cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Object oriented analysis

Object Oriented (OO) programming has been a staple of program design and implementation prompted by the rise of languages such as Java and C++. The use of Object Orientation in systems analysis can push back the use of OO to an earlier stage of project development. Using OO in analysis can lead seamlessly through the entire process from system analysis and system design into individual class designs and programming. This workshop will focus on OO Analysis from the first stages of context boundary drawing through candidate class selections, attribute identification and candidate method definition.
Pretreatment Diagnosis of the Small Renal Mass: Status of Renal Biopsy in the United States of America.

Abstract Introduction: We surveyed United States of America-based urologists to characterize practice patterns and indications to perform a renal mass biopsy for small renal masses. Materials and M...
Prosocial pathways to positive adaptation: The mediating role of teacher-child closeness

Abstract Despite robust evidence that prosocial behavior is associated with positive adaptation and likely engenders it, few studies have evaluated mechanisms that may account for these effects. The current study utilized a diverse sample of young children (N = 228, 49.6% female, 45.6% Latinx) to evaluate prospective relations between an observational assessment of children's prosocial sharing behavior at age 6 and children's depressive symptoms and academic achievement at age 8 via intervening teacher reports of a close relationship with the child. The findings supported a significant indirect pathway from prosocial sharing to fewer depressive symptoms and higher academic achievement via the closeness of children's relationship with their primary school teacher. Potential explanations for these findings and their implications for intervention are discussed.
Inhibition of in vivo oxidation of native low-density lipoprotein by N-acetylcysteine is associated with decreased atherosclerosis

BackgroundLow-density lipoprotein (LDL) is not atherogenic itself. Oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) is a potent oxidative agent, produces reactive oxidative species (ROS), and critical to the development of a...
Sample size calculation for count outcomes in cluster randomization trials with varying cluster sizes

In many cluster randomization studies, cluster sizes are not fixed and may be highly variable. For those studies, sample size estimation assuming a constant cluster size may lead to under-powered studies. Sample size formulas have been developed to incorporate the variability in cluster size for clinical trials with continuous and binary outcomes. Count outcomes frequently occur in cluster randomized studies. In this paper, we derive a closed-form sample size formula for count outcomes accounting for the variability in cluster size. We compare the performance of the proposed method with the average cluster size method through simulation. The simulation study shows that the proposed method has a better performance with empirical powers and type I errors closer to the nominal levels.
An Efficient Protocol for Single-Cell Cloning Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Genomic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has become essential to introduce genetic modifications and transgenes, and develop reporter lines. One of the major bottlenecks in gene editing is at the stage of single-cell cloning, which is thought to be variable across hPSC lines and is substantially reduced following a transfection. Due to the difficulty of performing fluorescent-assisted cell sorting (FACS) for single-cell isolation of hPSCs, previous approaches rely on manual colony picking, which is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this protocol, I provide a method for utilizing FACS to generate single-cell clones of hPSCs with efficiencies approaching 40% within 7-10 days. This can be achieved by sorting cells onto a feeder layer of MEFs in a stem cell defined medium with KSR and a Rock inhibitor, as early as 1-2 days following a transfection, streamlining the gene editing process. The approach described here provides a fundamental method for all researchers utilizing hPSCs for scientific studies.
27 Trial Consultation

Trial consultation enables forensic psychologists to expand beyond traditional assessment and testimony roles in order to provide direct support to counsel in civil and criminal proceedings. Such support can include case analysis, report review, witness identification, witness preparation, and enhancement of direct and cross-examination strategies. Recent statutory and case law innovations have encouraged lawyers to make increasingly sophisticated use of trial consultation, even as economic conditions have inspired caution regarding the overall cost of these services. Various sources of professional guidance have emerged to promote responsible practices and identify potential pitfalls in this complex and dynamic activity. Attempts to serve simultaneously as both consultant and witness—or to migrate from the first role to the second in the course of the same legal matter—raise ethical concerns due to the incompatibility of the consultant's advocacy support function with the scrupulous avoidance of bias required of the witness. Trial consultation requires more than identifying scoring errors, superseded test measures, and poorly drafted reports. Merely undermining the credibility and impugning the integrity of opposing counsel's expert is an incomplete application of consultation skills. Much can be done to educate counsel about proper approaches and positive solutions to questions raised by preceding evaluations. Keywords: ethics; expert witness; forensic; jurisprudent science; trial consultation
Deciphering Transcriptional Dynamics in Vivo by Counting Nascent RNAs

Transcription of a gene by an RNA polymerase is the focus of most forms of regulation of gene expression. Even though careful biochemical experimentation has revealed the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation for a number of different promoters, the question of how transcription is regulated in cells is still poorly understood. Recently experimental methods have been developed for counting the number of nascent RNA molecules in a single cell for a gene of interest. We show theoretically that measurements of the cell-to-cell variability in the number of nascent RNAs can be used to test different mechanisms of transcription initiation. In particular, we derive exact expressions for the first two moments of the distribution of nascent RNA molecules for an arbitrary mechanism of transcription initiation. These theoretical results are applied to published data on the nascent RNA distributions obtained for a collection of constitutively expressed yeast genes. We find that the data is not consistent with a single-step mechanism of initiation, which has been generally assumed. Instead, a two-step mechanism of initiation with both steps of equal duration is consistent with the available data. These findings for the yeast promoters highlight the utility of our theory for deciphering transcriptional dynamics in vivo.
Effect of mandibular stabilization on the diadochokinetic performance of children with phonological disorder

The present investigation compares the ability of phonologically normal and phonologically disordered children to lingually compensate for bite block mandibular stabilization. Diadochokinetic rates for monosyllable and a bisyllable stimuli were measured under two mandibular conditions; when the mandible was free and when it was stabilized using a bite block. The results indicated that, in general, the phonologically disordered children were able to compensate for the presence of the bite block as well as the normal children. However, the phonologically disordered children were observed to have considerably more difficulty than normal in successfully repeating bisyllable stimuli especially when the mandible was stabilized. A subgroup of these children were seen to have no capacity for lingual compensation during this task.
SCORE: A Security-Oriented Cyber-Physical Optimal Response Engine

Automatic optimal response systems are essential for preserving power system resilience and ensuring faster recovery from emergency under cyber compromise. Numerous research works have developed such response engine for cyber and physical system recovery separately. In this paper, we propose a novel cyber-physical decision support system, SCORE, that computes optimal actions considering pure and hybrid cyber-physical states, using Markov Decision Process (MDP). Such an automatic decision making engine can assist power system operators and network administrators to make a faster response to prevent cascading failures and attack escalation respectively. The hybrid nature of the engine makes the reward and state transition model of the MDP unique. Value iteration and policy iteration techniques are used to compute the optimal actions. Tests are performed on three and five substation power systems to recover from attacks that compromise relays to cause transmission line overflow. The paper also analyses the impact of reward and state transition model on computation. Corresponding results verify the efficacy of the proposed engine.
Infection prophylaxis in periorbital Mohs surgery and reconstruction: a review and update to recommendations.

Abstract Mohs micrographic surgery and reconstruction is considered by many as the gold standard for treatment of cutaneous malignancies arising in the periorbital region. It has a high rate of tumor clearance and a low rate of postsurgical complications. One of the most common complications is surgical site infection. Although surgical site infection occurs in less than 3% of patients, it may result in significant morbidity. Considerable research efforts have been devoted to identifying risk factors associated with the development of a postsurgical infection. We examine the impact of endogenous factors (which determine the efficacy of a patient's immune system), exogenous factors (which influence a patient's exposure to bacterial pathogens), and antimicrobial interventions on the incidence of surgical site infection and propose evidence-based recommendations.
A high-energy aqueous on-chip lithium-ion capacitor based on interdigital 3D carbon microelectrode arrays

Abstract There is a growing interest in the development of high energy on-chip capacitive energy storage units for application in microelectronic devices. Lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) typically comprising battery-type and capacitor-type electrodes offer the opportunity for an improved energy density in capacitive energy storage. In this work, an aqueous on-chip LIC was fabricated using carbon microelectromechanical systems (C-MEMS) technique. Oxygen plasma-treated 3D carbon microelectrode arrays served as the capacitor-type electrode in the LIC, while LiFePO4 integrated on the 3D carbon microelectrode arrays was used as the battery-type cathode. Electrochemical performance evaluation shows that the aqueous on-chip LIC can deliver an areal density up to ~5.03 μWh cm−2, which is ~5 times higher than the oxygen plasma-treated symmetric carbon microelectrode-based electrochemical capacitor.
A 5.3-kb deletion including exon XIII of the protein S alpha gene occurs in two protein S-deficient families [see comments]

Genomic DNA samples from 12 protein S-deficient families with hereditary thrombophilia were analyzed by Southern hybridization using protein S cDNA probes. Protein S-deficient members of families A and B possessed identical restriction fragment length polymorphisms, which suggest the absence of 5.3 kb from one of their protein S alpha alleles. The abnormal alleles from individuals A7 and B1 were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using a forward primer in intron K and a reverse primer in exon XIV. The amplified DNA was cloned and sequenced. Sequence comparison with the normal protein S alpha gene showed that most of intron L (roughly 4.7 kb), the entire exon XIII (151 bp), and about a quarter of intron M (407 bp) were missing from both the A7 and B1 clones. Exon XIII contains all three potential N- glycosylation sites in human protein S. This deletion may result in RNA transcripts in which exon XII is spliced to exon XIV. Such an arrangement would generate a stop codon at position 463 and consequently produce a nonglycosylated protein S molecule truncated by 173 amino acids.
Pediatric length-of-stay index following liver transplantation.

Background PELD scores are used to reduce waitlist mortality, but they do not accurately predict likelihood of prolonged length-of-stay or higher costs associated with it. This study aims to create a pediatric length-of-stay (LOS) index to predict increased risk of prolonged stay following liver transplantation. Methods The scoring system generated predicts length-of-stay following pediatric liver transplantation. With univariate and multivariate analyses on data from 5669 pediatric liver transplant recipients, independent recipient/donor risk factors for prolonged stay (>30 days) were identified. Multiple imputations accounted for missing variables. Results The most significant factors were ICU admission (OR 2.92, CI 2.27-3.75), recipient bilirubin >32 (OR 2.35, CI 1.70-3.25), and hemodialysis 1 week before transplantation (OR 2.27, CI 1.57-3.27). The LOS index assigns weighted scoring points to factors to predict prolonged stay (C-statistic of .72). The index demonstrated discrimination across the population after dividing it into quartiles for prolonged stay. Conclusions The pediatric LOS index, utilizing 13 donor/recipient factors, can assess the risk for pediatric liver transplantation prolonged stay. Important predictive factors are hemodialysis, ICU admission, recipient weight and bilirubin, and recipient life support status.
BIORTHOGONAL WAVELET TRANSFORMATIONS

This chapter explains how to construct a biorthogonal filter pair that can be used to generate wavelet transformation matrices. It also explains how to construct short biorthogonal filter pairs. The chapter then develops techniques utilizing symmetric filters that minimize the problems caused by wrapping rows in the transformation. Before developing general algorithms for symmetric biorthogonal wavelet transformations and their inverses, one needs to know more about the relationship of the lengths of symmetric biorthogonal filter pairs. The chapter presents an algorithm for applying the symmetric biorthogonal transformation constructed from odd‐length biorthogonal filter pairs applied to vectors of even length N without justification. It also describes an algorithm for computing the symmetric biorthogonal transformation for even‐length filter pairs. Finally, the chapter presents the application of image compression and investigates the application of image pansharpening to which the biorthogonal wavelet transform is well‐suited.
Weighing in on decisions in the brain: neural representations of pre-awareness practical intention

Neuroscientists have located brain activity that prepares or encodes action plans before agents are aware of intending to act. On the basis of these findings and broader agency research, activity in these regions has been proposed as the neural realizers of practical intention. My aim in this paper is to evaluate the case for taking these neural states to be neural representations of intention. I draw on work in philosophy of action on the role and nature of practical intentions to construct a framework of the functional profile of intentions fit for empirical investigation. With this framework, I turn to the broader empirical neuroscience literature on agency to assess these proposed neural representations of intention. I argue that while these neural states in some respects satisfy the functions of intention in planning agency prospective of action, their fit with the role of intention in action execution is not well supported. I close by offering a sketch of which experimental task features could aid in the search for the neural realizer of intention in action.
Abscisic acid modulates auxin-responsive hypocotyl elongation

Abstract Auxin regulates many aspects of plant growth and development in concert with other plant hormones. Auxin interactions with these other phytohormones to regulate distinct processes is not fully understood. Using a forward genetics screen designed to identify seedlings resistant to the suppressive effects of auxin on dark-grown hypocotyl elongation, we identified a mutant defective in ABA ALDEHYDE OXIDASE3 (AAO3), which encodes for the enzyme that carries out the final step in the biosynthesis of the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA). We found that all examined ABA deficient mutants display resistance to the inhibitory effects of auxin on dark-grown hypocotyl elongation, suggesting that aspects of ABA signaling are downstream of auxin in regulating dark-grown hypocotyl elongation. Conversely, these mutants display wild type responsiveness to auxin in root elongation assays, suggesting that ABA does not act downstream of auxin in regulating elongation of the root. Our RNA-seq analysis suggests that many auxin-repressed genes in the hypocotyl require an intact ABA pathway for full repression. Our results suggest a model in which auxin partially requires intact ABA biosynthesis in order to regulate hypocotyl elongation, but not to regulate primary root elongation, suggesting that the genetic interactions between these two pathways are tissue-dependent.
On the Abolition of Belonging as Property: Toward Justice for Immigrant Children of Color:

Belonging matters in early childhood. Despite its importance, the majoritarian conceptualization of belonging is seldom problematized. In the US, the politics of belonging draws racialized lines of...
Atomic photoionization by multiple temporal pairs of slits

We study interactions between multiple temporal pairs of slits in coherent control of photoionization of $S$-state atoms using a pulse train of $N+1$ pairs evenly delayed in time by $\ensuremath{\tau}$, in which the two pulses in a pair with a delay ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{0}$ are counter-rotating circularly polarized. For interacting two double-slit experiments, while Ramsey interference between two identical Archimedean spirals yields pairs of principal spirals, interference of two spirals with opposite handedness does not lead to spirals, but instead to crocodile-eye-like patterns with nictares. For more than two interacting experiments, the resulting patterns turn out just to be those two reference patterns modulated by different kinds of $N$-dependent time-energy Fraunhofer functions exhibiting diffraction-grating-like patterns.
The rhesus macaque: a unique and compelling model for human endometriosis-associated ovarian carcinomas

Objectives: Clear cell ovarian carcinoma and endometrioid ovarian carcinoma (EnOC) are considered endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers (EAOCs). Given no higher order animal model currently exists for these cancers, we propose a novel animal model, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), for better understanding malignant transformation from endometriosis to EAOCs. Methods: The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) maintains a multigenerational colony of Indian-derived rhesus macaques with well-documented incidence of spontaneous endometriosis. WNPRC researchers developed a model in which estrogen receptor-a was knocked down in the hypothalamus (hypoER-a) of adult rhesus females. Standard hemotoxylin and eosin (HE) and progesterone receptor (PR). Results: Twelve animals were evaluated, 6 hypoER-a and 6 control. Age at necropsy and characteristics associated with rhesus endometriosis were comparable between groups. Endometriosis was present in 4/6 hypoER-a females but in only 1/6 controls. HypoER-a animals had endometriosis in the uterus (2 cases), cervix (1 case), fallopian tube (2), ovary (2) and colon (1). The control animal had endometriosis in the uterus. ARID1A was retained in all tissues tested, including cases with endometriosis. WT-1 was positive in both epithelium and stroma for all endometriosis lesions. ER- a was negative in HypoER-a but not control endometriosis; PR was patchy positive in normal endometrium. PAX-8 stained rhesus tissue as would be expected in human analogs. One EnOC was identified in a hypoER-a animal that also had endometriosis. Conclusions: We have successfully created a nonhuman primate model that increases endometriosis penetrance. We also demonstrated parity between rhesus and human female endometriosis and EAOC by gross and histologic examination. Immunohistochemistry demonstrates WT-1 consistently stains endometrial glands and stroma in endometriosis. There was one animal with an EAOC in association with endometriosis. The rhesus macaque poses a higher order animal model for ongoing research in EAOC.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Colitis Presenting As Lymphocytic Colitis

Checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are a new class of drugs that have changed the treatment and prognosis of several malignancies, even in their advanced stages. These drugs have increased patient survival rates. CPIs stimulate the immune system and include cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 inhibitors (ipilimumab), programmed cell death inhibitors such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and avelumab, and programmed cell death protein ligand-1 inhibitors such as atezolizumab. Herein, we present a case of CPI-induced colitis in a 45-year-old woman with a history of melanoma. The melanoma was BRAF-positive with a V600 mutation. She had metastasis to the brain and the right 10th rib, which underwent surgery and radiation treatment, respectively. She was treated with nivolumab and denosumab. The patient presented with chronic watery diarrhea. Biopsy revealed lymphocytic colitis-like changes in the colon and terminal ileum. Thus, given the history of CPIs, a diagnosis of CPIS-induced colitis was made.
An Open-Source, Scalable, Low-Cost Automatic Modal Hammer for Studying Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

Although automatic impact hammers are available for use in dynamics and vibration research, they have seen little application in both well-supported labs and resource-poor settings, such as underprivileged communities and the parts of the developing world. The primary reason is that they are cost prohibitive as commercially available automatic modal hammers typically cost more than $10,000 USD, and the prevailing perspective is that testing performed using modal hammers is unrepeatable and uncontrollable. Consequently, this technology has seen limited use throughout academia and industry. An inexpensive automatic modal hammer system that is both controllable and repeatable could thus prove useful in both research and educational labs while promoting a do-it-yourself perspective in future scientists. Such a hammer would also provide immense benefit in the testing of strongly nonlinear systems whose dynamics depend greatly on the applied excitation. This research focuses on the creation and use of an open-source, scalable, repeatable, low-cost automatic modal hammer for investigating the dynamics of strongly nonlinear systems. The proposed design consists of a commercial modal hammer mounted on a stepper motor, commonly used in small 3D printers, that is equipped with an encoder and a servo driver controlled using an Arduino, enabling micro-stepping and precise control of the hammer. The capabilities of the proposed automatic modal hammer are demonstrated using a linear cantilever beam, a two-story building model with two nonlinear vibration absorbers, and a model airplane wing with a non-smooth nonlinear vibration absorber installed on its tip.
The Ray and Wave Theory of Lenses: Fermat's principle

Introduction Geometrical optics is based on the concept that light travels along rays. Rays are lines in space that satisfy Fermat's principle, which states that light travels from one point to another along a path for which the travel time is stationary with respect to small variations in the shape of the path. The theory of geometrical optics can be founded on other ideas as well; for instance, Bruns based his classic paper [5] on the law of Malus and Dupin, which states that a fan of rays jointly perpendicular to a surface in the object space emerges from the lens with again all its rays jointly perpendicular to a surface. We could also simply start with Snell's law. All these starting points are logically equivalent; but broad insights into the properties and limitations of lenses can be obtained most easily by starting with Fermat's principle. One conclusion we can draw immediately: in a homogeneous medium light travels along straight lines. The speed of light depends on the medium traversed. The ratio of the speed in vacuum and the speed in a medium is called the refractive index, usually denoted by the symbol n . In an inhomogeneous medium the speed, and therefore the refractive index, varies from point to point. In an anisotropic medium the speed depends on the direction of propagation, which makes the specification of the refractive index rather more complicated. Except for propagation in vacuum, the speed of light always depends on the wavelength.
Segmentation and classification of breast tumor using dynamic contrast-enhanced MR images

Accuracy of automatic cancer diagnosis is largely determined by two factors, namely, the precision of tumor segmentation, and the suitability of extracted features for discrimination between malignancy and benignancy. In this paper, we propose a new framework for accurate characterization of tumors in contrast enhanced MR images. First, a new graph cut based segmentation algorithm is developed for refining coarse manual segmentation, which allows precise identification of tumor regions. Second, by considering serial contrast-enhanced images as a single spatio-temporal image, a spatio-temporal model of segmented tumor is constructed to extract Spatio-Temporal Enhancement Patterns (STEPs). STEPs are designed to capture not only dynamic enhancement and architectural features, but also spatial variations of pixel-wise temporal enhancement of the tumor. While temporal enhancement features are extracted through Fourier transform, the resulting STEP framework captures spatial patterns of temporal enhancement features via moment invariants and rotation invariant Gabor textures. High accuracy of the proposed framework is a direct consequence of this two pronged approach, which is validated through experiments yielding, for instance, an area of 0.97 under the ROC curve.
Verbal working memory in bilingual children.

The present study compared the performance of 44 Latino children on the Competing Language Processing Task (CLPT; C. Gaulin & T. Campbell, 1994) and the Dual Processing Comprehension Task (DPCT; S. Ellis Weismer, 1996). First, it was of interest to know if there were significant differences between children with and without bilingual proficiency on processing tasks that were assumed to require limited vocabulary knowledge. The second goal of this research was to determine whether there were cross-linguistic differences in verbal working memory by examining performance within bilinguals and between children with limited proficiency in a second language. The performance of the participating children was also examined in the context of research with other English-speaking groups. Finally, given that the CLPT and the DPCT may differ in their processing demands (from a relative focus on storage to one of attention inhibition or resistance to interference), it was important to know the extent to which these tas...
The development of student perceptions of ethical issues in the use of IS

This paper examines student perceptions of ethical issues relating to the development and use of information systems. Students in a, freshman level, introductory IS course and in a junior level MIS course were given a set of scenarios involving issues of software piracy, system penetration, and use of malware. Students were asked to evaluate the degree of ethical breach involved in each scenario. The survey was designed to measure the extent to which students respond differently to the various types of IS ethical scenarios and to provide a basis for examining how demographic factors (age, sex, and class level) affect overall judgments of IS ethical breaches. Survey results suggest that students draw substantial distinctions in their ethical judgments of the scenarios based upon the type of action and the motivation of the actor. In addition, regression analysis of average response across all scenarios suggests that female gender, increased age and higher class standing (juniors versus freshmen) all contribute to judgments of greater ethical breach. The impact, of class standing, on these ethical judgments is of particular interest, since it measures the extent to which a student's University experience impacts her/his ethical perspectives.
Quantifying how short‐term environmental variation leads to long‐term demographic responses to climate change

Summary Climate change is expected to alter not only year-to-year variation in climate but also aspects of within-year variation, such as the length of the intervals between rainfall events and the duration of heat waves. Yet we still have a poor understanding of how intra-annual climate variability and individual weather events alter key vital rates (e.g. individual growth, reproduction and survival) that in part determine population dynamics. Traditionally, ecologists have accounted for this variability across long time periods by attempting to correlate annual vital rates with measures of within-year variability (e.g. the coefficient of variation) to match the scale at which demographic data are collected. An alternative to this aggregate approach is to use within-season yet still relatively infrequent censuses in a probabilistic framework to determine the most likely way that vital rates respond to shorter-term variation in the environment, and how these short-term changes cumulatively lead to the observed yearly vital rates. Here, I present an approach for inferring daily responses of vital rates to short-term weather variability, and apply it to understand how five species of summer annual plants in the Chihuahuan Desert will respond to climate change. Vital rate models reveal that species differ in their responses to above- and below-average conditions, but generally fall into two life histories: (i) species that have fast growth on favourable days, but also experience higher mortality on less favourable days, and (ii) species that have slower growth in the same conditions but lower mortality. Results show that the expected rainfall changes in the Chihuahuan Desert (more late, cool season rainfall and less frequent, more intense rainfall events) could reduce growth and increase mortality of all summer annual plants. Synthesis. My study shows that vital rates can change in response to short-term variability even when the total amount of rainfall and average temperature, common covariates in demographic models, remain constant. Accounting for changes in short-term environmental variation in climate change predictions will likely be important in systems with considerable environmental variation between censuses. The approach I present here can be widely applied to understand how short-term variability and individual weather events will alter organism responses to climate change.
A one-shot random access game for wireless networks

We address the fundamental question of whether or not there exist stable operating points in a network in which selfish nodes share a common channel, and consider how the system behaves asymptotically at these stable operating points as n approaches infinity. We begin with a wireless communication network in which n identical nodes (agents) contend for access on a common, wireless communication channel. We characterize this distributed multiple access problem in terms of a homogeneous one-shot random access game, and then analyze the behavior of the nodes using the tools of game theory. We completely characterize the Nash equilibria of this game for all n /spl les/ 2, and show that there exists a unique fully-mixed Nash equilibrium (FMNE) that is also a focal equilibrium . We show that all centrally controlled optimal solutions are a subset of this game theoretic solution. We then conclude with results about the asymptotic behavior of the nodes as n /spl rarr/ /spl infin/, including a bound on the rate of convergence.
An alternative response to “The best interests of the child thesis: some thoughts from Australia”

Many of the concerns about recent changes in child welfare services practice in Australia have also been raised in the USA. Although it certainly may be the case that mandatory reporting is causing a broadening of child welfare services in Australia, close data-informed scrutiny suggests that this is not the case in the USA. Further, there are positive alternatives to overly intrusive child welfare service interventions that are arising in the USA. There is reasonable evidence to suggest that too little protection rather than too much intrusion remains the more significant problem in the USA; this may also be true elsewhere. The quality and range of services certainly determines whether intrusion is helpful to children and families. In some cases, for example life-threatening health problems that parents will not or cannot treat, engaging the assistance of child welfare services should not be ruled out for ideological reasons.
Complexin Clamps Asynchronous Release by Blocking a Secondary Ca2+ Sensor via Its Accessory α Helix

Complexin activates and clamps neurotransmitter release; impairing complexin function decreases synchronous, but increases spontaneous and asynchronous synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Here, we show that complexin-different from the Ca(2+) sensor synaptotagmin-1-activates synchronous exocytosis by promoting synaptic vesicle priming, but clamps spontaneous and asynchronous exocytosis-similar to synaptotagmin-1-by blocking a secondary Ca(2+) sensor. Activation and clamping functions of complexin depend on distinct, autonomously acting sequences, namely its N-terminal region and accessory α helix, respectively. Mutations designed to test whether the accessory α helix of complexin clamps exocytosis by inserting into SNARE-complexes support this hypothesis, suggesting that the accessory α helix blocks completion of trans-SNARE-complex assembly until Ca(2+) binding to synaptotagmin relieves this block. Moreover, a juxtamembranous mutation in the SNARE-protein synaptobrevin-2, which presumably impairs force transfer from nascent trans-SNARE complexes onto fusing membranes, also unclamps spontaneous fusion by disinhibiting a secondary Ca(2+) sensor. Thus, complexin performs mechanistically distinct activation and clamping functions that operate in conjunction with synaptotagmin-1 by controlling trans-SNARE-complex assembly.
Revisiting an Old Therapy: Theophylline in Asthma

The use of theophylline for the treatment of asthma has decreased significantly over the past few decades. Nonetheless, clinicians may still encounter patients with theophylline-based asthma regimens. While theophylline’s exact mechanism of action is not defined, new theories infer that the benefit of theophylline is due to its anti-inflammatory, rather than bronchodilatory, effects. Clinical trials have explored the combination of theophylline with lower doses of corticosteroids as a steroid-sparing strategy. Complex pharmacokinetics, significant adverse effects, and interpatient variability have contributed to the decreased use of this medication for asthma. Clinicians should be cognizant of the appropriate initial dosing, variety of formulations, and timing of theophylline levels to reduce toxicity and better control asthma symptoms. This review summarizes literature supporting the use of low-dose theophylline as an adjunct to corticosteroids in asthma, as well as pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, a...
The outcome of the urban renal patient: the importance of social factors and center effects.

Caring for the urban renal patient can be a challenge to providers for many reasons. Although racial and socioeconomic factors have an impact on the health of this population, one must also consider the effect of the urban environment on the III, especially those with renal disease. This article reviews the state of health among the poor and nonwhite minorities, who tend to inhabit the urban regions of this country, and then highlights the unique characteristics of those with renal disease. The impact of the Medicare end-stage renal disease (ESRD) program and center-specific quality of care on the outcome of the urban patient with ESRD is explored.
The effectiveness of deduplication on virtual machine disk images

Virtualization is becoming widely deployed in servers to efficiently provide many logically separate execution environments while reducing the need for physical servers. While this approach saves physical CPU resources, it still consumes large amounts of storage because each virtual machine (VM) instance requires its own multi-gigabyte disk image. Moreover, existing systems do not support ad hoc block sharing between disk images, instead relying on techniques such as overlays to build multiple VMs from a single "base" image.Instead, we propose the use of deduplication to both reduce the total storage required for VM disk images and increase the ability of VMs to share disk blocks. To test the effectiveness of deduplication, we conducted extensive evaluations on different sets of virtual machine disk images with different chunking strategies. Our experiments found that the amount of stored data grows very slowly after the first few virtual disk images if only the locale or software configuration is changed, with the rate of compression suffering when different versions of an operating system or different operating systems are included. We also show that fixed-length chunks work well, achieving nearly the same compression rate as variable-length chunks. Finally, we show that simply identifying zero-filled blocks, even in ready-to-use virtual machine disk images available online, can provide significant savings in storage.
EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF POLICY OPTIONS ON AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES: AN ALTERNATIVE-FUTURES APPROACH

Alternative-futures analysis was used to analyze different scenarios of future growth patterns and attendant resource allocations on the agricultural system of Oregon's Willamette River Basin. A stakeholder group formulated three policy alternatives: a continuation of current trends, an increased reliance on market forces to determine land use, and an increased emphasis on environmental restoration programs. To model the alternative scenarios first required the development of a spatial representation of the current agricultural system. Next, rules and constraints based on the three policy scenarios were formulated. Then a spatially explicit, multi-attribute, decision-making model was used to model changes in agricultural land cover and land use. This procedure generated three future landscapes, each depicting an alternative state of the agricultural system in the year 2050. Finally, the agronomic and environmental condition of each agricultural system was evaluated by using landscape metrics and screening models. The results show that the type and amount of farmland conversion were the scenario elements that most distinguished the future agricultural landscapes. By continuing current land use policies, nearly all of the existing farmland was conserved for future agricultural use, while both the market-driven and environmental restoration scenarios converted 15% or more of the agricultural land to other uses. The use of farmland for vegetation restoration activities was particularly successful in improving riparian habitat, while habitat quality over the region showed widespread improvement. The patterns of crop selection in each future followed general trends, but with variations among scenarios as crop selection decisions adapted to changing field and basin conditions.
Determination of in situ ankle ligament strains in cases of high and medial ankle sprains

Ankle sprain is a common occurrence in sports, accounting for 10–30% of injuries [1]. While approximately 85% of ankle sprains are lateral ankle injuries, syndesmotic (high) and medial injuries typically result in more time off the field. In order to help limit or mitigate ankle injuries, it is important to understand the mechanisms of injury. While numerous biomechanical studies have been conducted to investigate ankle injuries, most of them are designed to study ankle fractures rather than sprains. Ankle sprains have been graded in the clinical literature and associated with the degree of damage to a ligament resulting from excessive strains [2]. Recently, there have been studies of lateral ankle sprain in laboratory settings [3,4] and based on investigation of game films [5], providing considerable insight into the mechanism of lateral ankle sprain. On the other hand, few biomechanical studies have been conducted on high and medial ankle sprains. A more recent study from our laboratory used human cadaver limbs to investigate such injuries [6]. The study showed that the type of ankle injury, whether medial or high, under excessive levels of external foot rotation depends on the extent of foot eversion [6]. Everted limbs showed isolated anterior tibiofibular ligament injuries (high ankle sprain) only, while neutral limbs mostly demonstrated deltoid ligament failures (medial ankle sprain). Additionally, the study documented grade II (partial tears) and grade III (ruptures) ligament injuries. While a computational ankle model has also been developed and validated to help understand the mechanisms of injury [7], it is a generic model. The objective of the current study was to develop computational, subject-specific models from those cadaver limbs and determine the levels of ligament strain generated in the medial and high ankle injury cases, as well as correlate the grades of injury with ligament strains from the computational model.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Rarefaction, Temperature Jump, and Viscous Dissipation Effects on Heat Transfer in Rotating Micro Devices

This paper examines the effects of rarefaction and dissipation on flow and heat transfer characteristics in rotating micro devices. The housing is assumed to be at uniform temperature while the rotating surface is insulated. Thus heat generation and transfer are due to viscous dissipation only. An analytic solution is obtained for the velocity and temperature distribution in the gas filled concentric clearance between a rotating shaft and its stationary housing. The solution is valid in the slip flow and temperature jump domain defined by the Knudsen number range of Kn < 0.1. The Nusselt number was found to depend on three parameters: the Knudsen number Kn, ratio of housing to shaft radius ro / ri , and Prandtl number-specific heat ratio group γ/(γ + 1) Pr. Results indicate that curvature and Knudsen number have significant effect on the Nusselt number. However, fluid temperature rise due to dissipation is negligible.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Reconstruction in pragmatism

L'A. etudie les themes pragmatiques presents dans l'oeuvre de I. Scheffler sous la forme de dualismes herites de tous domaines de la pensee et de l'experience. Theorie et pratique, science et religion, speculation et analyse...
The investigation and forecasting of ionospheric conditions

A general account is given of British work on ionospheric exploration, conducted by vertical-incidence radio sounding, during the period from 1924 to date. The essential feature of such exploration is the determination of the equivalent height of reflection as a function of radiowave frequency, from which relation the electronic structure of the ionosphere may be approximately deduced. From such verticalincidence measurements it is possible to predict the refractive influence of the ionosphere on waves obliquely incident on it, and thus to estimate, for given ionospheric conditions, the maximum radio frequency which is returned to the ground at any given range from a sending station. Moreover, such estimated maximum usable frequencies for oblique-incident transmissions may themselves be based on a prediction of ionospheric structure made some months in advance. Such advance forecasts of ionospheric-layer electron densities and heights must be based on past experience of diurnal and seasonal behaviour and of the general waxing and waning of ionization densities during the sunspot cycle.Since 1935, measurements of ionospheric layer heights and ionization densities have been supplemented by regular determinations of overall ionospheric reflection coefficients at vertical incidence. In this way some progress has been made in estimating the attenuation of radio waves in practical cases of oblique-incidence reflection. It cannot, however, be claimed that the predictions of ionospheric absorption are yet as reliable as the predictions of ionospheric refraction.
Numerical representation of Jiang's constitutive equations for a material with temperature-dependent properties

Abstract A combined numerical and analytical model is developed for predicting the thermoelastoplastic stress distribution in a hollow cylinder with temperature dependent properties. To model the inelastic behaviour, Jiang's constitutive equations have been extended to incorporate the temperature dependency of the material. The extension of Jiang's constitutive equation is applied to a hollow cylinder with temperature dependent properties subjected to rapid heating from the inside. To ensure the accuracy of the new technique, Mendelson's method of successive elastic solution, an established method for solving plasticity problems, is also used to solve the problem. The results obtained using both techniques are compared and a reasonable agreement is reached. The effect of the temperature dependency of the material on the results is investigated. The conclusion is reached that temperature dependency of a material is an important factor in the accuracy of predicted thermoelastoplastic stresses.
Muslim Prayer and Public Spheres: An Interpretation of the Qurɔānic Verse 29:45:

This essay examines the various meanings and efficacies attributed to the Muslim prayer (ṣalāt) by its practitioners as well as by observers. The key questions that form the main concern of this ar...
Social Experiences and Stranger Anxiety among Infants of Working and Nonworking Mothers.

Social experiences and stranger anxiety of infants of working (n=25) mothers were compared with those of infants of nonworking mothers (n=51) using the Goulet-Decarie modification (1974) of the infant-stranger prototype developed by Morgan & Riccuiti (1969). The number of hours spent in mother-child interaction on weekdays (F=3.30, p .10) did not differ according to mother’s work status (working vs. nonworking). Working mothers and nonworking mothers performed approximately the same number of caregiving tasks daily. Working mothers and nonworking mothers did not differ significantly on the age at which they first took their infants on a trip outside the home (t(67)=1.30, p<.10). The effects of mother’s employment status, sex of the infant, and age of the infant on the intensity of anxiety experienced by infants in the experimental approach by a stranger were analyzed. Overall, the responses were slightly positive. Maternal work status was not found to be a significant parameter in infant reactions to a stranger except when physical contact was involved.