cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mother Nature has it Right: Local Food Advocacy and the Appeal to the “Natural”

Local food advocacy is a political and moral discourse that is meant to provide the foundation for understanding local food networks as sites of resistance against the norms and power of globalized industrial food-ways. In this context, the concept of the “natural” is frequently and un-critically invoked to argue for the ethical significance of participating in and advocating for local food networks. I argue that the conception of the “natural” at work is unquestioningly purity-based and is consistent with the construction of “nature” under traditional value dualism. This is problematic in that the dualistic framework serves to obscure many actual complexities within the “natural” and the “local” themselves, and in their relationships with their counterparts, the “cultural” and the “global.” Thus by leaving unquestioned certain assumptions about the meaning of the “natural” and how that meaning was constructed, local food advocacy is not as resistant as it might otherwise be. I suggest that local food advocates ought to utilize ecological and transnational feminist tools that are better able to acknowledge the complex and ever-changing character of the “natural” and the “local.”
Loons in freshwater lakes

Loons (Gaviidae) divide their annual cycle between salt and freshwater habitat, the latter being the site of breeding activites. Territorial requirements include sufficient size to permit runs of more than 100 m for take-off and landings; food for chicks and water clarity sufficient to permit foraging for it at depths generally ≤5 m; protected nest sites, preferably islands; and shallow vegetated nurseries. Gavia stellata, the smallest and most primitive species, is the exception, and breeds on small tarns, requires take-offs of < 50 m, and flies to coastal or riverine waters for all food. Freshwater dependence has increased during loon evolution, shaped their vocalizations, and mandated annual migrations. Hazards include eutrophication,human disturbance, water level fluctuations, toxic pollutants, acid precipation and seasonal unreliability. Loons have long been considered a major indicator of wilderness quality, but their potential as useful monitors of freshwater habitat depends on availability of baseline data, which currently varies among species and geographical regions.
Intelligibility Improvement of Analog Communication Systems Using an Amplitude Control Technique

Mobile satellite relay voice communications systems must provide high quality and reliable voice communications using relatively simple and inexpensive mobile equipment and easily achievable effective isotropic radiated power. High noise level reception will occur with analog voice communication systems operating over a power-limited link. At high noise levels, the low-level speech phonemes become masked by noise, which results in reduced speech intelligibility. In addition, a listener subjected over an extended period of time to this high noise level can become discomforted to the extent that his ability to understand what is being communicated is significantly reduced. An amplitude control technique has been employed for use with analog voice communication systems, which improves low-level phoneme reception and eliminates the received noise between words and syllables. Tests were conducted at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on a narrow-band frequency-modulation simplex voice communication channel employing the amplitude control technique. Presented for both the modified rhyme word tests and the phonetically balanced word tests are a series of graphical plots of the tests' score distribution, mean, and standard deviation as a function of received carrier-to-noise power density ratio. At low received carrier-to-noise power density ratios, a significant improvement in the intelligibility was obtained. A voice intelligibility improvement of more than 2 dB was obtained for the modified rhyme test words, and a voice intelligibility improvement in excess of 4 dB was obtained for the phonetically balanced word tests.
On the distribution of transmission and reflection times for a one dimensional barriers

Abstract Recently Sokolovski and Baskin used the Feynman path integral technique to obtain expressions for the mean times spent by transmitted and reflected particles in a one-dimensional barrier region. In this communication, their approach is applied to a calculation of the mean and root-mean-square transmission and reflection times for a rectangular barrier and for a rectangular barrier backed by an infinitely repulsive wall. For the latter case a comparison is made with the “remarkable result” obtained by Baz' for the analogous three-dimensional scattering problem.
Bisamidoximes : Synthesis and complexation with iron(III)

Bisamidoximes have been synthesized by the reaction of 4-methylbenzohydroximoyl chloride with 1,2-diaminoethane, 1,3-diaminopropane, 1,4-diaminobutane, and 3,3′-diamino-N-methyl-dipropylamine. A monoamidoxime and a trisamidoxime were also prepared in the present work by the reaction of 4-methylbenzohydroximoyl chloride with N,N-dimethylethylenediamine and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine. Single crystal X-ray structures of three of the bisamidoximes have shown that the two amidoxime moieties have the Z configuration in all three compounds. Job’s method of continuous variations showed that three of the bisamidoximes prepared in this work form 1:1 complexes with iron(iii) and therefore are acting as tetradentate ligands.
Evidence for paternal leakage in hybrid periodical cicadas (Hemiptera: Magicicada spp.).

Mitochondrial inheritance is generally assumed to be maternal. However, there is increasing evidence of exceptions to this rule, especially in hybrid crosses. In these cases, mitochondria are also inherited paternally, so “paternal leakage” of mitochondria occurs. It is important to understand these exceptions better, since they potentially complicate or invalidate studies that make use of mitochondrial markers. We surveyed F1 offspring of experimental hybrid crosses of the 17-year periodical cicadas Magicicada septendecim, M. septendecula, and M. cassini for the presence of paternal mitochondrial markers at various times during development (1-day eggs; 3-, 6-, 9-week eggs; 16-month old 1st and 2nd instar nymphs). We found evidence of paternal leakage in both reciprocal hybrid crosses in all of these samples. The relative difficulty of detecting paternal mtDNA in the youngest eggs and ease of detecting leakage in older eggs and in nymphs suggests that paternal mitochondria proliferate as the eggs develop. Our data support recent theoretical predictions that paternal leakage may be more common than previously estimated.
Identifier-tracking model reference adaptive control

Model reference adaptive control is a major design method for controlling plants with uncertain parameters. The primary objective of this paper is to develop a new design approach for a differentiator-free model reference adaptive control of a single-input single-output linear time-invariant plant. The proposed method, called the “Identifier-tracking model reference adaptive control”, uses a stacked identifier structure that is new to the field of adaptive control. The goal is to make the output of the plant asymptotically track the output of the first identifier, and then driving the output of the first identifier to track that of the second identifier, and so forth, up to the qth identifier where q is the relative degree of the plant. Lastly, the output of the qth identifier is forced to converge to that of the reference model. Simulation results show the superiority of the proposed method over the traditional model reference adaptive control with augmented error in terms of the transient response. Sinc...
Reexpansion pulmonary edema

A 28-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with a 3-day history of cough with brown sputum; left-sided chest pain with cough; and shortness of breath. He denied having a fever. The patient had been taking penicillin for 2 days without improvement. He had a history of childhood asthma and a family history significant for his mother having had a spontaneous pneumothorax. The social history was notable for a smoking habit of 1 pack of cigarettes per day for the past 6 years. The vital signs were normal except for a slightly increased respiratory rate of 20 breaths per minute. He was not in any distress and spoke clear sentences. There was no jugular venous distension. The trachea was midline. The chest examination was notable for absent breath sounds in the left chest. The right chest was clear. The rest of the physical examination was unremarkable. The patient’s chest X-ray study (Figure 1) revealed a 100% left pneumothorax. The patient was treated with tube thoracostomy and was admitted to the thoracic surgery service. Seventy-five minutes after the chest tube was placed the patient was noted to be tachycardic (heart rate of 136 beats/min) and tachypnec (respiratory rate of 48 breaths/ minutes) with a room air pulse oximetry of 79%. The patient complained of difficulty breathing and pain at the chest tube site. The chest examination was notable for crackles. The patient was placed on 100% oxygen facemask. A stat chest X-ray study (Figure 2) revealed unilateral pulmonary edema without pneumothorax. The patient’s oxygen saturation did not rise above 85% despite 100% oxygen by facemask. He remained tachypnec and was beginning to show signs of respira-
Functional neuroimaging of dynamic brain activity

Brain electrical activity is distributed in the three physical dimensions and evolves in time. Significant efforts have been made to attempt to image the dynamic brain activation from noninvasive electrical measurements made over the scalp, due to the high temporal resolution. In the past two decades, much progress has been made in solving the electrophysiological neuroimaging problem and EEG based neuroimaging has been increasingly used in neuroscience research and clinical applications. It has been demonstrated that, by analyzing electrophysiological data in the time, frequency, space domains, we can derive rich information about spatio-temporal distributions of brain activation which reveals important information about brain functions. Clinical studies in patients with partial seizure demonstrate the ability of electrophysiological neuroimaging in localizing and imaging epileptogenic foci from noninvasive measurements, aiding surgical planning. Recent efforts on multimodal neuroimaging have further demonstrated the merits of multimodal imaging, providing enhanced spatio-temporal resolution in imaging brain activity. This presentation will review the principles and important recent developments in this exciting field.
Single-pulse temperature measurement in supersonic air flow with predissociated laser-induced thermal gratings

We report single-pulsed, spatially-resolved temperature measurements in unseeded low-speed and supersonic air using the acoustic decay of laser-created thermal gratings. A low energy 193 nm excitation scheme was employed to create thermal gratings by predissociation of O2 in the flow. The acoustic decay was monitored over a few hundred ns by a continuous-wave argon-ion laser. This technique is insensitive to laser energy fluctuations as it is a frequency rather than an intensity measurement. Single-pulse measurements in Mach 3.9 and Mach 2.0 nozzle flows were analyzed to a temperature uncertainty of better than 7% by use of power spectra of the time domain signals. Higher accuracy is expected with improved calibration measurements.
On assessment of prey ingestion by copepods

The consumption of photosyntheti c and heterotrophic cells by an abundant calanoid copepod species feeding on natural plankton communities was quantified with a state-of-the-art image-analysis system. Late copepodid stages of Eucalanus pilcatus did not ingest bacteria, small photosynthetic and heterotrophic nanoplankton, or the abundant Ceratium spp. in quantifiable amounts. Although diatoms were by far the most abundant cells (in terms of POC H), the copepods ingested a higher percentage of ciliates in relation to their abundance than of diatoms and small heterotrophic dinoflagellates in the first experiment, and ingested a higher percentage of dinoflagel- lates and ciliates compared to diatoms in the second experiment Heterotrophic cells sufficiently large to be captured were repeatedly preferred by E.pileatus over autotrophs of similar or larger size. More- over, among the cells which could be individually perceived by this calanoid, larger ones were not pre- ferred over smaller cells, implying that some aspect of food quality can be as significant as prey size. These results support the notion (e.g. Kleppel, Mar. EcoL Prog. Ser., 99,183-195,1993) that feeding by copepods will be underestimated if ingestion of heterotrophic food organisms is not quantified. While the proposed microscope-based method is comparatively slow (~1 h per sample), it is the only tech- nique which provides detailed information on both the size and trophic composition of ingested prey.
The Individualistic Nature of Plant Community Development

Most models of plant community development (succession) explicitly or implicitly consider the process to be a series of graded steps culminating in, or converging upon, some relatively stable long-term plant community. Those models which do not proceed by an orderly series of steps nevertheless call for relatively predictable changes in plant communities. Recently, Connell & Slatyer (1977) have seriously questioned the ‘facilitation’ models of succession, and Olson (1958), Drury & Nisbet (1973), Walker (1970) and Matthews (1979) have questioned the hypothetical convergence of successional pathways. In this paper, I use several sources of evidence to call into question the predictability of plant community change over time. Two of these sources are anecdotal observations, three are reviews of previously published data, and one is research first described here in detail; the quantitative data come from vegetation studies in the north-central United States.
Time-Correlated Radio-Frequency-Interference Analysis

Cnventional radio-frequency-interference (RFI) receiversmeasure various characteristics of the incident RPI signals contiouily in time with the capability of selecting the freqency range of interest, the system described here extends the capability of commerclly available RFI receivers to selectively measre RFI at time domain as well. The application: of this technique to the measure of RFI due to ndividual cyiders of multicylinder spark ignition engines is described.
EFFECTS OF PRENATAL ADMINISTRATION OF PENICILLIC ACID AND PENITREM A TO MICE

METABOLITES of certainmolds growingon foodstuffs causetoxicdiseasesinman and animals;however,anunderstanding oftherelationship betweenthemold,thefoodandthe diseasehas onlynow beguntodevelop(NEWBERNE, 1974).Pencillia and Aspergillia are especially importantas contaminatingorganismsbecausecertainspeciescan grow and producetoxicmetabolites on agricultural commoditiesunderwidelydifferent conditions of moistureand temperature .Effectsof mycotoxinson biological systemsarenumerous; rangingfrom suddendeathtotumor formationfollowingingestion ofsmallquantities of toxinoveranextendedperiodoftime.The economicsignificance ofmycotoxicoses, though unknown,certainly ishigh.The presenceofmycotoxinsinfeedstuffs probablycauses,in additiontoacuteeffects, economiclossesby affecting suchimportantaspectsasweight gain,impairmentof resistance and immunitytodisease, and damage totheoffspring (PIER, 1973). A number offungithatgrowon standingcropsorstoredfeedarecapableofproducing toxicmetabolites .Two suchcompounds arepenicillic acidand penitremA .Penicillic acid, 3-methoxy-5-methyl-4-oxo-2,5-hexadienoic acid,first isolated by AISBERG andBLACK (1913), isa secondarymetaboliteproducedby speciesofPenicillium and Aspergillus (OXFORD etal.,1942).Penicillic acidistoxictomammals (HAYES etal.,1977),hasantibiotic activity (OXFORD, 1942;OXFORD etal.,1942),andhasbeenreportedtobecarcinogenic toratsand mice(DICKENS and JONES, 1961;DICKENS and JONES, 1965).Thismycotoxinoccursnaturallyinseveralagricultural products,includingmoldy tobacco,cornand peas(WILSON, 1976). Severalspecies ofPenicillium produceametabolite, penitremA (C87H 44NO,,Cl), capable ofcausingsustainedtremors,convulsionand evendeathinanimals(WILSON and HAYES, 1973). P.crustosunt and P.palitans, two tremorgenicspecies, havebeen implicatedin mycotoxicosesinvolvingcontaminatedfeedstuffs (WILSON etal.,1968;CIEGLER, 1969). Cows, sheep,mice,rats,chickens, rabbits, guineapigs,dogsand hamstersareamong the animalssusceptible toitsneurotoxic properties (CYSEWSKI etal.,1975;WILSON etal.,1972; WYATT etal.,1972;HAYES etal.,1976;HAYES etal.,1977).The neurotoxic actionofpenitremA inmiceandratsismostunusualbutremainsunexplained (WILSON etal.,1972).The effects ofselected drugson penitremA-inducedtremorsinmiceand ratssuggestthatthe toxinmay actcentrally byinhibition ofinhibitory interneurons (STERN, 1971).WILSON etal.
Activators of protein kinase C decrease Ca2+ spark frequency in smooth muscle cells from cerebral arteries.

Local Ca2+ transients (“Ca2+ sparks”) caused by the opening of one or the coordinated opening of a number of tightly clustered ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+-release (RyR) channels in the sarcoplasmic re...
The Behavior of Low Velocity Electrons in Methane Gas.

The radiation and ionization potentials of most of the monatomic vapors have been determined(2) experimentally. The natural extension of such research would be the determination of these constants for molecules. The simple molecule hydrogen has been investigated extensively(3) and the results can be reasonably well interpreted in terms of modern atomistics. When atoms and molecules for which no spectroscopic data exists are investigated by the current-potential method, it must be born in mind that not only a radiation-potential but also the phenomenon of transparency as known in argon(4) gives a maximum in the current-potential curves as shown by Minkowski and Sponer in a three-electrode tube. Hence in interpreting results obtained by the current-potential method the occurrence of a maximum cannot be taken as conclusive evidence of a radiation potential.(5)
UNIQUE ASPECTS OF ORPHAN DRUG SAFETY

In December 1992, the Orphan Drug Regulations: Final Rule were published. These regulations describe the role orphan products play in developing safer drugs, and discovering safer uses for products in special populations. In many instances, the Orphan Drug Act is responsible for the discovery of better ways of producing already developed products for safe treatment of special patient populations.1.In general, orphan drugs are as safe as nonorphan drugs. No changes in safety parameters are considered based on the orphan status of a product.2.Many orphan drugs are used in serious and/or life-threatening situations where, because of the seriousness of the disease or the lack of any other therapy, toxicity testing may be waived for a period of time.3.Drugs previously approved are being studied to determine their safe use for orphan indications specific to women, pregnant women, and children.4.Orphan drug studies are aiding in the development of recombinant forms of biologics for treating rare disorders. For e...
Resolvable cycle criteria for identifying personnel based on clothing and armament variations

In the urban environment, it may be necessary to identify personnel based on their type of dress. Observing a police officer or soldier might require a different response than observing an armed civilian. This paper reports on the required number of resolvable cycles to identify different personnel based upon the variations of their clothing and armament. Longwave (LWIR), and midwave infrared (MWIR) images of twelve people at twelve aspects were collected. These images were blurred and 11 human observers performed a 12-alternative forced choice visual identification experiment. The results of the human perception experiments were used to measure the required number of resolvable cycles for identifying these personnel. These results are used in modeling sensor performance tasks and improving war-game simulations oriented to the urban environment.
Probability Estimates for Lower Levels of Certain Gaussian Processes with Stationary Increments

Let \(\eta = \left\{ {{\eta _x};x \in R} \right\}\) be a mean—zero Gaussian process with covariance $$E({\eta _x}{\eta _y}) = \frac{1}{2}\left( {\emptyset \left( x \right) + \emptyset \left( y \right) - \emptyset \left( {x - y} \right)} \right)$$ Here $$\emptyset \left( x \right)\mathop = \limits^{def} \frac{1}{\pi }\int_{ - \infty }^\infty {\frac{{1 - \cos \lambda x}}{{\psi \left( \lambda \right)}}} d\lambda x \in R$$ where ψ is a non—negative even function on R. Note that o is an even function and o(0) = 0. In this paper we assume that
Polynomial Metamodel integrated Verilog-AMS for memristor-based mixed-signal system design

This paper proposes a two-level framework for memristor based mixed-signal design exploration. First, a Verilog-A memristor model is proposed which is not source-type dependent and has advantages over existing SPICE memristor models. It includes the threshold-type behavior and nonlinear dynamics while retaining memristor parameters that are useful for circuit design. Second, a POlynomial Metamodel integrated Verilog-AMS (Verilog-AMS-POM) is proposed to enable fast circuit-accurate system-level design space exploration of such circuits. The metamodeling technique is proposed to assist their design, modeling, and higher-level integration. A memristor based programmable Schmitt trigger oscillator is presented as a case study. Polynomial metamodels are created to facilitate the analysis and verification of the programmable oscillator. The coefficients of determination of the proposed metamodels demonstrate excellent fidelity. Verilog-AMS-POM simulation achieves over 30,000× speedup compared to SPICE simulations.
Achieving full fungibility and Quick Changeover by turning knobs in tape and Reel machine by applying SMED theory

In semiconductor industry high volume manufacturing, on time customer delivery is given priority. On time delivery leads to major usage of SMED or Quick Changeover. Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is one of the many lean production methods for reducing waste in a manufacturing process. It provides a rapid and efficient way of converting a manufacturing process from running the current product to running the next product. It is also often referred to as Quick Changeover (QCO). Performing faster change-over is important in manufacturing, or any process, because they make low cost flexible operations possible. SMED and quick changeover programs have many benefits for manufacturers. Single minute does not mean that all changeovers and startups should take only one minute, but that they should take less than 10 minutes ("single digit minute"). In Intel Penang Factory operations, PLCC Tape and Reel machine is one of the bottleneck on the packing operations for Network Communication products. SMED concept was applied on the PLCC Tape and Reel machines by using semi-automated system which operates with 12 simple to-operate-knobs. The conversion time was successfully improved from 84 minutes to <; 1 minute conversion with perfect alignment.
Multiplicative background correction for spotted microarrays to improve reproducibility.

We propose a simple approach, the multiplicative background correction, to solve a perplexing problem in spotted microarray data analysis: correcting the foreground intensities for the background noise, especially for spots with genes that are weakly expressed or not at all. The conventional approach, the additive background correction, directly subtracts the background intensities from foreground intensities. When the foreground intensities marginally dominate the background intensities, the additive background correction provides unreliable estimates of the differential gene expression levels and usually presents M–A plots with ‘fishtails’ or fans. Unreliable additive background correction makes it preferable to ignore the background noise, which may increase the number of false positives. Based on the more realistic multiplicative assumption instead of the conventional additive assumption, we propose to logarithmically transform the intensity readings before the background correction, with the logarithmic transformation symmetrizing the skewed intensity readings. This approach not only precludes the ‘fishtails’ and fans in the M–A plots, but provides highly reproducible background-corrected intensities for both strongly and weakly expressed genes. The superiority of the multiplicative background correction to the additive one as well as the no background correction is justified by publicly available self-hybridization datasets.
Use of non-commercial software for UNIX in undergraduate engineering education

The paper discusses the use of non-commercial software for UNIX in the undergraduate engineering laboratory and classroom. Two main categories of software are addressed: engineering applications across a variety of disciplines, and graphical user interface components. Engineering applications are surveyed, and it is argued the best of these have several important advantages over similar commercial packages in the context of engineering education. Graphical user interface components which allow the presentation of these applications to students in a "user-friendly" way are surveyed, and several example GUIs are described.
Time-Variant Strength Capacity Model for GFRP Bars Embedded in Concrete

Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) concrete reinforcement exhibits high strength, is lightweight, can decrease time of construction, and is corrosion resistant. However, research has shown that chemical reactions deteriorate the GFRP reinforcing bars over time, resulting in a reduced tensile capacity. This paper develops a time-variant probabilistic model to predict the tensile capacity of GFRP bars embedded in concrete. The developed model is probabilistic to properly account for the relevant sources of uncertainties, including the statistical uncertainty in the estimation of the unknown model parameters (because of the finite sample size), the model error associated with the inexact model form (e.g., a linear expression is used when the actual and unknown relations are nonlinear), and missing variables (i.e., the model only includes a subset of the variables that influence the quantity of interest.) The proposed model is based on a general diffusion model, in which water or ions penetrate the GFRP bar matrix and degrade the glass fiber-resin interface. The model indicates that GFRP reinforcement bars with larger diameters exhibit lower rates of capacity loss. The proposed probabilistic model is used to assess the probability of not meeting the tensile strength requirement based on specifications over time and can be used to assess the safety and performance of GFRP reinforced systems. Sensitivity and importance analyses are carried out to explore the effect of the parameters and random variables on the probability estimates.
Adaptive Eulerian–Lagrangian finite element method for advection–dispersion

A new adaptive finite element method is proposed for the advection–dispersion equation using an Eulerian–Lagrangian formulation. The method is based on a decomposition of the concentration field into two parts, one advective and one dispersive, in a rigorous manner that does not leave room for ambiguity. The advective component of steep concentration fronts is tracked forward with the aid of moving particles clustered around each front. Away from such fronts the advection problem is handled by an efficient modified method of characteristics called single-step reverse particle tracking. When a front dissipates with time, its forward tracking stops automatically and the corresponding cloud of particles is eliminated. The dispersion problem is solved by an unconventional Lagrangian finite element formulation on a fixed grid which involves only symmetric and diagonal matrices. Preliminary tests against analytical solutions of one- and two-dimensional dispersion in a uniform steady-state velocity field suggest that the proposed adaptive method can handle the entire range of Peclet numbers from 0 to ∞, with Courant numbers well in excess of 1.
NIMBY localism and national inequitable exclusion alliances: The case of syringe exchange programs in the United States.

Syringe exchange programs (SEPs) aim to reduce the harm associated with injection drug use (IDU). Although they have been accepted as critical components of HIV prevention in many parts of the world, they are often unwelcome and difficult to set up and maintain, even in communities hardest hit by IDU-related HIV transmission. This research examines socio-cultural and political processes that shape community and institutional resistance toward establishing and maintaining SEPs. These processes are configured and reinforced through the socio-spatial stigmatizing of IDUs, and legal and public policy against SEPs. Overarching themes the paper considers are: (1) institutional and/or political opposition based on (a) political and law enforcement issues associated with state drug paraphernalia laws and local syringe laws; (b) harassment of drug users and resistance to services for drug users by local politicians and police; and (c) state and local government (in)action or opposition; and (2) the stigmatization of drug users and location of SEPs in local neighborhoods and business districts. Rather than be explained by “not in my back yard” localism, this pattern seems best conceptualized as an “inequitable exclusion alliance” (IEA) that institutionalizes national and local stigmatizing of drug users and other vulnerable populations.
How Much Is Enough? Teaching Information Technology in a Business-Oriented IS Curriculum

IS 2002 is a model curriculum for undergraduate degree programs in Information Systems typically offered in business and management schools. The curriculum is designed to produce graduates equipped to assume entry-level information systems positions and provide them with the fundamental knowledge required for continued career growth. This paper specifically addresses the challenge that instructors face in designing a course intended to be consistent with the learning unit goals and objectives specified in the IS 2002 for the Information Technology Hardware and Software course. While the authors agree in principle with the identified course objectives, they suggest that those objectives, when broadly defined, constitute more material than can be reasonably covered in a single course. Given that some depth must be sacrificed to achieve the desired breadth of coverage, the paper calls for the IS community to participate in an effort to more fully specify concepts and skills that should be taught in order to best fulfill our students’ and their future employers’ needs. The paper describes and critiques the authors’ current course design as a starting point for this effort.
Dynamic and strategic aspects of executive processing

Executive cognitive functions have been postulated to include both dynamic behavioral selection and strategic goal-setting or response preparation. To investigate the relation between these aspects of executive processing, we embedded an event-related oddball paradigm within a blocked design. Subjects responded to infrequent targets presented within a series of standard stimuli that required no response; this task alternated with a visually similar nontask condition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we found that a set of brain regions including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), insular cortex, cingular cortex, and the basal ganglia demonstrated transient activation both to target stimuli and to the onset of task blocks. Within the parietal cortex, there was a dissociation such that the supramarginal gyrus exhibited greater activity to the target stimuli than to block onsets, while the converse pattern was observed in the intraparietal sulcus. Sustained positive activity during task blocks was present in the caudate and supplementary motor area, while sustained negative activity was present in the precuneus and medial parietal cortex. We conclude that dlPFC and related brain regions mediate both dynamic and strategic processing, through the preparation and selection of rules for behavior.
Spatial contagion: Gardening along the street in residential neighborhoods

Abstract Urban nature, including residential gardens, can promote biodiversity and increase human wellbeing. Understanding factors that encourage the spread of gardening within cities may help planners facilitate healthier and more biodiverse urban communities. This study characterizes the spatial distribution and attributes of gardens found in easement areas of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Spatial analyses of these privately managed public spaces provide evidence of clustering for both presence of gardens and their esthetic quality. Data collected on the location and attributes of easements from 22,562 properties during summer of 2009, show that 11% of these properties held an easement garden. Results of multiple spatial analyses, each targeting a different aspect of garden distribution, show that (a) the most intense easement garden clustering occurs among neighbors with direct visual access to nearest neighbors’ easement areas; (b) it is 2.4 times as likely that a property holds an easement garden if a property within 30 m holds one; (c) although clustering is measureable for all neighborhood sizes up to 610 m from home, peak clustering happens within 91 m of home; and (d) clustering of easement gardens are clustered in terms of quality (appeal), and greatest clustering occurs between pairs of adjacent neighbors. While larger scale factors may play a role in where a garden cluster is initiated, the dominant occurrence of relatively small cluster sizes indicates that social contagion is in play. The potential value of social contagion is discussed as a mechanism for spread sustainable behaviors that support ecological resilience in urban areas.
Exploring Disease Management Programs for Diabetes Mellitus Proposal of a Novel Hybrid Model

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness that affects the world on an epidemic scale. It requires complex healthcare and considerable economic resources. Diabetes disease management programs use a variety of strategies to improve clinical outcome measures and reduce costs. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of these programs on reducing glycosylated hemoglobin levels, improving cardiovascular risks, and reducing utilization of services. However, the most effective components of disease management strategies or combination of strategies remain unknown. This narrative review explores the components, impact, benefits, and barriers of current diabetes disease management models and also presents a novel hybrid model incorporating elements of both on-site and off-site programs.
Perinatal regulation of the ClC-2 chloride channel in lung is mediated by Sp1 and Sp3.

Mechanisms responsible for regulation of pulmonary epithelial chloride-channel expression in the perinatal period are under investigation to better understand normal lung development and airway dis...
An Unusual Course of Metastatic Gastroesophageal Cancer

We are reporting on a case of a 41-year-old woman who presented with metastatic gastroesophageal junction cancer and who achieved prolonged survival with a multimodal treatment approach. After initially experiencing robust response to chemotherapy, she was treated for distant recurrence with palliative radiation to the gastrohepatic and supraclavicular lymph nodes and subsequently, given her unusual near-complete response, with reirradiation to the abdomen with curative intent for residual disease. The case presented is unique due to the patient's atypical treatment course, including technically difficult reirradiation to the abdomen, and the resulting prolonged survival despite metastatic presentation.
Public-Private Dynamics in Higher Education in the Western Balkans: Are Governments Leveling the Playing Field?.

The article analyzes the public-private dynamics in the context of eight Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia). This article examines whether and to what extent these governments “level the playing field” between private and public higher education providers, not in the sense that they have equal chances to succeed, but that they all play by the same set of rules and are able to compete fairly. The article first addresses the emergence of a private higher education sector and the access of this sector to public resources. Next, it discusses the extent of “privatization” of public higher education institutions and whether these are prompted to be more market oriented. We find that the boundaries between the public and private sectors are blurred and the relations aggravated while each of the sectors is faced with its own set of challenges to legitimacy and long-term financial sustainability.
Shock Synthesis of Nanocrystalline High -Pressure Phases in Semiconductors by High-Velocity Thermal Spray

Shock synthesis of nanocrystalline Si, Ge and CdTe was accomplished using high- velocity thermal spray. Si or Ge powders were injected into a high energy flame, created by a thermal spray gun, where the particles melt and accelerate to impact on a substrate. The shock wave generated by the sudden impact of the droplets propagated through the underlying deposits, which induces a phase transition to a high pressure form. The decompression of the high-pressure phase results in the formation of several metastable phases, as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction studies. The peak pressure is estimated to be ≈23GPa with a pulse duration of 1-5 ns. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the metastable phases of Si with a size range of 2 to 5 nm were dispersed within Si-I. In Ge, a metastable phase, ST-12, was observed. This is a decompression product of Ge-II which possesses the β-Sn type of structure. In the case of CdTe, a fine dispersion of hexagonal CdTe particles, embedded in cubic-CdTe with an average size of 2 nm was obtained.
Cash Discounts to Retail Customers: An Alternative to Credit Card Sales:

This article examines marketing and financial implications of offering a discount to retail customers to encourage cash payment rather than credit card payment. The conditions under which a discoun...
An analysis on 24486 prescriptions of transfusion for pediatric out-patients

Objective:To ensure the safety of medication and encourage rational administration in children.Methods:A retrospective statistical study was carded out to investigate 24,486 transfusion formulas for out-patients within a period of 16 days in 2007.Results:The usage of ceftezole sodium was highest in the formulas which weren' t combined with other medication.The rate of combined application of two medicines was 44.03% in all the formulas.In addition,the phenomenon of irrational utilization of medicines,irrational dosage,irra- tional carrying agent and general usage of ribavirin existed.Concluslons:Abusage of antibioties wasn't detected in transfusion formulas in our hospital,but irrational administrations exist,and rational administration needs promoting.
STUDY THE CHARACTER OF DYNAMIC VARIETY OF CONTAINER ROCK IN WATERFLOODING OIL RESERVOIRBY TRANSIENT WELL CURVE

In oilfield development, the reservoir performance information which the transient well test reflects is very abundant, however, at present, the employment of well test data is only individual well and single well test. The author have had rich well test experience over the past years, investigating lots of datum, analyzing the transient well test datum, focusing on analyzing the reservoir geological model which is reflected by the transient well test curve, thereby, the author thinks that studying the formation dynamic by analyzing reservoir model variation is a efficient method, and analyzing the reservoir performance, at the same time, it is no doubt that the formation parameters obtained by well test datum, but what's important is that the reservoir characteristics information attained by it. So, we should analyze adequately reservoir model variation and study formation dynamic, accordingly, recognizing reservoir better, enhancing reservoir management, instructing reservoir development, which should be attached importance to in view of the investigators for analyzing the well test datum and reservoir development managers.
Mitral valve prolapse: A new two-dimensional index for quantification of the prolapse

Cet index est la distance entre le point de coalescence de la valvule mitrale et l'anneau de celle-ci au debut et a la fin de la systole
The Prevalence, Predictors, and Criminogenic Effect of Joining a Gang among Urban, Suburban, and Rural Youth

Abstract Few empirical studies have focused on gang involvement outside urban areas. This study contributes to this sparse research by addressing three questions using a national sample: 1) are urban, suburban, and rural youth equally likely to report joining a gang; 2) are the predictors of joining a gang comparable for urban, suburban, and rural youth; and 3) does joining a gang have a similar effect on delinquency involvement for urban, suburban, and rural youth? Results indicate suburban and rural youth are just as likely as urban youth to report joining a gang; variables related to joining a gang among urban youth are largely related to joining a gang among suburban and rural youth; and joining a gang is just as criminogenic for suburban and rural youth as for urban youth. With the exception of finding that gang involvement is no less criminogenic for nonurban youth, results are consistent with the proposed hypotheses.
Influence of information sources on the adoption of uterine fibroid embolization by interventional radiologists

Objectives: The purpose of the research was to (1) understand the influence of information sources on the awareness and adoption of uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) by interventional radiologists in Michigan and (2) to decipher communication relations in the social network of interventional radiologists that were most conducive to the flow of information about UFE. Methods: Diffusion of innovations theory and constructs in social network analysis formed the basis for the development of an interview guide. Thirty-two interventional radiologists in Michigan were interviewed over the phone. Chi-square statistics were employed to analyze the awareness and adoption of UFE. Factor analysis was applied to decipher important communication relations in the social network of interventional radiologists. Results: Conferences were found to be an initial source of information, creating awareness among early adopters (P < 0.05), but other individuals were found to be influential sources in the adoption of UFE by later adopters (P < 0.05). Radiologists rarely browsed Websites for information. Work relations in everyday clinical practice were the communication relations most conducive to the flow of information about UFE. Preliminary qualitative data indicated that opinion leaders in the diffusion of UFE in Michigan were located in hospitals primarily dedicated to practice rather than in hospitals affiliated with universities. Conclusions: Journals are important information sources for creating awareness and stimulating adoption of innovation among both early and late adopters of new procedures in interventional radiology. Conferences, however, are significantly more important for creating early awareness, while interactions with colleagues is the most important factor in stimulating use of the innovation among later adopters. Among colleagues, opinion leaders in nonacademic hospitals may be more influential than individuals in the academic community.
Application of synergetic control theory to non-sinusoidal PMSMs via multiple reference frame theory

Park equations in a rotor reference frame are used for sinusoidal back-electromotive force (EMF) permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) to eliminate the rotor-position dependency and create time-invariant model. However, Park equations are not suitable for non-sinusoidal back EMF cases. Instead, multiple reference frames are considered individually for each harmonic, with their rotation speed defined as multiples of the rotor electrical speeds. A nonlinear average-value model of the inverter-fed PMSMs is developed. A universal controller is designed for the resulting nonlinear model using a synergetic approach to control theory that does not require linearization. The controller is able to construct the desired input voltage for the 1st, 5th, and 7th harmonics in both direct and quadrature axes. The final model is verified with four-quadrant operation and locked rotor tests where speed and torque commands are closely tracked.
Reimagining Resistance: Performing Transparency and Anonymity in Surveillance Art

In 2002, multimedia artist Hasan Elahi launched the project Tracking Transience , a website designed to make public his location and activity. Yet despite the complete disclosure of Elahi’s personal information in this format, Tracking Transience aims to enact a resistive posture to recent developments in digital surveillance. Rather than uphold claims to privacy, Elahi negotiates his security through the release of his personal information. Paradoxically, he voluntarily forgoes his privacy in order to feel more secure. His form of resistance then registers his project of self-surveillance as a performance of transparency. He turns the normative flow of power in digital surveillance into a new critical posture, wherein the artist becomes anonymous to surveillance systems and is able to maintain comfortable levels of security without typical recourse to privacy. And it is precisely this mode of anonymity that Elahi argues is able to produce a mode of resistance to surveillance, one in which the artist participates with digital surveillance in order to avoid it. By tracing the methodologies that generate data on Elahi’s activity, this paper will speculate on how creative interventions can effect resistive strategies against surveillance systems by moving beyond the historical limits of privacy into the outer reaches of anonymity in our contemporary age of transparency.
Mobile health (m-health) for expanding health care services in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA): A Task- Technology Fit (TTF) perspective

Based on wireless technologies, Africa is undergoing a revolution in ICT. Efforts to employ the mobile phones beyond the conventional communication tool are underway. Mobile technology can be used to detect and respond to disease outbreaks and improve public health and health care provision. Mobile health (m-health) is believed to be appropriate in Sub Saharan Africa. However, m-health applications are not yet widely used in SSA. This study addresses two basic research questions. (1). How do m-health systems produce positive results in SSA context? (2). How does m-health integrate with and augment the conventional health care system in SSA? The study assesses the technical, economic, socio-cultural, organizational and policy related issues impacting the adoption and use of m-health using Task-Technology Fit Model as a lens and theoretical foundation. Positivist case study research methodology is used. Survey will be carried out in Ethiopia and secondary data will be gathered from Uganda and Kenya for comparative analysis; the hope is to provide insights for understanding and explaining individual and institutional factors impacting successful adoption and use of m-health. It may also provide relevant findings that may help policy makers in SSA expand m-health.