cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Negotiating Policy Meanings in School Administrative Practice: Practice, Professionalism, and High-Stakes Accountability in a Shifting Policy Environment

Using a micro-sociological approach, this chapter examines how school leaders and teachers negotiate the meanings of emerging high-stakes accountability policy in formal school meetings. In doing so, the chapter examines how policy advanced at the macro level gets worked out at the micro level in school administrative practice. Exploring policy in school administrative practice, we uncover how school leaders work to advance the legitimacy of external policy, negotiate its meanings, and attempt to compel teachers’ cooperation. School leaders in our study did so by deploying formal authority, as well as various tactics described in earlier theoretical work on social influence, such as invoking a shared in-group identity and/or underscoring moral worth. In deploying these social tactics, school leaders engaged not only in rhetorical framing but also rhetorical footing as they worked to convince teaching staff of policy’s legitimacy and its meanings for classroom instruction. Our account demonstrates how these negotiations extended beyond the technical implications for instruction as school leaders and teachers renegotiated what it means to be a professional educator in a shifting policy environment, and who, or what holds authority on matters of teaching practice in particular.
Single cell approaches to address adipose tissue stromal cell heterogeneity

A central function of adipose tissue is in the management of systemic energy homeostasis that is achieved through the co-ordinated regulation of energy storage and mobilization, adipokine release, and immune functions. With the dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related metabolic disease over the past 30 years, there has been extensive interest in targeting adipose tissue for therapeutic benefit. However, in order for this goal to be achieved it is essential to establish a comprehensive atlas of adipose tissue cellular composition and define mechanisms of intercellular communication that mediate pathologic and therapeutic responses. While traditional methods, such as fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and genetic lineage tracing, have greatly advanced the field, these approaches are inherently limited by the choice of markers and the ability to comprehensively identify and characterize dynamic interactions among stromal cells within the tissue microenvironment. Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) has emerged as a powerful tool for deconvolving cellular heterogeneity and holds promise for understanding the development and plasticity of adipose tissue under normal and pathological conditions. scRNAseq has recently been used to characterize adipose stem cell (ASC) populations and has provided new insights into subpopulations of macrophages that arise during anabolic and catabolic remodeling in white adipose tissue. The current review summarizes recent findings that use this technology to explore adipose tissue heterogeneity and plasticity.
Resilience at the Front Lines: Hospital Social Work with AIDS Patients and Burnout

Hospital social work practice with AIDS patients has been described as difficult and linked to burnout. The need to help workers cope, reduce burnout and, thus, conserve needed social workers prompted this study of 128 hospital AIDS social workers. Potency, a resilience factor combining master, beliefs about self and the world, influenced social workers' perceptions of difficulties and burnout. Potency explained 5% of the variance in difficulty ratings and 10-15% of the variance in three burnout measures. Findings challenge the assumption that burnout is primary an organizationally-induced phenomenon and affirm the influence of workers' self and world views on burnout. Hospital administrators, social work directors and educators are encouraged to foster workers' sense of mastery and self-esteem to prevent burnout.
Non-physiologic Methods of Assessment Relevant to Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders

Circadian rhythms of behavior, circadian preference, and chronotype can be measured by self-report or observer report. Sleep diaries/logs are essential for diagnosing circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders and provide different information than objective measures. Some circadian preference and chronotype questionnaires have been validated with physiologic circadian assessments, confirming that “morningness” is associated with earlier circadian phase and shorter endogenous period length and “eveningness” is associated with later timing and longer period length. Analysis of online metadata, such as engagement with social media and device use, is being explored as a measure of circadian behavior. This chapter reviews the non-physiologic tools used by researchers and clinicians to evaluate circadian measures and to assess patients presenting with circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders.
Heart-focused breathing and perceptions of burden in Alzheimer's caregivers: An online randomized controlled pilot study

Abstract Informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) often experience high stress and reduced wellbeing and quality of life. HeartMath's Heart Lock-In® technique has been shown to reduce stress. In a randomized controlled pilot study among ten informal AD caregivers, we examined a two-week ten-minute daily, internet delivered heart-focused breathing protocol (n = 5) compared to waitlist control (n = 5). Participants completed pre- and post- self-assessments of perceived caregiver burden, stress, quality of life, anxiety, self-compassion and heart rate variability (HRV). Quality of life improved significantly in the control group compared to intervention, while self-compassion and HRV trended towards the expected direction. Caregiver burden and anxiety worsened in the intervention vs. waitlist control, suggesting the perception of added stress related to the required new daily task. While heart-focused breathing may hold promise for improving aspects of the caregiving experience, exploring online delivery methods and schedules that do not add extra burden is needed.
The anti-democratic origins of analytical jurisprudence

In this article, I address general jurisprudence's ‘dirty little secret' or its apparent tension with normative conceptions of democracy. I argue that this tension is not coincidental, but a histor...
Ekphrastic Self and the Dream House of (Re)Collection: Ishiguro’s ‘Artist’ in a ‘Floating World’

This paper examines the text’s material memory despite aesthetic ‘forgetfulness’ in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating Word. Repurposing traditional notions of ekphrasis—the literary description of visual art—to better understand the modern process of self-making, this essay offers Ishiguro’s ‘ekphrastic occasion’ as a tangible remnant that disrupts ideas of objectivity just as it fabricates them. Further, it claims that subjective narrative, such as first-person memory or vivid individual portraiture, often functions as a palpable archive even as it seeks to obfuscate the idea of an objective archive. In this way, material description, rather than adhering to Sebald’s post-war ideal of “unpretentious objectivity,” becomes instead a nuanced site of heightened subjectivity (The Natural History of Destruction 53). We see the “play of writing and reading the world” as an insistently fraught and self-conscious endeavor (Haraway, The Cyborg Manifesto 152). Along these theoretical lines, this argument seeks to harness the idea of a ‘sentient’ archive to reframe the traditional relation between object (the novel) and subject (the reader) as one of mutual animation, breath, and correspondence.
When is Assortment Optimization Optimal

A classical question in economics is whether complex, randomized selling protocols can improve a firm's revenue beyond that of simple, take-it-or-leave-it posted prices. In 1981, Myerson answered this question with an emphatic ``No'' for a monopolist selling a single good. By contrast, there is no crisp answer for multiple goods, and a major focus of Bayesian mechanism design since then has been to understand the power of randomized lotteries over deterministic pricing in different settings. In this paper, we ask the same question for assortment optimization, where goods have exogenously-fixed prices, and the decision is a set of substitute goods to offer. To formalize this question, we introduce a Bayesian mechanism design problem with fixed prices and ordinal preferences, in which assortments correspond to deterministic mechanisms. Meanwhile, randomized mechanisms correspond to lotteries whose payment is restricted to equal the fixed price of the randomly-allocated good. This models the ``fixed-price lotteries'' trending in designer fashion, a significant departure from traditional lotteries based on price discounts. We first show that for general ordinal distributions, lotteries under this restriction can still earn greater revenue than any deterministic assortment. We then derive a natural sufficient condition on the distribution which ensures the optimality of assortments. Importantly, this sufficient condition captures commonly-used distributions in the assortment optimization literature, including Multi-Nomial Logit, Markov Chain, Tversky's Elimination by Aspects, and mixtures with Independent Demand Models. The takeaway is that unless a firm has a sophisticated model for consumer choice, fixed-price lotteries are no better than assortments.
High Fidelity Data

In purchasing an audio equipment many are willing to pay the premium price for best sound quality. A person addicted to high fidelity audio with inaudible or zero noise, is called an audiophile. Similarly, we need to introduce the concept of high-fidelity streaming data and the potential for transmission interference and data contamination. When a big percentage of big data is noise, it is essential to develop an affinity for high fidelity data. A person with such affinity can be called a dataphile. Many factors contribute to the contamination and degradation of data quality. Many tools need to be developed and integrated to ensure the integrity of the data as it travels from source to destination. Without the tools and the skills for high fidelity data, every business risk to end up with fast junk-in and fast junk-out.
Cognitive Political Economy: A Growing Partisan Divide in Economic Perceptions:

Research suggests that American partisans are increasingly distinct in their beliefs. These strengthened partisan feelings extend to economic perceptions—as numerous scholars have shown, there is a...
Compositional optimizations for CertiCoq

Compositional compiler verification is a difficult problem that focuses on separate compilation of program components with possibly different verified compilers. Logical relations are widely used in proving correctness of program transformations in higher-order languages; however, they do not scale to compositional verification of multi-pass compilers due to their lack of transitivity. The only known technique to apply to compositional verification of multi-pass compilers for higher-order languages is parametric inter-language simulations (PILS), which is however significantly more complicated than traditional proof techniques for compiler correctness. In this paper, we present a novel verification framework for lightweight compositional compiler correctness. We demonstrate that by imposing the additional restriction that program components are compiled by pipelines that go through the same sequence of intermediate representations, logical relation proofs can be transitively composed in order to derive an end-to-end compositional specification for multi-pass compiler pipelines. Unlike traditional logical-relation frameworks, our framework supports divergence preservation—even when transformations reduce the number of program steps. We achieve this by parameterizing our logical relations with a pair of relational invariants. We apply this technique to verify a multi-pass, optimizing middle-end pipeline for CertiCoq, a compiler from Gallina (Coq’s specification language) to C. The pipeline optimizes and closure-converts an untyped functional intermediate language (ANF or CPS) to a subset of that language without nested functions, which can be easily code-generated to low-level languages. Notably, our pipeline performs more complex closure-allocation optimizations than the state of the art in verified compilation. Using our novel verification framework, we prove an end-to-end theorem for our pipeline that covers both termination and divergence and applies to whole-program and separate compilation, even when different modules are compiled with different optimizations. Our results are mechanized in the Coq proof assistant.
Microstructural Optimization of Tungsten for Low Resistivity Using Ion Beam Deposition

As feature sizes shrink with each integration node, wire and interconnect resistivity in the back end of the line increasingly becomes a challenge due to size dependent effects. Microstructural control of metal thin films is critical for accessing the lowest resistivities alongside materials choice. In this paper, we describe depositing a metal material onto a substrate via ion beam deposition with assist in a process chamber at a temperature of at least 250°C to produce ultra-low resistivity metal films. Ion beam deposited thin tungsten films were grown with large and highly oriented α(110) grains having a resistivity less than 9 μΩ-cm and thickness less than 300 A, with no discernable β-phase, presaging benefits for memory and logic applications using tungsten for wiring.
Are There Age Disparities in Community College Completion? Evidence from Ohio’s Community Colleges

Research points to an age disparity in college completion, with adult community college students (ages 25 years and older) being less likely to complete postsecondary credentials than their younger...
Evaluation of US state pollinators using 3 evidence-based policymaking frameworks

After the US federal government created a national pollinator protection plan in 2015, many states followed with their own. Since their goal is to promote pollinating insect conservation, we wanted to know whether the state plans are using best practices for evidence-based science policy. In early 2019 we found and downloaded every existing, publicly available US state pollinator protection plan. We then used content analysis to assess the goals, scope, and implementation of state-level pollinator protection plans across the US. This analysis was conducted using three distinct frameworks for evidence-based policymaking: US Department of Interior Adaptive Resources Management (ARM), US Environmental Protection Agency management pollinator protection plan (MP3) guidance, and Pew Trusts Pew-MacAthur Results First Project elements of evidence-based state policymaking (PEW) framework. Then we scored them using the framework criteria, to assess whether the plans were using known best practices for evidence based policymaking. Of the 31 states with a state pollinator plan, Connecticut was the state with the lowest total score across the three evaluation frameworks. The state with the highest overall scores, across the three frameworks, was Missouri. Most states did not score highly on the majority of the frameworks. Overall, many state plans were lacking policy elements that address monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. These missing elements impact the ability of states to achieve their conservation goals. Our results indicate that states can improve their pollinator conservation policies to better match evidence-based science policy guidance, regardless of which framework is used.
A Game-Theoretic Approach for Enabling Transactive Energy Frameworks among Networked Microgrids

Power distribution infrastructure is undergoing a major transformation towards a more secure, flexible and resilience network, and microgrids comprising distributed energy resources are believed to facilitate this goal. In this paper, we explore and develop a market mechanism to enable a transactive energy framework among microgrids to provide an alternative market operation strategy. Specifically, the proposed market framework enables peer-to-peer power trading among microgrids to offer the microgrids an alternative channel to sell their surplus power. The major benefit of promoting the proposed framework is to facilitate mutual support among microgrids during the main grid outage, thus enhance the overall resilience of the system. An optimization model based on equilibrium problem with equilibrium constraints framework has been developed to formulate the gameplay among various microgrid participates in the transactive energy market. In addition, we adopt the data from a real-world distribution system located in Medellin, Colombia to demonstrate the merits of proposed framework. The numerical studies indicate that the unserved energy index during main grid outage reduces by 85.6% if the proposed strategy is applied, which validates the value of the strategy in enhancing system resilience.
Tensiones en el ajuste estructural en América Latina: asignación vs. distribución

En la historia economica de America Latina, crecia la poblacion y exigia nuevos empleos. Para crear nuevos puestos de trabajo era necesaria la industrializacion; para industrializar habia que cubrir un diferencial de productividad, Dos opciones eran factibles: i) preservar la eficiencia en la asignacion, generando una importante redistribucion regresiva del ingreso; y ii) perder eficiencia en la asignacion manteniendo sin grandes cambios la distribucion del ingreso; al escoger esta ultima, los gobiernos introdujeron distorsiones permanentes en el mercado cambiario. La industrializacion basada en la sustitucion de importaciones llevo al estancamiento. La creciente presion sobre el mercado del trabajo pudo haber hecho descender abruptamente los salarios; en cambio, surgio el mercado informal que, gracias a su estructura competitiva monopolistica, segmento los mercados de bienes, asegurando una distribucion minima aceptable del ingreso. No hubo politicas publicas al respecto. El propio mercado genero una red de seguridad natural. Sin embargo, se sacrifico la eficiencia de asignacion, introduciendose distorsiones permanentes en el mercado del trabajo. El desarrollo financiero fue incapaz de responder a los nuevos requerimientos y la segmentacion del mercado de capitales fortalecio aun mas las distorsiones en el sistema de precios. 1.a politica de ajuste estructural elimino algunas de las distorsiones de precio en los mercados cambiario y de credito. La redistribucion de la propiedad a traves de los anos modifico los efectos redistributivos de las variaciones en los precios relativos. Sin embargo, el ajuste estructural trajo consigo una entrada de capitales que llevo a una sobrevaluacion considerable del tipo de cambio, mientras la division en el mercado de trabajo persistia y afectaba a mas trabajadores que antes. A su vez, la liberalizacion del comercio se traducia en la contabilidad de los bancos como garantias debilitadas y deudas incobrables de empresas que habian quedado desprotegidas por la baja de aranceles y el tipo de cambio sobrevaluado. El sistema de precios de mercado en este caso no entrega —ni con mucho—las senales correctas para una buena asignacion de los recursos. La necesidad de ingresos sigue impulsando el crecimiento del sector informal, mientras que el capital interno y los trabajadores desconfian de la inversion externa, sin saber si es amiga o enemiga.
Bonn's Climate Summit

Accusations, warnings, and predictions flew around in a flurry prior to the U.N. Conference on Climate Change negotiations that began in Bonn, Germany on July 19. Glenn Kelly, executive director of the industry-supported Global Climate Coalition (GCC), predicted that a coordinated bashing of the United States for President George W. Bush's opposition to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas reductions would be followed by cooler thinking. “It has to play out,” he said. “I liken it to a World Wrestling Federation match: it looks painful, but in the end it's all show and drama.”
The Music of The Other: New Challenges for Ethnomusicology in a Global Age

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Laurent Aubert and with a foreword by Anthony Seeger Translators: Carla Ribeiro Year: 2007 Pages: 96 Publisher: Ashgate Publishing ISBN: 978-0-7546-5342-4 (hard cover). Prices: $99.95 USD(hard cover).
Pulmonary NK cell recruitment during influenza A virus infection

Natural Killer (NK) cells are vital components of the antiviral immune response, but their contributions in defense against influenza A virus (IAV) are not well understood. To better understand the contribution of NK cells to IAV immunity, we examined the magnitude and kinetics of the NK cell response during high- and low-dose IAV infections. While an increased accumulation of NK cells in the lung in high-dose versus low-dose infections was observed, the NK cell response in the lymph nodes (LN) was blunted in high-dose infections. Using a dual labeling method to determine the rate of proliferation of pulmonary NK cells, our results show that while some local NK cell proliferation occurs during IAV infection, it is not enough to account for the increase in NK cells observed, suggesting that NK cells are instead largely recruited to the lungs. Therefore, we next determined the roles of the chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR3 in NK cell trafficking to the lung and LN using receptor blocking and knock out models. All together, our results demonstrate that NK cells are actively recruited to the lungs during IAV infection, suggesting differential NK cell recruitment could modulate the immune response to IAV during high- and low-dose IAV infections.
ERF: an ETS domain protein with strong transcriptional repressor activity, can suppress ets-associated tumorigenesis and is regulated by phosphorylation during cell cycle and mitogenic stimulation.

Abstract ERF (ETS2 Repressor Factor) is a novel member of the ets family of genes, which was isolated by virtue of its interaction with the ets binding site (EBS) within the ETS2 promoter. The 2.7 kb ubiquitously expressed ERF mRNA encodes a 548 amino acid phosphoprotein that exhibits strong transcriptional repressor activity on promoters that contain an EBS. The localization of the DNA-binding domain of the protein at the N-terminus and th repression domain at the C-terminus is reminiscent of the organization of ELK1-like members of the ets family; however, there is no significant homology between ERF and ELK1 or any other ets member outside the DNA-binding domain. The repressor activity of ERF can antagonize the activity of other ets genes that are known transcriptional activators. Furthermore, ERF can suppress the ets-dependent transforming activity of the gag-myb-ets fusion oncogene of ME26 virus. Although ERF protein levels remain constant throughout the cell cycle, the phosphorylation level of the protein is altered as a function of the cell cycle and after mitogenic stimulation. The ERF protein is also hyperphosphorylated in cells transformed by the activated Ha-ras and v-src genes and the transcription repressor activity of ERF is decreased after co-transfection with activated Ha-ras or the kinase domain of the c-Raf-1 gene, indicating that ERF activity is probably regulated by the ras/MAPK pathway. Consistent with the in vivo phosphorylation and inactivation by ras, ERF is efficiently phosphorylated in vitro by Erk2 and cdc2/cyclin B kinases, at sites similar to those detected in vivo. Furthermore, a single mutation at position 526 results in the loss of a specific phosphopeptide both in in vivo and in vitro (by Erk2) labeling. Substitution of Thr526 for glutamic acid also decreases the repression ability of ERF. Our data suggest a model in which modulation of ERF activity is involved in the transcriptional regulation of genes activated during entry into G1 phase. Obstruction of the ERF repressor function by the transactivating members of the ets family of genes (i.e.gag-myb-ets) may be essential for the control of genes involved in cell proliferation and may also underlie their tumorigenic effects.
The New Parochialism: The Triumph of the Populist in the Flow of International Television

Abstract: This article examines the flow of international television and draws on a variety of sources. It argues that traditional concepts of the patterns of distribution of international television are in need of revision and that what one is witnessing as television expands is nevertheless a parochialism that has long characterized the preferences of audiences. Patterns of Canadian television viewing are employed as a somewhat paradoxical case study to support the thesis. Resume: Cet article porte sur la circulation internationale d'emissions de television, se fondant pour ce faire sur une diversite de references. Il soutient qu'il est necessaire de reviser les conceptions traditionnelles de la distribution internationale de la television et que, ce qu'on constate avec la propagation de la television, c'est la continuation d'un provincialisme qui caracterise les preferences des auditeurs depuis longtemps. Pour appuyer cette hypothese, les habitudes de telespectateurs au Canada font l'objet d'une etude de cas quelque peu paradoxale.
Moving document collections online: the evolution of a shared repository

This paper reports on a work-oriented design project concerned with the question of how to migrate shared, workgroup document collections currently kept on paper online. Based in a civil engineering work group, the focus of our project is a document collection called the "project files," a heterogeneous mix of documents that serve as an ongoing resource for the group during a project's course as well as an archival record at its completion. We describe the dynamics of the standardized classification scheme in use for the project files, existing practices of document filing including routine troubles, and the prototype developed to move the project files online. The latter includes a configuration of hardware and software along with associated practices of document scanning, coding and search. We conclude with some reflections on the difficulties of maintaining alignment across paper and digital media in the migration to online document collections, and with a summary of the questions posed and answers provided by our project.
Optimizing the RAKE receiver for the CDMA downlink

The optimal filter solution for the code division multiple access (CDMA) downlink is derived. A practical suboptimal filter that recovers part of the loss introduced by the RAKE receiver is presented. A significant performance advantage is obtained when the proportion of total interference that comes from the same base station as the signal is large. There is a design tradeoff between the complexity of the practical filter and its performance. As the complexity increases, the performance approaches that of the optimal filter.
In vitro calcium deposition by rachitic rat matrix vesicles: nucleoside triphosphate supported calcium deposition.

Abstract The present study was designed to test whether ATP at serum levels can support matrix vesicle-mediated Ca deposition while the final Ca × P ion product is maintained at or below serum or cartilage fluid levels. Rachitic rat epiphyseal cartilage matrix vesicles (40 μg protein/ml) in a simple calcifying solution (without exogenously added P i ) containing 50 mM Tris, pH 7.6 at 37†C, 0.1 M NaCl, 1.35 mM CaCl 2 , 1 mM ATP, deposited about 500 nmol Ca/mg protein after 5 h. The amount of Ca deposited increased with increases in incubation time, concentrations of ATP, Ca 2+ , hydroxide, and matrix vesicle protein, UTP, GTP, and CTP were equally effective in supporting Ca deposition by matrix vesicles. ATP-α-β-methylene and ATP-β,γ-methylene were inhibitory for ATP-dependent Ca deposition. Experiments with limiting amounts of ATP and Ca 2+ availble in the calcifying solution indicated that ATP concentration at serum levels, in the presence of Ca × P ion products at serum or cartilage fluid levels, can support matrix vesicle-mediated Ca deposition.
New-onset diabetes in pancreatic cancer: a study in the primary care setting.

Abstract Background Onset of diabetes mellitus (DM) is often first noted by primary care physicians. New-onset DM (duration Methods To determine the prevalence, onset, and delay in diagnosis of DM in PaC patients in the primary care setting, we retrospectively reviewed the records of consecutive patients followed in Mayo Clinic’s primary care clinics (at least one visit in the preceding 2 years) from 1995 to 2009 who were eventually diagnosed with PaC. Onset of DM was the first date the fasting blood glucose was ≥126 mg/dl. Results Of the 111 PaC patients (59 male, median age 74 years), 52 (47%) had DM of whom 30 (58%) had new-onset DM. Among the 30 with new-onset DM, 24 (80%) were asymptomatic (no cancer-specific symptoms), at DM onset. In these 24 patients, median duration of DM prior to PaC diagnosis was 6.5 (0.5–35) months, and median delay between onset and physician diagnosis of DM was 2.5 (0.25–14) months, which decreased from 8.8 (3.5–14) months in patients with DM onset between 1995 and 1999 to 0 (0–2) months, in patients with DM onset between 2004 and 2009. However, the proportion of patients with undiagnosed DM (∼33%) remained unchanged. Conclusions Diabetes is very common (∼50%) in PaC. In over a fifth of PaC, the onset of DM occurs when the cancer is asymptomatic, providing a potential window-of-opportunity to diagnose early PaC. However, nearly a third of new-onset DM in PaC remains undiagnosed.
Prechewing of food by adults and streptococcal pharyngitis in infants.

Three infants with group A streptococcal pharyngitis were found to have eaten food prechewed by their parents. One parent had a history of recent pharyngltis and another had frequent episodes of tonsillitis. Prechewing of babies' food, which may be more common in the United States than is generally recognized, may be a mode of transmission of group A streptococcal pharyngitis to infants.
Predicting psychogenic nonepileptic seizures with the Personality Assessment Inventory and seizure variables

Early identification of likely cases of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures may prompt earlier and more appropriate diagnosis and treatment. This study investigated the validity of multiple independent self-report variables in predicting psychogenic nonepileptic versus epileptic seizures. One hundred forty-three patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures and 129 patients with epileptic seizures were compared with the Personality Assessment Inventory, age at seizure onset, years since first seizure, and length of seizures. Diagnostic prediction was made by analyses of variance and logistic regressions. Cut scores were developed for the multivariate predictors with maximal sensitivity and specificity. The Personality Assessment Inventory conversion subscale (SOM-C), years since first seizure, and length of seizures provided 84% correct classification. Ninety-six percent of patients meeting cut scores of SOM-C ≥70, years since first seizure ≤8, and length of seizures ≥3 minutes were diagnosed with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. Results demonstrated good ability to identify likely cases of psychogenic nonepileptic seizurs by multiple predictors that are easily and cost-effectively obtainable.
Chest X-ray after Tracheostomy Is Not Necessary Unless Clinically Indicated

Chest radiography is routinely used post-tracheostomy to evaluate for complications. Often, the chest X-ray findings do not change clinical management. The present study was conducted to evaluate the utility of post-tracheostomy X-rays. This retrospective review of 255 patients was performed at a single-center, university, level I trauma center. All patients underwent tracheostomy and were evaluated for postprocedure complications. Of the 255 patients, 95.7% had no change in postprocedure chest X-ray findings. New significant chest X-ray findings were found in 4.3% of patients, including subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, and new significant consolidation. Only three of these patients required change in clinical management, and all changes were based on clinical presentation alone. Routine chest X-ray following tracheostomy fails to provide additional information beyond clinical examination. Therefore radiographic examination should be performed only after technically difficult procedures or if the patient experiences clinical deterioration. Significant cost savings and minimization of radiation exposure can be achieved when chest radiography after tracheostomy is performed exclusively for clinical indications.
Diazepam Maintenance of Alcohol Preference During Alcohol Withdrawal

After forced intragastric intubation of alcohol, rats will show a greatly increased tendency to self-administer alcohol in a free-choice situation. Diazepam (Valium) dosage (5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight) during the period ow withdrawal serves to maintain undiminished such alcohol self-administration. Without such diazepam dosage the tendency to self-administer alcohol returns to control levels.
Ultrastructural localization of choline acetyltransferase in the rat rostral ventrolateral medulla: evidence for major synaptic relations with non-catecholaminergic neurons.

Pharmacological and biochemical studies suggest that interactions between cholinergic and catecholaminergic and catecholaminergic neurons, particularly those of the C1 adrenergic cell group, in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVL) may be important in cardiovascular control. Ultrastructural localization of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the biosynthetic enzyme for acetylcholine, and its relation to neurons exhibiting immunoreactivity for catecholamine- (tyrosine hydroxylase; TH) or adrenaline (phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase; PNMT) -synthesizing enzymes were examined in the RVL using dual immunoautoradiographic and peroxidase anti-peroxidase (PAP) labeling methods. By light microscopy, the ChAT-immunoreactive neurons were located both dorsally (i.e. the nucleus ambiguus) and ventromedially to those labeled with TH or PNMT (TH/PNMT). A few ChAT-labeled processes were dispersed among TH/PNMT-containing neurons with the majority of overlap immediately ventral to the nucleus ambiguus. By electron microscopy, ChAT-immunoreactivity (ChAT-I) was detected in neuronal perikarya, dendrites, axons and axon terminals and in the vascular endothelial cells of certain blood vessels. The ChAT-labeled perikarya in the ventromedial RVL were medium-sized (15-20 microns), elongated, contained abundant cytoplasm and had had slightly indented nuclei. Synaptic junctions on ChAT-immunoreactive perikarya and dendrites were primarily symmetric with 64% (45 out of 70) of the presynaptic terminals unlabeled. The remaining terminals were immunoreactive for ChAT (30%) or TH/PNMT (6%). Terminals with ChAT-I were large (0.8-2.0 microns) and contained numerous small clear vesicles and 1-2 dense core vesicles. Seventy-seven percent (112 out of 145) of the ChAT-labeled terminals formed symmetric synapses with unlabeled perikarya and dendrites, whereas only 8% were with TH/PNMT-labeled perikarya and dendrites, and 15% were with ChAT-immunoreactive perikarya and dendrites. We conclude (1) that cholinergic neurons in the RVL principally terminate on and receive input from non-catecholaminergic neurons, and (2) that the reported sympathetic activation following application of cholinergic agents to the RVL may be mediated by cholinergic inhibition of local inhibitory interneurons. The observed synapses between ChAT and TH/PNMT-containing neurons suggests that cholinergic and adrenergic neurons additionally may exert a minor reciprocal control on each other and thus may modulate their response to the more abundant input from afferents containing other transmitters.
Differential inhibitory effects of antidiabetic drugs on arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation.

We compared three drugs representing different classes of antidiabetic pharmacology (glyburide, a sulfonylurea; pioglitazone, a thiazolidinedione; and metformin, a biguanide) in terms of their direct effects on proliferation of cultured arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC). Rat aortic SMC were seeded at 4 x 10(4)/35 mm well. After 24 h, they were treated every 2 to 4 days for 2 weeks with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) in normal culture medium containing either drug vehicles or a low and a high but nontoxic level of glyburide (0.5 and 2.5 mumol/L), pioglitazone (1 and 5 mumol/L), and metformin (20 and 100 mumol/L). Vehicle-treated cells increased from 2 +/- 0 to 6 +/- 1 to 42 +/- 3 to 210 +/- 14 (cells per well x 10(4); 5 wells each) from day zero to 4 to 9 to 14. From day 9 to 14 these cell numbers were decreased an average of 20% by the 2.5 mumol/L glyburide (P < .05) and 43% by the 5 mumol/L pioglitazone (P < .05). The low levels of glyburide and pioglitazone and both the low and high levels of metformin failed to influence cell numbers. In a second experiment, even half the abovementioned high level of pioglitazone (2.5 mumol/L) still exerted a markedly greater antiproliferative effect on aortic SMC than a high level of 2.0 mumol/L glyburide (P < .05). In addition, neither drug's antiproliferative effect was influenced by a high level of insulin added to the medium (10 mU/mL). Similarly, a small but significant stimulatory effect of this high insulin on cell proliferation (P < .05) was not significantly affected by these two drugs (although pioglitazone tended to inhibit it). These results suggest that thiazolidinediones may be more useful antidiabetic agents than sulfonylureas and biguanides in inhibiting abnormal arterial SMC proliferation associated with atherosclerosis and postangioplastic restenosis which are common in diabetic patients.
Synthesis of homopolymer containing diphenyl end-capped oligothiophene co-oligomer unit in the side chain.

A new polymer with the diphenyl end-capped oligothiophene co-oligomer unit in the side chain was obtained by the ROMP method. The polymer showed good photophysical characteristics, thermal stability, and film-forming properties. A photovoltaic cell fabricated from this polymer showed relatively large open-circuit voltage (VOC = 0.7 V), moderate short-circuit current (ISC = 0.7 μA/cm2), and excellent device stability under ambient conditions.
A posteriori error estimation for discontinuous Galerkin solutions of hyperbolic problems

Abstract We analyze the spatial discretization errors associated with solutions of one-dimensional hyperbolic conservation laws by discontinuous Galerkin methods (DGMs) in space. We show that the leading term of the spatial discretization error with piecewise polynomial approximations of degree p is proportional to a Radau polynomial of degree p+1 on each element. We also prove that the local and global discretization errors are O(Δx2(p+1)) and O(Δx2p+1) at the downwind point of each element. This strong superconvergence enables us to show that local and global discretization errors converge as O(Δxp+2) at the remaining roots of Radau polynomial of degree p+1 on each element. Convergence of local and global discretization errors to the Radau polynomial of degree p+1 also holds for smooth solutions as p→∞. These results are used to construct asymptotically correct a posteriori estimates of spatial discretization errors that are effective for linear and nonlinear conservation laws in regions where solutions are smooth.
Profile-guided automated software diversity

Code-reuse attacks are notoriously hard to defeat, and most current solutions to the problem focus on automated software diversity. This is a promising area of research, as diversity attacks the common denominator enabling code-reuse attacksthe software monoculture. Recent research in this area provides security, but at an unfortunate price: performance overhead. Leveraging previously collected profiling information, compilers can substantially improve subsequent code generation. Traditionally, profile-guided optimization focuses on hot program code, where a program spends most of its execution time. Optimizing rarely executed code does not significantly impact performance, so few optimizations focus on this code. We use profile-guided optimization to reduce the performance overhead of software diversity. The primary insight is that we are free to diversify cold code, but restrict our diversification efforts in hot code. Our work investigates the impact of profiling on an expensive diversification technique: NOP insertion. By differentiating between hot cold and cold code, we optimize NOP insertion overheads from a maximum of 25% down to a negligible 1%, while preserving the security properties of the original defense. Consequently, using our profile-guided diversification technique, even randomization techniques having a high performance overhead become practical.
The Four-compartment Energy Level Diagram for Seed Germination

Abstract The four-compartment energy level diagram for the isothermal germination processes of turnip and lettuce seeds is analyzed. The fitting of a minimum chi-square to the autocatalytic reaction that describes isothermal seed germination yields two parameters that are interpreted as the initial concentrations of the first stage and last stage of seed germination. These two initial concentrations are used to determine the thermodynamic quantities, activation energies, work, and heat involved in the isothermal germination process.
Atomistic fracture energy partitioning at a metal-ceramic interface using a nanomolecular monolayer

We report an experimental approach to partition the fracture energy of a metal-ceramic interface into work of adhesion and plasticity, unveiling the nanomechanics of interfacial deformation and fracture. We obviate crack path uncertainties by constraining fracture to occur in an interfacial nanomolecular layer through fissure of a single bond type whose strength is varied by adjusting the chemical environment. This approach is adaptable for studying interfacial fracture and related phenomena in diverse materials systems in different thermochemical environments.
Molecular genetics of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): an update

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable and behavioral condition of childhood, affecting 5-10% of school-age children worldwide. Affected patients exhibit various behavioral problems such as carelessness, restlessness, disobedience and failure to stay quiet in class. The etiology of ADHD is not known. However, family, twin and adoption studies have provided strong evidence for a genetic etiology of the disorder. A genome-wide scan has identified six chromosomal loci with LOD scores suggestive of linkage. Animal studies suggest the involvement of the brain dopamine pathway and its alteration in ADHD but there is no direct evidence to support this hypothesis. In addition, there are at least 20 candidate genes of small effect that have been studied but none of them appear to be the major gene causing ADHD. Medical intervention along with psychosocial therapy proved to be beneficial for controlling ADHD, although some undesirable side effects have been encountered during medical treatment. In the future, identification of environmental factors, study of additive gene effects and the interaction of genes and environmental factors may provide better insight into the pathophysiology of ADHD. This may lead to an effective new treatment strategy.
Proton-pump inhibitors were associated with reduced effectiveness of alendronate for preventing hip fractures

Source Citation Abrahamsen B, Eiken P, Eastell R. Proton pump inhibitor use and the antifracture efficacy of alendronate. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:998-1004. 21321287
Inequality in divorce settlements: An investigation of property settlements and child support awards

Abstract Men and women have unequal access to economic resources, but couples vary in the degree to which husbands have power over wives. Inequality between husbands and wives affects marital interaction as well as decisions to dissolve a marriage. This paper investigates the degree to which the financial terms of divorce settlements reflect parents' relative power to achieve their goals and the competition between their own self-interest and altruistic concern for their children. We argue that consensus-oriented views of divorce negotiations that posit trade-offs between property and child support awards ignore inequality between bargainers and the high level of conflict that characterize most divorces. A description of the division of property and child support awards for a representative sample of recent divorces cases sets the stage for the examination of inequality in settlements. We find that although property settlements have little effect on postdivorce differences in custodial mothers' and noncustodial fathers' economic status, property settlements are worth between one- and two-thirds of child support awards. The high value of property settlements compared to support awards shows that trade-offs between property settlements and support are feasible. They are, however, uncommon. The majority of divorce settlements are the outcome of negotiations between unequal parties and result in one spouse acquiring both a favorable property settlement and a favorable child support award. Only among couples in which husbands and wives have similar incomes do the final outcomes reflect trade-offs between property settlements and child support awards.
Biodistribution of bis[β-(N,N,N-trimethylamino)ethyl]selenide-75Se diiodide, a potential articular cartilage imaging agent

Abstract In an effort to develop a specific radiodiagnostic agent for articular cartilage imaging, we have investigated the biodistribution of bis[β-(N,N,N-trimethylamino)ethyl]selenide-75Se diiodide (75Se BISTAES) in rabbits. At an intravenous dose of 5 mg/kg, the greatest localization of the compound occurred in articular cartilage 15 min after injection. The compound was excreted rapidly in the urine. The results suggest that 75Se BISTAES has potential clinical use as an articular cartilage imaging agent.
Phase formation and magnetic properties of SmCo5+x alloys with the TbCu7-type structure

Abstract The metastable TbCu 7 -type structure has been formed over a range of compositions ranging from SmCo 5.67 to SmCo 8 . The stabilization was attributed to the addition of Nb combined with rapid solidification processing. As a result, the concentration of transition metal dumbbells varied, while the placement in the structure remained random. The coercivity varied linearly with composition and was highest in Sm-rich compositions (17.5 kOe ) and decreased to ∼3 kOe as Sm content decreased. The variation in coercivity was attributed to a decrease in magnetocrystalline anisotropy, with estimations predicting that the anisotropy varies linearly with composition between values reported for the compounds SmCo 5 and Sm 2 Co 17 .
Why We Are Fairer Than Others

Subjects wrote lists of either fair or unfair things that they or others did. A pervasive tendency was found for subjects to associate themselves with fair behaviors and others with unfair behaviors. When different subjects rated samples of the written behaviors for fairness and frequency we found that fair behaviors were rated as more frequent than unfair behaviors and self-ascribed behaviors were rated as fairer than behaviors ascribed to others. These findings and others are shown to result from a tendency for subjects to perceive a stronger link between the fairness and frequency of their own behavior than between the fairness and frequency of the behavior of other people. A final analysis showed that the subcategories of unfair behavior that subjects associated with others were different from those associated with themselves.