cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for fractures in older men and women: The Leisure World Cohort Study

Abstract Background: Osteoporosis results in >1.5 million fractures in the United States each year, leading to substantial health care costs and loss of quality of life. One major gap in our knowledge is how to effectively identify individuals at risk of developing a fracture. Objective: We examined a population-based cohort for risk factors for fractures of the hip, wrist, and spine in men and women. Methods: The Leisure World Cohort Study was established between 1981 and 1985 when residents of a southern California retirement community completed a postal health survey. Multiple lifestyle, medical, attitudinal, and anthropomorphic factors were self-reported. Fractures were identified from 4 follow-up surveys, hospital discharge records, and death certificates. Fracture rates were determined separately for men and women. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify predictors of fracture. Results: Incident fractures of the hip (n = 1227), wrist (n = 445), and spine (n = 729) incurred over the course of 2 decades were identified in the 13,978 residents surveyed. Mean (SD) age at entry was 74.9 (7.2) years for men and 73.7 (7.4) years for women. The most important risk factors for fracture were the same in men and women: age increased risk of hip and spine fractures (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.3–3.2 per 10 years) and history of fracture increased fracture risk at all 3 sites (HR = 1.4–3.2). In both men and women, glaucoma was a significant risk factor for hip fracture (HR = 1.9 and 1.3, respectively), and smoking was a risk factor for hip and spine fractures. Men and women with a positive mental attitude had fewer hip and spine fractures (HR = 0.7–0.9). High body mass index was protective at all 3 fracture sites in women (HR = 0.7–0.8), but those who used vitamin A supplements had increased rates of hip and wrist fracture (HR = 1.1 per 10,000 IU per day). Conclusions: Attitude, lifestyle choices, and the presence of medical conditions may influence the rate of osteoporotic fracture in older women and men and may help identify individuals at high risk.
Chinese Radical Detection Also Depends on Linguistic Role

This study tests whether the linguistic role of a character in Chinese text affects detection of its constituent radicals. Linguistic role or status of an embedding context (e.g., word) has been shown to affect detection of embedded constituent units (e.g., letters) when reading alphabetic texts. Given significant differences between alphabetic and logographic systems such as English and Chinese, respectively, it is not clear whether the embedding linguistic role has a similar influence on constituent unit detection in Chinese. Findings here reveal that the linguistic role of the embedding context in Chinese contributes significantly to constituent detection. The outcome is consistent with the structural hypothesis, which posits that during reading, the prominence of linguistic units rapidly shifts from items contributing to structure to those that contribute meaning. Of note, the present study shows that this shifting importance of linguistic units applies to logographic as well as alphabetic systems.
Epstein-Barr Virus Infection Is Not Associated with Fibroadenomas of the Breast in Immunosuppressed Patients after Organ Transplantation

Epstein-Barr virus has been linked to an increasing number of nonhematolymphoid conditions. Epstein-Barr virus was recently described in association with fibroadenomas of the breast occurring in immunosuppressed patients. To further investigate the potential association of Epstein-Barr virus with fibroadenoma in the context of immune dysfunction, 11 cases of fibroadenoma of the breast in immunosuppressed organ transplant recipients were examined. Cases were evaluated for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus by polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemical methods. The presence of Epstein-Barr virus genomic DNA was studied by polymerase chain reaction amplification using primers flanking the BamHI-W fragment of the Epstein-Barr virus genome, as well as the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-4 and latent membrane protein-1 genes. Cases were also evaluated for the presence of defective heterogeneous Epstein-Barr virus DNA. In addition, morphologic analysis by in situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus–encoded RNA-1 and immunohistochemistry for latent membrane protein-1 were performed. Epstein-Barr virus DNA was detected in 4 of 11 (36%) cases with BamHI-W polymerase chain reaction. Polymerase chain reaction studies for Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-4 and latent membrane protein-1 genes were positive in two and four cases, respectively. No defective Epstein-Barr virus genomes were identified in any of the cases. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction demonstrated low levels of Epstein-Barr virus in the fibroadenomas studied. Despite the detection of Epstein-Barr virus genomes in a subset of the cases examined, the constituent epithelial and stromal components of all fibroadenomas demonstrated no evidence of Epstein-Barr virus–encoded RNA-1 by in situ hybridization or latent membrane protein-1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Rare Epstein-Barr virus–encoded RNA-1–positive lymphocytes were observed in some cases, which may account for the positive polymerase chain reaction results. The findings of the present study argue against a significant relationship between Epstein-Barr virus and fibroadenomas of the breast in the setting of transplant-associated immunosuppression.
Secretome Prediction and Analysis in Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.)

Sacred lotus, Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.), is a basal eudicot with agricultural and medicinal importance. The secretome and proteins in some other subcellular locations including endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondrion, chloroplast, and membrane of sacred lotus were predicted using a set of computational tools. The distribution of proteins in each subcellular location in sacred lotus was compared with proteins in five other plant species. Plant proteomes contained approximately 6–9 % of secreted proteins, 13–15 % membrane proteins, 12–20 % mitochondrial or chloroplast proteins, respectively. Plant secreted proteins consist of a large number of hydrolases and peroxidases which may contribute to cell wall formation, rhizome development and seed germination regulation. The information of secretome and other protein subcellular locations in sacred lotus and other species can be accessed at the PlantSecKB website ( http://proteomics.ysu.edu/secretomes/plant.php ).
Characterization of intercellular junctions in the preimplantation mouse embryo by freeze-fracture and thin-section electron microscopy

Abstract Intercellular junction formation in preimplantation mouse embryos was investigated with thin-section and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. At the four-cell stage, regions of close membrane apposition with focal points of membrane contact and occasional underlying cytoplasmic densities were observed between blastomeres of thin-sectioned embryos. Corresponding intramembrane specializations were not, however, observed in freeze-fractured embryos. At the 8- to 16-cell stage, small gap and macula occludens junctions and complexes of these junctions were observed at all levels between blastomeres of freeze-fractured embryos. As development progressed from the early to mid 8- to 16-cell stage, the size of the occludens/gap junction complexes increased, forming fascia occludens/gap junction complexes. At the morula stage, gap junctions and occludens/gap junction complexes were observed on both presumptive trophoblast and inner cell-mass cells. Zonula occludens junctions were first observed at the morula stage on presumptive trophoblast cells of freeze-fractured embryos. The number of embryos possessing zonula occludens junctions increased at the mid compared to the early morula stage. At the blastocyst stage, junctional complexes consisting of zonula occludens, macula adherens, and gap junctions were observed between trophoblast cells of freeze-fractured and thin-sectioned embryos. Isolated gap and occludens junctions, adherens junctions, and occludens/gap junction complexes were observed on trophoblast and inner cell-mass cells.
Abstract 3214: Resveratrol potentiates glycolytic inhibitor-induced neuroblastoma cell death independent of sirt activity

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Introduction: Low survival rates and severe side effects of current neuroblastoma treatments underline the need for more effective less toxic therapies. Compared to normal cells, cancer cells demonstrate high glucose consumption even under aerobic conditions, therefore; targeting the glycolytic pathway in cancer cells as a potential therapy is currently an area of intense investigation. The polyphenolic compound resveratrol which can be found in grapes, peanuts, red wine and purple grape juice, has demonstrated antitumor activities both in vitro and in vivo. Here we investigate the potential of inhibiting glycolysis in combination with resveratrol treatment. Methods: To inhibit glycolysis we used the glucose analog, 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG). N-MYC amplified neuroblastoma cells (NB1691) were exposed to low dose 2-DG (0.5 and 2mM) and resveratrol 10uM. Cell viability was determined at 72hr using MTS assay. Western blotting was used to determine cell signaling pathways and apoptotic protein levels. The role of the NAD+ dependent HDAC sirtuin 1 (sirt1) was determined using 50uM of the inhibitor sirtinol. Results: While 2-DG did reduce cell viability (2mM:82+4.4% of control), the combination of 2-DG and resveratrol significantly reduced cell viability (20+2.2%) compared to resveratrol alone (69+2.8%). Western blot analysis indicated a robust activation of AKT with 2-DG with treatment, however this activation was blocked with 10uM resveratrol. Furthermore, western blot analysis revealed that this was caspase dependent cell death. PI3K/Akt inhibitors wortmannin and LY-294002 (10uM each) also reduced cell viability in combination with 2-DG to approximately 40% compared to non-treated, confirming the protective role of AKT signaling in response to 2-DG treatment. To determine if resveratrol, a well-known activator of sirt1, inhibited AKT via sirt1, cells were pretreated with sirtinol. Inhibiting sirt1 did not prevent resveratrol's inhibition of AKT. Conclusions: The oncoprotein AKT mediates signaling processes involved in evading apoptosis and promoting cell proliferation and recently has been linked to glycolysis. Resveratrol significantly increased 2-DG-induced cell death by inhibiting the 2-DG induced increase in AKT activity independent of sirt1. Here we show that combining resveratrol with 2-DG, two relatively non-toxic agents can significantly reduce neuroblastoma cell viability. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3214. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3214
A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE INCLINED CONTOUR TECHNIQUE OF SURFACE REPRESENTATION

ABSTRACT Since it is impossible to ascertain relative steepnesses of variously oriented slopes from inspection of inclined contours, inclined contour maps should not be utilized to illustrate surface configuration per se. On such maps the geographic orientations of surfaces are frequently more important than their actual declivity in determining both the density and configuration of the inclined contours by which the surfaces are represented. Owing to the average viewer's preconditioning to vertical profiles, inclined contour maps are easily misinterpreted, and even the experienced map reader is not psychologically prepared to interpret surface form accurately from oblique sections. Nonplanimetric fields of vertical profiles seem to produce less misleading renditions of surface form than do planimetric inclined contour maps, which are best suited to highly specialized rather than general uses.
Electron Energy Deposition in Carbon Dioxide

Abstract The processes by which energetic electrons lose energy in a weakly ionized gas of carbon dioxide are discussed and a consistent set of electron impact cross-sections is compiled. Calculations of the excitations, ionizations and neutral particle heating produced by the absorption of electrons in carbon dioxide gas are carried out for fractional ionizations ranging from 10 −2 to 10 −6 .
Coadapted Character Complexes Among Snakes: Fossoriality, Piscivory, and Durophagy

Patterns of morphological variation among fossorial, piscivorous, and durophagic snakes reveal several principles underlying character co-occurrence. Homoplasy is widespread among all three groups. Alternative adaptive responses to specialized habits include modifications for cranial reinforcement in fossorial and cryptozoic snakes and columellar adjustments to accommodate large excursion of the quadrates in piscivores.Among durophagic species alternatives include dental attachment in both scincivores and crustacean-eaters. Although it may be difficult to distinguish primary adaptive responses from secondary ones, specialization frequently elicits pervasive modifications across manymorphological systems. Some are associated with the foraging microhabitat, such as valvularity in piscivores and arboreal adaptations in cochleophages. Others, such as mimicry in Dasypeltis and Scaphiodontophis , are defensive. Still others reflect special aspects of prey processing, such as hypertrophy of the gastric smooth muscle and presumptive salt glandin Fordoma , a cancrivore. The extent to which coordinated morphological responses necessarily accompany specialization is important in formulating hypotheses of macroevolutionary mechanisms.
Simplified assay for the quantification of 2,3-dinor-6-ketoprostaglandin F1α by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry

Abstract Endogenous prostacyclin production is best assessed by the measurement of its excreted metabolites, of which a major one is 2,3-dinor-6-ketoprostaglandin F1α (2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF1α). Gas chromatographic—mass spectrometric (GC—MS) assays have been developed for this compound but are cumbersome and time-consuming. We now report a modified assay for the measurement of 2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF1α employing GC—MS in which sample preparation time is markedly shortened by replacing a number of extraction steps with reversed-phase column extraction and by modifying derivatization procedures. Precision of the assay is ± 5% and the accuracy is 98%. The lower limit of detection in urine is approximately 15 pg/mg creatinine. Normal urinary levels of this metabolite were found to be 141 ± 54 pg/mg creatinine (mean ± S.D.). Urinary excretion of 2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF1α is markedly altered in situations associated with abnormalities of prostacyclin generation when quantified using this assay. Thus, this assay provides a sensitive and accurate method to assess endogenous prostacyclin production and to further explore the role of this compound in human health and disease.
Enhanced NDI strategies for reconfigurable flight control

A recently proposed method of on-line control design for aircraft reconfiguration is modified to mitigate the effects of effector rate/position saturation and sensor noise in critical measurements while preserving some, perhaps reduced, level of flying qualities. The on-line control design, based on an incremental version of nonlinear dynamic inversion, does not require a complete aerodynamic model of the aircraft, but does require the local control derivatives along with feedback of accelerations and effector positions. Recovery from a variety of failure (stuck or missing effectors) is possible under the original design as long as the working effectors do not enter saturation for extended periods and critical measurements are relatively noise free - an unlikely situation. Here, an improved control allocator minimizes both effector rate and position, utilizing a multi-pass strategy to restore lost control power due to saturation using the remaining unsaturated controls. Command model flying parameters are adaptively manipulated online to comply with reduced levels of control power further reducing saturation. A classically designed compensator placed around each actuator underpins strategy to reduce jitter due to sensor noise in the control variable responses while preserving decoupling of original control. Improvements due to these modifications are demonstrated on an advanced tailless fighter.
Validation of Stanford-Binet intelligence scale: Fourth edition abbreviated batteries with college students

This study investigated the relationship between the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB:IV) abbreviated batteries and the complete battery among a group of college students to determine the suitability of SB:IV short forms in educational planning and counseling contexts when an ability estimate is needed. A sample of 38 college students was administered the full battery SB:1V, and scores for four abbreviated batteries were extracted from the complete battery according to instructions in the test manual. The four abbreviated batteries were SF2 (Vocabulary and Pattern Analysis), SF4 (SF2 plus Bead Memory and Quantitative), SF6a (SF4 plus Memory for Sentences and Comprehension), and SF6b (SF4 plus Memory for Digits and Comprehension). Analyses revealed that all short-form SASs were significantly lower than the Composite SAS derived from the complete battery. Correlations between the complete and short forms were all highly significant. Approximately one third of the sample showed discrepancies of at least three standard errors of measurement between the short-form and complete-battery Composite SAS. These findings suggest a lack of comparability between short-form and complete-battery SASs on the SB:IV. Further implications for the validity of these abbreviated batteries and future areas of research are discussed.
Variations in climate and ephemeral channel recharge in southeastern Arizona, United States

[1] Significant variations in interannual and decadal recharge rates are likely in alluvial basins of the semiarid southwestern United States on the basis of decadal variations in climate and precipitation and correlation of El Nino with high rates of winter precipitation and streamflow. A better understanding of the magnitude of recharge variations in semiarid and arid regions would reduce water budget uncertainty. Variability of ephemeral channel recharge with climate in southeastern Arizona was investigated through analysis of hydrologic monitoring near three ephemeral streams in southeastern Arizona during the middle to late 1990s and by relating the results to long-term hydrologic and climatic trends. The analysis used precipitation, streamflow, water levels in wells, estimates of groundwater storage change from repeat gravity surveys, and two climatic indicators of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Southern Oscillation index, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Results indicate that variations in winter recharge are related to ENSO. El Nino conditions correspond with a greater probability of high rates of winter precipitation, streamflow, and recharge. La Nina conditions are almost exclusively associated with below-average recharge. Rates of recharge along Rillito Creek near Tucson during 1977–1998, a period of frequent El Nino conditions and positive PDO values, were 3 times recharge rates during 1941–1957, a period dominated by La Nina conditions and low PDO values. Quantification of recharge variability with decadal climate cycles should improve estimates of rates of aquifer drainage and replenishment in the region. Similar methods are applicable to other regions where thick unsaturated zones can accept significant periodic recharge.
Collaborative biocuration—text-mining development task for document prioritization for curation

The Critical Assessment of Information Extraction systems in Biology (BioCreAtIvE) challenge evaluation is a community-wide effort for evaluating text mining and information extraction systems for the biological domain. The 'BioCreative Workshop 2012' subcommittee identified three areas, or tracks, that comprised independent, but complementary aspects of data curation in which they sought community input: literature triage (Track I); curation workflow (Track II) and text mining/natural language processing (NLP) systems (Track III). Track I participants were invited to develop tools or systems that would effectively triage and prioritize articles for curation and present results in a prototype web interface. Training and test datasets were derived from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD; http://ctdbase.org) and consisted of manuscripts from which chemical-gene-disease data were manually curated. A total of seven groups participated in Track I. For the triage component, the effectiveness of participant systems was measured by aggregate gene, disease and chemical 'named-entity recognition' (NER) across articles; the effectiveness of 'information retrieval' (IR) was also measured based on 'mean average precision' (MAP). Top recall scores for gene, disease and chemical NER were 49, 65 and 82%, respectively; the top MAP score was 80%. Each participating group also developed a prototype web interface; these interfaces were evaluated based on functionality and ease-of-use by CTD's biocuration project manager. In this article, we present a detailed description of the challenge and a summary of the results.
Lascars, the Thames Police Court and the Old Bailey: crime on the high seas and the London courts, 1852–8

Lascars, or Asian sailors, were no strangers to legal entanglements in London, where thousands of them were stranded in the early nineteenth century. However, in the 1850s, the lascar crews of five ships prosecuted European officers and seamen for crimes committed at sea. This study draws upon documentation for these cases at every step of the legal process, exploring how lascars used London's mid-Victorian criminal justice system, and how institutions such as the Thames Police Court and the Old Bailey handled these unusual, complex cases. These court cases mark a watershed point in lascar history, linking the study of Asian mariners of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries with studies of the later steamship era.
Optimization of Microscale Thermoelectric Cooling (TEC) Element Dimensions for Hotspot Cooling Applications

Microscale thermoelectric cooling elements (TECs) are being proposed to cool down an integrated circuit to maintain its performance. The maximum cooling power of microscale TECs is significantly reduced by the interfacial resistance. For our particular application, we calculate the optimal dimension of the TECs, made of Bi2Te3, that reduce the temperature at a hotspot on an IC chip by 10°C. By the one-dimensional analytical model that we developed and numerical solutions of TEC equations using MATLAB©, we obtain performance characteristics that relate the cooling power density to other control variables and material constants. The optimal dimension of microscale TECs is calculated for cooling at a hotspot region by a range of temperature differences, for example from 10°C to 50°C. Further, the percentage change in the optimal thickness for various thermal resistances and electrical contact resistances can be predicted. These results act as a good guideline for two-dimensional analysis and assembly of TECs.
“Energy-conserving” plasma simulation algorithms

Lewis has found algorithms for many-particle plasma simulation models in which there exists an exact energy constant in the limit of small time step. The requirements for energy consevation are examined here and relaxed from those given by Lewis, in that his prescription for the difference form of Poisson's equation is found not necessary. One may therefore choose the Poisson algorithm to satisfy other criteria. However a connection is established between Lewis' difference equation, the interpolation method, and the accuracy of the Coulomb interparticle forces. Unlike the usual models, momentum is not conserved by these algorithms. Rough measures are given for the importance of this nonconservation, in the simplest case of linear interpolation. Another example uses spline interpolation to obtain smoother and more accurate fields and better momentum conservation.
Clusters and lattices of particles stabilized by dipolar coupling.

We model stabilization of clusters and lattices of spherical particles with dominant electric and magnetic dipolar coupling, and weak van der Waals coupling. Our analytical results demonstrate that dipolar coupling can stabilize nanoparticle clusters with planar, tubular, Mobius, and other arrangements. We also explain for which parameters the nanoparticles can form lattices with fcc, hcp, sh, sc, and other types of packing. Although these results are valid at different scales, we illustrate that realistic magnetic and semiconducting nanoparticles need to have certain minimum sizes to stabilize at room temperature into nanostructures controlled by dipolar coupling.
Neomycin, Spermine and Hexaamminecobalt(III) Share Common Structural Motifs in Converting B- to A-DNA

The (dG)n.(dC)n-containing 34mer DNA duplex [d(A2G15C15T2)]2 can be effectively converted from the B-DNA to the A-DNA conformation by neomycin, spermine and Co(NH3)6(3+). Conversion is demonstrated by a characteristic red shift in the circular dichroism spectra and dramatic NMR spectral changes in chemical shifts. Additional support comes from the substantially stronger CH6/GH8-H3'NOE intensities of the ligand-DNA complexes than those from the native DNA duplex. Such changes are consistent with a deoxyribose pucker transition from the predominate C2'-endo (S-type) to the C3'-endo (N-type). The changes for all three ligand-DNA complexes are identical, suggesting that those three complex cations share common structural motifs for the B- to A-DNA conversion. The A-DNA structure of the 4:1 complex of Co(NH3)6(3+)/d(ACCCGCGGGT) has been analyzed by NOE-restrained refinement. The structural basis of the transition may be related to the closeness of the two negatively charged sugar-phosphate backbones along the major groove in A-DNA, which can be effectively neutralized by the multivalent positively charged amine functions of these ligands. In addition, ligands like spermine or Co(NH3)6(3+) can adhere to guanine bases in the deep major groove of the double helix, as is evident from the significant direct NOE cross-peaks from the protons of Co(NH3)6(3+) to GH8, GH1 (imino) and CH4 (amino) protons. Our results point to future directions in preparing more potent derivatives of Co(NH3)6(3+) for RNA binding or the induction of A-DNA.
Advanced excursion control and diagnostics for CMP process monitoring

This CMP processes are generally well known and established critical steps in semiconductor manufacturing, but must be very closely monitored and controlled to maintain process uniformity and minimize process induced defects. CMP processes are generally monitored using a combination of blanket test wafers, short loop patterned wafers and product wafers, along with a variety of in-situ controls. This paper talks about the techniques demonstrated for defect excursion monitoring in CMP module using short loop test wafers and an advanced dark Field inspection tool. These techniques enable effective control and monitoring of the CMP tools used for manufacturing advanced semiconductor logic devices. We talk about three approaches that helped accomplish this objective: (i) Pattern wafer inspection at M1 Cu CMP level using Puma 9550 DF inspector (ii) use of In-line Defect Organizer (iDO) to effectively and automatically extract and classify scratches — the key defect of interest to the CMP process engineer; and (iii) use of quick recipe templates to diagnose and make required recipe changes for 32 nm and 22 nm devices using "Auto Derivative Recipe" feature on Puma 9550 to maximize engineering and tool efficiency
Energy-efficient logic BIST based on state correlation analysis

We present a new low-power BIST (built-in-self-test) for sequential circuits. State correlation analysis is first performed on the flip-flop values in the relaxed, compacted sequence for the undetected faults to extract spatial correlations among the flip-flops. The extracted spatial correlation matrix not only provides additional metrics through which the scan order may be altered, but also allows us to omit some flip-flops in the scan chain. By leaving flip-flops that need less control out of the scan chain, we can reduce transitions on those flip-flops, thereby reducing the overall power and energy. The omission of flip-flops are done in a way that the fault coverage is unaffected. Furthermore, reordering of the flip-flops in the scan chain allows the generated patterns to be more compatible with the state sequence necessary for exciting the random-pattern-resistant faults. Our experiments show that the same or higher fault coverage can be achieved with less energy (and average power) - average power of 48.5% is reduced, with the maximum reduction of 73%.
New roles for students, instructors, and computers in a lab-based introductory programming course

This paper describes our efforts to develop a new lab-based course format for computer science instruction. Building on learning science research, we created a flexible new technology platform to support students and their instructor as they participated in this new form of instruction. Students work collaboratively on Web-based activities while the instructor interacts with students in a tutorial role. The paper describes our system in detail, outlines the organization of the course that used it, and reviews and evaluates the pilot results. We then discuss the implications for computer science instruction and research in higher education.
Effective Population Size and Genetic Structure of a Population of Collared Lizards, Crotaphytus collaris, in Central Oklahoma

Abstract We estimated effective population size (Ne) in Collared Lizards (Crotaphytus collaris) via ecological and genetic methods. The ecological method employed life-history data from three years of mark-recapture studies and yielded an Ne estimate of 46. The genetic method used allele frequency changes over one generation and yielded an Ne estimate of 33 (95% CI; 10, 76). Dispersal, measured as displacement of territories or home ranges in one season, was low (average = 30.5 m) and did not differ among life-history stages or between sexes. Gene flow among habitat patches at our study site appeared sufficient to prevent genetic divergence or subdivision within the population. The observed small effective population size supports models of evolution in C. collaris, wherein stochastic processes could influence strongly the evolution of this species. Similarities in estimates of Ne suggest that the effective population size of this population does not differ from the size of a recent founder population and...
Wireless infrared communication links using multi-beam transmitters and imaging receivers

We discuss two modifications to the design of wireless infrared links that can yield dramatic performance improvements. In nondirected, non-line-of-sight (non-LOS) links, replacement of the diffuse transmitter by one that projects multiple narrow beams can reduce the path loss, typically increasing the link SNR by about 20 dB. In both non-directed, LOS and non-directed, non-LOS links, replacement of the non-imaging receiver by one employing an imaging light concentrator and a segmented photodetector can reduce the received ambient light noise and multipath distortion. This can yield SNR improvements of tens of decibels.
Painful Self-Disclosures of Older Adults in Relation to Aging Stereotypes and Perceived Motivations:

Painful self-disclosures (PSDs) have been described as an elderly phenomenon, yet prior research has not empirically tested possible consequences of PSDs or potential motivations behind them. This study investigated the influence of disclosure type (PSDs vs. nonpainful self-disclosures [NPSDs]) and participant age (young vs. old) on perceptions of disclosure characteristics, discloser traits, and motivations. After watching videotaped interactions, participants completed an impression questionnaire. Participants rated PSDs as more painful, more intimate, and less appropriate than NPSDs, with an interaction effect of age and disclosure type on the PSD ratings. Also, participants rated disclosers of PSDs lower on positive stereotype traits and higher on negative stereotype traits than disclosers of NPSDs, with another interaction effect on the set of positive stereotype traits. Finally, participants rated various motives differently, according to disclosure type and age of participant. These results are dis...
Novel Amorphous-Si AMOLED Pixels with OLED-independent Turn-on Voltage and Driving Current

In this abstract, we present a novel integration approach that allows conventional bottom-anode OLEDs to be integrated with n-channel a-Si TFT's in such a way that programming becomes independent of the OLED I-V curve. The circuit schematic of a conventional AMOLED pixel with p-channel poly-Si TFT's is shown in Fig. 1(a). The TFT is processed first with temperatures up to 300 degC, followed by the OLED anode (patterned ITO, connected to the TFT drain), the organic (blanket) (Fig. 2(a)) and cathode (blanket) (Fig. 2(b)). Because the best OLED's are made with the anode (ITO) deposited first, and because processing (photolithography) of the organic is not feasible, p-channel devices are required for direct programming of the pixel. With the OLED at the drain (not source) of the driving FET, the data voltage appears directly across the gate-source of the driving TFT and therefore the pixel current depends only on the characteristics of the driving FET, independent of the OLED characteristics when the FET is in saturation. If n-channel FET's (such as a-Si TFT's) are used instead with the same integration process (Fig. 1 (b)), since the only accessible contact is the anode of the OLED, the OLED will be connected to the source of the driving FET, and therefore the data voltage will be divided across the gate-source of the driving FET and the OLED, based on the TFT and OLED characteristics. This is undesirable because the gate-source voltage of the driving TFT (and thus the driving current) will depend on the OLED characteristics which vary with time and in manufacturing. Also, higher programming voltages will be required for the same gate-source voltages.
Condensed‐Phase, Halogen‐Bonded CF3I and C2F5I Adducts for Perfluoroalkylation Reactions

A family of practical, liquid trifluoromethylation and pentafluoroethylation reagents is described. We show how halogen bonding can be used to obtain easily handled liquid reagents from gaseous CF3I and CF3CF2I. The synthetic utility of the new reagents is exemplified by a novel direct arene trifluoromethylation reaction as well as adaptations of other perfluoroalkylation reactions.
A Statistical Associative Account of Vocabulary Growth in Early Word Learning

There are an infinite number of possible word-to-world pairings. One way children could learn words at an early stage is by computing statistical regularities across different modalities—pairing spoken words with possible referents in the co-occurring extralinguistic environment, collecting a number of such pairs, and then figuring out the common elements. This paper provides computational evidence that such a statistical mechanism is possible for object name learning. Moreover, young children learn words much more effectively and efficiently at later stages. Could statistical learning account for this behavioral change? The current paper explores this question by presenting a developmental model of word learning that relies on a general associative mechanism and recruits previously learned words to guide subsequent word learning. This mechanism leads to increasingly fast learning and corresponding behavioral changes. Simulation studies are conducted using the data collected from a series of picture-book ...
Intracranial Ependymomas: A Review

Ependymomas are rare neuroectodermal tumors arising from ependymal cells of the ventricular system, choroid plexus, filum terminale, and central canal of the spinal cord (1,2). This review focuses on intracranial ependymomas with special emphasis on pathology, etiology, cytogenetic characteristics, and adjuvant radiation therapy. Recent advances in neurosurgical technique, radiation therapy, and molecular biology have affected management of these tumors and have the potential to increase long-term cure rates. The role of highly advanced radiation therapy techniques such as stereotactic radiosurgery will need to be better defined.
A privacy preserving technique for distance-based classification with worst case privacy guarantees

There has been relatively little work on privacy preserving techniques for distance based mining. The most widely used ones are additive perturbation methods and orthogonal transform based methods. These methods concentrate on privacy protection in the average case and provide no worst case privacy guarantee. However, the lack of privacy guarantee makes it difficult to use these techniques in practice, and causes possible privacy breach under certain attacking methods. This paper proposes a novel privacy protection method for distance based mining algorithms that gives worst case privacy guarantees and protects the data against correlation-based and transform-based attacks. This method has the following three novel aspects. First, this method uses a framework to provide theoretical bound of privacy breach in the worst case. This framework provides easy to check conditions that one can determine whether a method provides worst case guarantee. A quick examination shows that special types of noise such as Laplace noise provide worst case guarantee, while most existing methods such as adding normal or uniform noise, as well as random projection method do not provide worst case guarantee. Second, the proposed method combines the favorable features of additive perturbation and orthogonal transform methods. It uses principal component analysis to decorrelate the data and thus guards against attacks based on data correlations. It then adds Laplace noise to guard against attacks that can recover the PCA transform. Third, the proposed method improves accuracy of one of the popular distance-based classification algorithms: K-nearest neighbor classification, by taking into account the degree of distance distortion introduced by sanitization. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Gaps-in-noise (GIN©) test results in children with and without reading disabilities and phonological processing deficits

AbstractObjective: To determine if the gaps-in-noise (GIN©) test could differentiate children with dyslexia and significant phonological awareness deficits from a group of children with normal reading skills. Design: A prospective study of GIN test performance in two groups of children. Participants were administered routine audiological tests, a phonological processing test, and an auditory temporal resolution test (GIN test). Statistical testing was completed to determine if significant differences existed between groups on GIN test results and phonological processing measures, and to examine potential relationships between these test measures. Routine clinical analysis procedures examined the performance of the two groups from a clinical perspective. Study sample: Participants included 61 children between the ages of 8 years, 1 month and 9 years, 11 months, separated into two groups: children with dyslexia and significant phonological deficits (Group I); normal-reading peers with age-appropriate phonol...
The Enigma of Chronic Pyelonephritis

Chronic pyelonephritis is the end result of a bacterial infection of the kidney in which pathological changes are found in both the parenchyma and in the pelvi-calyceal system. Unhappily, at the present time, chronic pyelonephritis has become a catchall term because the pathologist has concentrated purely on the parenchymal changes, forgetting that there is a pyelo component. This has led to considerable confusion, and the time is ripe to take a careful look at the situation. In the last century Escherich [1] described the entity of acute pyelitis, a febrile illness occurring in children with infection of the pelvis of the kidney. Thiemich [2] shortly thereafter called attention to the fact that inflammatory changes were also present in the parenchyma of the kidney, and at this stage the concept of a pyelonephritis rather than a pyelitis was developed. Lohlein [3] was probably the first to define a chronic form of the disease, giving an account of 3 young women dying from renal failure. It is of interest from a historical point of view, however, that Wagner [4, p. 309] had given a brief description of what we would recognize today as chronic pyelonephritis. The pathology of the condition was described in greater detail by several workers so that, by 1939, chronic pyelonephritis was a wellestablished entity [5-7]. Pyelonephritis is frequently associated with anomalies of the urinary tract, although in certain cases the anomaly may be only minor. Such anomalies cause obstruction, and this is of great importance from a point of view of localization of bacteria in the kidney and their subsequent proliferation. Chronic pyelonephritis is easily diagnosable in the presence of overt obstruction, but there is a certain form, the so-called nonobstructive type, that has either no apparent, or only a
Effect of Dietary Iron on Phosphate Metabolism.

ConclusionsIncreasing the amount of iron by means of stomach tubing FeSO4 to rats significantly increases liver iron content. When 50 mg phosphate is given simultaneously with iron, a significant reduction in liver iron content results, as well as a significant diminution in calcium and phosphorus content of newly forming incisor dentin. These results, compared with a significant reduction in blood phosphorus concentration, suggest that increasing the iron content of the diet for prolonged periods of time without significantly increasing the dietary phosphorus content may result in improperly calcified tissues.
Nonlinear Magnetic Scattering from Polymer Microring Resonators

Optical scattering from a high-Q polymer micro-ring resonator shows evidence of intense magnetic interactions due to a second order magneto-electric nonlinearity.
What Public Sector Management is, and Why it Matters

We hope this note clarifies the distinction between policy and management in the public sector. For example, what do we mean by failure of management as opposed to policy?
Analysis of Breakdown Fault Caused by Bad Installation Quality During Partial Discharge Test of Transformer in the Field

The partial discharge test of transformer in the field has become an important experiment in examining the transformers af- ter transportation,field installation or major repair.In general survey for transformer partial discharge test in Shaanxi power grid, several cases of surpassing the set standard of partial discharge caused by unqualified installation has been discovered.The course and inspection measures have been presented in details.After occurrence of breakdown,several methods to increase the voltage and other aided tests have been carried out.Finally the causes leading to failure have been found.
Analysis and Countermeasure on Overvoltage Problem in 500 kV Yantan-Pingguo Transmission Line

The power frequency resonance overvoltage problem of 500 kV Yantan Power Plant-Pingguo Substation transmission line under non-full phase operation after installation of high voltage shunt reactor is analyzed.Reasons of the overvoltage problem are found which are higher compensation degree of high voltage shunt reactor,un-transposition of the transmission line and improper neutral reactor value of high voltage shunt reactor.Technical measures that the transmission line is transposed and the neutral reactor value is re-chosen are proposed.Yan-ping transmission line is modified based on the proposed measures,and test results after the accomplishment of the modification project show that the proposed technology measure is effective.
New model for evaluating efficiency of operational command and control flow

A new mathematical model for evaluating efficiency of operational command and control flow is constructed.The Flow Efficiency is defined as the measurement of information speed in process of the command information communication in some kind of command flow.We can regard the Flow Efficiency as a measure that evaluate efficiency of operational command and control flow.The Feedback always occurs in the operational command and control flow,so we provide the unlinearity feedback function that is used in the feedback flow.
Why Most Clinical Research Is Not Useful

John Ioannidis argues that problem base, context placement, information gain, pragmatism, patient centeredness, value for money, feasibility, and transparency define useful clinical research. He suggests most clinical research is not useful and reform is overdue.
Work, Heat, and Energy: The First Law of Thermodynamics

This chapter introduces thermodynamics and discusses the first law of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is a general macroscopic theory of the behavior of matter. The first law of thermodynamics is a version of the law of conservation of energy. It states that for a closed system and for any process that begins and ends with equilibrium states, a change in U, the thermodynamic energy or internal energy of a system, is defined by the sum of the amount of heat transferred to the system and the work done on the system. This law asserts that the internal energy is a state function. Heat and work are ways of transferring energy. The enthalpy is a variable whose change in a constant-pressure process is equal to the amount of heat transferred to the system in the process.
Human-Autonomy Teaming Patterns in the Command and Control of Teams of Autonomous Systems

Design patterns have been found useful in several domains. This paper helps motivate their use in the field of human-autonomy teaming and provides three example patterns that could be contributed to the language of patterns available to system developers. In our examples we focus on the motivations and consequences in terms of human and team performance when describing the features of the individual patterns. These replace forces more commonly used in software engineering or other fields. Practitioners and researchers alike will benefit from a vetted vocabulary of established patterns of the form presented.