regeneration the CO2 draw down in the fertilized water was much lower than the 14C uptake. Moreover the examples show that over the course of the blooms, the rate and even the sign of temporal change of phytoplankton abundance had little relation to the rate of cell division, as already postulated by Riley's 1946 model of the seasonal cycle of phytoplankton on Georges Bank. Thus, in most situations in the open sea and, presumably, large lakes, the rates of cell division (instead of photosynthesis by itself) and of mortality (most often from grazing) are needed for understanding and predicting the temporal change of phytoplankton abundance, a principal goal of biological oceanography. The mechanism maintaining the actual abundance of phytoplankton in the quasi-steady state prevailing over most of the ocean much of the time is still unclear.
Kinetic Contributions to Gating by Interactions Unique to N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) Receptors

Among glutamate-gated channels, NMDA receptors produce currents that subside with unusually slow kinetics, and this feature is essential to the physiology of central excitatory synapses. Relative to the homologous AMPA and kainate receptors, NMDA receptors have additional intersubunit contacts in the ligand binding domain that occur at both conserved and non-conserved sites. We examined GluN1/GluN2A single-channel currents with kinetic analyses and modeling to probe these class-specific intersubunit interactions for their role in glutamate binding and receptor gating. We found that substitutions that eliminate such interactions at non-conserved sites reduced stationary gating, accelerated deactivation, and imparted sensitivity to aniracetam, an AMPA receptor-selective positive modulator. Abolishing unique contacts at conserved sites also reduced stationary gating and accelerated deactivation. These results show that contacts specific to NMDA receptors, which brace the heterodimer interface within the ligand binding domain, stabilize actively gating receptor conformations and result in longer bursts and slower deactivations. They support the view that the strength of the heterodimer interface modulates gating in both NMDA and non-NMDA receptors and that unique interactions at this interface are responsible in part for basic differences between the kinetics of NMDA and non-NMDA currents at glutamatergic synapses.
The Market Response to Federal Inspections of U.S. Bank Holding Companies

Do federal bank examinations add value to the market's supervisory process? To address this question, we investigate whether Federal Reserve inspections of bank holding companies have affected the association between banks' reported book values and the market value of their equity. Using data from the fourth quarters of 1988 and 1990, we find that government examinations significantly affected the market's interpretation of reported book values, although the particular effects vary between years and according to a bank's size and capitalization. In 1988, on-site examinations raised bank market values significantly (except for banks with low capitalization), while the 1990 exams had no significant effect on the average bank's market value. While our results imply that examinations can be valuable within the current institutional environment, we recognize that the same benefits could perhaps be realized through other mechanisms, such as increased use of private auditors or other forms of market discipline. In this respect, the social value of holding company inspections remains an open question.
Comparison of mid‐infrared Fourier transform vibrational circular dichroism measurements with single and dual polarization modulations

Fourier transform infrared vibrational circular dichroism (FTIR-VCD) measurements have gone through major advances in the last decade. A major thrust in these advances was to find ways that can minimize the VCD spectral artifacts and obtain the VCD signals at enhanced signal quality. However, all these advances are not incorporated in FTIR-VCD instruments manufactured by some commercial manufacturers. In this article, we compare the measurements obtained with single and dual polarization modulations to seek the attention of the users of single polarization modulation method in minimizing the artifacts in such measurements. We also report that the VCD spectrum of a home-made collagen film can serve as a simple and convenient sample for routine verification of the correct functioning of the VCD spectrometers. Chirality, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
29 OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA IS ASSOCIATED WITH BASELINE TESTOSTERONE LEVELS IN BORDERLINE HYPOGONADAL AGING MEN.

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) becomes more prevalent as men aging. In fact, age is the number one predictor for obstructive sleep apnea. At the same time, serum testosterone level decreases about 50% from age 30 to 80. Some previous studies have demonstrated a link between obstructive sleep apnea and testosterone supplement therapy. However, it has not been determined whether at baseline, obstructive sleep apnea is associated with serum testosterone level. Methods Twenty-eight older men between the ages of 60 to 80 with borderline hypogonadism were enrolled in this study. Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), baseline total serum testosterone level, age, BMI, neck size, and LDL level were evaluated. Study subjects were divided into those with obstructive sleep apnea (AHI ≥ 10) and a non-sleep apnea group (AHI Results At baseline, baseline serum testosterone levels (288 ± 48ng/dL) were significantly different (p = .001) between the obstructive sleep apnea group (n = 14) and the non-sleep apnea group (n = 14). Also, the AHI (17 ± 3) was inversely correlated with serum testosterone (r2= .20, p = .02). No other risk factors, including age (67 ± 6), BMI (29 ± 4 kg/m2), neck size (16 ± 1 inches), and LDL levels (103 ± 26 mg/dL), were significantly different between the two groups (p = ns). Conclusions In borderline hypogonadal aging men, baseline serum testosterone levels can be a predictor for the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.
School Engagement, Academic Achievement, and Positive Youth Development

School engagement is integral to the promotion of academic success. To explore the relations between school engagement and school success, we review findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development and other related research in order to describe how cognitive, emotional, and behavioral school engagement relate to academic success and thriving among youth. Based on the research we review, we make recommendations for in-school and out-of-school programs and for policies supporting such programs, which involve assessing school engagement across all school years, supporting peer mentoring and modeling programs, enhancing the integration of in-school school-engagement promotion with out-of-school-time youth development programs, and rigorously evaluating school-engagement enhancement initiatives. If proven effective through such evaluations, the programs and policies we recommend can lead to more actively engaged students. The actions can result, then, in the development of youth who invest their time and energy to achieve positive and valued academic and life goals.
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor induces a staurosporine inhibitable tyrosine phosphorylation of unique neutrophil proteins

Human neutrophils treated with chemotactic peptides or phorbol esters demonstrate tyrosine phosphorylation of a subset of proteins. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) induced a time- and concentration-dependent increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation of at least seven proteins. Three of these proteins with approximate molecular weights of 150, 95, and 70 Kd were unique to neutrophils treated with GM-CSF, and were not seen to be phosphorylated on tyrosine in neutrophils treated with the agonists FMLP or PMA, or the cytokines G-CSF and tumor necrosis factor. We found the 150-Kd protein to be localized within the cell particulate fraction and the 95- Kd protein within the cell cytosol. The 70-Kd phosphotyrosine protein was found in both fractions. When the neutrophils were treated with Triton X-100 (Sigma Chemical Co, St Louis, MO) to evaluate cytoskeletal associations of proteins, the 150 phosphotyrosine protein partitioned with the Triton X-100 insoluble cytoskeleton (TICS), and the 70-Kd protein partitioned with both the TICS and Triton X-100 soluble proteins. The GM-CSF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor ST638. This was not seen with the putative C-kinase inhibitor, H-7. However, staurosporine was seen to inhibit tyrosine phosphorylation of neutrophil proteins by GM-CSF and in vitro tyrosine kinase activity of isolated neutrophil cytosol and particulate fractions. These data indicate that the three unique GM-CSF- induced phosphotyrosine-containing proteins may be responsible for the unique actions of GM-CSF and that staurosporine inhibits a tyrosine kinase responsible for the phosphorylation of these proteins.
Outcomes of Preoperative MRI-Guided Needle Localization of Nonpalpable Mammographically Occult Breast Lesions.

OBJECTIVE. MRI-guided needle localization allows access to MRI-detected mammographically occult breast lesions that are not amenable to MRI-guided biopsy. The purpose of this study was to examine the safety and outcomes of MRI-guided needle localization. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Ninety-nine consecutive breast lesions that underwent preoperative MRI-guided needle localization were identified. Clinical indications for breast MRI, reasons for performing MRI-guided needle localization, and surgical pathology results were recorded. Lesion characteristics, procedure time, and complications were assessed. RESULTS. Of 99 lesions, 60 (60.6%) were in a location inaccessible for MRI biopsy, necessitating MRI-guided needle localization. Histologic evaluation revealed 38 (38.4%) carcinomas, 31 (31.3%) high-risk lesions, and 30 (30.3%) benign lesions. Carcinoma was more likely to be found in women with known cancer (31/61 [50.8%]; p = 0.003) than in women undergoing imaging for high-risk screening (2/18 [11.1%]) or probl...
THE BENEFICIAL ROLE OF L1 SPOKEN LANGUAGE SKILLS ON INITIAL L2 SIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING: Cognitive and Linguistic Predictors of M2L2 Acquisition

Understanding how language modality (i.e., signed vs. spoken) affects second language outcomes in hearing adults is important both theoretically and pedagogically, as it can determine the specificity of second language (L2) theory and inform how best to teach a language that uses a new modality. The present study investigated which cognitive-linguistic skills predict successful L2 sign language acquisition. A group ( n = 25) of adult hearing L2 learners of American Sign Language underwent a cognitive-linguistic test battery before and after one semester of sign language instruction. A number of cognitive-linguistic measures of verbal memory, phonetic categorization skills, and vocabulary knowledge were examined to determine whether they predicted proficiency in a multiple linear regression analysis. Results indicated that English vocabulary knowledge and phonetic categorization skills predicted both vocabulary growth and self-rated proficiency at the end of one semester of instruction. Memory skills did not significantly predict either proficiency measures. These results highlight how linguistic skills in the first language (L1) directly predict L2 learning outcomes regardless of differences in L1 and L2 language modalities.
Processing Acceleration with Resistive Memory-based Computation

The Internet of Things significantly increases the amount of data generated that strains the processing capability of current computing systems. Approximate computing can accelerate the computation and dramatically reduce the energy consumption with controllable accuracy loss. In this paper, we propose a Resistive Associative Unit, called RAU, which approximates computation alongside processing cores. RAU exploits the data locality with associative memory. It finds a row which has the closest distance to input patterns while considering the impact of each bit index on the computation accuracy. Our evaluation shows that RAU can accelerate the GPGPU computation by 1.15x and improve the energy efficiency by 36% at only 10% accuracy loss.
Niccolo’s Lesson: Machiavelli’s Advice to Policy Advisors

Machiavelli thought that princes should be able to lie, but he wrote—and lived as if he believed—that policy advisors must tell the truth. To do less, he thought—to shape analyses to fit the preferences of powerful patrons—was to sacrifice both political utility and professional self-respect. But also, he knew that speaking truth to power is dangerous business. To lessen the risks, he counseled advisors to rely on boldness or, as conditions might require, to practice artful sycophancy (an echo of his advice to princes about imitating lions and foxes). The twist in Machiavelli’s story is that he could not follow his own advice. He should have known, but acted as if he didn’t, that advisors fail for the same reasons princes do—because of ignorance and an inability to adjust their methods to shifts in circumstance. In that sense, “Niccolo’s Lesson” is a cautionary tale that illuminates the duties, risks, and destinies of policy advisors in every age.
Physical metallurgy of steels: An overview

Abstract This chapter describes the phases and the association of the phases that produce the well-known traditional microstructures of carbon steels, namely the morphologies of ferrite, cementite, pearlite, bainite, and martensite as produced as a function of cooling from temperatures at which austenite is stable. Recent alloying and processing approaches, as described in later chapters of this volume, produce the unique modifications of these phases and microstructures that comprise the automotive steels described in this volume.
Electricity costs for a Level 3 electric vehicle fueling station integrated with a building

Abstract Despite the potential environmental benefits, plugin electric vehicles (PEVs) face challenges associated with driving range and long refueling times. Level 3 electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) is capable of refueling PEVs quickly, but may face economic challenges, such as high utility demand charges. The current study extends prior work to determine if lower utility costs can be achieved by integrating Level 3 EVSE with a commercial or industrial building. Models are developed to simulate travel patterns using real travel data, building demand based upon real building data, and subsequent refueling of Level 3 compatible PEVs to evaluate cost implications of integrating public fast charging into real buildings operating under current electric utility rate structures. Two types of Level 3 refueling station operations are considered (conventional and valet parking). By integrating EVSE with a building, savings can be produced if lower cost energy is accessed, and by the sharing of demand charges between the PEV drivers and the building. These savings were determined to be much more significant to the refueled PEVs than any examined building. The dynamics of building electricity consumption have a large effect on overall demand charge cost reductions, with high load factor buildings providing the smallest savings. Lower load factor buildings may experience a larger benefit, but only if the maximum building demand does not coincide with the refueling of PEVs. In general, savings tend to disappear or turn into losses when valet parking is active and PEV traffic is moderate to high. Increasing building size reduces the risk of peak building and PEV refueling demand coinciding, maintaining savings for PEVs. However, the relative value of the savings due to integration disappears for larger buildings. Installing multiple EVSE can provide a cost benefit under conventional parking, but nearly always increases costs under valet parking. Increasing EVSE power always reduces savings, or increases losses. Finally, if multiple utility rates exist, EVSE integration can result in a rate switch for small buildings, significantly increasing utility costs for the building.
Belief Heterogeneity in the Option Market and Return Predictability

The standard deviations of implied volatility levels, implied volatility innovations, and of the volatility premium all have significant predictive power for underlying returns. The return predictability is not explained by that previously documented for the levels of these three variables, or by firm characteristics and common risk factor models. We find support for interpreting the standard deviations of these option-based measures as forward-looking proxies of heterogeneous beliefs. The negative relationship between our three measures and future underlying returns we observe is consistent with the Miller (1977) theoretical result that divergence of investor opinions leads to lower expected returns.
Adaptive Batch Scheduling for Packet Switching with Delays

We have outlined scheduling policies to guarantee maximal throughput in packet switching networks where delays are significant. The increasing data speeds in networks make it unrealistic to utilize scheduling algorithms that allocate switch modes and reconfigure physical devices at the same rate that data is arriving at each of the switch ports, especially when we consider applications such as the meta-switch network model.
A Political Case of Penetrating Cranial Trauma: The Injury of James Scott Brady.

James Brady, the White House press secretary during President Ronald Reagan's first term in office, was 1 of 4 people (including the President) wounded during an attempted assassination attempt on President Reagan's life on March 30, 1981. John Hinckley, Jr. was found not guilty of this attempt by reason of insanity. The assassination attempt was a ploy by Hinckley, Jr. to impress the actress Jodie Foster. Brady was the most seriously injured of the 4 who were wounded. He suffered a gunshot wound to the left forehead that traveled through the left frontal lobe, corpus callosum, and then into the right frontal and temporal lobes. He initially required a bifrontal craniotomy for evacuation of a right frontotemporal intraparenchymal hemorrhage and debridement of tract. His postoperative course was complicated by seizures, cerebrospinal fluid leakage (necessitating multiple reparative procedures), aspiration pneumonia, and pulmonary emboli. Despite the severity of his injury and perioperative morbidities, Mr. Brady made good recovery. Although permanently left with residual weakness on the left side of his body, making a wheelchair necessary, Brady maintained cognitive and personality traits that were very close to his preinjury baseline. As a result, James Brady and his wife, Sarah, led a call to create legislative reform subsequently known as the "Brady Bill." This bill controversially made mandatory background checks for the purchase of firearms from licensed dealers. Our work aims to describe the assassination attempt, the neurosurgical injury and management of Mr. Brady's case, and the brief historical sequel that followed.
"Chicken wars", water fights, and other contested ecologies along the rural-urban interface in California's Sierra Nevada foothills

The regional political ecology approach entails attention to chains of explanation both up and down scale while acknowledging both the similarities and distinctiveness between and among local level patterns and processes. In this paper, I apply the regional political ecology approach to the study of the rural-urban interface. The rural-urban interface is the site of multi-dimensional (environmental, economic, sociocultural) change as shifts in landscapes and lifestyles iteratively influence land use/management and the cultural context of places in flux. In Calaveras County, California (USA), situated in the Sierra Nevada foothills, certain features of and activities on the landscape are being mobilized by a variety of actors, in different ways, and at cross-purposes. In two cases in particular, specific resources (water) and activities (backyard agriculture) became powerful symbolic figures in increasingly heated public policy debates revolving around the use and value of various landscapes in the area. Using mixed, though mainly ethnographic, methods, I examine these instances of environmental conflict, one revolving around a sheep ranch turned golf course and another focused on the proper place of chickens, along the rural-urban interface. After analyzing the processes of change driving these contested ecologies, I describe the challenges of negotiating what is "acceptable" in the context of place-based change and differently situated actors. I conclude by offering some comments on the difficulties of managing competing expectations of use and function in rural places and arguing the significance of pursuing a particularly regional political ecology. Keywords: rural-urban interface; (regional) political ecology; land and environmental management; contested ecologies; environmental conflict.
Set shifting reaction-time improves following meditation or simple breathcounting in meditators and meditation-naïve participants: Data from naturalistic, ecological momentary-assessment devices

Abstract A comparison is made between the performance of meditators and controls in a letter-number task-switching test. Data were recorded over a five-day period using a previously developed ecological momentary assessment paradigm. Participants consisted of naive, novice, and experienced meditators, who completed a task-switching reaction time (RT) task before and after 20-min breath-counting sessions. There was a decrease in reaction time over testing days, p
The upper triangular decomposition of the deformation gradient: possible decompositions of the distortion tensor

In the upper triangular decomposition, the deformation gradient is multiplicatively decomposed into a product of a rotation tensor and an upper triangular tensor called the distortion tensor. In this paper, it is shown that the upper triangular decomposition can be viewed as an extended polar decomposition. The six components of the distortion tensor can be directly related to pure stretch and simple shear deformations. Also, it is demonstrated that the distortion tensor can be non-uniquely decomposed into a product of matrices for one triaxial stretch and two simple shear deformations or for one triaxial stretch and three simple shear deformations. There are six possible decompositions for the former and 24 possible decompositions for the latter. Only one of these 30 possible decompositions was examined earlier. In addition, the distortion tensor is shown to be frame-invariant and can therefore be used as an independent kinematic variable to construct strain energy density functions.