cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effects of sex, estrous cycle, and social contact on cocaine and heroin self-administration in rats

Preclinical studies indicate that gonadal hormones are important determinants of drug self-administration. To date, little is known about the influence of sex and estrous cycle on drug self-administration in ecologically relevant social contexts. The objective of this study was to examine the role of sex and estrous cycle in a rat model during cocaine and heroin self-administration with male-female and female-female social dyads. Male and female virgin rats were trained to self-administer cocaine and heroin in operant conditioning chambers that permitted two rats to self-administer concurrently, but prevented physical contact. Experiment 1 examined cocaine self-administration on a progressive ratio schedule in male-female dyads. Experiments 2 and 3 examined heroin self-administration on a fixed ratio schedule in male-female dyads at constant and varying doses, respectively. Experiment 4 examined heroin self-administration in female-female dyads on a fixed ratio schedule. Cocaine-maintained breakpoints increased by ∼17 % in females during estrus, but remained consistent in males. Heroin self-administration decreased by ∼70 % during proestrus in females whether they were isolated, housed with males, or housed with females. Heroin self-administration was lower in males than females under some conditions and was not consistently associated with the responding of females. Cocaine and heroin self-administration is influenced by the estrous cycle in females when in the presence of a male partner. As a novel finding, these data illustrate that heroin self-administration is reduced in females during proestrus regardless of the social context tested. Finally, these data suggest that drug self-administration in males is only minimally influenced by the hormonal status of a female partner.
Triangle factors of graphs without large independent sets and of weighted graphs

The classical Corr adi-Hajnal theorem claims that every n-vertex graph G with (G) 2n=3 contains a triangle factor, when 3jn. In this paper we asymptotically determine the minimum degree condition necessary to guarantee a triangle factor in graphs with sublinear independence number. In particular, we show that if G is an n-vertex graph with (G) = o(n) and (G) (1=2 + o(1))n, then G has a triangle factor and this is asymptotically best possible. Furthermore, it is shown for every r that if every linear size vertex set of a graph G spans quadratic many edges, and (G) (1=2 +o(1))n, then G has a Kr-factor for n suciently large. We also propose many related open problems whose solutions could show a relationship with RamseyTur an theory. Additionally, we also consider a fractional variant of the Corr adi-Hajnal Theorem, settling a conjecture of Balogh-Kemkes-Lee-Young. Let t2 (0; 1) and w : E(Kn)! [0; 1]. We call a triangle in Kn heavy if the sum of the weights on its edges is more than 3t. We prove that if 3jn and w is such that for every vertex v the sum of w(e)
Home and Away: Exile and Diaspora as Religious Concepts

Posman offers a historical survey of the concepts of exile and diaspora in Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion. The chapter explores theological and ritual aspects of diaspora and exile in Judaism and then turns to expanded definitions of diaspora that transcend Jewish particularities. The chapter then reexamines historic Jewish diasporic communities that fit the more expanded definitions. Next comes a discussion of whether other world religions can be diasporas in themselves, and Sikhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism are considered in this vein, as are Tibetan Buddhism and Cuban Catholicism. Finally, the chapter considers current transnational realities and asks whether actual communications with a homeland affect the imagined homeland that diasporas entail, and it looks at suggestions that Judaism itself may no longer be a diaspora.
Effect of O2 Fraction in the Sputter Gas on the Electrical Properties of Amorphous In-Zn-O and the Thin Film Transistor Performance

Amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs) exhibiting high mobility in the range of 10–30 cm2/Vs have received significant attention for their application in flexible and transparent electronics such as next-generation displays. Here, we report on how the oxygen volume fraction (vol.%) in the O2/Ar sputter gas affects both the electrical properties of sputtered amorphous In-Zn-O (a-IZO) and the threshold voltage of a-IZO thin film transistor (TFT) devices. As the oxygen fraction increases during sputter deposition, the carrier density in a-IZO is adjusted from the heavily-doped regime of >1020/cm3 to the semiconducting regime of <1017/cm3. A series of bottom-gated TFT devices were fabricated through depositing the channel a-IZO films as a function of O2 vol.%. All the TFTs manufactured operate in depletion mode and the threshold voltage is found to shift positively with the increasing presence of O2 in the sputter gas. These results are attributed to both a decrease in oxygen vacancy defects, which donate two free carriers per vacancy, and a subsequent reduction in the a-IZO channel’s carrier density.
A comparison of the performance of high QE photomultiplier tubes to conventional photomultiplier tubes

We have carried out experiments to assess the performance advantage of High Quantum Efficiency (HQE) Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) over conventional PMTs for possible use in a cardiac SPECT system. In particular, we have conducted tests of pulse height resolution and position sensitivity of HQE PMTs and compared their performance to conventional PMTs. Furthermore, we have conducted a cathode sensitivity scan and pulse height resolution scan of four HQE PMTs and four conventional PMTs. The HQE PMTs outperformed the conventional PMTs in both pulse height resolution and position sensitivity. Finally, we tested the four HQE PMTs on a 3 mm × 3 mm pixellated NaI(Tl) detector module and were able to resolve the pixels with 8.3% average energy resolution.
Impacts of dietary forage and crude protein levels on the shedding of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria in dairy cattle feces

Abstract The shedding of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes in the feces of ruminants and the consequential risk to the public and environmental health is well reported. However, the influence of dietary manipulation on the shedding of fecal bacteria is not well understood. This study was conducted to improve understanding of the relationship between dietary feed composition and shedding of E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria spp. in dairy feces. Twelve cows were randomly assigned to four treatment diets of two dietary forage levels: low forage (37.4% dry matter, DM) vs. high forage (53.3% of DM) and two dietary crude protein (CP) levels: low protein (15.2% of DM) vs. high protein (18.5% of DM) in a 4×4 replicated Latin square design with four periods each including a 14 d adaptation and 3 d sample collection periods. Generic E. coli was detected in some of the feed ingredients, such as cotton seed, alfalfa hay, almond, and CaCO 3 , while Listeria was detected in the alfalfa hay and mineral mix. A significant interaction effect was observed between dietary forage and CP on the presence of fecal E. coli O157:H7 ( P =0.01) but not with Listeria . On average, the greatest E. coli O157:H7 level (6.6 log 10 CFU/g of feces) was observed from the high forage and high protein diet and the lowest level was 6.1 log 10 CFU/g from the low forage and high protein diet. The average Listeria shedding rate was within the range of 1.7–2.3 log 10 CFU/g among the dietary forage and CP treatments. For the CP treatments, significantly low levels of Listeria were observed from cows fed the high protein (0.9−1.6 log 10 CFU/g) compared to the low protein (1.3–2.1 log 10 CFU/g) diet. Considering temporal fluctuations, no significant diurnal pattern was observed for either E.coli O157:H7 or Listeria . In addition, no time of sampling over day by dietary forage or CP content interaction on fecal E.coli O157:H7 or Listeria level was observed. This study showed that diets can influence the shedding of potentially pathogenic bacteria in dairy cow excreta.
Color atlas and synopsis: gastrointestinal pathology

Gastrointestinal biopsies are some of the most common specimens encountered in any surgical pathology practice, and the new color atlas and text from McGraw Hill offers a handy and useful alternati...
An Empirical Examination of the Antecedents to Corporate Social Entrepreneurship

As many organizations are increasingly using entrepreneurial approaches to enhance their corporate social responsibility strategies (Austin, Leonard, Reficco, & Wei-Skiller, 2006), this study explo...
The Origins of the Quantum Conception of Man

Every culture has its lore about the origins and nature of the world and its people. Those ideas are often associated with a deity, or deities, and an associated religion. But there arose in western civilization in the seventeenth century, in connection with the ideas of Galileo Galilei and Sir Francis Bacon, the notion of a “scientific” approach to our understanding of the nature of things.
Current and Future Use of Robotic Devices to Perform Percutaneous Coronary Interventions: A Review.

Robots are electromechanical machines that can be used to perform repetitive or dangerous tasks in place of humans. Although robots are now widely used in industrial mass production, it was not until the mid‐1990s that robots were first introduced to clinical medicine. Medical robots are gaining
Average Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Sections of 198Au, 65Ni, And 66Cu

AbstractThe average thermal, neutron capture cross sections of 198Au, 65Ni, and 66 Cu have been measured by activation of the stable isotopes 197Au, 64Ni, and 65Cu, using y spectrometry techniques and assuming established values for the cross sections of the stable isotopes. The samples were exposed to thermal neutron fluxes up to 2.6 *1014 n/(cm2 sec) during long times in order to obtain enough activity of the isotopes 199Au, 66Ni, and 67Cu. The values of these cross sections as determined from these activities are 28 300, 24.3, and 145 b, respectively. These values have a maximum error of 10%. Isotopes enriched to more than 97% were used for the Ni and Cu measurements.
Social-demographics, health behaviors, and telomere length in the Mexican American Mano a Mano Cohort

// Hua Zhao 1 , Lixia Han 1 , David Chang 1 , Yuanqing Ye 1 , Jie Shen 1 , Carrie R. Daniel 1 , Jian Gu 1 , Wong-Ho Chow 1 and Xifeng Wu 1 1 Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA Correspondence to: Hua Zhao, email: // Keywords : telomere length, cancer risk, lifestyle factors, social context, Gerotarget Received : May 10, 2017 Accepted : July 26, 2017 Published : August 03, 2017 Abstract In the current study, we examined cross-sectional associations among social-demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and relative telomere length (RTL) in peripheral blood leukocytes, as well as longitudinal relationships among major chronic diseases, weight gain, and RTL, among 12,792 Mexican Americans aged 20 to 85 years in the Mano-A-Mano, the Mexican American Cohort. As expected, RTL was inversely correlated with age ( ρ =-0.15, ρ <0.001). In the multivariate analysis, we found that RTL was positively correlated with levels of education ( ρ =0.021), self-insurance ( ρ =0.041), body mass index (BMI) ( ρ <0.001), and sleeping time per day ( ρ for trend<0.001), and RTL was inversely correlated with sitting time per day ( ρ for trend =0.001). In longitudinal analysis, we found that longer RTL was modestly but positively associated with increased risks of overall cancer (adjusted hazard ratio (adj.HR)=1.05, 95% conference interval (95%CI)=1.02-1.09). In quartile analysis, 4 th quartile (longest RTL) was associated with 1.53-fold increased risk of overall cancer (adj.HR=1.53, 95%CI=1.11-2.10), compared to 1 st quartile (shortest RTL). RTL was reversely associated with the risk of type-2 diabetes (adj.HR=0.89, 95%CI=0.82-0.94). In quartile analysis, 4 th quartile (longest RTL) was associated with 48% decreased risk of typle-2 diabetes (adj.HR=0.52, 95%CI=0.32-0.70), compared to 1 st quartile (shortest RTL). In addition, longer RTL was a positive predictor of at least 10% weight gain (adj.HR=1.03, 95%CI=1.00-1.05). In summary, our results in Mexican Americans support the notion that telomere length is a biological mechanism by which social demographics and health behaviors “get under the skin” to affect health.
Temporopolar bridging veins during anteromedial temporal strip placement: a case report on complication avoidance†.

Introduction Surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy is proven to be beneficial in the treatment of medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. Subdural electrode strips are commonly passed in a blind fashion, allowing additional EEG coverage without requiring larger exposure. However, this increases risk of complication, specifically through vascular injury. Case report We present a case of a 22-year-old male with medically refractory epilepsy. During passage of an anterior medial temporal strip electrode, resistance was encountered despite multiple attempts and redirection. This strip was abandoned. During the subsequent resection operation, a large temporopolar bridging vein complex was noted and photographed precisely where we encountered resistance. Conclusion Although much frequently less encountered than paramedian subdural strips, anterior medial temporal strip subdural electrodes may indeed injure large bridging veins. As subdural strips are passed where bony exposure is minimal, potential disastrous complications may arise if extreme caution is not used.
Applying the segmenting principle to online geography slideshow lessons

Multimedia design principles were applied to an online geography slideshow on geographic information systems (GIS) intended for college students taking an introductory course. In a 2 (segment vs. non-segmented) × 2 (redundant vs. non-redundant) between-subjects design, the base lesson (non-segmented condition) provided a worked example of how to solve an extended GIS problem, consisting of 12 slides with each showing graphics on the left side with corresponding text in the right side. Students progressed through the lesson by pressing the right arrow key to move to the next slide. The segmented lesson (segmented condition) consisted of the same slides, but the material on each slide was presented sequentially in which pressing the right arrow key added a single graphic and/or corresponding text explaining each of 3 or 4 major steps. For both versions, some students received additional narration that was identical to the printed text (redundant condition) or no additional narration (non-redundant condition). On a subsequent transfer test, the results showed a segmenting effect in which students performed significantly better with segmented than non-segmented versions of the lesson (d = 0.34), and this pattern was the same whether narration was added or not, yielding no interaction between segmenting and redundancy and no significant effect for redundancy. This work extends the segmenting principle to a new medium, domain, and segment size.
Feedback motion planning for liquid pouring using supervised learning

We present a novel motion planning algorithm for pouring a liquid body from a source to a target container. Our approach uses a receding-horizon optimization strategy that considers liquid dynamics and various other constraints. To handle liquid dynamics without costly fluid simulations, we use a neural network to infer a set of key liquid-related parameters from the observation of the current liquid configuration. To train the neural network, we generate a dataset of successful pouring examples using stochastic optimization in a problem-specific search space. These parameters are then used in the objective function for trajectory optimization. Our feedback motion planner achieves real-time performance, and we observe a high success rate in our simulated 2D and 3D liquid pouring benchmarks.
Taming Near-Wall Streamwise Vortices: A Modus Operandi for Boundary Layer Control

A brief overview of the recent progress achieved by the author’s research group on turbulence control for drag reduction in turbulent boundary layers is given. Control schemes are developed based on the premise that the most effective way to control turbulent boundary layers is through proper manipulation of the near-wall streamwise vortices. Two different methods — neural networks and suboptimal control theory — are utilized to achieve this goal. The resulting feedback laws are applied to a low Reynolds-number turbulent channel flow. Numerical experiments indicate that both approaches yield substantial drag reduction. The application of a system theory approach to the feedback stabilization to delay the transition in a laminar channel flow is also discussed.
Augmented Reality in Human-Robot Cooperative Search

Robots operating alongside humans in field environments have the potential to greatly increase the situational awareness of their human teammates. A significant challenge, however, is the efficient conveyance of what the robot perceives to the human in order to achieve improved situational awareness. We believe augmented reality (AR), which allows a human to simultaneously perceive the real world and digital information situated virtually in the real world, has the potential to address this issue. We propose to demonstrate that augmented reality can be used to enable human-robot cooperative search, where the robot can both share search results and assist the human teammate in navigating to a search target.
A systematic review and quantitative analysis on the impact of aerobic exercise on pain intensity in children with chronic pain

This systematic review evaluates the effect of exercise on pediatric chronic pain in: (a) pre-post-test comparisons and RCTs, and (b) longitudinal actigraphy studies in children’s free-living envir...
Head-Eye Coordination of Humanoid Robot with Potential Controller

With the advancements in the field of anthropomorphic robots, the interest in generating human-like motions has grown ever so rapidly. A major role in this regard is played by control algorithms that produce appropriate dynamic responses with the robot hardware. In this paper we utilized a potential controller to obtain human-like head-eye movements of a robotic android head. The orientations of the robotic head and eyes were subjected to the same constraints that govern human head and eye orientations to the extent allowed by the mechanical design. On top of the potential controller, visual feedback was used to improve the precision of visual target acquisition. The controller was tested in two scenarios; acquiring a fixed target and tracking a moving target in the field of view of the robot. Head orientations of the robot were compared to those of a human subject for a target tracking experiment. Results indicate that the controller is capable of performing object tracking tasks while exhibiting realistic human-like head orientations.
Automated fine-grained requirements-to-code traceability link recovery

Problem: Existing approaches for requirements-to-code traceability link recovery rely on text retrieval to trace requirements to coarse-grained code documents (e.g., methods, files, classes, etc.), while suffering from low accuracy problems. Hypotheses: The salient information in most requirements is expressed as functional constraints, which can be automatically identified and categorized. Moreover, people use recognizable discourse patterns when describing them and developers use well-defined patterns for implementing them. Contributions: Recasting the requirements-to-code traceability link problem as an accurate matching between functional constraints and their implementation.
Osteobiography as Microhistory: Writing from the Bones Up

Osteobiography has much potential to address how bodies both emerge from, and contribute to, historical process. Necessarily multiscalar, if not always explicitly framed as such, osteobiography can be used to enhance the connection between individual life histories and macroscale historical themes. Conceptualizing osteobiography as a microhistory extends analysis beyond the individual through entanglements with populations, objects, landscapes, and social phenomena. Microhistory, which has been variously defined and employed by historians and archaeologists alike, is here envisioned as an investigation of the intersections between biography and large-scale, long-term phenomena. In this framing, the skeletal body is viewed as a node conjoining overlapping temporalities, materials, and biographies, thereby combining the lived experience of individuals with other emergent scales. This article explores the possibilities afforded by a microhistorical approach to skeletal remains from an early medieval site in Bohemia (modern Czech Republic). The body is recognized as a site not only for the coalescence of scales but also of different forms of evidence, as textual, archaeological, and osteological data inform the analysis. The osteobiographical narratives that emerge emphasize the relational, the historical, and the contingent in our interpretations of human remains.
A physical-space approach for the probability hypothesis density and cardinalized probability hypothesis density filters

The probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter, an automatically track-managed multi-target tracker, is attracting increasing but cautious attention. Its derivation is elegant and mathematical, and thus of course many engineers fear it; perhaps that is currently limiting the number of researchers working on the subject. In this paper, we explore a physical-space approach - a bin model - which leads us to arrive the same filter equations as the PHD. Unlike the original derivation of the PHD filter, the concepts used are the familiar ones of conditional probability. The original PHD suffers from a "target-death" problem in which even a single missed detection can lead to the apparent disappearance of a target. To obviate this, PHD originator Mahler has recently developed a new "cardinalized" version of PHD (CPHD). We are able to extend our physical-space derivation to the CPHD case as well. We stress that the original derivations are mathematically correct, and need no embellishment from us; our contribution here is to offer an alternative derivation, one that we find appealing.
A Patient Delivers Vaginally After an Eclamptic Seizure

A 31-year-old pregnant woman at term, G2P1, is sent from clinic to Labor & Delivery (L&D) because of preeclampsia, with a blood pressure of 180/100, proteinuria, sudden weight gain, a severe frontal headache, and facial swelling. In clinic the week before, her BP had been 118/72 and her earlier blood pressures during pregnancy had all been normal. In the clinic they gave her acetaminophen for her headache, but on arrival in L&D she says that there has been no improvement in her pain.
Does size matter? A national analysis of the utility of induction therapy for large thymomas.

Background Tumor size of 8 cm or greater is a risk factor for recurrence after thymoma resection, but the role of induction therapy for large thymomas is not well defined. This study tested the hypothesis that induction therapy for thymomas 8 cm and larger improves survival. Methods The use of induction therapy for patients treated with surgical resection for Masaoka stage I-III thymomas in the National Cancer Database between 2006-2013 was evaluated using logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox-proportional hazards methods. Results Of the 1,849 patients who met inclusion criteria, 582 (31.5%) had tumors ≥8 cm. Five-year survival was worse in patients with tumors ≥8 cm compared to smaller tumors [84.6% (95% CI: 81.2-88.1%) vs. 89.4% (95% CI: 87.2-91.7%), P=0.003]. Induction therapy was used in 166 (9.0%) patients overall and was more likely in patients with tumors ≥8 cm [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.257, P<0.001]. Induction therapy was not associated with improved survival in the subset of patients with tumors ≥8 cm in either univariate [80.9% (95% CI: 72.6-90.1%) vs. 85.4% (95% CI: 81.8-89.3%), P=0.27] or multivariable analysis [hazard ratio (HR) 1.54, P=0.10]. Increasing age (HR 1.56/decade, P<0.001) and Masaoka stage III (HR 1.76, P=0.04) were associated with worse survival in patients with tumors ≥8 cm. Conclusions Survival after thymoma resection is worse for tumors 8 cm or larger compared to smaller tumors and is not improved by induction therapy. Size alone should not be a criterion for using induction therapy prior to thymoma resection.
The limits of color awareness during active, real-world vision

Color ignites visual experience, imbuing the world with meaning, emotion, and richness. As soon as an observer opens their eyes, they have the immediate impression of a rich, colorful experience that encompasses their entire visual world. Here, we show that this impression is surprisingly inaccurate. We used head-mounted virtual reality (VR) to place observers in immersive, dynamic real-world environments, which they naturally explored via saccades and head turns. Meanwhile, we monitored their gaze with in-headset eye tracking and then systematically altered the visual environments such that only the parts of the scene they were looking at were presented in color and the rest of the scene (i.e., the visual periphery) was entirely desaturated. We found that observers were often completely unaware of these drastic alterations to their visual world. In the most extreme case, almost a third of observers failed to notice when less than 5% of the visual display was presented in color. This limitation on perceptual awareness could not be explained by retinal neuroanatomy or previous studies of peripheral visual processing using more traditional psychophysical approaches. In a second study, we measured color detection thresholds using a staircase procedure while a set of observers intentionally attended to the periphery. Still, we found that observers were unaware when a large portion of their field of view was desaturated. Together, these results show that during active, naturalistic viewing conditions, our intuitive sense of a rich, colorful visual world is largely incorrect.
Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) Tube Placement

When a patient is required to have assistance with nutrition, a gastric tube may be indicated. The feeding tube can be inserted in the stomach or the proximal jejunum. When a gastrostomy tube is chosen, the procedure can be performed with the aid of the laparoscope, open or percutaneously at the bedside of the intensive care unit with the aid of a gastroscope. Several steps need to be performed to ensure the correct position of the tube and the safety of the procedure. The following chapter describes a PEG tube placement.
Quantifying Actin Filaments in Microscopic Images using Keypoint Detection Techniques and A Fast Marching Algorithm

The actin filament plays a fundamental role in numerous cellular processes such as cell growth, proliferation, migration, division, and locomotion. The actin cytoskeleton is highly dynamical and can polymerize and depolymerize in a very short time under different stimuli. To study the mechanics of actin filament, quantifying the length and number of actin filaments in each time frame of microscopic images is fundamental. In this paper, we adopt a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to segment actin filaments first, and then we utilize a modified Resnet to detect junctions and endpoints of filaments. With binary segmentation and detected keypoints, we apply a fast marching algorithm to obtain the number and length of each actin filament in microscopic images. We have also collected a dataset of 10 microscopic images of actin filaments to test our method. Our experiments show that our approach outperforms other existing approaches tackling this problem regarding both accuracy and inference time.
Automatic Generation of Spatial Tactile Effects by Analyzing Cross-modality Features of a Video

Tactile effects can enhance user experience of multimedia content. However, generating appropriate tactile stimuli without any human intervention remains a challenge. While visual or audio information has been used to automatically generate tactile effects, utilizing cross-modal information may further improve the spatiotemporal synchronization and user experience of the tactile effects. In this paper, we present a pipeline for automatic generation of vibrotactile effects through the extraction of both the visual and audio features from a video. Two neural network models are used to extract the diegetic audio content, and localize a sounding object in the scene. These models are then used to determine the spatial distribution and the intensity of the tactile effects. To evaluate the performance of our method, we conducted a user study to compare the videos with tactile effects generated by our method to both the original videos without any tactile stimuli and videos with tactile effects generated based on visual features only. The study results demonstrate that our cross-modal method creates tactile effects with better spatiotemporal synchronization than the existing visual-based method and provides a more immersive user experience.
Examining Direct and Indirect Pathways between Adolescent Extra-Familial Criminal Victimization and Adult Mental Health

This study examines the association between extra-familial criminal victimizations in adolescence and two mental health outcomes—depressive symptomology and suicide ideation—reported in adulthood (mean age = 28). Guided by the adverse childhood experiences and the stress process model, this association is explored while considering other salient predictors of adult mental health, including childhood abuse, negative life events experienced in adolescence and adult stressors including recent criminal victimization and economic strain. Utilizing Wave I (1994–1995) and IV (2008–2009) data from the restricted version of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents to Adult Health, mediation analyses reveal that adolescent extra-familial victimization experiences are largely associated with adult mental health outcomes indirectly, via adolescent mental health. These results suggest that while such victimization experiences are important factors in understanding adult mental health and should be considered when examining the enduring consequences of adverse childhood experiences, this particular association is complex, nuanced, and only one ingredient in a mixture of an array of adverse experiences that affect adult mental health.
Case 59: Disposal of Soda Lime

You have arrived in Liberia on the west coast of Africa. The hospital just got a new anesthetic machine with a canister for soda lime. Soda lime has also been provided by a donor country. The nurse in charge of anesthesia equipment tells you that she has never seen soda lime before and wonders how one disposes soda lime after it has been used. The anesthesia machine and soda lime instructions are all in Chinese.
Hybrid Organizations as Agents of Positive Social Change: Bridging the For-Profit and Non-Profit Divide

Addressing sustainability issues in a globalized world requires the emergence and diff usion of new organizational forms and new forms of governance (Ehrenfeld, 2008; Elkington, 1998). In this chapter, we note how the traditional distinctions between for-profi t and non-profi t sectors are blurring, and explore the emergence of a new form of organization in that intervening space: termed the hybrid organization. We explore this new organizational form and identify a sustainability-driven business model that hybrids use to create and diff use positive social change within the social and environmental contexts they operate. Drivers of this model include concepts familiar to scholars of positive organizational scholarship, such as organizational virtuousness (Cameron, Bright, & Caza, 2004), positive meaning-making, positive relationships (Dutton & Glynn, 2008), and thriving at work (Spreitzer, Sutcliff e, Dutton, Sonenshein, & Grant, 2005). Th e social change agency of hybridorganizations is further enabled by positive leadership (Cameron & Lavine, 2006).
Optimal link scheduling and power control in CDMA multihop wireless networks

We study the problem of radio resource allocation in wireless multihop networks. The main objective is to develop integrated link scheduling and power control policies to maximize the network throughput. Transmitters in the network are subject to average power constraints per link and peak power constraints per node. Subject to these constraints, we find optimal subsets of concurrent transmitters and associated power levels to maximize network throughput, taking into account multi-access interference. We find that when ambient noise levels are sufficiently high, it is generally desirable to enable simultaneous transmissions, even if they are in close geographic proximity. We compare our results against pure CDMA to illustrate the significant gains of our approach. The results in this paper are applicable to multihop and single hop networks.
Development of high-efficiency carbon dioxide commercial heat pump water heater

Although heat pump water heaters are widely accepted in both Japan and Europe, where energy costs are high and government incentives for their use exist, acceptance of such products in the United States has been limited. This trend is slowly changing with the introduction of heat pump water heaters into the residential market, but acceptance remains low in the commercial sector. The objective of the presented work is the development of a high-efficiency R744 heat pump water heater of approximately 35-kW (10-ton) heating capacity for commercial applications with effective utilization of the cooling capability for air conditioning and/or refrigeration. This unit will be targeted at commercial use where some cooling load is typically needed year round, such as restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, and hospitals. The improvement process concentrated on the heat exchangers of the system. Further optimization potential was identified by investigating the gas cooler as well as the expansion device of the heat pump...
A notification infrastructure for semantic agricultural web services

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has killed or infested millions of ash trees in Michigan and is fast spreading to neighboring states. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that if EAB went unchecked in the rest of the country, the loss to the nation could range from $20 billion to $60 billion. One key requirement for the success of EAB containment programs is the underlying information sharing infrastructure. EAB partners are maintaining Web sites to publish information about the borer. However, this approach for sharing information is ad hoc and requires intensive human intervention. In this paper, we propose a service-oriented infrastructure, called Sentinel, for the intelligent and timely sharing of EAB-related information
Disallowing Deductions Paid with Excluded Income

The idea advanced herein, as a thought experiment, is the possibility of expanding (by legislation) – or possibly interpreting (by Treasury regulation) – section 265(a)(1) to disallow deductions deemed to have paid out of tax-exempt (i.e., excluded) income. Although section 265(a)(1) already disallows deductions to obtain tax-exempt income (hereinafter referred to as “forward disallowance”), the Treasury has not seriously attempted to systematically disallow deductions paid with tax-exempt income (hereinafter referred to as “backward disallowance”). The reason for this Treasury inattention is undoubtedly a realization that a tracing rule (that would disallow deductions actually paid with tax-exempt income) would, in most cases, be easily avoidable (because cash is fungible) and only serve to unfairly lay a trap for the unsophisticated. This conundrum could be finessed, however, by disallowing that percentage of otherwise-allowable deductions as excluded income bears to total (included and excluded) income – an approach that respects the fungibility of cash.
Database Security: Past, Present, and Future

Database security has received a great deal of attention since the mid-1970s starting from discretionary security for System R and Ingres to access control models to multilevel database systems to security for emerging data management systems to data privacy to privacy-preserving data mining to data mining for security applications to big data security and privacy. This paper describes the developments in database security since 1975 and provides a vision for the future.
Estrogen Control of Uterine Glucose Metabolism AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE TRANSPORT AND PHOSPHORYLATION OF 2-DEOXYGLUCOSE

Abstract During incubation in vitro, uterine tissue readily converts the nonutilizable sugar, 2-deoxyglucose-1-14C, to 2-deoxyglucose-6-P-14C. This process appears to be analogous to transport and phosphorylation of glucose and is a sensitive measure of the activity in the early steps of uterine sugar metabolism. Nonradioactive 2-deoxyglucose-1-14C and d-glucose show similar inhibition of 2-deoxyglucose-1-14C phosphorylation at equimolar concentrations, but 3-O-methylglucose does not inhibit this reaction. Conversion of 2-deoxyglucose-1-14C to 2-deoxyglucose-6-P-14C by uteri from rats treated for 1 hour with 5 µg of estradiol-17β showed a 135% increase above control values, and this conversion rate continues to increase with longer periods of hormone treatment. The results show that estradiol accelerates either the transport or phosphorylation steps in early uterine sugar metabolism. Kinetic analyses indicate that estradiol increases the tissue Vmax for 2-deoxyglucose-1-14C phosphorylation without changing the tissue Km. Cycloheximide injected 30 min prior to estradiol abolishes the effect of the hormone, implying that the development of this metabolic response is dependent on protein synthesis.
Deep Diversity and Strong Synergy: Modeling the Impact of Variability in Members' Problem-Solving Strategies on Group Problem-Solving Performance

A computational model is presented that explores the effect of diversity among members' problem-solving strategies on group problem-solving performance. The model is called ValSeek, after the value-seeking problems with which it is concerned. A value-seeking problem requires problem solvers to choose from a set of solution alternatives that vary in their underlying value. The goal is to discover the solution with the highest value. The model is restricted to problems for which it is impractical to evaluate every possible solution alternative. For such problems, the strategies that problem solvers use to navigate the solution space are critical to their performance. The article describes how value-seeking problems, and various strategies for solving them, are represented generically in the computer program that instantiates the model. The results of a simulation study using this model suggest that (a) diverse groups should perform better than homogeneous groups, (b) diverse groups should perform better tha...
Disruptive visions: Biosurgery

There are a number of new therapeutic options generated by the biotechnology, bioengineering, and bioimaging revolutions in terms of organ-specific designer drugs, genetically engineered cells, cell-specific proteins and drugs, directed energy instruments, therapeutic microdevices, etc. Many of these new therapies need to be placed exactly on, within, or adjacent to an organ, and many others are delivered by endoluminal or endovascular approaches. The common requirements are (1) the accurate delivery of the modality and (2) the functional importance of targeting the biologic basis rather than the anatomic structure—hence the term biosurgery. As more of these therapies achieve clinical applicability and FDA approval, there will be the need for the precision of delivery to be at the micro- and nanoscale, which is well beyond human physical limitations. The surgeon of the future must be able to identify those therapeutic modalities that would benefit from such exact placement or implantation and acquire the skills, training, and equipment to use surgical expertise to deliver these new modalities. A review of some of the emerging opportunities is presented. Ignoring these challenges will relinquish these new procedures to other nonsurgical interventionalists, perhaps to the detriment of patient safety.
Disinfection. III. The Taking up of Iodine by Yeast Cells.

The death of a cell that is subjected to a poison is due undoubtedly to an effect of this poison on the colloid chemical system which is the protoplasm. Anything that changes this system irreversibly, must bring about the death of the cell. However, the protoplasm is protected from the outside medium by membranes that, under the microscope, show an unusual adsorptive power toward colored substances of widely varied nature, and this adsorptive power must play an important role in the process of disinfection. Morawitz 1 showed that the change of disinfecting power with concentration can be calculated from the adsorption relation, and Herzog and Betzel2 found that disinfectants such as phenol and chloroform are taken up by yeast cells according to the adsorption isothermal, while Rona and Michaelis3 explained the depressing action of sodium chloride on mercuric chloride (HgCl2) by the formation of the less adsorbable complexions HgC^and HgCl4 . More recently, Siipfle and Miiller 4 claimed to have been able to remove mercuric chloride from the cell by adsorption with charcoal.
Quantitative MR Imaging using “LiveWire” to Measure Tibiofemoral Articular Cartilage Thickness

Summary Objective To assess the reliability and accuracy of manual and semi-automated segmentation methods for quantifying knee cartilage thickness. This study employed both manual and LiveWire-based semi-automated segmentation methods, ex vivo and in vivo , to measure tibiofemoral (TF) cartilage thickness. Methods The articular cartilage of a cadaver knee and a healthy volunteer's knee were segmented manually and with LiveWire from multiple 3T MR images. The cadaver specimen's cartilage thickness was also evaluated with a 3D laser scanner, which was assumed to be the gold standard. Thickness measurements were made within specific cartilage regions. The reliability of each segmentation method was assessed both ex vivo and in vivo , and accuracy was assessed ex vivo by comparing segmentation results to those obtained with laser scanning. Results The cadaver specimen thickness measurements showed mean coefficients of variation (CVs) of 4.16%, 3.02%, and 1.59%, when evaluated with manual segmentation, LiveWire segmentation, and laser scanning, respectively. The cadaver specimen showed mean absolute errors versus laser scanning of 4.07% and 7.46% for manual and LiveWire segmentation, respectively. In vivo thickness measurements showed mean CVs of 2.71% and 3.65% when segmented manually and with LiveWire, respectively. Conclusions Manual segmentation, LiveWire segmentation, and laser scanning are repeatable methods for quantifying knee cartilage thickness; however, the measurements are technique-dependent. Ex vivo , the manual segmentation error was distributed around the laser scanning mean, while LiveWire consistently underestimated laser scanning by 8.9%. Although LiveWire offers repeatability and decreased segmentation time, manual segmentation more closely approximates true cartilage thickness, particularly in cartilage contact regions.
Anthropomorphizing the CNS: Is it what or who you know?

The target article pays insufficient attention to (1) the difficulties that arise when the term “normal” is used to describe motor skill behavior, and (2) the need to resist ascribing motor control to an intelligent central nervous system. A complex systems perspective is proposed with attractor states and periodicity identified as markers of atypical coordination and control.
Every ordinary symplectic isogeny class in positive characteristic is dense in the moduli

We prove that any ordinary symplectic separable isogeny class in the moduli space of principally polarized abelian varieties over a field of positive characteristic is dense in the Zariski topology.
Mechanical and Thermal Analysis of the Spectroscopy X-ray Telescopes for the Constellation-X Mission

Area and mass requirements for the Constellation-X Spectroscopy X-Ray Telescopes restrict the thickness of the mirror segment to below a mm. Requirement of angular resolution of 15" over the soft x-ray band implies that allowable optic deformation is sub-micrometer for these thin segments. These requirements place stringent constraint on the mounting, alignment and affixing of these mirror segments in both the metrology and integration processes. We present analyses and optimization of the Constellation-X mirrors under relevant mechanical and thermal environments.
Aging is associated with altered dendritic cells subset distribution and impaired proinflammatory cytokine production.

Abstract Aging is characterized by the gradual decline in immune function. Dendritic cells (DC) are potent antigen-presenting cells that regulate the balance between immunity and tolerance. The reduction in immune responsiveness and increased susceptibility to infections observed in the aged population could be due to age-related defects in DC differentiation and function. In this study, we examined the effects of aging on DC subset frequency, antigen-presenting function, and activation using physiologically relevant, ex vivo splenic DC isolated from young (8 wk) and aged (26 mo) C57Bl/6 mice. Splenic DC isolated from aged mice had reduced frequency of plasmacytoid DC (CD11lowPDCA-1+) and CD11c+CD8+ DC, and an increase in CD11c+CD8− DC. Plasmacytoid DC from aged mice had similar IFNα production upon CpG stimulation compared to young mice, and the ability of splenic DC to stimulate T cells was not affected by age. In contrast, aged splenic DC had markedly decreased production of TNFα upon LPS stimulation. Reduced splenic DC activation in aged mice was not due to altered TLR4 expression, but was associated with reduced phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3 proteins. Taken together, our results suggested that aging was associated with dysregulation in splenic DC activation and subset differentiation, and may represent one of the factors contributing to the decline in immune function with age.
Long range dependence, unbalanced Haar wavelet transformation and changes in local mean level

Long range dependent (LRD) stationary time series have historically served to model real time series with apparent changes in local mean level. A natural tool to study changes in local mean level is the unbalanced Haar wavelet transformation (UHT). In this work, UHT is used to study changes in local mean level in LRD models and several real and simulated time series exhibiting LRD. In particular, simulations for LRD models suggest that changes in local mean level occur at times essentially governed by a homogeneous Poisson arrival process, and only the local mean levels themselves inherit the LRD property of the original time series. These properties are compared with the analogous ones in several real and simulated time series. The results are mixed though generally in favor of LRD models. The approach based on UHT is also compared to several alternatives such as defining changes in local mean level through kernel smoothing. The interest throughout is mainly in very long time series such as those collected in the studies of data traffic over Internet.