cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Special Educator Effectiveness Addressing Issues Inherent to Value-Added Modeling

States are increasingly using value-added approaches to evaluate teacher effectiveness. There is much debate regarding whether these methods should be employed and, if employed, what role such methods should play in comprehensive teacher evaluation systems. In this article, we consider the use of value-added modeling (VAM) to evaluate special educators. We examine the potential difficulties that may be due to individualized needs and characteristics of students with disabilities, the context within which special education services are delivered, and aspects of VAM that have a differential impact on the value-added scores of special education teachers.
Diversity and Distribution of Triassic Bryozoans in the Aftermath of the End-Permian Mass Extinction

Seventy-three species of stenolaemate bryozoans are documented worldwide from the Triassic. Stage-level diversity and paleogeographical analyses reveal that the recovery of bryozoans following the end-Permian mass extinction was delayed until the Middle Triassic. Early Triassic bryozoans faunas, dominated by members of the Order Trepostomida, were depauperate and geographically restricted. Bryozoan diversity increased during the Middle Triassic and diversity peaked in the Carnian (early Late Triassic). High extinction rates throughout the Late Triassic led to the extinction of all stenolaemate orders except the Cyclostomida by the end of the Triassic. Comparisons between global carbonate rock volume, outcrop surface area, and bryozoan diversity indicate that the documented diversity pattern for bryozoans may have been related, in part, to the availability of carbonate environments during the Triassic.
Treatment For Common Running/Walking Foot Injuries

Whether you are a weekend warrior or a serious athlete, most runners fear the possibility of being injured. For those who are physically active or stand on their feet all day, healthy feet are important Highly conditioned runners spend many hours performing foot maintenance to prevent unnecessary injuries. Some of the common foot injuries are: Plantar Fasciitis, Metatarsal Stress Fractures, blisters, Metatarsalgia, Morton’s Syndrome, Turf Toe, and Sesamoiditis. Most runners realize that shoes wear from the inside out. Runners should frequently check the inside of the shoe. Attention should focus on the pads of the insole, stitching, toe, heel, and instep areas. Properly lacing the shoe strings may save wear and tear on the shoes and feet. RICE (rest-ice-compression-elevation) treatments are a very important part of healthy foot maintenance and treatment; treatments should be done sooner rather than later. Many running problems may be prevented by focusing attention on your feet. Frequently inspect ones feet before and after running or walking. Foot pain is not normal when running or walking; seek medical assistance as soon as possible. If your goal is to enjoy running for a lifetime, it is sometimes more important to use your head than your feet. If you want to run tomorrow, take care of your feet today!
Alterations in Serum Diastase and Albumin Values in Protein Deficiency

The knowledge of the relationship between protein metabolism and pancreatic function is as yet incomplete. Many excellent experimental, pathological and clinical investigations indicate that such a relationship exists.
Experimental verification of acoustic trace wavelength enhancement

Directivity is essentially a measure of a sonar array's beamwidth that can be obtained in a spherically isotropic ambient noise field; narrow array mainbeam widths are more directive than broader mainbeam widths. For common sonar systems, the directivity factor (or directivity index) is directly proportional to the ratio of an incident acoustic trace wavelength to the sonar array's physical length (which is always constrained). Increasing this ratio, by creating additional trace wavelengths for a fixed array length, will increase array directivity. Embedding periodic structures within an array generates Bragg scattering of the incident acoustic plane wave along the array's surface. The Bragg scattered propagating waves are shifted in a precise manner and create shorter wavelength replicas of the original acoustic trace wavelength. These replicated trace wavelengths (which contain identical signal arrival information) increase an array's wavelength to length ratio and thus directivity. Therefore, a smaller array, in theory, can have the equivalent directivity of a much larger array. Measurements completed in January 2015 at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center's Acoustic Test Facility, in Newport, RI, verified, near perfectly, these replicated, shorter, trace wavelengths.
Abstract TP90: Effect of Smoking on Morphological Variables for Ruptured and Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms

Introduction: Management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms remains controversial in neurosurgery. The contribution of morphological parameters has been gradually included in the treatment paradigm. Smoking is associated with increased risk of cerebral aneurysm formation and rupture, but the effect of smoking on morphological features of an aneurysm is unclear. We present a large sample of aneurysms that were assessed using morphological variables to investigate how smoking status affects the parameters associated with aneurysm rupture. Methods: Pre-operative CT angiograms (CTA) were evaluated with 3D Slicer© to generate three-dimensional models of the aneurysms and surrounding vascular architecture. Morphological parameters examined in each model included aneurysm volume, size, aspect ratio, aneurysm angle, flow angle, size ratio, and parent-daughter angle. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed to determine statistical significance. Results: From 2006-2010, 114 ruptured and 89 unruptured aneurysms were treated in a single institution, including 72 anterior communicating artery aneurysms, 79 middle cerebral artery aneurysms, and 52 internal carotid artery aneurysms. Ruptured aneurysms were associated with greater aspect ratio and size ratio, larger aneurysm angle, and smaller parent-daughter angle (p Conclusion: Aspect ratio, aneurysm angle, and parent-daughter angle have a greater association with aneurysm rupture than size. Smoking status does not affect parameters related to the vascular architecture (i.e. aneurysm angle and parent-daughter angle), but is associated with increased aspect ratio and smaller size in ruptured aneurysms.
Pathology and Malpractice

To the Editor I read with interest the article, “Pathology and Medical Malpractice,” by Allen et al.1 I am writing this letter to share some of my questions and comments, which focus mostly on the survey and some assertions about how our laws work. Allen et al1 repeatedly talk about a “single standard of care.” They conclude that their survey results provide additional evidence that there is no single standard of care. But I am confused by what they mean. The legal standard of care is not a single thing but rather a spectrum of reasonable care in the circumstances. Cases that go to trial tend to be cases in which the “standard of care” is not clear. Most cases are settled, and presumably many of these have a more straightforward answer to whether the pathologist was negligent. The case only goes to a jury if there is expert …
Identification and Treatment of Potential Acid-Producing Rocks and Water Quality Monitoring Along a Transmission Line in the Blue Ridge Province, Southwestern North Carolina

Geologic mapping, petrographic analysis, and Acid-Base Accounting testing of rocks along the corridor of a transmission line in the Blue Ridge Province of southwestern North Carolina indicated a potential for acid production in certain areas related to road and tower construction. The potential acid-producing rocks are graphite schist units in the Great Smoky Group (Anakeesta Formation), graphitic metasiltstones of the Murphy Belt (Nantahala Formation), and thin layers of sulfidic rock within the Great Smoky Group (Ammons Formation—Horse Branch Member). Net Neutralization Potential (NNP) for the graphite schist units ranges from −19.27 to 1.81 tons CaCO 3 per 1,000 tons of excavated material (an NNP value of −5 tons CaCO 3 or less is interpreted as predicting acid drainage). NNP for the graphitic metasiltstones of the Nantahala Formation range from −43.56 to −11.39 tons CaCO 3 per 1,000 tons of material. The NNP for a sulfide-rich layer in the Ammons Formation is −26.03 tons CaCO 3 per 1,000 tons of material. Treatment for the potential acid-producing material involves stockpiling topsoil, mixing agricultural lime with the excavated material in a ratio based on the lowest NNP value for the particular rock unit, and covering the excavated material with a least 2 (two) ft of stockpiled topsoil to isolate the sulfidic material from the atmosphere, retarding the oxidation of the sulfides. When the treated material is spoiled in a roadbed, a base of limestone aggregate is placed on the existing roadbed, followed by the treated, compacted material with additional lime added after every lift. This is followed by topsoil (compacted) to encapsulate the limestone base and treated material, with limestone aggregate applied as the final road surface. Drainage is provided to divert water from the fills and tower foundation excavations. A monitoring program, in-place before, during, and after construction, was used to identify water-quality variations that might indicate ail effect on stream chemistry from disturbance of potential acid-producing materials. Results of the monitoring program suggest that the methods used to identify and treat the materials have been effective in minimizing the impact of their disturbance on the environment.
Toxoplasma gondii : Immune Protection and Evasion

Toxoplasma gondii is an important opportunistic pathogen in patients with primary and acquired deficiencies in T cell function. The study of this parasite has provided fundamental insights into the innate and adaptive events that lead to IFNγ-dependent cell-mediated immunity. These include the identification of antimicrobial pathways important for control of intracellular pathogens and the immune evasion strategies used by T. gondii . In addition, infection with T. gondii can also result in immune-mediated pathology and this model has proven valuable to define the regulatory mechanisms required to limit inflammation and which are essential for host survival.
Issues on Computer Search for Large Order Multiple Recursive Generators

Multiple Recursive Generators (MRGs) have become the most popular random number generators recently. They compute the next value iteratively from the previous k values using a k-th order recurrence equation which, in turn, corresponds to a k-th degree primitive polynomial under a prime modulus p. In general, when k and p are large, checking if a k-th degree polynomial is primitive under a prime modulus p is known to be a hard problem. A common approach is to check the conditions given in Alanen and Knuth [1964] and Knuth [1998]. However, as mentioned in Deng [2004], this approach has two obvious problems: (a) it requires the complete factorization of p k - 1, which can be difficult; (b) it does not provide any early exit strategy for non-primitive polynomials. To avoid (a), one can consider a prime order k and prime modulus p such that (p k - 1)/(p - 1) is also a prime number as considered in L’Ecuyer [1999] and Deng [2004]. To avoid (b), one can use a more efficient iterative irreducibility test proposed in Deng [2004].
The English word disgust has no exact translation in Hindi or Malayalam.

Do different languages have a translation for the English word disgust that labels the same underlying concept? If not, the English word might label a culture-specific concept. Four studies (Ns = 93, 90, 180, 960) compared disgust to its common translation in Hindi (an Indo-European language) and in Malayalam (a Dravidian language) by examining two components of the concept thought of as a script: causal antecedent and facial expression. The English word was used to refer to reactions to both unclean substances and moral violations; Hindi and Malayalam translations referred mainly to moral violations. Speakers of all three languages associated different facial expressions to unclean substances and moral violations. Words for disgust in the three languages failed a test of translation equivalence (a correlation of .80 or above across emotional facial expressions).
Hepatoblastoma and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma are the two most common primary malignant tumors of the liver in childhood. The incidence rate of hepatoblastoma was 0.7 cases per million U.S. white children less than 15 years of age per year. The corresponding figure for U.S. black children was 0.9 248. The highest incidence rate was 1.4, among U.S. white boys and the lowest rate was 0.2 among girls in Manchester, England (Table 1) 24,25,63,220,247,249,. The incidence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma was 0.7 cases per million U.S. white children less than 15 years of age per year. The corresponding figure forU.S. black children was 0.0 248. The highest rate was 0.9 among U.S. white girls and the lowest rate was 0.0 among both U.S. black boys and girls(Table) 24, 25,63,220,247,249.
Correlation Between United States Medical Licensing Examination and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination Scores for Applicants to a Dually Approved Emergency Medicine Residency

Abstract Background It is important for emergency medicine (EM) residency programs to be able to correlate the United States (US) Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) scores of applicants. Objective We sought to determine the correlation between USMLE and COMLEX scores for EM residency applicants. Methods Retrospectively, from 2006 through 2013, USMLE and COMLEX examination scores for applicants to our 4-year, 56-member, dually approved EM residency were analyzed. Using the COMLEX score as the outcome variable and USMLE score as the predictor, multiple linear regression models, stratified by test step, were created. Results There were 556 students representing 25 discrete medical schools included. Pair 1 consisted of applicants submitting COMLEX Level-1 and USMLE Step-1 scores (n = 486). Pair 2 were those with COMLEX Level-2 and USMLE Step-2 scores (n = 356). For Pair 1, mean, standard deviation, and median scores on the COMLEX were 551, 69, and 548, respectively; for the USMLE, scores were 216, 16, and 217, respectively. Results for Pair 2 on COMLEX were 566, 80, and 562, respectively; USMLE results were 228, 18, and 229, respectively. A strong correlation was observed for Pair 1 ( r = 0.78; p p r = 0.72; p p Conclusions A strong positive correlation between Steps 1 and 2 of the USMLE and COMLEX was found.
Liquid Crystal Polymer for RF and Millimeter-Wave Multi-Layer Hermetic Packages and Modules

In this chapter, we present the design and development of thin-film liquid crystal polymer (LCP) surface mount packages for X, K, and Ka-band applications. The packages are constructed using multi-layer LCP films and are surface mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). Packages include a typical low pass feedthrough design, as well as a new bandpass feedthrough design. Our experimental results demonstrate that the low pass package feedthrough transition including a PCB launch and bond wires achieve a return loss of better than 20 dB and an insertion loss of less than 0.4 dB around Ka-band. We achieve more than 45 dB measured port-to-port isolation of the package across Ka-band. The leak rate of LCP cavities has been found to be 3.6×10–8 atm-cc/s. Experiments show exceptional reliability results for several reliability tests including temperature cycling and prolonged exposure to humidity of packaged amplifiers. Finally, we demonstrate that our bandpass package feedthrough transition including bond wires achieve a 13 dB or higher return loss and less than 0.5 dB insertion loss across K-band. The package transition offers 0.2 dB insertion loss and > 15 dB return loss across X-band, and operates well across 8–27 GHz.
An integrated assessment of climate change and the accelerated introduction of advanced energy technologies

We report results from the application of an integrated assessment model, MiniCAM 1.0. The model is employed to explore the full range of climate change implications of the successful development of cost effective, advanced, energy technologies. These technologies are shown to have a profound effect on the future magnitude and rate of anthropogenic climate change. We find that the introduction of assumptions developed by a group of ‘bottom-up’ modelers for the LEESS scenarios into a ‘top-down’ model, the Edmonds-Reilly-Barns Model, leads to ‘top down’ emissions trajectories similar to those of the LEESS. The cumulative effect of advanced energy technologies is to reduce annual emissions from fossil fuel use to levels which stabilize atmospheric concentrations below 550 ppmv. While all energy technologies play roles, the introduction of advanced biomass energy production technology is particularly important. The consideration of all greenhouse related anthropogenic emissions, and in particular sulfur dioxide, is found to be important. We find that the consideration of sulfur dioxide emissions coupled to rapid reductions in carbon dioxide emissions leads to higher global mean temperatures prior to 2050 than in the reference case. This result is due to the short-term cooling impact of sulfate aerosols, which dominates the long-term warming impact of CO2 and CH4 in the years prior to 2050. We also show that damage calculations which use only mean global temperature and income may be underestimating damages by up to a factor of five. Disaggregating income reduces this to a factor of two, still a major error. Finally, the role of the discount rate is shown to be extraordinarily important to technology preference.
X-ray absorption investigation of local structural disorder in Ni1-xFex (x = 0.10, 0.20, 0.35, and 0.50) alloys

Defect energetics in structural materials has long been recognized to be affected by specific alloy compositions. Local structural distortion greatly affects the physical properties and performance of alloys. To reveal the atomic-level lattice distortion, the local structures of Ni and Fe in Ni1-xFex (x = 0.10, 0.20, 0.35 and 0.50) solid solution alloys were measured with extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) technique. The EXAFS measurements have revealed that the bond length of Fe with surrounding atoms is 0.01–0.02 A larger than that of Ni with its neighbors in the alloys. Both the lattice constant and the interatomic distance of the nearest neighbors increase with the addition of Fe content in the solid solutions. The local bonding environments in Ni1-xFex alloys were also calculated from ab initio and compared with the experimental results.
ON THE TOUCHING PRINCIPLE

The touching principle, used previously to obtain a-priori bounds depending only on domain of definition for functions satisfying mean curvature inequalities, is extended in two ways to classes of nonlinear elliptic operators.
Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of weak transitions in A=6–10 nuclei

Ab initio calculations of the Gamow-Teller (GT) matrix elements in the $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decays of $^{6}\mathrm{He}$ and $^{10}\mathrm{C}$ and electron captures in $^{7}\mathrm{Be}$ are carried out using both variational and Green's function Monte Carlo wave functions obtained from the Argonne ${v}_{18}$ two-nucleon and Illinois-7 three-nucleon interactions, and axial many-body currents derived from either meson-exchange phenomenology or chiral effective field theory. The agreement with experimental data is excellent for the electron captures in $^{7}\mathrm{Be}$, while theory overestimates the $^{6}\mathrm{He}$ and $^{10}\mathrm{C}$ data by $\ensuremath{\sim}2%$ and \ensuremath{\sim}10%, respectively. We show that for these systems correlations in the nuclear wave functions are crucial to explaining the data, while many-body currents increase by \ensuremath{\sim}2--3% the one-body GT contributions.
What God has Joined Together: Family Formation and Religion among Young Adults

This study considers how family transitions influence future religiosity among young adults and demonstrates that both marriage and parenthood can serve to reinforce religious commitment among those who are religiously engaged. Drawing on data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, we look at religious change between Wave 3 (18–24 years old) and Wave 4 (23–28 years old) and how this varies across six family statuses: Married with Children, Married without Children, Cohabiting with Children, Cohabiting without Children, Single with Children and Single without Children. We find greater future religious engagement among married individuals compared to those who are single or cohabiting, regardless of the presence of children. Among single and cohabiting parents, however, the presence of children is associated with greater religious salience, though not with attendance at religious services. The findings demonstrate a continued link between the institutions of family and religion at a time when ties to both institutions are loosening.
A rational approach to the use of sophisticated genetic analyses of pediatric stone disease

Kidney stone disease in the childhood years has a genetic underpinning in some. The relationships between clinical phenotype, medical evaluation, and genetic etiologies were investigated using whole-exome sequencing by the Hildebrandt laboratory. At this time, a genetic evaluation of pediatric nephrolithiasis should be reserved for specific circumstances when clinical uncertainty of the reason for the presence of the stone or therapy is not satisfactory.
Understanding Changes in Tourists’ Use of Emotion Regulation Strategies in a Vacation Context:

This study examines the patterns of change in tourists’ use of emotion regulation strategies (ERSs) during a vacation, and their interactions with sociodemographic characteristics. Data were collec...
TAGGING ACC STATE CHAPTER ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING PROGRAM TO ACC'S LIFE LONG LEARNING COMPETENCIES

ACC has been at the forefront of defining competencies for fellowship education through developed COCATS documents (1). ACC also published Life Long Learning (LLL) competencies expected of practicing cardiologists (2). Moreover, ACC has begun to align its educational products to competency formats
Queue-Based Guidance for Signalization Consideration at Two and Three-Legged Intersections:

This research collected and analyzed gap acceptance in North Carolina to develop a data-driven method for determining the need for considering additional signalization analysis at intersections wit...
Optimizing the Visualization Pipeline of a 3-D Monitoring and Management System

Monitoring and managing High Performance Computing (HPC) systems and environments generate an ever growing amount of data. Making sense of this data and generating a platform where the data can be visualized for system administrators and management to proactively identify system failures or understand the state of the system requires the platform to be as efficient and scalable as the underlying database tools used to store and analyze the data. In this paper we will show how we leverage Accumulo, d4m, and Unity to generate a 3D visualization platform to monitor and manage the Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputer systems and how we have had to retool our approach to scale with our systems.
Localization of Amyloid SAA Gene Expression in Mouse Liver by in Situ Hybridization

The recognition of serum amyloid A protein (SAA: the putative precursor of reactive amyloid fibril protein AA) as an acute phase reactant made it possible for us predictably to induce its synthesis under experimental conditions (1, 2). This together with the immunoradioassay and other biochemical methodologies that serve as tools to monitor the fluctuation of the SAA levels in a precise manner has contributed greatly to the definition of the cellular and molecular synthesis of SAA, one of the key factors in amyloidogenesis (1, 3–5). Recently, the molecular biological technology has further advanced our understanding of the hepatic and extrahepatic synthesis of SAA (6–12). Because these technologies primarily assay homogenates of tissues which consist of heterogenous cell populations, individual cell types that participate in SAA synthesis have not yet been clearly defined, with possible exception of hepatocytes that have been considered to be a major source of SAA.
The Association of Black Cardiologists

Thirty-three years ago, the author founded an organization consisting primarily of African American cardiologists, and named it the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) at its inaugural meeting in Dallas, TX. The author was joined in this effort by about 12 other cardiologists attending the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association, and all of them agreed that the cardiovascular needs of blacks were unmet and were not being adequately addressed by the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and other prominent medical groups. Considering high blood pressure as an example, despite the fact that it was recognized that this cardiovascular disease disproportionately affected the African American population, little was being done to increase awareness of this fact or to bring blacks to medical attention for treatment of this devastating disease. In addition, stroke, often a consequence of hypertension, was uncontrolled and was having destructive effects in blacks; and coronary heart disease was not generally believed to be an important cause of illness in this population, although most black cardiologists believed that it was. They were also concerned about the shortage of African Americans trained to treat cardiovascular disease, and one of the mandates was and is to spur efforts to increase the number (at that time, it was estimated that there were only a few dozen black cardiologists in the country compared with thousands of predominantly white cardiovascular specialists, and they could count only eight fellows in training programs).
Investment dynamics and capital distortion: State and non-state firms in China

Abstract This paper studies investment dynamics in Chinese manufacturing firms. The analysis estimates capital adjustment costs and uncovers capital distortion in state and non-state firms. There is strong evidence of quadratic adjustment cost and distortion in capital price for both types of firms. The capital distortion is a major source of capital misallocation in Chinese firms. Completely removing the distortion would increase aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) by 18–29%.
Ultra-high heating rate effects on the sintering of ceramic nanoparticles: an in situ TEM study

Heating rate plays a major role in the ceramic sintering process, especially in many new advanced sintering techniques. In this study, the effects of ultra-high heating rate up to 1200°C/s have bee...
Posttranslational Modifications of Tubulin

Recent studies have highlighted the potential importance of posttranslational modifications of tubulin in dictating response to antitumor drugs and disease progression. These modifications include glutamylation, glycylation, phosphorylation, acetylation, and tyrosination. Some of the tubulin-modifying enzymes have been identified but the functional consequences of the posttranslational modifications remain largely unknown. In this chapter, we review the posttranslational modifications of tubulin and current knowledge of the role these alterations may play in human disease.
Trash day: coordinating garbage collection in distributed systems

Cloud systems such as Hadoop, Spark and Zookeeper are frequently written in Java or other garbage-collected languages. However, GC-induced pauses can have a significant impact on these workloads. Specifically, GC pauses can reduce throughput for batch workloads, and cause high tail-latencies for interactive applications. In this paper, we show that distributed applications suffer from each node's language runtime system making GC-related decisions independently. We first demonstrate this problem on two widely-used systems (Apache Spark and Apache Cassandra). We then propose solving this problem using a Holistic Runtime System, a distributed language runtime that collectively manages runtime services across multiple nodes. We present initial results to demonstrate that this Holistic GC approach is effective both in reducing the impact of GC pauses on a batch workload, and in improving GC-related tail-latencies in an interactive setting.
Appendix I: Changing the Standard Impedance

Matrix operations to find new S and T parameters when the standard (reference) impedance of a module is changed from those used in measurement.
Accelerating compressive sensing reconstruction OMP algorithm with CPU, GPU, FPGA and domain specific many-core

Compressive Sensing (CS) signal reconstruction can be implemented using convex relaxation, non-convex, or local optimization algorithms. Though the reconstruction using convex optimization, such as the Iterative Hard Thresholding algorithm, is more accurate than matching pursuit algorithms, most researchers focus on matching pursuit algorithms because they are less computationally complex. Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) is a greedy algorithm, which solves the problem by choosing the most significant variable to reduce the least square error. In this paper, we propose an efficient parallel architecture for OMP CS reconstruction. For architecture implementation, we perform measurement and sparsity analysis to reduce the complexity. The proposed architecture is platform independent and is implemented on 7 different platforms including general purpose CPUs, GPUs, a Virtex-7 FPGA and a domain specific many-core. The implementation results indicate that reconstruction time on FPGA is improved by 3× compared to previous FPGA implementation, whereas GPU implementation is 4× faster than the previously proposed GPU-based OMP architecture. The CPU implementation is 6× faster, compared with previous CPU-based implementation. The domain specific many-core acheives 24 times faster reconstruction time when compared to both GPU and CPU implementations.
Pre-term Birth Risk Assessment Tools

Pre-term birth is associated with a 75 percent risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality for infants born without congenital anomalies. Infants born prematurely can face a multitude of problems. Postnatal problems can include respiratory distress, intraventricular hemorrhage and necrotizing enterocolitis. The ability to predict which women will deliver before term needs to be combined with an effective intervention to prevent pre-term birth. Successful pre-term labor prediction may identify those women at greatest risk of an early delivery, allowing for appropriate interventions that may prolong the pregnancy, such as the administration of corticosteroids, antibiotics and, if needed, transport to a tertiary care center. Most importantly, effective prediction methods would prevent unnecessary interventions or treatments of women who are not destined to deliver prematurely. Here's a look at two of the current assessment tools.
Federal policies to promote the widespread utilization of photovoltaic systems. Supplement: Review and critique

Review comments of the Congressional report entitled 'Federal Policies to Promote the Widespread Utilization of Photovoltaic Systems' are presented. Responses to the review comments by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, preparer of the Congressional report, are also presented. The Congressional report discussed various issues related to promoting the deployment of photovoltaic systems through the Federal Photovoltaic Program. Various program strategies and funding levels were examined.
Island Awash – Sustainability Indicators and Social Complexity in the Caribbean

This chapter addresses the question of how far can tourism development proceed before the way of life enjoyed by residents of a highly successful small Caribbean island destination, Aruba, is irretrievably threatened by overdevelopment? Over the past decades, there has been recurrent concern that the island was approaching its carrying. Following a brief summary of the history of population and tourism growth in Aruba, the concepts of culture regions, tourism footprint analysis, and resort life cycle theory are used to develop a Framework for Sustainable Tourism for the Island.
Traditional Gender Role Orientation and Dyadic Coping in Immigrant Latino Couples: Effects on Couple Functioning

The main goal of this study was to examine from a systemic-transactional stress perspective (Bodenmann, 1997) whether a more traditional gender role orientation may affect psychological aggression and relationship satisfaction directly and indirectly by decreasing supportive (partner's efforts to help the other partner cope with stress) and common dyadic coping (partners' conjoint efforts to cope with stress) among first-generation immigrant Latino couples. Structural equation modeling results from 104 couples indicate that the extent to which Latino men hold traditional gender role views and the extent to which those views differ from their female partners' may increase the risk for psychological aggression and relationship dissatisfaction directly, but also indirectly by reducing the couple's common dyadic coping and to some extent the male supportive coping. Latinas' traditional gender role views do not relate to either partner's psychological aggression or relationship satisfaction. The article discusses gender differences and research and clinical implications.
On the Hall algebra of semigroup representations over \(\mathbb F _1\)

Let \(\mathrm{A }\) be a finitely generated semigroup with 0. An \(\mathrm{A }\)-module over \(\mathbb F _1\) (also called an \(\mathrm{A }\)-set), is a pointed set \((M,*)\) together with an action of \(\mathrm{A }\). We define and study the Hall algebra \(\mathbb H _{\mathrm{A }}\) of the category \(\mathcal C _{\mathrm{A }}\) of finite \(\mathrm{A }\)-modules. \(\mathbb H _{\mathrm{A }}\) is shown to be the universal enveloping algebra of a Lie algebra \(\mathfrak n _{\mathrm{A }}\), called the Hall Lie algebra of \(\mathcal C _{\mathrm{A }}\). In the case of \(\langle t \rangle \)—the free monoid on one generator \(\langle t \rangle \), the Hall algebra (or more precisely the Hall algebra of the subcategory of nilpotent \(\langle t \rangle \)-modules) is isomorphic to Kreimer’s Hopf algebra of rooted forests. This perspective allows us to define two new commutative operations on rooted forests. We also consider the examples when \(\mathrm{A }\) is a quotient of \(\langle t \rangle \) by a congruence, and the monoid \(G \cup \{ 0\}\) for a finite group \(G\).
Evolving concepts in cancer therapy through targeting sphingolipid metabolism

Traditional methods of cancer treatment are limited in their efficacy due to both inherent and acquired factors. Many different studies have shown that the generation of ceramide in response to cytotoxic therapy is generally an important step leading to cell death. Cancer cells employ different methods to both limit ceramide generation and to remove ceramide in order to become resistant to treatment. Furthermore, sphingosine kinase activity, which phosphorylates sphingosine the product of ceramide hydrolysis, has been linked to multidrug resistance, and can act as a strong survival factor. This review will examine several of the most frequently used cancer therapies and their effect on both ceramide generation and the mechanisms employed to remove it. The development and use of inhibitors of sphingosine kinase will be focused upon as an example of how targeting sphingolipid metabolism may provide an effective means to improve treatment response rates and reduce associated treatment toxicity. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Tools to study lipid functions.
Raman-scattering study of the high-pressure phase transition in Cd1-xMnxTe.

The high-pressure phase transition in ${\mathrm{Cd}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathrm{x}}$Te from the cubic zinc-blende structure to the NaCl structure is investigated by Raman scattering. The measurements are made while increasing as well as decreasing the pressure. The transition pressure depends on composition and shows hysteresis. The behavior of zone-center optical phonons as well as that of zone-boundary acoustic phonons, which appear in the first-order Raman spectra due to the disorder in the mixed crystal, are investigated. The zone-boundary acoustic phonon TA(X) shows softening similar to that observed in other compound semiconductors. The longitudinal-optic (LO) phonon frequencies in pure CdTe observed while decreasing pressure match with those observed while increasing pressure whereas in the mixed crystals there is a marked difference. As a result of cycling through the phase transition, the CdTe-like LO-phonon frequencies measured at the ambient pressure are higher compared to those before the cycling; the MnTe-like LO-phonon frequencies show an opposite behavior. This change in the LO-TO splitting of the CdTe-like and MnTe-like modes implies a redistribution of the mode effective charges associated with these modes such that the net charge remains unchanged.
Minimum-dissipation heat removal by scale-matched flow destabilization

Abstract Minimum-dissipation convective heat removal from a wall to a flowing fluid stream by scale-matched flow destabilization is considered. A universal scaling for the optimization problem is developed, and it is shown from Reynolds analogy-hydrodynamic stability arguments that the dissipation-minimizing transport solution corresponds to flow destabilization at a Reynolds number (and associated spatial scale) that increases (decreases) with increasing thermal load. The significant dissipation savings possible through optimization are demonstrated in a sample optimization study for heat transfer in a channel based on experimental data for several enhancement procedures. The optimizing transport enhancement scheme is shown to proceed from macroscale eddy promoters to microgroove roughness elements with increasing thermal load, thus verifying the validity of the scale-matched destabilization theory.
Power is sweet: sugarcane in the global ethanol assemblage.

New alliances between Brazil and the US for ethanol production, transport, and trade are revitalising and expanding the centuries-old sugarcane plantation system in the Americas. In this paper I adopt the concept of global assemblages, building on the work of Aihwa Ong, Stephen Collier, and Saskia Sassen, to draw the contours of an ‘ethanol assemblage’, which includes states, corporations, growers, technologies, urban consumers, and rural communities and landscapes. Though important to conceptualise agrofuels as a global phenomenon, it is also necessary to recognise the distinct regional patterns that cohere around various aspects of this polymorphous industry. Therefore, I focus on alliances around sugarcane ethanol, paying particular attention to the role of Miami as a global city serving as a gateway to information, investment, and commodities for the public/private and national/transnational entities that are engaged in the hemispheric project of ethanol promotion, production and distribution.
Refractory periods and anatomical linkage of the substrates for lateral hypothalamic and periaqueductal gray self-stimulation.

Abstract The pulse-pair technique was employed (a) to investigate the refractory periods of the reward-related neurons activated by lateral hypothalamic (LH) and periaqueductal gray (PAG) stimulation, and (b) to examine whether these two sites are linked by the same reward-related neurons. These properties of the reward substrate were inferred from self-stimulation data. In eight out of ten subjects, recovery from refractoriness began at about the same time at both sites (0.4–0.6 msec). However, the time course of recovery was consistently slower at the PAG placements. A behavioral adaptation of the collision test failed to reveal reward-related fibers that directly link the LH and PAG. Nonetheless, the rewarding effects of stimulation at the two sites summated with roughly 60% efficiency. These data are consistent with the notion that the rewarding effects of LH and PAG stimulation are mediated by different pathways that ultimately converge.
NEUROPEPTIDE Y IMMUNOREACTIVITY IDENTIFIES A REGULARLY ARRAYED GROUP OF AMACRINE CELLS WITHIN THE CAT RETINA

Retinal amacrine cells can be divided into subgroups on the basis of morphological properties and chemical content. It is likely that these subgroups have specific connections and serve unique functional roles within the inner plexiform layer. In the present study we show that immunoreactivity to neuropeptide Y (NPY) identifies a group of amacrine cells (165,000-170,000) within the adult cat retina. This is the largest group of peptide-containing amacrine cells identified to date in the cat retina. These neurons have small cell bodies and are regularly spaced at all retinal eccentricities examined. The density of NPY-immunoreactive cells, as well as their regular spacing, suggests that these neurons form a specific subgroup of the amacrine cell class and are likely to serve a unique role in the transfer of visual information through the inner plexiform layer.
Unstable Weights in the Combination of Forecasts

The weights used in the combination of forecasts are shown to be very unstable. They are generally so unstable that the combined forecasts often do not perform better than some of the individual forecasts or a simple average of the forecasts in practice. The instability is found from a series of Monte Carlo experiments as well as from the nominal GNP forecasts from four well-known macro forecasters. The Monte Carlo experiments also show that when the underlying models are known, a composite forecast from a composite model is generally more accurate than the combination of the individual forecasts. A simple average is shown to be the best technique to use in practice, because the weights in the combination are so unstable.
Word stress in Estonian

Abstract In Estonian the stress is marking, not distinctive. Among the factors of stress, length is the most important, loudness, pitch and contact playing secondary parts on the word level.
Effect of framing as gain versus loss on understanding and hypothetical treatment choices: Survival and mortality curves

Background. Presentation of information using survival or mortality (i.e., incidence) curves offers a potentially powerful method of communication because such curves provide information about risk over time in a relatively simple graphic format. However, the effect of framing as survival versus mortality on understanding and treatment choice is not known.Methods. In this study, 451 individuals awaiting jury duty at the Philadelphia City Courthouse were randomized to receive 1 of 3 questionnaires: (1) survival curves, (2) mortality curves, or (3) both survival and mortality curves. Each questionnaire included a brief description of a hypothetical treatment decision, survival curve graphs and/or mortality curve graphs presenting the outcome of the treatment, and questions measuring understanding of the information contained in the graphs and preference for undergoing treatment. After completing a brief practice exercise, participants were asked to answer questions assessing their ability to interpret singl...
Continuous Carbon Nanotube-PDMS Composites

Carbon nanotubes are considered short fibers and the nanotube reinforced composites are always analogues of randomly distributed short fiber composites. In contrast, the real structural fibrous composites often contain fiber reinforcements where fibers run continuously through the matrix material. With the recent advance in nanotube growth, vertical arrays of nanotubes in macroscopic lengths have become available and this allows the fabrication of continuous nano-composites that are similar to the continuous fiber composites utilizing the nanotube arrays as the continuous reinforcement in the composites. This provides a chance to take full advantage of the extreme high modulus and strength for the nanotubes in structural composites. Here, this study fabricates continuous nanotube reinforced polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites and shows that under compressive loadings such continuous nanotube composites can generate dramatic increase in the longitudinal modulus and also significantly enhanced damping capability.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
The myth of sexual compulsivity

This paper analyzes critically the newly discovered “conditions” of sexual addiction and sexual compulsion from the sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism. We begin by describing the concepts of sexual addiction and sexual compulsion and by providing case studies of each “condition.” We then discuss the cultural relativity of sexual conduct, and identify features of the late 1970s' and 1980s' sociosexual landscape that encouraged a perception of nonrelational sex as pathological. We conclude by critically analyzing the concepts of sexual addiction and sexual compulsion. We demonstrate that the definitions are conceptually flawed and that the criteria for these “conditions” are subjective and value laden. There is nothing inherently pathological in the conduct that is labeled sexually compulsive or addictive. Rather than referring to actual clinical entities, sexual addiction and compulsion refer to learned patterns of behavior that are stigmatized by dominant institutions.
Beneficial effect of order–disorder phase transition on oxygen sorption properties of perovskite-type oxides

Abstract A beneficial effect of oxygen vacancy disorder–order phase transition on oxygen sorption properties of perovskite-type oxides is reported in this paper. Three perovskite-type oxides, La 0.1 Sr 0.9 Co 0.9 Fe 0.1 O 3 − δ , SrCo 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3 − δ and La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 − δ were prepared by liquid citrate method. The phase transition temperatures from the brownmillerite structure to perovskite structure in He are 780 and 860 °C for SrCo 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3 − δ and La 0.1 Sr 0.9 Co 0.9 Fe 0.1 O 3 − δ , respectively. In the sorption process (He–air), SrCo 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3 − δ and La 0.1 Sr 0.9 Co 0.9 Fe 0.1 O 3 − δ exhibit larger oxygen sorption capacity than La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 − δ below the phase transition point temperatures . Oxygen sorption kinetics on all the samples are fast, however, desorption kinetics on the samples are complex, depending on both the temperature and sorbent structure. An enhanced desorption rate is found for SrCo 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3 − δ and La 0.1 Sr 0.9 Co 0.9 Fe 0.1 O 3 − δ at low temperatures with disorder–order phase transition involved in the process. The enhancement results from the lower isosteric heat of sorption on the brownmillerite structure, which implies that oxygen is easier to be released from the lattice structure as compared to the perovskite structure.
Reporting behavior of fraud victims and black's theory of law: An empirical assessment

As many as one-third of the adult U.S. population have been victims of fraud; yet, fraud victims are reluctant to report their victimization. Although previous research has uncovered some characteristics of fraud victims, that research tends to be atheoretical. In the current study we attempt to move beyond these descriptive studies by placing fraud-reporting behavior into the general theoretical framework developed by Black. Using data from a survey of 400 residents of a large southeastern city, we investigate fraud victims' reporting behavior in the context of Black's propositions about the use of law. Specifically, we examine why some fraud victims report their victimizations while others do not. We conclude that Black's theory only partially explains fraud reporting. It provides important insights, however, into why some people report and others do not.