cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical competence in the performance of fiberopt laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation: A study of resident instruction

Anesthesiologists must be competent in the technique of fiberoptic laryngoscopy and intubation in airway management. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that an acceptable level of technical expertise in fiberoptic laryngoscopy and intubation may be acquired within 10 intubations while maintaining patient safety. The learning objectives were an intubation time of 2 minutes or less and greater than 90% success on the first intubation attempt. Ninety-one ASA physical status I-II patients with normal laryngeal anatomy had general anesthesia and were intubated orally with an Olympus LF-1 fiberoptic scope; the mean (+/- SD) time for intubation was 1.92 +/- 1.45 minutes. Four residents with no prior experience with fiberoptic laryngoscopy intubated at least 15 patients each. A learning curve was generated using logarithmic analysis of the mean (+/- SD) time for intubation of patients 1 to 15 for all residents combined. The curve showed that the mean (+/- SD) intubation time decreased from 4.00 +/- 2.91 to 1.53 +/- 0.76 minutes within the first 10 intubations. After the tenth intubation, the mean time was 1.53 minutes and the percent success on the first attempt at intubation was greater than 95%. There were no clinically important changes in O2 saturation, mean arterial pressure (MAP), or heart rate (HR) as a consequence of fiberoptic intubation. The results suggest that an acceptable level of technical expertise in fiberoptic intubation can be obtained (as defined by the learning objectives) by the tenth intubation, and patient safety is maintained.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Presymptomatic testing using DNA markers for individuals at risk for familial multiple endocrine neoplasia 2A.

The carrier status of 39 at-risk individuals in 6 multiple endocrine neoplasia 2A families was determined using a DNA based test. We were able to calculate a virtual diagnosis (probability >95%) for 77% of the individuals and a probable diagnosis (probability >90%) for 90% of the individuals. This study points out some of the problems of specific pedigree structures that can affect the risk calculation. This study further shows that no single test based on either biochemistry, pathol- ogy, or genetics can consistently and unambiguously produce a presymptomatic diagnosis. We also describe two specific exam- ples where DNA testing has helped to resolve clinical uncertain- ties in at-risk individuals.
The sequence of the CA-SP1 junction accounts for the differential sensitivity of HIV-1 and SIV to the small molecule maturation inhibitor 3-O-{3',3'-dimethylsuccinyl}-betulinic acid

Background: Despite the effectiveness of currently available antiretroviral therapies in the treatment of HIV-1 infection, a continuing need exists for novel compounds that can be used in combination with existing drugs to slow the emergence of drug-resistant viruses. We previously reported that the small molecule 3-O-{3',3'-dimethylsuccinyl}-betulinic acid (DSB) specifically inhibits HIV-1 replication by delaying the processing of the CA-SP1 junction in Pr55Gag. By contrast, SIVmac239 replicates efficiently in the presence of high concentrations of DSB. To determine whether sequence differences in the CA-SP1 junction can fully account for the differential sensitivity of HIV-1 and SIV to DSB, we engineered mutations in this region of two viruses and tested their sensitivity to DSB in replication assays using activated human primary CD4+ T cells. Results: Substitution of the P2 and P1 residues of HIV-1 by the corresponding amino acids of SIV resulted in strong resistance to DSB, but the mutant virus replicated with reduced efficiency. Conversely, replication of an SIV mutant containing three amino acid substitutions in the CA-SP1 cleavage site was highly sensitive to DSB, and the mutations resulted in delayed cleavage of the CASP1 junction in the presence of the drug. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the CA-SP1 junction in Pr55 Gag represents the primary viral target of DSB. They further suggest that the therapeutic application of DSB will be accompanied by emergence of mutant viruses that are highly resistant to the drug but which exhibit reduced fitness relative to wild type HIV-1.
Optimizing Embedded Virtual Machines

Virtual machines (VMs) play an important role in mainstream computing by enabling interoperability, security, and higher levels of abstraction. Their use in embedded computing systems is deterred primarily by the resourceconstraints of embedded microcontrollers. In this paper, we show how various optimizations can significantly decrease these overheads, making VMs viable as system software for even low-end (8- or 16-bit) microcontrollers. We identify key performance-oriented design principles and quantify their effects by incorporating them in an existing sensor network virtual machine.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY AT THE END OF THE LIFE SPAN*

Spiritual exploration often occurs after the loss of a significant other or with the impending death of oneself. Twenty-six older women were intensively interviewed; none had experienced a recent loss or terminal illness. Many wanted to understand their place in the order of things and were not looking to organized religion for answers. Dominant themes that emerged from the interviews included: a need to feel connected; spiritual questioning; existential angst; thoughts about death and dying; and, to a lesser degree, reliance on organized religion. Some older women—African Americans, Latinas, and women of lower socioeconomic status—turned to the Bible, prayer, and Church for answers to their questions, but most did not. These data suggest that spiritual questioning—independent of organized religion, significant loss, or impending death—is a natural part of the aging process as one approaches the end of the life span.
The reinvention of Hugo Schuchardt (Review article)

Interest in Hugo Schuchardt (1842–1927) has recently grown and broadened. A number of recent studies and collections of his work are reviewed. The conventional historiographical portrait of him shows an isolated, marginal dilettante intransigently opposed to the neogrammarian hypothesis of regular sound change. A closer look shows a large body of important work oriented around themes of language mixture, lexicalism, and the importance of the social matrix of language. His sustained work on these topics as they weave in and out of a selected group of language families, his claims to first or early priority in the wave theory, the continuum hypothesis, the creole origin of Black English, a variety of ethnoscience research, and other aspects of sociolinguistics make him a commanding figure in the history of modern linguistics. A reappraisal is called for; resources for it are noted.
Photoperiodic influences on testicular development of deer mice from two different altitudes.

Onset of breeding activity tends to occur later in the year for deer mice from progressively higher elevations. We tested the hypothesis that the critical day length for development and maintenance of the reproductive system is longer for mice from higher elevations. Offspring of deer mice trapped at elevations of 1219 and 3048 m were raised from birth to 55 days of age in photoperiods that provided 10, 11, 12, 13 or 16 h light/day. Short day lengths (<13 h light/day) retarded maturation of the reproductive apparatus of juveniles from both elevations. The critical photoperiod for development of the reproductive apparatus was 1 h shorter for mice derived from stock trapped at 3048 m as compared to 1219 m. The gonads of adult mice from each elevation were unresponsive to photoperiod and remained functional in all day lengths tested (10-13 h light/day). Photoperiod does not appear to be a proximate factor underlying the altitudinal gradient in reproduction of male deer mice.
Challenges in deploying a delay tolerant network

Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is the area of networking that addresses challenges in disconnected, disrupted, and networks without end-to-end connection. DTN has been an active area of research in the recent past, there have been attempts to use concepts from DTN to extend the reach of networks to remote rural areas as well. MotoPost" is a solution that is designed to establish a communications framework for rural communities in remote areas using non-real-time store and forward mechanisms and draws inspiration from ongoing research in this area, The concept was developed to address the communication and information access needs of remote rural villages in India which do not have access to communication technologies, but can be extended to other similar locations globally. MotoPost" is based on DTN where dual mode mobile phones are used as data mules to establish an end-to-end data network, we believe this is one of the first attempts to use mobile phones as data mules. In our system we use SMTP as the base application protocol to transfer multimedia messages between MotoPost" nodes. In this paper, we present and discuss findings from a limited field deployment of MotoPost" in rural India. We will specifically focus on the issues related to deploying specific applications and their demands on such a network, including network provisioning and setup as well as economical and technical feasibility for a large scale deployment. The results of the field trial also form the basis for our recommendations on future directions and research issues in this exciting area of research.
Organisms Designated as Nocardia asteroides Drug Pattern Type VI Are Members of the Species Nocardia cyriacigeorgica

Nocardia cyriacigeorgica has recently been described as an "emerging" pathogen. However, DNA-DNA hybridization results confirm that Nocardia asteroides drug pattern type VI, which has long been recognized as a common and significant pathogen in the United States, belongs to the species N. cyriacigeorgica.
Measuring Electrical Conductivity of Al-Sc Alloy by Application of Continuously Varying Cell Constant Technique

The electrical conductivity of the molten salts of Na3AlF6-LiF-Sc2O3 system with different compositions was measured at different temperatures by the continuously varying cell constant technique. The main influence factors on electrical conductivity were analyzed. Experiment results showed that the technique of the electrical conductivity measurement is accurate and reliable and the result’s relative error is just 0.67% in comparison with those in relevant literature. With temperature rising, electrolyte conductivity increases at a rate of about 0.03S/cm for 1°C. And we also found that the conductivity increases slightly with the addition of lithium fluoride and adding scandium oxide makes the conductivity decrease slightly and more addition doesn’t cause significant effect. It was proved that the technique can measure accurately the electrical conductivity of aluminium electrolyte and other high-temperature molten salts.
Essential roles of IκB kinases α and β in serum- and IL-1-induced human VSMC proliferation

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a potent vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) mitogen, which can stimulate cells via activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) following phosphorylation of its inhibitory subuni...
El delito de parricidio: consideraciones críticas sobre sus últimas reformas

El articulo tiene por objeto analizar, desde una perspectiva critica, la configuracion actual del parricidio en Chile. Para ello, primero se ofrecera un breve repaso historico de la figura, resaltando las razones dogmaticas que han llevado a su supresion en el Derecho comparado. Acto seguido, desde un punto de vista conceptual y normativo, se analizan las categorias de violencia de genero, violencia domestica y femicidio, asi como la forma en que estas han penetrado en la estructura tipica del articulo 390 del Codigo penal chileno. A partir de ello, se expondra la critica de dos aspectos relativos a los sujetos del delito: la indeterminacion de la nocion de conviviente y la extension del tipo a los ex conyuges y ex convivientes. Finalmente, se revisaran otras consideraciones de indole politico-criminal que desaconsejan seguir ampliando la figura.
Is rehospitalization after heart failure admission a marker of poor quality? Time for re-evaluation.

In the U.S., there are over 1 million hospitalizations for heart failure annually ([1–3][1]). This number appears to be increasing each year and equally affecting men and women. Rehospitalization following heart failure admissions remains high, with recent reports from the Centers for Medicaid and
Acoustic scene change detection

This work proposes an acoustic scene change detection approach in the indoor space by reverberation. Speakers emit impulse signals periodicity. Sound waves are then influenced with objects, the floor, walls, and roofs, and generate corresponding reverberation. This reverberation can represent the characteristic of the indoor space, which is called acoustic scene. When the state of the indoor space changes, such as furniture changes positions, windows are open or closed, and the number of people in the room increases or decreases, the acoustic scene would differ from the one before. In this way, we can evaluate whether the indoor scene changes or not. This work presents the difference between the current acoustic scene and the initial acoustic scene by calculating the difference between the current spectrogram and the initial spectrogram of the reverberation. When the sum of acoustic scene differences is greater than the threshold decided in the training stage, we say that acoustic scene change occurs.
Follicular growth and production of estrogen and progesterone after injection of gilts with human chorionic gonadotropin on day 12 of the estrous cycle.

Twenty cyclic gilts were injected im with either saline (control) or 1,000 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on d 12 of the estrous cycle to determine the effects of hCG on follicular development and steroidogenesis. Blood was collected when gilts were sacrificed on d 13 or 16. Follicles were classified as medium (3 to 6 mm in diameter) or large (greater than 6 mm diameter), dissected from the ovary, measured and weighed. Pieces of follicle wall were incubated 3 h in Krebs Ringer bicarbonate buffer (KRB) on ice in an atmosphere of air or at 37 C in an atmosphere of 95% O2:5% CO2. Unconjugated estrogen and progesterone in blood plasma, follicular fluid and 10,000 X g supernatants of incubated follicular tissue homogenates were quantified by radioimmunoassay. On d 13 follicles on ovaries of control or hCG-injected gilts were less than or equal to 6 mm in diameter. On d 16, one of five control gilts had some large follicles, while all five hCG-treated gilts had large as well as medium follicles. On d 16 follicular fluid of large follicles from hCG-injected gilts contained twofold more estrogen and 40-fold more progesterone than medium follicles on the same ovaries. Tissue from large follicles of hCG-injected gilts produced more progesterone in vitro than did tissue from medium follicles (P less than .05), but estrogen production did not differ. On d 16 medium follicles from control or hCG-injected gilts were larger, contained more estrogen and less progesterone than those recovered on d 13 (P less than .01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Defensive Behaviour and Production of Alarm Pheromone in Honeybees

SummaryWorker bees of an “aggressive” line (Brown) were more easily alerted to disturbance, and much more responsive to alarm substance, than those of a “gentle” line (Van Scoy). The sting apparatus of Brown workers contained about one-third more isopentyl acetate (IPA) than that of Van Scoy workers. Brown x Van Scoy hybrids responded to human breath and to measured amounts of IPA to the same extent as Van Scoy, leading to the conclusion that the gentle Van Scoy response is due to dominant heredity. Response of the hybrids to disturbance (removing the hive cover) was intermediate, indicating lack of dominance. Production of IPA in the hybrids was very variable, but on the average it resembled that in the Brown, and gave an indication of heterosis.
Applying the General Path Model to Estimation of Remaining Useful Life

The ultimate goal of most prognostic systems is accurate prediction of the remaining useful life of individual systems or components based on their use and performance. This class of prognostic algorithms is termed effects-based, or Type III, prognostics. A unit-specific prognostic model, called the General Path Model, involve identifying an appropriate degradation measure to characterize the system's progression to failure. A functional fit of this parameter is then extrapolated to a pre-defined failure threshold to estimate the remaining useful life of the system or component. This paper proposes a specific formulation of the General Path Model with dynamic Bayesian updating as one effects-based prognostic algorithm. The method is illustrated with an application to the prognostics challenge problem posed at PHM '08.
More ways to improve health and reduce harm: choosing wisely phase 3.

This campaign has resulted in more than 200 key clinical recommendations to help promote best practices and avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful medical interventions.
The Extension Of The Transcanadian Natural Gas Pipeline Into Eastern Canada - A Mathematical Model

AbstractThis paper deals with the extension of the Transcanadian Natural Gas Pipeline into Atlantic Canada to meet east Canadian gas requirements with west Canadian gas. Indications from offshore exploration on the east coast are that east Canadian requirements can be met from that source some time in the future. Thus, when existing pipelines are extended from west to east, or new ones are constructed, it should be borne in mind that some time in the future the direction of gas flow may get reversed; thus the pipelines built will have to be adapted to handle such a situation. This issue is part of a more complex problem involving decisions to be made at several levels. It is not obvious what the various components of the overall problem are and how they can be handled simultaneously. This paper shows how the components can be related effectively into a coherent structure. The implications of different policies under varying outcomes is studied. The trade-offs between policy decisions and the actual outcom...
A Preliminary Analysis of the Effects of a Stress Reduction Psychoeducational Intervention on African American Working Women

The primary purpose of this research was to provide an initial test of the effects of a six-session stress reduction psychoeducational intervention to enhance psychological well-being and reduce role conflict among two groups of African American working women. A one-group pretest–posttest design was utilized. A multimethod approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used. Qualitative methods and analyses were used to enhance the accuracy, richness, and completeness of quantitative data. Results showed that there were significant differences among the pre-, post-, and follow-up measurements with life satisfaction and role conflict. The intervention had an effect in the predicted direction for life satisfaction and role conflict for Times 1 and 2 and for Times 1 and 3. There was a significant interaction effect for role conflict and life satisfaction between Times 1 and 2. As role conflict scores decreased, life satisfaction scores increased. The intervention helped participants verbalize strategies for reducing role conflict such as establishing priorities, partitioning and separating roles, overlooking role demands, and changing attitudes toward roles in order to maximize satisfaction in a specific role. Many mental health providers are positioned to participate in the development of the needed knowledge to support an expanded perspective of women's roles and work. Mental health care includes supporting the empowerment of women to make choices and take action on behalf of themselves and their families. These preliminary findings suggest that mental health providers can both empower African American women to choose actions benefiting self and family and successfully promote knowledge necessary for more accurate and comprehensive perspectives on the roles and work of African American women.
Methods for accurate quantification of LTR-retrotransposon copy number using short-read sequence data: a case study in Sorghum

Transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes and their mobility impacts genome structure and function in myriad ways. Because of their abundance, activity, and repetitive nature, the characterization and analysis of TEs remain challenging, particularly from short-read sequencing projects. To overcome this difficulty, we have developed a method that estimates TE copy number from short-read sequences. To test the accuracy of our method, we first performed an in silico analysis of the reference Sorghum bicolor genome, using both reference-based and de novo approaches. The resulting TE copy number estimates were strikingly similar to the annotated numbers. We then tested our method on real short-read data by estimating TE copy numbers in several accessions of S. bicolor and its close relative S. propinquum. Both methods effectively identify and rank similar TE families from highest to lowest abundance. We found that de novo characterization was effective at capturing qualitative variation, but underestimated the abundance of some TE families, specifically families of more ancient origin. Also, interspecific reference-based mapping of S. propinquum reads to the S. bicolor database failed to fully describe TE content in S. propinquum, indicative of recent TE activity leading to changes in the respective repetitive landscapes over very short evolutionary timescales. We conclude that reference-based analyses are best suited for within-species comparisons, while de novo approaches are more reliable for evolutionarily distant comparisons.
An acute animal model of aortic stenosis: initial attempts at leaflet modification.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Percutaneous valve insertion is an emerging treatment for aortic stenosis (AS). To date, no large animal model exists that replicates human calcific AS; moreover, the absence of any valve pathology in currently available animal models prevents their use in any realistic assessment of percutaneous aortic valve therapy. Hence, the aim of the present study was to create an acute large animal model in which human calcific AS could be simulated. METHODS Ten domestic swine underwent open-heart surgery utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cardioplegic arrest. The aortic valve annulus and leaflets were injected with cyanoacrylate, after which epicardial echocardiography was used to assess the creation of AS. At the time of animal sacrifice, the hearts were harvested for gross and histopathological examination. RESULTS The leaflet and annular injections were performed successfully in all animals. Subsequently, seven animals were weaned from CPB and underwent post procedural echocardiographic evaluations, whereby the treated valves were harvested for gross and histological examination. CONCLUSION Cyanoacrylate can be injected into the porcine aortic valve and annulus to create a model that resembles human calcific AS in the acute setting. Additional long-term follow up studies must be conducted, however, before this model can be utilized in the development of percutaneous valve therapy.
Second-Order Hyperbolic Differential Equations

This chapter discusses the second-order hyperbolic differential equations. The simplest nontrivial example of a hyperbolic equation is the wave equation. The chapter presents the solution of the Cauchy problem for the one-dimensional wave. The chapter also describes the physical interpretation of the solutions of the homogeneous wave equation in dimensions one, two, and three. Once the oncoming wave has reached a given point, it causes a residual disturbance at that point, even after the wave has passed beyond that point. In the case of an initial disturbance at a point at time t = t 1 , the energy dissipation of the wave at this point will continue for all t > t 1 . The domain bounded by the axes and the characteristic lines through the point ( x , t ) is called the domain of influence. The total disturbance at a given point is the sum of all the contributions because of the points of the wave front at t = 0 . The chapter discusses the uniqueness of the solution of the wave equation in the region bounded by the characteristic cone and the plane t = 0.
The complex-scaled multiconfigurational spin-tensor electron propagator method for low-lying shape resonances in Be−, Mg− and Ca−

Abstract We further apply the complex scaled multiconfigurational spin-tensor electron propagator method (CMCSTEP) for the theoretical determination of resonance parameters with electron-atom systems including open-shell and highly correlated (non-dynamical correlation) atoms and molecules. The multiconfigurational spin-tensor electron propagator method (MCSTEP) developed and implemented by Yeager and his coworkers for real space gives very accurate and reliable ionization potentials and electron affinities. CMCSTEP uses a complex scaled multiconfigurational self-consistent field (CMCSCF) state as an initial state along with a dilated Hamiltonian where all of the electronic coordinates are scaled by a complex factor. CMCSTEP is designed for determining resonances. We apply CMCSTEP to get the lowest 2 P (Be − , Mg − ) and 2 D (Mg − , Ca − ) shape resonances using several different basis sets each with several complete active spaces. Many of these basis sets we employ have been used by others with different methods. Hence, we can directly compare results with different methods but using the same basis sets.
Having It All? A Qualitative Examination of Affluent Adolescent Girls’ Perceptions of Stress and Their Quests for Success:

This study sought to better understand the relationship between affluence and elevated risk for psychosocial distress among adolescent girls. In-depth qualitative interviews at two time points with three cohorts of girls (sixth-, eighth-, and 10th grade; T1 n = 57, T2 n = 58) from two independent girls schools Grades 6 to 12, along with their parents, and their teachers were conducted. Through narrative thematic analysis, four overarching sources of significant stress were identified: (a) pervasive experiences of pressures to perform, (b) narrow constructions of success, (c) peer competition, and (d) misalignments in expectations between some girls and their parents. These pressures were even more heightened among the older girls. Although all of the girls reported experiencing these stressors, those girls who reported a more other-oriented sense of purpose also reported stronger connections with peers and seemed better able to manage the pressures.
Metaphor: Love Is a Game

Metaphor is shown to be fundamental to our thinking. Metaphor and metonymy are defined, and subcategories of metaphor and metonymy, simile and synecdoche are discussed. Work of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson on the important role metaphor and metonymy play in everyday life is considered.
Civil Rights 3.0

It is now commonplace to hear the LGBT rights movement being described as the last, or the next, or today’s, pre-eminent civil rights issue. This chapter will explore what that means from several perspectives: What does the label tell us about the civil rights paradigm itself? If the achievement of marriage equality is the great civil rights achievement of this generation, what does that suggest about a future for equality more generally? How have new forms of, and technologies for, movement building affected the idea and practice of civil rights? Does the civil rights paradigm have a future? I focus in on three aspects of the social meaning of civil rights: legal doctrine and legal institutions, social movement strategies, and the tension between the discourse of challenges to social hierarchy and that of civil rights.What we learn is that LGBT advocates have contributed to the overall project of formal equality under law primarily by developing an extraordinary strategic and tactical dexterity, uniquely so at the state level and in its alliance with the business sector. As to the latter, however, there are serious potential disadvantages. In the current political framework, the possibility of advances in substantive equality law – either statutory or Constitutional – has shrunken to the point that, even as LGBT rights groups make breakthroughs in achieving goals such as marriage equality, they will do well to avoid having to take backward steps with regard to such overarching concepts as the disparate impact principle or heightened scrutiny. For the future, the big question for this movement – and all other social justice movements in the United States – is whether it will deploy its talents and resources to challenge embedded, structural forms of discrimination.
Digital pathology annotation data for improved deep neural network classification

In the field of digital pathology, there is an explosive amount of imaging data being generated. Thus, there is an ever growing need to create assistive or automatic methods to analyze collections of images for screening and classification. Machine learning, specifically deep learning algorithms, developed for digital pathology have the potential to assist in this way. Deep learning architectures have demonstrated great success over existing classification models but require massive amounts of labeled training data that either doesn’t exist or are cost and time prohibitive to obtain. In this project, we present a framework for representing, collecting, validating, and utilizing cytopathology features for improved neural network classification.
Creating infographics to enhance student engagement and communication in health economics

ABSTRACTIn this article, the authors discuss and describe the implementation of and lessons learned from a course project centered on the creation of an infographic in a health economics course and an introduction to health research course. Students were asked to create a simple infographic about a particular topic, after researching and gathering data on that topic. The instructors observed how students synthesized information and data to tell a visual story with their infographic. This article adds to the limited literature regarding infographics in undergraduate instruction. An infographic offers faculty an opportunity to apply active learning strategies to enhance student engagement, retention of information, and communication skills.
Null Pronouns in Russian Embedded Clauses

While in matrix clauses pronouns are almost never dropped in Russian, null pronouns are licensed in almost all kinds of embedded clauses. Null pronouns in such positions share similarities with PRO, but they also differ from PRO in many respects. In this paper, I show that there are two kinds of environments in which such pronouns can appear. The first kind of environment includes complements of attitude verbs, where there is strong evidence for a syntactic relation between the null pronoun and its antecedent. In the second kind of environment, which includes sentential adjuncts and embedded wh-questions, the nature of this relation seems to be different. I propose that Russian possesses a minimally specified silent pronoun which is phonologically deficient and must cliticize onto a higher projection and thus can only be found in the presence of an overt complementizer. I adopt the idea proposed in (Holmberg A. Linguist Inq 36(4):533–564, 2005) that a major feature of pro-drop phenomena is the valuation of the D feature of the null pronoun. I propose that in Russian the null pronoun is unable to value this feature inside the clause where it is merged and therefore must probe outside the clause to get the D feature valued. The difference between properties of silent pronouns in the two kinds of environments is derived from the exact mechanism by which the valuation takes place. In the case of complements of attitude verbs, the valuation takes place as a result of an agree relation, in other cases the valuation takes place via a topic-chain.
Whose greed, whose grievance, and whose opportunity? Effects of foreign direct investments (FDI) on internal conflict

Abstract This paper investigates the influence of foreign direct investments on the probability of civil conflict onset, contributing to the debate on globalization and civil conflict. I relax the common assumption that all forms of globalization are equivalent in their effects on civil conflict. I also incorporate the cross-sectoral heterogeneity of investments in existing arguments about the socioeconomic externalities of foreign direct investments as determinants of conflict. With long time horizons and managerial control of their foreign affiliates, foreign direct investors are strategic players aiming to maximize profits and uniquely able to alter their environment through socio-political channels. This distinguishes FDI from trade and foreign portfolio investments. Through a combination of political agency and socio-economic influences on grievance and greed among domestic groups, some types of FDI are likely to alleviate the risk of civil conflict (service sector FDI), while others exacerbate it (primary sector FDI). Analyses using a new data set of sector-specific FDI stock, 1980–2013, lend empirical support to the argument. Showing that economic globalization can have simultaneous positive and negative externalities, these findings are informative for the current dialogue on the role of global markets in sustainable development.
A computer verification of a pretty mathematical result

A very appropriate use of a computer in a mathematics class is to provide investigation vehicles for formulating conjectures to be verified theoretically. In other words, first we notice something and then we try to prove it. In this paper we shall reverse the process, first arguing the plausibility of a very fascinating result and then obtaining confirmation by looking at some computer generated data. The argument is based on the work of the eighteenth century mathematical giant, Leonhard Euler (1707-1783).
Evaluation of splenic apoptosis with 4-[18F]Fluorophenyl)triphenyl phosphonium ion (18F-TTP)

1210 Objectives Both the “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” apoptotic pathways are usually associated with mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and loss of membrane potential, which can be measured by a voltage sensor. Recently we developed 18F-TTP (Shoup et al, Mol Imaging Biol 2011;13(3):511-517). We have studied this tracer in a variety of systems including burn injury where we observed reduced uptake in a variety of tissues - spleen showing the most prominent effects. In this report we studied the details of the apoptotic effect of burn injury in spleen. Methods Groups of 6 C57/BL6 mice were studied. The animals received 30 % total body surface area full-thickness thermal injury on their dorsal surface or sham treatment. At 24 h after injury, the animals were studied with three systems. 100 μCi of 18F-TTP was injected via tail-vein and biodistribudtion was measured after 20 min. The spleens were harvested for apoptosis assessment by the Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique. The number (percentage) of TUNEL positive apoptotic cells was scored. Results The results of the 18F-TTP biodistribution studies demonstrated that peak uptake in the spleen occurred at between 20 - 40 min after injection. Tracer uptake in burned animals was reduces to 1.13 ± 0.17 compared with 3.28 ± 1.24 (p Conclusions 18F-TPP is a promising new voltage sensor for detecting mitochondrial dysfunction, and burn-induced apoptotic status in spleen.These results demonstrate that 18F-TTP is a useful tracer for the in vitro evaluation of apoptosis. In the future this tracer could be of value for studying for quantifying apoptosis non invasively with PET.
Using quasi-interpolants in a result of Favard

A proof of Favard can be restructured using quasi-interpolants of the type discussed in these proceedings [6] and his result strengthened.
Synergistic effect of pH and oxalate concentration on corrosion of aluminium alloy 2024-T3

ABSTRACTThis work aims at obtaining comprehensive information on the corrosion behaviour of AA2024-T3 in oxalic acid solutions under different concentrations (0.007–0.2 M) and pH (2–6). Various tests to characterise the corrosion behaviour are performed, including weight loss and electrochemical tests. Coupon surfaces are examined using infinite-focus microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. Corrosion rates, anodic and cathodic reaction kinetics are detailed to provide a fundamental understanding of the electrochemical behaviour of AA2024-T3 as a function of pH and oxalate concentration. The synergistic effect of pH and oxalate concentration on corrosion of AA2024-T3 is evaluated for both AA2024-T3 matrix and main intermetallics (i.e. Al–Cu–Mg and Al–Cu–Fe–Mn) and the electrochemical behaviour of each constituent element in AA2024-T3 is systematically studied.
THE CHALLENGE TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY IN A WORLD OF SHIFTING TECHNOLOGY

ABSTRACT This paper examines the issues related to productivity improvement and their influence on profitability in the global and local environments. Factors contributing to the wealth of a nation and strategies to define its domain of excellence in the dynamic world of production and marketing are presented. The paper suggests that there is a realignment of industry between countries based on the level of technology and mechanization involved in the creation of the product. Industrialized countries are focusing on high technology industries and developing countries are gaining an edge in the low and medium technology industries. The author proposes that a country must define the areas and level of technology appropriate to its resources and strive to improve productivity, quality and profitability in its chosen line(s). Factors involved in improving productivity are given and discussion of their importance is made.
El efecto de referencia disjunta en pasivas con ser y estar

Resumen Este articulo estudia el efecto de referencia disjunta en construcciones pasivas con ser y estar, que consiste en la imposibilidad de tener una lectura reflexiva. Muestro, basandome en un estudio empirico realizado a hablantes de castellano peninsular, que dicho efecto se produce en la pasiva con ser pero no en la pasiva con estar, y desarrollo una propuesta teorica para dar cuenta de los datos. Mi estudio contribuye a una comprension mas completa de las propiedades de los participios pasivos con ser y estar en espanol, y constituye una aportacion al estudio actual de las pasivas verbales y adjetivales en diferentes lenguas. Palabras clave : ser; estar; pasivas; estructura argumental; lectura reflexiva. Abstract This paper studies the disjoint reference effect in passive constructions with ser and estar ‘to be’, which consists in the impossibility of having a reflexive reading. I show, based on an empirical study undertaken with speakers of Peninsular Spanish, that said effect holds in passives with ser, but not with estar. I develop a theoretical proposal to account for the data. My study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the properties of passive participles with ser and estar in Spanish, as well as to the current study of verbal and adjectival passives in other languages. Keywords : ser; estar; passives; argument structure; reflexive readings.
Development of a Kinetic Energy Recovery System Using an Active Electromagnetic Slip Coupling

The active electromagnetic slip coupling kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), introduced in this paper, is potentially a cost effective, yet efficient method of energy transfer between a vehicle and a lightweight flywheel. The transferred torque, as well as the coupling status, is determined by controlling its windings currents. The proposed system can work at any slip safely, including negative and positive values, between the primary and the secondary shafts as the slip power is converted into electrical power, and thus can be recovered. The proposed KERS may be less costly and less complicated than flywheel batteries as it needs only one electric machine and one power electronic converter. Moreover, it is capable of capturing much more mechanical power than its electrical ratings. Furthermore, since a great part of the energy exchange takes place in mechanical form, only a fraction of the captured energy needs to be processed by the power electronic converter. In this paper, mathematical modeling and simulations are performed using the space vector modeling method. Also, for the proof of the concept prototype of the system has been built, tested, and the results are verified.
The timing of surgical alignment for congenital (infantile) esotropia.

At this time, the beneficial effect of accurate alignment by age 2 in congenital esotropia has been well established by clinical and laboratory studies. There is, however, only scanty clinical evidence that alignment before age 1, much less before 6 months of age, may yield a better quality of binocularity (i.e., refined stereoacuity) than alignment by age 2. Pitfalls of very early alignment are present. In addition, the ophthalmologist must be vigilant in following the initially aligned patient and be ready to treat vertical motor defects, amblyopia, and acquired refractive errors. The need for additional horizontal surgery after initial alignment is also common. The optimum result in the surgical treatment of congenital esotropia generally shows binocularity that is within the confines of a monofixation syndrome, and refined stereoacuity remains an elusive target and a rare outcome, no matter at what age the alignment is achieved.
Maximizing Treatment Efficiency in Developmental Language Disorder: Positive Effects in Half the Time

Purpose When a behavioral treatment is generally efficacious, the central research questions shift to optimized dose delivery. In this study, we determine whether a validated treatment method can be made more effective or efficient by increasing the dose density employed. Method Twenty children were treated with Enhanced Conversational Recast methods to treat morphological errors. Half received 24 doses per session within a half hour (approximately 1 dose/1.25 min), and the other received the same number of doses within 15 min (approximately 1 dose/38 s). Generalization of morpheme use was probed throughout treatment and at a 6-week follow-up. Spontaneous use of treated morphemes was also tracked. Results Although the treatment was effective overall, there were no significant differences between treatment conditions on any of the outcome measures. Follow-up performance correlated significantly with performance at the end of the treatment period. Conclusion Minimal between-groups differences suggest that performance does not suffer when dose rates are compressed into half the time during treatment, making the high-density dose delivery method a more efficient delivery method. This could make time available within a treatment session to address other goals or allow for more classroom instructional time for the child. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8968559.
Systems biology approaches to measure and model phenotypic heterogeneity in cancer.

Abstract The recent wide-spread adoption of single-cell profiling technologies has revealed that individual cancers are not homogenous collections of deregulated cells, but instead comprise multiple genetically and phenotypically distinct cell subpopulations that exhibit a wide range of responses to extracellular signals and therapeutic insult. Such observations point to the urgent need to understand cancer as a complex, adaptive system. Cancer systems biology studies seek to develop the experimental and theoretical methods required to understand how biological components work together to determine how cancer cells function. Ultimately, such approaches will lead to improvements in how cancer is managed and treated. In this review, we discuss recent advances in cancer systems biology approaches to quantify, model, and elucidate mechanisms of heterogeneity.
Cancer immunotherapy trial design with delayed treatment effect

A challenge arising in cancer immunotherapy trial design is the presence of a delayed treatment effect wherein the proportional hazard assumption no longer holds true. As a result, a traditional survival trial design based on the standard log-rank test, which ignores the delayed treatment effect, will lead to substantial loss of statistical power. Recently, a piecewise weighted log-rank test is proposed to incorporate the delayed treatment effect into consideration of the trial design. However, because the sample size formula was derived under a sequence of local alternative hypotheses, it results in an underestimated sample size when the hazard ratio is relatively small for a balanced trial design and an inaccurate sample size estimation for an unbalanced design. In this article, we derived a new sample size formula under a fixed alternative hypothesis for the delayed treatment effect model. Simulation results show that the new formula provides accurate sample size estimation for both balanced and unbalanced designs.
Single Shot Avalanche Characterization of Series and Parallel Connection of SiC Power MOSFETs

Power modules are connected in series and parallel combinations to meet the voltage and current requirements of various applications, especially in medium voltage high power applications. Avalanche ruggedness of the SiC power MOSFETs need to be established in these connections to assess the reliability of the converters in extreme transient conditions. 1700 V SiC MOSFET has potential to replace the conventional 1700 V silicon IGBT in medium voltage power converters such as 800 V and 1500 V railway traction applications. In this paper, single shot avalanche ruggedness of the series-connected and parallel-connected 1700 V SiC MOSFETs are characterized using the unclamped inductive test circuit. Single shot avalanche ruggedness of series connected SiC MOSFETs is reported for the first time. In both the connections, the failed MOSFET was observed to be the one which dissipated lower share of the total avalanche energy of the connection.
Identification of Network Dynamics and Disturbance for a Multizone Building

We propose a method that simultaneously identifies a sparse transfer matrix and a disturbance signal for a multizone building’s temperature dynamics from the measurements of inputs and outputs. The proposed method is based on solving a convex optimization problem whose cost function involves an $\ell _{1}$ -penalty to promote a sparse solution. The method ensures that the transfer matrix is sparse, so that only dominant interactions among zones are retained in the model. The disturbance, which is mostly occupant-induced, is assumed to be a piecewise-constant signal, which aids in identification, since the derivative of a piecewise-constant signal is a sparse signal. We test our method on data from a virtual building (a simulation model) and a real building. Results from the virtual building show that the proposed method can accurately identify a sparse network model and a transformed disturbance. Results from the real building data—that does not have a ground truth—show that the method produces sensible results.