cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Challenges and Laboratory Considerations for Pediatric Sepsis

Background: Sepsis is a leading cause of death for children in the US and worldwide. There is a lack of consensus how sepsis is clinically defined, and sepsis definitions and diagnostic guidelines for the pediatric population have remained unchanged for more than a decade now. Current pediatric definitions are largely based on adult guidelines and expert opinion rather than evidence based on outcomes in the pediatric populations. Without a clear definition of sepsis, it is challenging to evaluate the performance of new laboratory tests on the diagnosis and management of sepsis. Content: This review provides an overview of common etiologies of sepsis in pediatric populations, challenges in defining and diagnosing pediatric sepsis, and current laboratory tests used to identify and monitor sepsis. Strengths and limitations of emerging diagnostic strategies will also be discussed. Summary: Currently there is no single biomarker that can accurately diagnose or predict sepsis. Current biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and lactate are neither sensitive nor specific for diagnosing sepsis. New biomarkers and rapid pathogen identification assays are much needed. Procalcitonin, although having some limitations, has emerged as a biomarker with demonstrated utility in management of sepsis in adults. Parallel studies analyzing the utility of procalcitonin in pediatric populations are lagging but have shown potential to affect sepsis care in pediatric populations. Multibiomarker approaches and stepwise algorithms show promise in the management of pediatric sepsis. However, a major hurdle is the lack of validated clinical criteria for classification of pediatric sepsis, which is necessary for the development of well-designed studies that can assess the clinical impact of these emerging biomarkers.
Optimal Energy Storage Sizing and Siting in Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids

This paper proposes a distributed energy storage planning model for hybrid AC/DC microgrids. It is assumed that there is a hybrid AC/DC microgrid with various distributed generators (DGs) and a combination of AC and DC loads, without a distributed energy storage (DES). The optimal power and energy size and location of the DES unit are determined to minimize the microgrid total cost, which includes the investment cost of the DES and its required converter, the operation cost of dispatchable DGs and cost/benefit of exchanged power with the utility grid, as well as the microgrid reliability cost. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) and solved by CPLEX. The proposed model is applied to a modified IEEE 33-bus standard test system. The sensitivity analysis with respect to various parameters such as the ratio of DC loads shows the acceptable performance and merits of the proposed model.
Starting Early: The Benefits of Attending Early Childhood Education Programs at Age 3:

This investigation considered the short-term benefits of early childhood education participation at age 3 for 1,213 children from low-income families living in a large and linguistically diverse co...
S-3-Carboxypropyl-l-cysteine specifically inhibits cystathionine γ-lyase-dependent hydrogen sulfide synthesis.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gaseous signaling molecule, which modulates a wide range of mammalian physiological processes. Cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) catalyzes H2S synthesis and is a potential target for modulating H2S levels under pathophysiological conditions. CSE is inhibited by propargylglycine (PPG), a widely used mechanism-based inhibitor. In this study, we report that inhibition of H2S synthesis from cysteine, but not the canonical cystathionine cleavage reaction catalyzed by CSE in vitro, is sensitive to preincubation of the enzyme with PPG. In contrast, the efficacy of S-3-carboxpropyl-l-cysteine (CPC) a new inhibitor described herein, was not dependent on the order of substrate/inhibitor addition. We observed that CPC inhibited the γ-elimination reaction of cystathionine and H2S synthesis from cysteine by human CSE with Ki values of 50 ± 3 and 180 ± 15 μm, respectively. We noted that CPC spared the other enzymes involved either directly (cystathionine β-synthase and mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase) or indirectly (cysteine aminotransferase) in H2S biogenesis. CPC also targeted CSE in cultured cells, inhibiting transsulfuration flux by 80–90%, as monitored by the transfer of radiolabel from [35S]methionine to GSH. The 2.5 A resolution crystal structure of human CSE in complex with the CPC-derived aminoacrylate intermediate provided a structural framework for the molecular basis of its inhibitory effect. In summary, our study reveals a previously unknown confounding effect of PPG, widely used to inhibit CSE-dependent H2S synthesis, and reports on an alternative inhibitor, CPC, which could be used as a scaffold to develop more potent H2S biogenesis inhibitors.
Abstract 3784: Role of HPV-human fusion transcripts in oropharyngeal cancer development

Human papillomavirus (HPV) genomic integration is frequently seen in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Integration into cellular genes can cause the generation of HPV-host fusion transcripts, which have been associated with worse survival in OPSCC patients, but their functional consequences are unknown, as HPV alone is capable of transformation. The forced expression of fusion transcripts versus HPV transcripts in spontaneously immortalized human oral keratinocytes (NOKSI) could demonstrate their effects on cell behavior. Our research focuses on characterizing HPV integration sites and fusion transcripts in cell lines and tumors, followed by in vitro analysis of fusion transcript function. By Detection of Integrated Papillomavirus Sequences (DIPS-PCR) and RT-PCR, we have identified integration events and fusion transcripts in a subset of samples in both intergenic and genic regions of the genome. We began our analysis with a fusion transcript reading from HPV16 E6-E7-E1 into the tumor suppressor gene TP63 from UM-SCC-47. The full fusion transcript and the HPV portion only were cloned into lentiviral vectors, and stable NOKSI populations expressing these transcripts were selected. These cultures, as well as control cultures, were subjected to proliferation, migration and invasion assays. Subsequent in-depth molecular characterization and in vivo studies will help clarify their effects on cancer formation and metastasis. These studies will advance our understanding of how fusion transcripts lead to worse patient survival and help develop new therapies for these patients. Citation Format: Lisa Pinatti, Heather Walline, Thomas Carey. Role of HPV-human fusion transcripts in oropharyngeal cancer development [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3784.
Trusses and Trapezes: Easily-Interpreted Communities in Social Networks.

The truss, a relaxation of the clique based on triangles, serves to identify clusters of actors in a way that is easy to interpret and is computationally attractive. This paper introduces the 4-cycle-based relative to the truss, called the trapeze, presents a weighted extension of both the truss and trapeze, and offers the refinements of strong trusses and trapezes and summit trusses and trapezes. Use of trapezes permits the application to bipartite graphs, while the weighted versions permit variation of support due to natural edge weights without increasing computational complexity. Finally, strong and summit versions make for easy determination of communities across graphs of varying density. Each of these structures offers guaranteed computation in polynomial time, is motivated by a natural observation of social cohesion, and is related nicely to other standard structures.
Individualized Relative-Intensity Physical Activity Accelerometer Cut Points

Purpose Physical activity (PA) intensity is expressed as either absolute or relative intensity. Absolute intensity refers to the energy required to perform an activity. Relative intensity refers to a level of effort that takes into account how hard an individual is working relative to their maximum capacity. We sought to develop methods for obtaining individualized relative-intensity accelerometer cut points using data from a maximal graded exercise treadmill test (GXT) so that each individual has their own cut point. Methods A total of 2363 men and women 38 to 50 yr old from the CARDIA fitness study wore ActiGraph 7164 accelerometers during a maximal GXT and for seven consecutive days in 2005-2006. Using mixed-effects regression models, we regressed accelerometer counts on heart rate as a percentage of maximum (%HRmax) and on RPE. Based on these two models, we obtained a moderate-intensity (%HRmax = 64% or RPE = 12) count cut point that is specific to each participant. We applied these subject-specific cut points to the available CARDIA accelerometer data. Results Using RPE, the mean moderate-intensity accelerometer cut point was 4004 (SD = 1120) counts per minute. On average, cut points were higher for men (4189 counts per minute) versus women (3865 counts per minute) and were higher for Whites (4088 counts per minute) versus African Americans (3896 counts per minute). Cut points were correlated with body mass index (rho = -0.11) and GXT duration (rho = 0.33). Mean daily minutes of absolute- and relative-intensity moderate to vigorous PA were 34.1 (SD = 31.1) min·d and 9.1 (SD = 18.2) min·d, respectively. RPE cut points were higher than those based on %HRmax. This is likely due to some participants ending the GXT before achieving their HRmax. Conclusions Accelerometer-based relative-intensity PA may be a useful measure of intensity relative to maximal capacity.
Age-Related Changes in Methylome and Transcriptome of Hematopotietic Stem Cells Underlie Natural Genetic Variations

The aging of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) contributes to the aging of blood system and perhaps the whole organism. The aging process is coordinately determined by both genetic and epigenetic factors, and demonstrates inter-individual variations. We used high-throughput sequencing methods to study the age-dependent changes of genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression patterns in HSCs of C57BL/6 (B6) and DBA/2 mouse strains, which have shown natural variations in HSC aging process. We observed global age-associated decrease of DNA methylation in both strains, but D2 HSCs have a stronger loss of epigenetic control than B6 stem cells during aging. Majority age-related changes of DNA methylation occur from young to mid-aged stages. We identified stable strain-specific differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that overlap with cis-eQTLs. Moreover, transcription factor binding site motifs are more likely to be disrupted in the DMRs, suggesting the potential impact of genetic variations on epigenetic regulation of HSC aging. We further demonstrated that strain-specific DMRs have more profound effects on the aging of B6 HSCs than D2 stem cells. Transposons are differentially regulated by the DMRs in the two strains, in which D2 HSCs are prone to transposon insertion. This study comprehensively investigated the effects of natural genetic and epigenetic variations on HSC aging. Loss of DNA methylation is an epigenetic signature of stem cell aging, and DNA methylation variations correlates with genetic variations, both contributing to inter-individual differences in stem cell and perhaps organismal aging. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Characterizing the preventable emergency department visit after bariatric surgery.

Abstract Background Patients who present to the emergency department (ED) after bariatric surgery may incur significant costs with no additional benefit. Objectives To characterize patients who presented to the ED but could have been treated in an alternative setting. Setting University hospital, United States. Methods We identified 131 patients who underwent primary bariatric surgery at a single-center academic institution between 2006 and 2016 who also presented to the ED within 30 days of surgery. Preventable ED visits were identified by excluding patients with life-threatening presentations and/or use of emergent ED-specific resources. Patients with preventable ED visits were matched 1:1 to controls (no ED visit) based on procedure type and preoperative patient characteristics. Independent risk factors among patients with preventable ED visits were identified. Results A total of 80 patients (61%) were identified as having a preventable ED visit after bariatric surgery. After multivariable logistic regression, independent risk factors associated with preventable ED visits included anxiolytic prescription at discharge (odds ratio [OR] 5.4 [95% confidence interval 1.6–18.6]; P = .007), electrolyte abnormalities (OR 4.3 [1.9–9.6]; P Conclusions Preventable ED visits are common after bariatric surgery and are associated with risk factors that can be identified perioperatively. Identifying and triaging patients at risk for preventable ED visits may decrease unnecessary and costly visits to the ED after bariatric surgery.
Gradient Artifact Correction for Simultaneous EEG- fMRI using Denoising Autoencoders

EEG recorded during MRI acquisition suffers from severe artifacts due to the imaging gradients. Here, we explore the possibility of using denoising autoencoders for correcting for these artifacts. After hyperparameter optimization, the performance of the algorithm was compared against PCA on two different synthesized datasets. The first dataset was created by adding a template artifact to clean EEG data and randomly shifting it in time to simulate aliasing. While the second dataset was formed by filtering out the EEG frequencies and adding a known ground-truth clean EEG signal. The performance of each method was assessed by the RMSE relative to the clean EEG signal. In addition, the correlation coefficient compared to the artifact signal was used to measure the residual artifact level. On the second synthesized dataset, denoising autoencoders outperformed PCA by 4.3% in terms of RMSE, meaning they were able to better preserve the original signal while at the same time the correlation with the underlying artifact was reduced by 40%. These preliminary results merit further investigation on a larger dataset.
Boundary Interactions for Two-dimensional Granular Flows: Asymmetric Stresses and Couple Stresses

Summary This paper reports the results of a computer simulation study of the effects of solid boundaries on two-dimensional granular flows. In particular, two-types of smooth wall boundaries are explored: one, the Type A boundary, represents a fully rough wall, in the sense that there is no slip between the surface of the particle and the wall on departure following a collision; the other, the Type B condition, in an attempt to approximate a classic no-slip condition, assumes that there is no slip between the center of the particle and the wall on departure after a collision. The major difference between the two is that the Type A condition applies a large torque to the particles while the Type B applies no torque to the particle. The Type A condition is associated with significant local asymmetries in the stress tensor with corresponding large couple stress gradients in the region near the wall while the Type B condition has a nearly symmetric stress tensor and only small couple stress gradients.
The production of broad and strict senses in the discourse on musical creativity and their influences on the self-concept of musicians as creative:

This article presents an analysis of the construction of beliefs/values related to musical creativity. From the perspective of critical discourse analysis, we seek to comprehend how individuals con...
Health and the Built Environment

The geographic variations in global aging reflect well-documented differences underlying socio-political and health care systems, but they also underscore a less examined phenomenon–the significance of place. A primary goal of this chapter is to identify the different pathways through which the built environment can influence health and wellbeing and the diverse intervention approaches for maximizing healthy aging. Our approach is to conduct a scoping review on how the built environment can promote healthy aging by addressing key frameworks, issues, and examples. The chapter examines health, built environments, and aging interactions in a global context; introduces some of the most acknowledged conceptual frameworks for understanding these dynamic interactions; reviews key findings from prior research on environmental influences on health with special attention to the aging population; identifies concepts and measures of the built environment relevant to healthy aging; reflects upon different types of environmental interventions; and provides examples from the United States and other parts of the world for improving population health through environmental strategies and policies. From this review, we conclude that the built environment, in all of its forms, represents a very promising avenue for understanding and enhancing healthy aging among a growing and increasingly diverse older population.
How School Closings Teach Citizens About Democracy: Lessons from Chicago and Philadelphia

In 2013 alone, over 1000 public schools were closed across the United States (Digest of Education Statistics, 2013). Significantly, the majority of these closings occurred in poor and minority neighborhoods. For instance, in Chicago and Philadelphia, nearly 90% of the schools targeted for closing were those containing large majorities of low-income African American students (Pew Study 2011, 2013). Yet, it is in these same communities that public school systems have become central to community empowerment, employment and stability (Henig et al 1991). Thus, the targeted nature of these policies raises serious questions about the fairness of how the American government distributes public goods among its citizens, and the impact that these decisions have on the political beliefs and behavior of Americans most directly affected by them. This paper investigates and examines how citizens targeted for school closure draw connections between their experiences and broader politics. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data on Chicago and Philadelphia, I argue that citizens experience with school closure contribute to greater exposure to civic skills and political engagement, but ultimately negative attitudes towards government fairness and trust.
Optimal Matching for Observational Studies That Integrate Quantitative and Qualitative Research

A quantitative study of treatment effects may form many matched pairs of a treated subject and an untreated control who look similar in terms of covariates measured prior to treatment. When treatme...
Sleep and substance use disorder treatment: A preliminary study of subjective and objective assessment of sleep during an intensive outpatient program

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Characteristics of sleep concerns and their relationship to mental health in heterogeneous substance use disorder (SUD) treatment settings are not well understood. The purpose of this preliminary study was to assess sleep using subjective and objective measures at two time points during SUD treatment and compare sleep changes to changes in mental health measures. METHODS Treatment-seeking participants completed an assessment battery at the beginning of treatment (Time 1, N = 30) and again upon treatment completion (Time 2, approximately 4 weeks later, N = 22). The majority of participants were White (80%), male (63%), and presenting for alcohol use disorder (60.0%), though almost half reported polysubstance abuse (43%). Comorbidity was common (53%). Sleep and mental health questionnaires with 1 week of actigraphy and sleep diaries were completed at both time points. RESULTS Most participants met the criteria for a sleep disorder and mean scores on questionnaires showed poor sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and frequent nightmares, with sleep quality and insomnia improving over time but remaining clinically significant. Nightmares did not improve. Actigraphy indicated poor sleep at both time points. Improvement in insomnia was related to improvement in measures of mental health while changes in actigraphy variables were not related to these measures. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Multiple types of sleep disturbance are prevalent in this population, with nightmares persisting throughout treatment and insomnia symptoms showing a relationship with mental health symptoms. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE This was the first study to longitudinally assess mental health with subjective and objective measures of sleep across multiple types of SUDs in a community SUD treatment setting.
Introduction: An Influence on the Public

This chapter explains the conditions under which authors wrote prefaces in the twentieth century. Prefaces offer readers an opportunity to gauge an author’s relationship to his or her text and offer textual evidence to support the lively interchange of ideas present in any given text. For a writer, a work is never truly finished; writing for publication presents the public with a compromised authority, and when writers choose to preface their experience with new material after time has passed, the result forever alters the text that follows. The preface was one of the most frequently used paratextual devices by American writers in the twentieth century, and by examining these prefaces in more detail, we grow our understanding of the complex and deeply personal business of professional authorship in America.
The Promise and Peril of Paternalistic Approaches to Flood Risk

Our country’s ever-growing exposure to flood risk has been the target of policy reform for decades. To many experts, it is clear that we must stop subsidizing flood-prone development and begin the process of moving people away from flood-prone areas. And yet despite the seemingly obvious benefits of abandoning areas that will be permanently underwater in a generation, flood-prone living has been a difficult habit to kick. Examining the problem against the background of the philosophical literature on paternalism helps show why. Paternalism—government intervention in peoples’ choices for the good of those same people—has long been controversial. The insistence that people be permitted to expose themselves to the risk of flooding if they choose to do so is arguably a product of a deep anti-paternalist, libertarian strain in our political culture. The thorny problem of flood risk presents two obstacles to those who would embrace paternalistic policies as promoting a more rational approach to risk. First, a purely rational approach to the problem of flood risk is elusive. Judgments about when and where it makes sense to expose oneself to some risk of flooding are inherently value laden. Second, paternalistic policies raise distributive concerns, regardless of how they’re structured. While paternalists are fond of pointing out that libertarian attitudes favor “good choosers” by allowing bad choosers the freedom to suffer worse outcomes, paternalistic policies similarly favor good choosers by mandating choices that align with their values. These observations suggest that flood risk is a problem that is not susceptible to being “solved.” There is not an optimal approach we can be nudged towards. Our commitment to freedom, on one hand, and our unwillingness to let the victims of natural disasters suffer alone, on the other, create a cycle of risk that we are not likely to break in any clean, satisfying way. The best we can do is to empower people to make better choices by sharing the information (about flood risk) and resources (to help relocate) they need to make judgments of their own.
Is China market socialist? Comparing Western theory to Eastern practice

The question of whether the contemporary Chinese economy is more accurately characterized as market socialist or market capitalist depends to some extent on semantic issues pertaining to the meanin...
The tissue culture as a model for the biochemistry of brain development.

Publisher Summary The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the concomitant development of biochemical specializations and to offer some examples of the past and current experiments that could not easily have been performed in other systems with equal reliability. The great advantages of the culture system are that it is free from the homeostatic mechanisms of the organism, susceptible to controlled manipulations of its environment, and available for constant, direct microscopic observation of structure and function. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is a NADP-dependent enzyme of the pentose phosphate shunt, which serves to reduce NADP, a pyridine nucleotide not so much concerned with cell respiration as it is with synthetic processes in the cell, particularly the final steps in lipid synthesis (long-chain fatty acids and cholesterol) where it serves as the principal reducing agent. NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase decreases during cerebellar development in vivo, whereas in the tissue culture, it starts high and does not decrease, a difference between the culture and the in vivo system.
Comparable Worth in Antidiscrimination Legislation: A Reply to Freed and Polsby

Freed and Polsby's basic insight is that comparable-worth issues arise under the Equal Pay Act.' They consider the acceptance of the Act to be anomalous, given the controversy over the merits of a comparable-worth rule.2 Whether they mean to say more than this is not clear, but they seem at least to suggest that the Equal Pay Act's interference with market values should be more controversial.3 Further, they seem to be making an indirect argument about the merits of a comparable-worth rule: given the existing case law, there is reason to doubt the competency of courts to decide comparable-worth claims.4 I think that Freed and Polsby's basic insight is quite right: there are comparable-worth issues in current Equal Pay Act cases. I also agree that courts should be reluctant to decide cases solely on the basis of comparable-worth arguments. Congress considered and rejected a comparable-worth standard when it enacted the Equal Pay Act," and courts should apply the antidiscrimination legislation Congress did enact in a manner consistent with congressional intent. Nevertheless, I have three major problems with Freed and Polsby's analysis. First, Freed and Polsby purport to be criticizing Equal Pay Act case law only because of courts' willingness to decide cases on the basis of comparable-worth arguments.6 But their real objection may be to antidiscrimination legislation as such. Comparable-worth problems are not unique to Equal Pay Act cases; they are innate in the implementation of any antidiscrimination legislation. If Freed and Polsby disagree, on the merits, with
AS OFERTAS DE CURSOS DE IDIOMAS E O QUE BUSCAM OS PROFISSIONAIS

Este trabalho se debruca sobre o tema dos profissionais que buscam a aprendizagem delinguas estrangeiras como forma de desenvolvimento educacional e crescimentoprofissional com base nos autores Kotler e Armstrong (2003), Bessant e Tidd(2009), Zeithaml e Bitner (2008) e Kotler e Fox (1994). A fim de responder apergunta de pesquisa, a qual tem por objetivo analisar a oferta e a demanda doscursos de idiomas dirigidos para os profissionais, a linha de pesquisa adotadafoi o estudo qualitativo. A geracao dos dados se deu atraves da entrevista dequinze profissionais que buscam a aprendizagem de idiomas como uma maneira deformacao e para novas oportunidades no mercado de trabalho e, tambem, por meioda analise das ofertas de quatro cursos de idiomas. Os resultados apontam que,nesse contexto, os participantes demonstram existir lacunas entre as ofertasdos cursos de idiomas e a demanda desse publico alvo.
Do historical facts speak for themselves

Notes that facts and chronologies of events do not tell the whole historical story and that the historian must speculate about meaning. Points out that this undertaking requires intuition and imagination and that management historians are not exempt from speculation in their search for meaning. Argues for a metahistorical approach in interpreting management thought and practice in the past.
Identifying inter‐ and intra‐guild feeding activity of an arthropod predator assemblage

Understanding predator–prey interactions of the arthropod community in any given ecosystem is essential in pinpointing the biological control services provided by natural enemies. Hence, four prey-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were developed to analyse the gut contents of the cotton predator community. The four targeted prey included a herbivore/pest, omnivore/pest, omnivore/beneficial, and carnivore/beneficial. First, prey retention tests were conducted to determine how long a prey item of each target species could be detected in a predator after ingestion. The assays yielded highly variable inter-assay and intra-assay prey detection efficiencies. Then, a multifaceted field study was conducted to quantify the population dynamics of the cotton predator assemblage and to assess the frequencies of predation that each predator species exhibited on the targeted prey. In total, 1794 predators, representing 17 arthropod families, were collected over two seasons using both sweep net and whole plant sampling procedures. The predator gut assays showed that there was substantial inter-guild predation occurring on the herbivore/pest, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius); moderate intra-guild predation on the omnivore/pest, Lygus spp. (Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), L. hesperus Knight, and L. elisus Van Duzee) and the omnivore/beneficial, Geocoris spp. (Geocoris punctipes (Say), and G. pallens Stal); and very little intra-guild predation on the carnivore/beneficial, Collops vittatus (Say). The gut assays also revealed that DNA of the targeted pests, B. tabaci and Lygus spp., were found more frequently in insect predators than spiders; whereas there were no significant differences in predation between the predatory insects and spiders for the beneficial insects, Geocoris spp. and C. vittatus. Finally, there was a significantly higher frequency of predation events recorded for B. tabaci, Lygus spp., and Geocoris spp. in the sweep net samples. This indicates that the method of collection might influence the interpretation of the gut assay results.
Turbo equalization for GMSK signaling over multipath channels

A novel receiver is derived for Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) signals through a multipath channel. A nonlinear signal model is derived which avoids the linear approximation in the conventional finite impulse response (FIR) system model. A Bayesian equalizer based on the Gibbs sampler, a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) procedure, is developed for joint channel estimation and symbol detection, and finally, a turbo equalizer structure is proposed for a coded GMSK system, in which the Bayesian equalizer successively refines its processing based on the information from the decoding stage, and vice versa.
Cross-Cultural Analysis of Social Network Services in Japan, Korea, and the USA

The techniques of cross-cultural analysis of Websites based on culture models are used to examine user-interface components (the metaphors, mental models, navigation, interaction, and appearance) of social networking sites in three countries. The authors note and evaluate patterns of similarity and difference in the Website designs that seem to link social networking sites by culture dimensions.
Higher Education and Congressional Influence on Administrative Decisions: An Examination of NSF and NIH Research Grant Funding to Four-Year Universities†

Objective This study examines grant funding to four-year universities to determine if institutions with more powerful congressional delegations receive more in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Methods We analyze grant awards to public and private not-for profit universities from 2000 through 2009. We employ panel-corrected standard errors with panel-specific AR1 terms to determine the influence of representation on key congressional committees, in conjunction with institutional characteristics, such as size and mission, in shaping institutional success in securing grant revenues. Results Time series, cross-sectional analysis suggests that members of the U.S. House and Senate may be able to influence the allocation of seemingly merit-based grants and contracts made by the NIH and the NSF. Conclusion We find some evidence that congressional-bureaucratic relationships impact grant receipts, though the effects are moderate in magnitude.
LOGICAL ASPECTS OF QUESTION-ANSWERING BY COMPUTER

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the problem of computerized question-answering from the point of view of certain technical, although elementary, notions of logic. A database consists of two parts: (1) a dictionary of individual constants and predicates and (2) a collection of elementary sentences, that is, atomic sentences, which are certain strings of descriptive names. The chapter explains the way in which notions in logic can be used to influence the design of components of an information system. There are two inputs in an information system: data of some sort and queries—information requirements of users. The two inputs are accompanied by two representation processes that result in file items and symbolic questions. The method of propositional data storage, as used in the RAND Relational Data File, provides a method for storing sentences, which is analogous to the symbolic translations. The root of the program consists principally of a large computed GO TO statement, which directs control to numbered FORTRAN statements, each heading a body of code representing a single analysis rule. Each rule is in four parts: (1) an identification number, (2) a rewrite instruction, (3) a symbol definition, and (4) a transfer condition.
A PARTIAL DEFENSE OF EXTENDED KNOWLEDGE

The paper starts out by distinguishing two closely related hypotheses about extended cognition. According to the strong hypothesis, there are no intrinsic representations in the brain. This is a version of the extended-mind view defended by Andy Clark and Richard Menary. On the weak hypothesis, there are intrinsic representations in the brain but some types of cognition, knowledge or memory are constituted by particular types of external devices or environmental factors that extend beyond the skull and perhaps beyond the skin. This type of view was defended, for example, by Andy Clark and David Chalmers. After drawing this distinction and clarifying the notions of causal influence and constitution, I defend the second weaker hypothesis with respect to procedural knowledge and knowledge of action and show why this sort of view supports what we might call a �situationist-friendly virtue epistemology�.
Transport of Oxygen in the Blood

As we saw in the earlier chapters, the capacitances of water and air for respiratory gases impose some rigorous constraints on the environmental side gas exchangers. The differing physical constraints within a closed circulatory system provide yet another set of limitations. Although blood is much more complex (in addition to being thicker) than water, the means by which oxygen is carried in it nevertheless operate on the same set of fundamental principles of gas transport: diffusion, bulk flow, and capacitance.
A dynamic radio channel allocation scheme for wireless LANs

With the increased deployment of wireless local area networks (WLAN) in many popular locations with multiple access points (AP), the limited number of usable radio channels provided by the IEEE 802.11 standard has resulted in a worse than expected network performance, such as very low throughput. The existing static radio channel allocation (RCA) schemes can only partially solve the problem in the initial planning of APs, but cannot adapt to environment changes and dynamic traffic conditions afterwards. We propose a new dynamic RCA scheme that aims to improve network performance by explicitly minimizing the cochannel interference among the neighboring APs that share a radio channel. Simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed scheme has not only significantly increased the overall network throughput, but also greatly reduced the cochannel interference among the APs
Quantifying the impacts on biodiversity of policies for carbon sequestration in forests

Abstract There is currently a great deal of interest in the use of afforestation (conversion of non-forest land to forest) to reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. To date, economic analyses have focused on the costs of forest carbon sequestration policies related to foregone profits from agricultural production. No studies have examined additional costs or benefits associated with impacts on biodiversity. The main objective of this paper is to estimate the changes in farmland and forest bird populations that are likely to occur under an afforestation policy. Econometric models of land use are used to simulate the response of private landowners to subsidies for tree planting on agricultural land. We evaluate subsidies that achieve conversion of 10% of the total agricultural land in each of three U.S. states (South Carolina, Maine, and southern Wisconsin). Bird density estimates are derived for 615 species with data from the national Breeding Bird Survey. Percentage changes in agricultural and forest land for each county are applied to county-level estimates of bird densities for farmland and forest birds. Despite considerable spatial variation in agricultural land conversion rates and farmland bird distributions within these states, statewide losses of farmland birds were relatively uniform at 10.8–12.2%. Increases in forest bird populations, however, varied substantially between states: 0.3% in Maine, 2.5% in South Carolina, and 21.8% in southern Wisconsin. Surprisingly, a net loss in total bird populations results in all three states (−2.0% in Maine, −2.3% in South Carolina, and −1.1% in southern Wisconsin), despite the prevailing wisdom as to bird-rich forests. The loss is due to the coincidence of centers of high farmland bird richness and low forest bird richness with areas economically suited to conversion. Additional gains in forest species may result, however, if afforestation within the economically optimal counties is concentrated to fill in existing forest fragments presently suffering avian losses to edge predators. Our results thus show that assessments of the biological consequences of afforestation for carbon sequestration must consider both current land cover and the distributional patterns of organisms as well as the policy's conversion goal.
Chain enrollment and college enclaves: Benefits and drawbacks of Latino college students' enrollment decisions

This chapter examines the factors influencing Latino students' enrollment and access to information in fourteen midwestern two-year colleges.
HYPERFINE STRUCTURE MEASUREMENTS ON PLUTONIUM-239

The atomic hyperfine structure of plutonium-239 has been investigated by the atomic-beam magnetic resonance method. Research has centered about a relatively highly populated electronic energy level having unit angular momentum which is probably the first excited state of a ground-state $^{7}F$ term arising from the configuration ${(5f)}^{6}{(6d)}^{0}{(7s)}^{2}$. Atomic and hyperfine structure constants for this level are found to be $I=\frac{1}{2}$, $J=1$, ${g}_{J}=1.4975\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0010$, $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\nu}=7.683\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.060$ Mc/sec.
Beyond “Autopsy Data” Bolstering Teacher Leadership, Morale, and School Improvement

Teacher working conditions surveys provide biennial, comprehensive data regarding school leadership. This case describes how a Title I middle school principal proactively addresses end-of-year data to address identified needs and growth areas in a collaborative manner in her middle school. The principal works in a concerted manner with an assistant principal, district liaison, and teacher leaders to make a collaborative correction in her school to foster time in collaboration, increased teacher leadership, and enhanced professional development.
Instrumentality Theory Predictions of Students' Attitudes Towards Business and Their Choice of Business as an Occupation

Both choice of and attitude towards business as an occupation were predicted from the components of instrumentality theory. The results supported the theory. There also was a strong indication that...
Tetrakispentane-2, 4-dionato(hexa-1, 5-diene)diplatinum(II)

Abstract Dibromo (hexa-1, 5-diene) platinum (II) reacts with pentane-2, 4-dionatothallium(I) yielding the new compound, tetrakispentane-2, 4-dionato (hexa-1, 5-diene) diplatinum(II).
Singular second order boundary value problems on purely discrete time scales

We study singular discrete second order boundary value problems with mixed boundary conditions over a finite interval. We prove the existence of a positive solution by means of the lower and upper solutions method and the Brouwer fixed point theorem in conjunction with perturbation methods to approximate regular problems.
Aircraft observations of Venus' near-infrared reflection spectrum: Implications for cloud composition

A comparison of aircraft-based measurement data on Venus' near-infrared (1.2- to 4.1-micron) reflection spectrum with computer generated spectra of a number of cloud candidates shows a 75-% or more concentrated water solution of sulfuric acid to give the only acceptable match to the profile of Venus' strong 3-micron absorption feature. However, the measurement data obtained also show a modest decline in reflectivity from 2.3-micron to 1.2-micron wavelength, which is inconsistent with the flat spectrum of sulfuric acid in this spectral region. It is hypothesized that this decline is due to impurities in the sulfuric acid droplets.
22. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MENSTRUAL PATTERN

The development of the menstrual pattern has been analyzed by endocrinological studies. The excretion of gonadotropins starts to increase as early as 5-8 years of age. Follicle stimulating hormone excretion reaches an adult level at 8-9 years of age. Luteinizing hormone excretion has been demonstrated at significantly increased levels 2 years before menarche. Estrogens 17-KS and 17-OHCS are stable until menarche. Sexual maturation seems to take place by a moderate almost linear increase in both gonadotropins and steroids starting under 8 years and completed 5 years after menarche.
Energy levels of 13B up to 8.7 MeV

Abstract Energy levels of 13 B were measured by means of the reaction 7 Li( 7 Li, p) 13 B at an energy of 14 MeV for the incident 7 Li ions. Excitation energies of seven new states, based upon an assumed excitation energy for the fifth excited state of 4.132 MeV, are 5.558, 6.420, 6.940, 7.517, 7.860, 8.130 and 8.683 MeV. Uncertainties range from 8 to 20 keV.
Role of GluK1 Kainate Receptors in Seizures, Epileptic Discharges, and Epileptogenesis

Kainate receptors containing the GluK1 subunit have an impact on excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in brain regions, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, which are relevant to seizures and epilepsy. Here we used 2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-tert-butylisoxazol-4-yl) propanoic acid (ATPA), a potent and selective agonist of kainate receptors that include the GluK1 subunit, in conjunction with mice deficient in GluK1 and GluK2 kainate receptor subunits to assess the role of GluK1 kainate receptors in provoking seizures and in kindling epileptogenesis. We found that systemic ATPA, acting specifically via GluK1 kainate receptors, causes locomotor arrest and forelimb extension (a unique behavioral characteristic of GluK1 activation) and induces myoclonic behavioral seizures and electrographic seizure discharges in the BLA and hippocampus. In contrast, the proconvulsant activity of systemic AMPA, kainate, and pentylenetetrazol is not mediated by GluK1 kainate receptors, and deletion of these receptors does not elevate the threshold for seizures in the 6 Hz model. ATPA also specifically activates epileptiform discharges in BLA slices in vitro via GluK1 kainate receptors. Olfactory bulb kindling developed similarly in wild-type, GluK1, and GluK2 knock-out mice, demonstrating that GluK1 kainate receptors are not required for epileptogenesis or seizure expression in this model. We conclude that selective activation of kainate receptors containing the GluK1 subunit can trigger seizures, but these receptors are not necessary for seizure generation in models commonly used to identify therapeutic agents for the treatment of epilepsy.
Precipitation fluxes of energetic electrons at Jupiter - An estimated upper limit

Divine's (1976) model for the observed energetic electron fluxes in the inner Jovian magnetosphere is used to calculate space densities, and the combined source and loss term is evaluated for steady-state radial diffusion conserving the first and second adiabatic invariants. Upper-limit estimates for the ionospheric precipitation fluxes at various values of L and over various electron energy ranges are derived by assuming that contributions to the source term are negligible and that particle precipitation due to pitch-angle diffusion in the loss cone is the main contributor to the loss term. The energy deposition rates corresponding to these precipitated particles are estimated, along with the bremsstrahlung X-ray emissions that should result. It is found that the X-ray emissions should be 5 to 6 orders of magnitude below the reported upper observational limit.
Effective connectivity between amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex differentiates the perception of facial expressions

Emotion research is guided both by the view that emotions are points in a dimensional space, such as valence or approach-withdrawal, and by the view that emotions are discrete categories. We determined whether effective connectivity of amygdala with medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC) and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (LOFC) differentiates the perception of emotion faces in a manner consistent with the dimensional and/or categorical view. Greater effective connectivity from left MOFC to amygdala differentiated positive and neutral expressions from negatively valenced angry, disgust, and fear expressions. Greater effective connectivity from right LOFC to amygdala differentiated emotion expressions conducive to perceiver approach (happy, neutral, and fear) from angry expressions that elicit perceiver withdrawal. Finally, consistent with the categorical view, there were unique patterns of connectivity in response to fear, anger, and disgust, although not in response to happy expressions, which did not differ from neutral ones.