cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Text Mining of the Securities and Exchange Commission Financial Filings of Publicly Traded Construction Firms Using Deep Learning to Identify and Assess Risk

AbstractRisk factor identification is a critical topic in the construction industry. It is vital for the various construction firms and industry stakeholders to understand the different types of ri...
On the Equivalence Between High-Order Network-Influence Frameworks: General-Threshold, Hypergraph-Triggering, and Logic-Triggering Models.

In this paper, we study several high-order network-influence-propagation frameworks and their connection to the classical network diffusion frameworks such as the triggering model and the general threshold model. In one framework, we use hyperedges to represent many-to-one influence -- the collective influence of a group of nodes on another node -- and define the hypergraph triggering model as a natural extension to the classical triggering model. In another framework, we use monotone Boolean functions to capture the diverse logic underlying many-to-one influence behaviors, and extend the triggering model to the Boolean-function triggering model. We prove that the Boolean-function triggering model, even with refined details of influence logic, is equivalent to the hypergraph triggering model, and both are equivalent to the general threshold model. Moreover, the general threshold model is optimal in the number of parameters, among all models with the same expressive power. We further extend these three equivalent models by introducing correlations among influence propagations on different nodes. Surprisingly, we discover that while the correlated hypergraph-based model is still equivalent to the correlated Boolean-function-based model, the correlated general threshold model is more restrictive than the two high-order models. Our study sheds light on high-order network-influence propagations by providing new insight into the group influence behaviors in existing models, as well as diverse modeling tools for understanding influence propagations in networks.
Long noncoding RNAs-a new dimension in the molecular architecture of the bile acid/FXR pathway

Bile acids, regarded as the body's detergent for digesting lipids, also function as critical signaling molecules that regulate cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body. Bile acids are the natural ligands of the nuclear receptor, FXR, which controls an intricate network of cellular pathways to maintain metabolic homeostasis. In recent years, growing evidence supports that many cellular actions of the bile acid/FXR pathway are mediated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and lncRNAs are in turn powerful regulators of bile acid levels and FXR activities. In this review, we highlight the substantial progress made in the understanding of the functional and mechanistic role of lncRNAs in bile acid metabolism and how lncRNAs connect bile acid activity to additional metabolic processes. We also discuss the potential of lncRNA studies in elucidating novel molecular mechanisms of the bile acid/FXR pathway and the promise of lncRNAs as potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for diseases associated with altered bile acid metabolism.
“DEAR CONGRESS, JUST PLAY DEAD”: TIKTOK’S ABSURD GUIDE TO SURVIVING #LOCKDOWN

This paper examines how young TikTok creators enact strategies of playfulness and absurdity in response to gun violence and trauma. Through a ludic-carnivalesque reading of young people’s irreverent engagement with school shootings, we demonstrate how youth use TikTok to reclaim emotional control of uncontrollable situations. We situate our analysis of playful #schoolshooting videos as part of an imitation public that is constituted through practices of mimesis, replication, and imitation. However, we broaden our focus to consider the latent political potential of the publics that memetic practices create. Within this framework we ask: What discourses and shared practices emerge through playful #schoolshooting memes on TikTok and what are the implications for the everyday politics of youth citizenship? Our methodology consists of two phases conducted over an 18-month period. The first phase of analysis, performed August–December 2019, relies on collated systemic searches for specific hashtags and sounds that young people use to memeify school shootings. In the second phase, we identified two seemingly unrelated events that young people discursively and memetically linked to school shootings: COVID-19 lockdowns from March-May 2020 and the storming of the U.S. Capitol building by radicalized Trump supporters on January 6, 2021. By analyzing these practices through the lens of the ludic-carnivalesque, patterns reveal the ways young people enact strategies to demarcate boundaries, articulate cogent critiques of policies and policymakers that do not prevent school shootings, and to turn painful and traumatic realities into a fun and harmless Bakhtinian carnival.
Functional anomaly mapping using BOLD time-courses reveals local and distant dysfunction caused by stroke (P5.6-002)

Objective: To introduce the functional anomaly map (FAM), a novel approach to mapping anatomical and functional brain lesions in individual patients. To demonstrate that FAMs can be used as the basis for lesion-symptom mapping analyses. Background: The lesion method was foundational to neurology, but a major drawback of lesion studies is an assumption that lesion identification based on the appearance of anatomical tissue completely captures the lesion extent and effects on the brain. This assumption is flawed because one cannot determine degree of tissue function or dysfunction based on anatomical appearance alone. More importantly, this assumption ignores effects from outside the anatomical lesion including diaschisis and compensatory neuroplasticity. Design/Methods: We derive functional anomaly maps (FAMs) using machine learning (voxelwise SVR) on resting state BOLD time-courses in fifty chronic left-hemisphere stroke survivors. We document the reliability of FAMs and validate their sensitivity. We illustrate an example application by performing lesion-symptom mapping on four behaviors commonly affected in left-hemisphere stroke using FAMs and a matching traditional anatomical dataset. Results: FAMs showed good replicability and were sensitive to anatomical lesion location. Signal in the unlesioned hemisphere related to functional integrity of homotopic locations in the lesioned hemisphere. FAM-based lesion-deficit maps replicated classical patterns of behavioral localization, and also detected relationships between functional integrity and behavior in regions distant from the anatomical lesions. Conclusions: FAMs identify anatomical lesions and functionally anomalous areas beyond lesion boundaries, providing a direct measure of functional differences between individuals potentially related to diaschisis, compensatory plasticity, or individual differences that explain stroke resilience. Lesion-behavior mapping using these maps replicates classic behavioral localization within the lesion distribution and can identify relationships between spared tissue function and behavioral outcomes. This method provides the first direct brain-wide mapping of functional lesions, which could have wide implications for one of the most important methods in neuroscience. Disclosure: Dr. DeMarco has nothing to disclose. Dr. Turkeltaub has nothing to disclose.
PERIPHERAL TISSUE GRAFTS AS PORTALS INTO BRAIN FOR SOLUTES AND LEUKOCYTES

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) to ions and hydrophilic molecules can be focally and permanently bypassed at sites where peripheral tissues have been transplanted to brain (Rosenstein and Brightman, 1984; Tsubaki et al., 1986; Wakai et al., 198). A fragment of superior cervical ganglion or of skeletal muscle inserted onto the choroid plexus of the IV cerebral ventricle or upon the dorsal, pial surface of the medulla become portals of entry for cirulating solutes. The present work demonstrates that the grafts also create focal sites through which blood-borne, exogenous cells, can be brought into the interstitium of an otherwise normal brain. A major conclusion is that, in this relationship between graft and brain, the route taken by solutes differs from that taken by cells.
The Renormalization Group

Before presenting a specific model, we would like to revisit in more depth and from a more general perspective the renormalization group (RG) formalism previously introduced in Chap. 2. The RG analysis, introduced in field theory and in critical phase transitions, is a very general mathematical (and conceptual) tool, which allows one to decompose the problem of finding the “macroscopic” behavior of a large number of interacting parts into a succession of simpler problems with a decreasing number of interacting parts, whose effective properties vary with the scale of observation. Technically, this is done as we will see by defining a mapping between the observational scale and the distance |T − T c| from the critical point. The term “observational scale” usually refers to the physical scale of an observation. In the spin context, the observational scale rather refers to the size of the block of spins that one analyzes within the system. The usefulness of the RG approach is based on the existence of scale invariance and self-similarity of the observables at the critical point. The purpose of the RG is to translate in mathematical language the concept that a critical point results from the aggregate response of an ensemble of elements. In addition, the RG formalism can be used as a tool of model construction [803]. In this presentation, we follow [629, 706].
Reading Virginia’s Paleoclimate from the Geochemistry and Sedimentology of Clastic Cave Sediments

Clastic sediments in Bathers Cave, Virginia, are divided into distinct packages that reflect changes in water velocity, sediment source, surficial weathering conditions, and the cave depositional setting that are a function of Quaternary climate change. These packages are found in the same stratigraphic order at various levels on ledges within passages of elliptical cross section in the upper part of the cave system. Sediment extractions performed on separate fractions from each layer indicate changes in oxide mineralogy and clay mineralogy through the sedimentary sequence. Additional samples from a nearby flood plain, a terrace soil, and a sinkhole pond also show mineralogical and geochemical changes. Goethite is abundant in the lower layers of the cave sequence, while the upper layers have mostly ferrihydrite and abundant kaolinite.
The punishment of burning in the Hebrew Bible

Different modes of executing people are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Among them we find the punishment of burning which also existed in the Ancient Near East. Thus, the question posed here is: what is the significance of describing this form of death? In order to arrive at an answer, we examine the episodes which describe death by burning to see in which context they appear. We will show that the punishment of burning in the Hebrew Bible appears in cases of illicit sex, sacrilege, and as a threat. In addition we will demonstrate that burning people to death was a bad omen and that it meant total obliteration of the dead. Execution by burning meant non-burial; this was an end to continuity and the final extinction of the deceased, who had not been "gathered to his ancestors." In other words the punishment of burning shows a belief in posthumous concept.
German Immigrants, Race, and Citizenship in the Civil War Era

This study of Civil War-era politics explores how German immigrants influenced the rise and fall of white commitment to African-American rights. Intertwining developments in Europe and North America, Alison Clark Efford describes how the presence of naturalized citizens affected the status of former slaves and identifies 1870 as a crucial turning point. That year, the Franco-Prussian War prompted German immigrants to re-evaluate the liberal nationalism underpinning African-American suffrage. Throughout the period, the newcomers' approach to race, ethnicity, gender and political economy shaped American citizenship law.
Teachers' Perceptions of a Learner-Centered Teacher Evaluation System

Promoting success for all students is the driving force to develop and implement sound teacher evaluation systems. As Stronge suggests, “the two most frequently cited purposes of personnel evaluation are accountability and performance improvement” (1997, p. 3). As a result, “researchers are conceiving of teacher evaluation as a mechanism for improving teaching and learning” (Danielson and McGreal, 2000). On the other hand, others affirm that “the trend in teacher evaluation is toward more self-evaluation and expanding one's teaching repertoire” (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1999, p. 8). However, teachers' voices relative to emerging teacher evaluation trends are missing. Thus, this study explored teachers' perceptions about the support for professional development available to them, the perceived potential benefits of a learner-centered teacher evaluation system to enhance their professional growth, and pitfalls. Only elementary school teachers participated in the study. The researcher analyzed teachers' written responses to open-ended questions, and generated categories by emerging themes to determine teachers' perceptions. Findings of the study suggest that teachers receive support from both campus level and central office level. Teachers also believe that a learner-centered teacher evaluation fosters walk-through observations, opportunities for professional growth, feedback, learner-centered dialogue, a holistic perspective, and teacher self-evaluation. On the other hand, findings suggest that teachers question the labels for each level of performance, and are concerned that the system might be somewhat subjective. Finally, suggestions are made to conduct additional studies to further illuminate teachers' voices associated with teacher evaluation and development at other school levels, and to expand our understanding of emerging teacher evaluation formats which aim at student success.
Diabetes-related changes in rat cerebral occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) expression.

The endothelial or epithelial tight junctions create a barrier to diffusion of solutes. Since experimental diabetes mellitus is associated with considerable alterations in the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it is possible that specific tight junction proteins may be altered in diabetes. To test this hypothesis, Western and Northern blot analysis were carried out to measure the steady-state level of occludin and zonula occludens-one (ZO-1) proteins and mRNA levels in cerebral tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and the results were compared to insulin treated diabetic rats and vehicle injected control rats. The cerebral occludin content in diabetic rats (115.4 ± 18.6 arbitrary units) was significantly reduced compared to insulin-treated diabetic rats (649.1 ± 141.2) or control rats (552.9 ± 82.9), p < 0.001. The ZO-1 content of cerebral tissue from diabetic rats (1240.6 ± 199.7 arbitrary units) was not significantly altered compared to controls (1310.8 ± 256.9). The cerebral occludin mRNA content relative to G3PDH mRNA was 1.35 ± 0.07 and 1.34 ± 0.19 in control and diabetic rats respectively. The cerebral ZO-1 mRNA content relative to G3PDH mRNA in diabetic and control rats was 1.135 ± 0.123 and 0.956 ± 0.038 respectively. These differences did not achieve statistical significance. It is concluded that diabetes alters the molecular anatomy of the tight junctions in cerebral tissue by altering the content of select structural proteins.
Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophies

Molecular and genetic breakthroughs continue to explode our knowledge of the limb-girdle muscular dystrophies. Despite a common, basic phenotype, the more than 25 genes underlying these genetic muscle diseases lead to substantial heterogeneity in pathogenesis and clinical course. Distinctive clinical, laboratory, and biopsy features often help to distinguish among them. Treatment remains predominantly supportive with excitement surrounding the genetic-based therapies.
Biliary stent–related alterations can be distinguished from adenocarcinoma on bile duct brushings using a limited number of cytologic features

Introduction Although it is widely accepted that cytologic alterations secondary to a biliary stent can be difficult to distinguish from adenocarcinoma in pancreatobiliary exfoliative cytology, no systematic study has been undertaken to identify the cytologic features that best distinguish these entities. Materials and methods A training set of 29 bile duct brushings (14 with biliary stents, originally classified as atypical or suspicious, with >6 months of benign clinical follow-up; and 15 diagnosed as adenocarcinoma with histologic confirmation) was evaluated for the following: nuclear enlargement, nuclear contour, nuclear overlap, chromatin distribution, nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, anisonucleosis, macronucleoli, mitoses, acute inflammation, disorganization, necrosis, cell borders, single atypical cells, and 2 distinct cell populations. A distinct validation set of 31 equivocal stented brushings—13 later diagnosed with carcinoma and 18 with ≥6 months of benign follow-up—were similarly evaluated. Cases were categorized as benign or malignant using a scoring algorithm based on statistically significant features. Results Five features achieved statistical significance: atypical single cells ( P = 0.0001), 2 distinct cell populations ( P = 0.0007), and anisonucleosis ( P = 0.0422) favored malignancy; distinct cell borders ( P = 0.0018) and acute inflammation ( P = 0.0035) favored benign. The algorithm correctly classified 12 of 14 benign and 15 of 15 malignant cases in the training set and 16 of 18 benign and 7 of 13 malignant cases in the validation set. Conclusions Most bile duct brushings from patients with biliary stents could be definitively and correctly classified as either benign or malignant using 5 morphologic features: single atypical cells, binary cell population, anisonucleosis, distinct cell borders, and acute inflammation.
One Size Does Not Fit All Matching the Reward to the Employee’s Motivational Needs

Numerous research articles have evaluated the reward preference of public sector employees in terms of the public service motivation (PSM) construct. However, very little research has been done on whether differences in reward preferences exist within a particular sector at the local government level. This research aims to fill this gap by reevaluating the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards to employees in local government as several changes in workforce composition, economic conditions, performance, and accountability have challenged traditional public management approaches and techniques. A case study comprising survey responses from 272 employees of a local government in Mississippi provides data for the analyses. Results reveal that both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are important to these individuals in their current positions, and these preferences vary due to demographic variables, the employee’s position within the organization, and the individual’s level of PSM.
New ideas in the cause of bladder dysfunction in children

Purpose of review The management of children with urinary incontinence and dysfunctional voiding problems can be very difficult at times. The present array of bladder-oriented treatments are marginally successful and for a long time patients were told that they would outgrow their symptoms. In this review, we look at the most recent findings in the urologic and psychiatric literature and try to piece together these two disparate fields and figure out how children who wet are best managed. Recent findings It became clear that children with attention deficit disorder were always more difficult to manage than those without neuropsychiatric problems. As the years have progressed and imaging technology has improved, we have begun to look into the active brain. This research has been conducted primarily in the fields of psychiatry and neuroscience, but there have been some seminal studies that point to a link between defects in the brain and functional urinary problems in children. In this review, we will attempt to outline the reasons why the traditional bowel program works and why there are such a large number of patients with neuropsychiatric problems who have functional urinary problems as children. Summary Utilizing an approach that focuses on a treatment paradigm that is neurocentric instead of vesicocentric allows us to treat children who do not respond to the usual treatments and target the brain with centrally active medications such as tricyclics and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Understanding that it is a problem in the central nervous system, and that in some cases it is necessary to treat the underlying neuropsychiatric problems to be able to get these children to remain dry is a very important step in the management of children with refractory wetting problems.
Gas-phase reactivity of SO+·: a selected ion flow tube study

Abstract We present a systematic study of the reactions of SO+·(X 2Πr), an important ion in space plasmas, with organic molecules of interstellar interest. A selected ion flow tube has been used to investigate the reactions of SO+· with CH4, C2H6, C3H8, C2H2, C2H4, C3H4 (allene), n-C3H6, CH3OH, C2H5OH, CH3OCH3, OCS, CH2O, CH3CHO, CH3C(O)CH3, HCO2H, and HCO2CH3, and additionally the reactions of S2+· with C2H2 and O2+· with CH4, C2H2, C3H4 (allene), n-C3H6, CH3OCH3, and HCO2H at 294.5 ± 2.5 K. With just a few exceptions the reactions proceed at or near their theoretical collisional capture rates. Apart from the smaller and more saturated hydrocarbons and OCS, the reactions of SO+· are dominated by heterogenic abstractions of R− (R = H, OH, CH3, OCH3). Charge transfer, where it is exothermic, occurs in competition with the abstraction channels. Hydride abstraction is particularly prevalent, forming the thioperoxy radical, HSO·, or its structural isomer, SOH·. Hydroxide abstraction to form the hydroxysulfinyl radical, HOSO·, occurs in some of the reactions with oxygen-bearing molecules. Where neutral, the abstraction products are inferred from the calculated reaction energetics; however, they are frequently detected directly in their protonated forms. This suggests a two-step reaction mechanism whereby competition for a proton occurs between leaving partners in the exit channel of the activated complex. In the reaction of SO+· with HCO2CH3, the protonated methoxysulfinyl radical, CH3OSOH+·, is observed for the first time. The reactions of SO+· with the smaller unsaturated hydrocarbons are more complex, and largely involve rupture of the S–O bond and a C–C bond to form products containing C–S and C–O bonds. The SO+· reactions are discussed in terms of their mechanisms, product formation, thermodynamics, and interstellar significance, and are compared with the related reactions of S2+· and O2+·.
Ceramics in surgery

A study has been made of the ceramic-epoxy composite “Cerosium.” Experiments were conducted to evaluate the tissue reaction to such material and the extent of bonding established between ceramic and the tissues in which it was implanted. It was found that this material was well tolerated by the body and obtained definite fixation within the tissues when implanted into both bone and tendon. This occurred, however, not by the active infiltration of tissue but by fibrous encapsulation and it is recommended that for more meaningful stabilization, material of larger pore size is required. When Cerosium was implanted into the knee joints of rabbits, it was found to be unsuitable for intra-articular use because of the abrasive effect on the opposing cartilage and bone surfaces and the susceptibility of the material itself to abrasive wear. Furthermore, a full mechanical evaluation of standard specimens of Cerosium showed it to be degraded within the body due to a breakdown of the impregnating polymer. Ceramic-epoxy composites require a strong matrix and a totally stable impregnating material. While mechanically suited to replacing weight bearing surfaces, a smooth surface glaze is essential to avoid abrasive effects upon the opposing bone surface. Further investigation is required before these materials can be fully accepted into the armamentarium of the implant surgeon.
Effects of Acute Ethanol Administration on Neocortical Inhibition

The hypothesis that acutely administered ethanol could interfere with neocortical recurrent inhibition (RI) was supported. The large surface negative wave in response to antidromic stimulation of the cerebral peduncle represents a summation of inhibitory postsynaptic potentials, a measure of RI. In acute experiments on adult rats, blood alcohol levels of less than about 120 mg/100 ml slightly facilitated the surface negative wave. Higher blood alcohol levels always blocked the surface negative response. Stimulation of the somatosensory thalamic relay nuclei produced a cortical response on which ethanol had a moderate blocking effect. Conditioning-test procedures revealed that cerebral peduncle stimulation strongly blocked the thalamocortical (test) response, especially after ethanol, but thalamic stimulation (conditioning) had no effect upon the surface negative wave. This demonstrates a differential effect on the two cortical processes. Cortical RI seems to be especially sensitive to blood alcohol level, but the function of cortical RI is complex. By way of acting on RI, ethanol likely affects control of sensory input and cortical sensory organization as well as selectivity and magnitude of motor discharge.
Sexual Freedom and Impersonal Value

Hart argues persuasively that majority disapproval cannot justify the government in prohibiting a form of sexual conduct, but he does not address the possibility that the intrinsic badness of a sex act might justify the government in prohibiting it. This article explains within a contractualist framework why the intrinsic badness of a sex act cannot justify the restriction of any important sexual freedom.
Control of light-induced bean leaf expansion: Role of osmotic potential, wall yield stress, and hydraulic conductivity.

The role of three-turgor-related cellular parameters, the osmotic potential (Ψs), the wall yield stress (Y) and the apparent hydraulic conductivity (L'p), in the initiation of ligh-induced expansion of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) leaves has been determined. Although light causes an increase in the total solute content of leaf cells, the water uptake accompanying growth results in a slight increase in Ψs. Y is about 4 bar; and is unaffected by light. L'p, as calculated from growth rates and isopiestic measurements of leaf water potential, is only slightly greater in rapidly-growing leaves. The turgor pressure of growing cells is lower than that of the controls by about 35%. We conclude that light does not induce cell enlargement in the leaf by altering any of the above parameters, but does so primarily by increasing wall extensibility.
Microbial Manganese Oxidation in Saltmarsh Surface Sediments Using a Leuco Crystal Violet Manganese Oxide Detection Technique

Abstract Microbial manganese (Mn) oxide production in surface sediments of a Georgia saltmarsh was directly measured using an assay involving the oxidation of 4,4′,4″-methylidynetris (N,N-dimethylaniline), leuco crystal violet (LCV), by Mn oxides to produce crystal violet. The assay exhibits high specificity for Mn oxides without interference by Mn(II) and is sufficiently sensitive to determine rates of Mn oxidation in surface sediment or saltmarsh creek water suspensions. Sample salinity affects crystal violet absorbance in the 0-25 salinity range and must be corrected for in Mn oxide determinations for estuarine samples of variable salinity. Other oxidants found to oxidize LCV slowly included Cl(I), Cr(III), I(V), Fe(III), and Mn(III), although the sensitivity of the assay for Mn(IV) oxides was found to be seven times greater than for Mn(III), and at least 100 times greater than for any of the other oxidants. Rates of abiotic Mn oxide production in sediment suspensions treated with either sodium azide or formalin, or autoclaved, were much slower than rates determined for untreated sediments. Sodium azide (7·7 mM) inhibited Mn oxide production in these sediment suspensions to rates between 5 and 10% of the rates of Mn oxidation determined for unamended suspensions. Manganese oxidation was highly temperature dependent, with maximal rates on a dry weight basis (8·9 nmol mg dwt-1 h-1), occurring at 60°C, and negligible activity at 100 and 0°C. Rates were also dependent on sample pH, with maximal rates at pH 6·7, decreasing to near 0 as the pH was lowered to approximately 3·0. For Mn(II) concentrations ranging from 9 to 91 μM, rates of Mn oxide production were independent of Mn(II) concentration, while Mn oxide production was inhibited at concentrations greater than 91 μM (e.g. by 25-40% at 450 μM). Rates of microbial Mn oxide production in surface sediment/saltmarsh creek water suspensions incubated under natural conditions of temperature, pH, and Mn(II) concentration ranged from 0·49 to 2·7 nmol mg dwt-1 h-1 and were nearly four times higher in surface sediments from creek banks than in sediments from the high marsh. The microorganisms associated with saltmarsh creek water particulate matter oxidized Mn(II) at rates intermediate to the values obtained for the two types of surface sediments, averaging 0·98 nmol mg dwt-1 h-1.
Recovering oil from corn ethanol fermentation by-products

Removing oil from by-products of corn fermentation is desirable for improving feed quality and providing an alternative source of oil for biodiesel production. We are investigating ways to increase oil removal by centrifugation during the typical dry grind fermentation process. We have to first make oil or oil containing “bodies” go into the liquid phase and then free the oil so it can be separated by centrifugation. This report outlines our research approaches and results.
Pay for Performance (P4P) in Medical Imaging: The Time Has (Finally) Come

In life, there tends to be two (somewhat simplistic) views on payment. The first (and more common) is that services rendered generate a fixed payment. It does not matter whether you take the perspective of the employer, employee, or customer. All three parties know up-front what they are expecting and willing to pay (and receive), based upon a mutually agreeable compensation schedule. In the workplace, employers and employees will periodically review this compensation schedule and make systematic adjustments based on market conditions. Although this commonly follows an upwards trajectory (i.e., progressively increasing salaries), this is not always the case as evidenced by the recent decline in compensation benefits within the airline industry. When salary increases do occur, they are frequently passed on to the customers, often creating inflationary pressures within the marketplace. This has certainly been the case throughout the health care industry, where prices for goods and services have continuously trended upwards, often irrespective of the quality and timeliness of these services. Recent estimates by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) predict national health care expenditures to grow 2.5% faster than the gross domestic product (GDP), with the percentage of GDP spent on health services predicted to grow from its current rate of 15% to 17% in 2011.1 This figure is almost twice as high as comparable health care expenditures in the United Kingdom and is projected to exhaust the Medicare hospital trust fund by 2019.2 The second (and less common) school of thought on payment is one which is incentive-based, tying payment to performance. This “sliding scale” approach is often met with skepticism, largely out of concerns over how (and by whom) the payment will be calculated. If a supplier of goods and services was to defer to the customer on determining “fair and equitable” compensation, the recommended figure would in all likelihood be less than the “standard market rate”. If, on the other hand, the consumer of these goods and services was to appropriate pricing to the provider, an equal degree of disparity will emerge. In the end, determining “fair and equitable” pricing becomes highly subjective, especially when objective comparison data is in such short supply. On face value, this pay-for-performance (P4P) pricing model becomes too subjective and uncertain to gain wide acceptance. But does that necessarily have to be the case?
Harmonic analysis of pressure pulses obtained from the heart and great vessels of man

Abstract Fourier analyses of pressure pulses obtained from the cardiac chambers and great vessels of 33 patients were carried out. The curves were obtained with a Telco catheter or needle attached directly to a Statham transducer. The analog pressure information was digitized at 101 points per cycle and subjected to Fourier analysis using standard digital computer techniques. Typical curves from each of the chambers were resynthesized using a successively increasing number of harmonics. In general, the moduli of pressure harmonics decrease progressively with frequency. The ratios of the modulus of the fifth harmonic to that of the first were under 15 per cent for the curves recorded from the ventricles, aorta, and pulmonary artery, and ranged between 20 and 25 per cent for curves recorded from the atria. It is concluded that most of the pertinent information in pressure pulses is contained within 0 to 20 c.p.s.
Thermal phase space

The two-body phase space integrals containing Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac functions at finite temperature and chemical potential are computed analytically for decay and inverse decay. In the case of a boson decaying to two fermions the possibility of an instability is related to the onset Bose-Einstein condensation.
Absence of macrophage inflammatory protein-1α does not impact macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue of diet-induced obese mice

Macrophages and T-lymphocytes are known to accumulate in the white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese mice and humans, but the factors that cause this infiltration are not yet determined. Chemokines, which attract leukocytes to inflammatory sites, are candidates for this process. Macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α) expression is significantly elevated in WAT of obese mice and humans and positively correlates with fasting plasma insulin, but its potential role in leukocyte recruitment to WAT is unknown. MIP-1α-deficient, heterozygous, and wild-type mice were fed a Western diet (WD) for 16 wk. Plasma lipids, adipose tissue mass, energy expenditure, food intake, liver triglyceride content, and inflammatory cytokine expression were not different among genotypes. Gene expression of macrophage markers F4/80 and CD68, as well as T-lymphocyte marker CD3e was increased in perigonadal WAT of obese WD-fed mice but was not influenced by MIP-1α expression level. Immunohistochemical analysis of WAT also showed no effect of MIP-1α on macrophage content. Two related chemokines, MIP-1β and RANTES, had reduced expression in obese male MIP-1α-deficient mice compared with wild-type controls (P ≤ 0.05). In mice fed the WD for 6 wk, WAT macrophage content was unchanged; however, CD8+ T-lymphocytes accumulated to a lesser extent in the MIP-1α-null mice. Therefore, expression of MIP-1α, as well as that of MIP-1β and RANTES, increases as a consequence of weight gain, but these chemokines may not be required for the recruitment of monocytes to WAT during diet-induced obesity in mice and may impact T-lymphocyte recruitment only at early time points after WD feeding.
Static Compression of Tetramethylammonium Borohydride

Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction are used to examine the high-pressure behavior of tetramethylammonium borohydride (TMAB) to 40 GPa at room temperature. The measurements reveal weak pressure-induced structural transitions around 5 and 20 GPa. Rietveld analysis and Le Bail fits of the powder diffraction data based on known structures of tetramethylammonium salts indicate that the transitions are mediated by orientational ordering of the BH(4)(-) tetrahedra followed by tilting of the (CH(3))(4)N(+) groups. X-ray diffraction patterns obtained during pressure release suggest reversibility with a degree of hysteresis. Changes in the Raman spectrum confirm that these transitions are not accompanied by bonding changes between the two ionic species. At ambient conditions, TMAB does not possess dihydrogen bonding, and Raman data confirms that this feature is not activated upon compression. The pressure-volume equation of state obtained from the diffraction data gives a bulk modulus [K(0) = 5.9(6) GPa, K(0)' = 9.6(4)] slightly lower than that observed for ammonia borane. Raman spectra obtained over the entire pressure range (spanning over 40% densification) indicate that the intramolecular vibrational modes are largely coupled.
Consideration of Evidence for Therapeutic Interventions in Bovine Polioencephalomalacia

Randomized, masked, prospective clinical trial evidence for therapeutic intervention in naturally occurring bovine polioencephalomalacia (polio) is nonexistent. This article evaluates the use of thiamine and anti-inflammatories in the therapy of polioencephalomalacia based on available information related to the pathophysiology of the disease, induced models, disease outcome in other species (sheep), and parallels in similar disease in humans.
Comparison of 16-iodohexadecanoic acid (IHDA) and 15-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (IPPA) metabolism and kinetics in the isolated rat heart

Time courses of radioactivity (residue curves) were obtained following bolus injection into working rat hearts of two 125I-labeled long chain fatty acids: 16-iodohexadecanoic acid (IHDA) and 15-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (IPPA). Residue curves were analyzed in terms of a rapid vascular washout component, an early tissue clearance component, and a very slow late component. For IHDA and IPPA in control hearts, early myocardial clearance kinetics were rate limited by the diffusion of catabolites. Sensitivity of the kinetics to impaired fatty acid oxidation was examination by pretreatment of animals with 2[5(4-chlorophenyl)pentyl]oxirane-2-carboxylate (POCA). Decreased fatty acid oxidation was indicated in IHDA and IPPA residue curves by a decrease in the relative size of the early clearance component. Analysis of radiolabeled species in coronary effluent and heart homogenates showed that back diffusion of IPPA was slower than that of IHDA; this discrepancy was most apparent in POCA hearts. In vitro binding assays suggested higher tissue: albumin relative affinity for IPPA than for IHDA. Thus, IPPA early clearance kinetics were more closely related to the clearance of labeled catabolite(s) and were therefore more sensitive to the oxidation rate of long chain fatty acids.
Practicing social justice: Community‐based research, education, and practice

Summary The Center for Social Justice Research and Education at Saint Louis University has implemented a model of collaborative research and education among social work practitioners, university faculty and students. The partnerships promote creative practice of social justice in the community. Social workers in community agencies articulate the relevant practice problems for students and faculty; faculty offer methodological and resource assistance to practitioners; students learn social justice best at the intersection of the perspectives of university and community. Steps in the implementation of the model and examples of the collaboration are described.
Residential Power Load Forecasting

Abstract The prepaid electric power metering market is being driven in large part by advancements in and the adoption of Smart Grid technology. Advanced smart meters facilitate the deployment of prepaid systems with smart prepaid meters. A successful program hinges on the ability to accurately predict the amount of energy consumed on a daily basis for each end user. This method of forecasting is called Residential Power Load Forecasting (RPLF). This paper describes the systems engineering (SE) processes and tools that were used to develop a recommended load prediction model for the project sponsor, SmartGridCIS. The basic concept is that power is treated similar to a prepaid telephone in a “pay as you go” fashion. Modeling techniques explored in the analysis of alternatives (AoA) include Fuzzy Logic, Time Series Moving Average, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). SE tools such as prioritization and Pugh matrices were used to choose the best-fit model, which ended up being the ANN. Cognitive systems engineering was used in conjunction with the task analysis. Requirements were developed using the commercial tool IBM Rational DOORS®.
Using semantic values to facilitate interoperability among heterogeneous information systems

Large organizations need to exchange information among many separately developed systems. In order for this exchange to be useful, the individual systems must agree on the meaning of their exchanged data. That is, the organization must ensure semantic interoperability. This paper provides a theory of semantic values as a unit of exchange that facilitates semantic interoperability betweeen heterogeneous information systems. We show how semantic values can either be stored explicitly or be defined by environments. A system architecture is presented that allows autonomous components to share semantic values. The key component in this architecture is called the context mediator, whose job is to identify and construct the semantic values being sent, to determine when the exchange is meaningful, and to convert the semantic values to the form required by the receiver.Our theory is then applied to the relational model. We provide an interpretation of standard SQL queries in which context conversions and manipulations are transparent to the user. We also introduce an extension of SQL, called Context-SQL (C-SQL), in which the context of a semantic value can be explicitly accessed and updated. Finally, we describe the implementation of a prototype context mediator for a relational C-SQL system.
Using navigation meshes for collision detection

Traditionally, tree-based spatial data structures such as k-d trees or hash-based structures such as spatial hashing are used to accelerate collision detection, and navigation meshes are used for agent path planning. In this paper, we present a series of algorithms to replace the traditional tree-based spatial data structures with the graph-based navigation-mesh. The advantages of using a single data structure for both agent navigation and collision detection acceleration are two-fold. First, the costs of constructing and maintaining two unique data structures are cut in half if a single data structure provides both spatial groupings for rapid collision detection and search space reduction for path planning. Second, using one spatial structure, development time can be shorter and, at runtime, there is generally less memory overhead. We present the results of an experiment that compares a navigation mesh as a collision detection accelerator to two popular and commonly used forms of spatial data structures, the k-d tree and the spatial hash map. We also compare its performance to a world without any spatial data structures to provide a baseline of performance. Our results show a fifty percent decrease in collision detection time between dynamic objects in comparison to k-d trees. In addition, until the number of objects present in the world exceeds three thousand the navigation mesh accelerated collision detection outperforms spatial hashing accelerated collision detection across all tests.
Superconducting phase diagrams of UPt3 from ultrasonic velocity measurements

Abstract Superconducting phase diagrams of the heavy fermion compound UPt3 in the H-T plane for the magnetic field at 90°, 45° and 0° to the c-axis were determined by high-resolution ultrasonic velocity measurements. Rich features observed in the complex phase diagrams provide many constraints on the identification of the symmetry class for the superconducting order parameter in this compound.
Spectroscopic studies of coal maceral depolymerization effected by an iron-based catalyst

Abstract Demineralized Hiawatha (Utah) coal was divided into narrow density fractions of resinite and vitrinite macerals using a density gradient centrifugation technique. The distribution of an iron-based catalyst in the coal maceral matrix was studied using an electron probe microanalyser. The data indicate that the iron catalyst is evenly dispersed inside the vitrinite. This uniform dispersion is preserved upon mild (275 °C) hydrotreatment and attendant partial depolymerization of the vitrinite maceral. However, the iron catalyst does not completely penetrate into the resinite maceral matrix due to a lack of microporosity. The small amount of dispersed iron catalyst in the resinite causes some depolymerization of maceral components, e.g. dimers, trimers or higher polymers, into monomers. Due to the insufficient dispersion of the iron catalyst in the resinite a competing thermal breakdown of the maceral occurs. This apparently involves a partial dehydrogenation reaction which may be favoured during the hydrotreatment of resinite.
Tribological Properties of Polycrystalline Silicon Microdevices Sliding in High Vacuum

Contact-mode polycrystalline silicon microdevices were tested in reciprocating sliding in high vacuum. Changes in the adhesion and friction properties of the microdevice sidewall surfaces were evaluated by tracking the development of the adhesion force and static friction coefficient with the accumulation of sliding cycles. After a run-in period of no discernible changes, the adhesion force increased monotonically with the number of sliding cycles, while the static coefficient of friction decreased continuously. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the existence of two sliding regimes where asperity deformation and adhesion were the dominant wear processes. The evolution of adhesion and static friction at sidewall contact interfaces is interpreted in the context of physicochemical phenomena intrinsic of poly-crystalline silicon microdevices.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Functional Properties of the Great Northern Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Proteins: Emulsion, Foaming, Viscosity, and Gelation Properties

Functional properties of the Great Northern bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) flour, albumins, globulins, protein concentrates, and protein isolates were investigated. Protein concentrates had the highest water and oil absorption capacity (5.93 and 4.12 g/g, respectively) among all the samples studied. Protein concentrates registered the highest emulsion capacity (72.6g oil emulsified/g) while albumins had the highest emulsion stability (less than 5 ml separation of phase in 780 hr at room temperature of 21°C). Foaming ability of the Great Northern bean proteins was fair. Foamability of the proteins was concentration dependent.
What we might accomplish by engaging in our local communities

Objective To describe the potential benefits of a clinician engaging in the same community in which her/his patients live.