cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of vision screening failures in a school-based vision program (2016-19).

Background Vision screenings of a school-based program were conducted in state-mandated grades (pre-kindergarten [pre-K] or kindergarten [K], 1st and 8th grade), and nonmandated grades (2nd to 7th). Methods During school years 2016-19, 51,593 pre-K to 8th grade students from 123 Baltimore City Public Schools underwent vision screenings, with 85% of the schools qualifying for Free and Reduced Price Meals. Assessments included distance visual acuity, Spot photoscreening, stereopsis, and cover testing. Screening failures were analyzed by grade using aggregate data. Failure rates for mandated and nonmandated grades were compared using a logistic regression model, and visual acuity distributions were analyzed using individual data. Results Over the 3-year period, 17,414 (34%) of students failed vision screening. Failure rates by grade ranged from 28% to 38%. Children in kindergarten and 3rd grade and higher were statistically more likely to fail screening than those in 1st grade. Reduced visual acuity was the most common reason for failure (91%). Failure rates were significantly higher in nonmandated grades than in state-mandated testing grades (34.7% vs 32.5% [P Conclusions One-third of students failed vision screening. High screening failure rates across all grades suggest that screening in select grade levels, as currently mandated in Maryland schools, is inadequate for detecting vision problems in the low-income communities served by this program.
Chapter 5: How Female is the Future? Undoing Sexism in Contemporary Metal Music

Metal music has a questionable relationship with gender. Female performers are often represented as sex objects, discussed in misogynistic terms, or left out of considerations of the genre altogether. Many bands also communicate images of toxic masculinity. In recent years the situation appears to have changed for the better. Female-fronted metal bands have received increasing amounts of press coverage. To what extent, however, does metal’s increased focus on female performers signify a move towards gender equality? Female performers remain the exception to the rule. Nevertheless, some performers dissect the harmful effects of gender stereotypes and create exciting opportunities for the genre to evolve.
Outcomes and complications of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) may be used to treat degenerative spinal pathologies while reducing risks associated with open procedures. As an increasing number of lumbar fusions are performed in the aging United States population, MIS-TLIF has been widely adopted into clinical practice in recent years. However, its complication rate and functional outcomes in elderly patients remain poorly characterized. The objective of this study was to assess complication rates and functional outcomes in elderly patients (≥ 65 years old) undergoing MIS-TLIF. Methods The PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases were searched for relevant records in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed original research; English language; full text available; use of MIS-TLIF; and an elderly cohort of at least 5 patients. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBINS-I (Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies-of Interventions) tool. Pooled complication rates were calculated for elderly patients, with subgroup analyses performed for single versus multiple-level fusions. Complication rates in elderly compared to nonelderly patients were also assessed. Postoperative changes in patient-reported outcomes, including Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and visual analog scale (VAS) back pain (BP) and leg pain (LP) scores, were calculated. Results Twelve studies were included in the final analysis. Compared to nonelderly patients, MIS-TLIF in elderly patients resulted in significantly higher rates of major (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.07-4.34) and minor (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.22-3.95) complications. The pooled major complication rate in elderly patients was 0.05 (95% CI 0.03-0.08) and the pooled minor complication rate was 0.20 (95% CI 0.13-0.30). Single-level MIS-TLIF had lower major and minor complication rates than multilevel MIS-TLIF, although not reaching significance. At a minimum follow-up of 6 months, the postoperative change in ODI (-30.70, 95% CI -41.84 to -19.55), VAS-BP (-3.87, 95% CI -4.97 to -2.77), and VAS-LP (-5.11, 95% CI -6.69 to -3.53) in elderly patients all exceeded the respective minimum clinically important difference. The pooled rate of fusion was 0.86 (95% CI 0.80-0.90). Conclusions MIS-TLIF in elderly patients results in a high rate of fusion and significant improvement of patient-reported outcomes, but has significantly higher complication rates than in nonelderly patients. Limitations of this study include heterogeneity in the definition of elderly and limited reporting of risk factors among included studies. Further study of the impact of complications and the factors predisposing elderly patients to poor outcomes is needed.
Systematic Construction of Qualitative Physics-Based Rules for Process Diagnostics

A novel first-principles-based expert system is proposed for on-line detection and identification of faulty component candidates during incipient off-normal process operations. The system performs function-oriented diagnostics and can be reused for diagnosing single-component failures in different processes and different plants through the provision of the appropriate process schematics information. The function-oriented and process-independent diagnostic features of the proposed expert system are achieved by constructing a knowledge base containing three distinct types of information, qualitative balance equation rules, functional classification of process components, and the process piping and instrumentation diagram. The various types of qualitative balance equation rules for processes utilizing single-phase liquids are derived and their usage is illustrated through simulation results of a realistic process in a nuclear power plant.
Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy. An autopsied case from the French-Canadian kindred.

Abstract We report the complete autopsy findings of a 60-year-old, 12th generation member of the French-Canadian family originally described with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy. This report represents the second complete autopsy described in this disease. We show that oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy is a systemic myopathy with a marked prediliction for extraocular and non-somatically derived muscles. In addition, we present a comprehensive literature review of the disease, including recent therapeutic manipulations to alleviate the major symptoms. Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy must be considered as a distinct, well-defined, autosomal dominant systemic myopathy of later life whose etiology remains obscure.
Reducing exposure to environmental toxicants before birth: moving from risk perception to risk reduction.

b,c SYNOPSIS In this study, we considered approaches to reducing maternal exposure to hazardous environmental toxicants, focusing on risk communication to pregnant women and providers, but also considering identification of environmental toxicants in the community and reduction of environmental toxicants. We addressed the following questions: (1) What do pregnant women and their providers know about environmental toxicants and perinatal health? and (2) What policy strategies are needed (should be considered) to move forward in risk reduction in this area? We reviewed the literature on knowledge of pregnant women and providers regarding these issues. While there is limited research on what pregnant women and their providers know about environmental toxicants and perinatal health, there is evidence of reproductive and perinatal toxicity. This article describes a wide range of policy strategies that could be implemented to address environmental toxicants in the context of perinatal health. Effective leadership in this area will likely require collaboration of both environmental health and maternal and child health leaders and organizations.
The Effects of Fee Shifting on the Settlement Rate: Theoretical Observations on Costs, Conflicts and Contingency Fees

A large and growing literature in law and economics analyzes, from an economic perspective, the decision to initiate litigation and the subsequent decision to settle the dispute or proceed to trial.' Rather simple models yield predictions that are frequently both precise and counterintuitive-two highly attractive elements of the academician's enterprise.2 My own initial foray into this field came from a rather unconventional perspective. In a previous article, I demonstrated that bonus payments offered by the state of Illinois to unemployment compensation recipients who quickly returned to work could be analogized to bribes paid to encourage
Tracing the Evolution of Educational Development Through the POD Network's Institute for New Faculty Developers

Educational development is a unique professional field in that it is not defined by content taught in a single degree that qualifies individuals to be in it. The resulting heterogeneity in newcomers’ knowledge and skills is addressed in different ways by different national networks. Since 1997, the POD Network has held a biennial Institute for New Faculty Developers, geared toward socializing new professionals into the field. An analysis of the evolution of the Institute, therefore, focused on understanding how educational development has represented itself to newcomers, can chronicle the trajectory of the field and generate conversations about its future.
The Evolution of the Required Educational Technology Course

AbstractUniversity instructors discuss a required educational technology course in a teacher education program and the impact of two forces: (a) Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge, commonly known as TPACK (Misha & Koelher, 2006), and (b) action research data. Over the past two semesters, two new assignments have been instituted based on these two factors. Data revealed concerns on the part of some students: (a) resistance to collaborative work, and (b) concern about implementing this model of technology integration in their future classrooms. Finally, next steps to improve course assignments are discussed, as are efforts to place the course in a context in which it contributes to the transformation of other courses in the teacher licensure program.
Oncolytic adenovirus targeting cyclin E overexpression repressed tumor growth in syngeneic immunocompetent mice

Clinical trials have indicated that preclinical results obtained with human tumor xenografts in mouse models may overstate the potential of adenovirus (Ad)-mediated oncolytic therapies. We have previously demonstrated that the replication of human Ads depends on cyclin E dysregulation or overexpression in cancer cells. ED-1 cell derived from mouse lung adenocarcinomas triggered by transgenic overexpression of human cyclin E may be applied to investigate the antitumor efficacy of oncolytic Ads. Ad-cycE was used to target cyclin E overexpression in ED-1 cells and repress tumor growth in a syngeneic mouse model for investigation of oncolytic virotherapies. Murine ED-1 cells were permissive for human Ad replication and Ad-cycE repressed ED-1 tumor growth in immunocompetent FVB mice. ED-1 cells destroyed by oncolytic Ads in tumors were encircled in capsule-like structures, while cells outside the capsules were not infected and survived the treatment. Ad-cycE can target cyclin E overexpression in cancer cells and repress tumor growth in syngeneic mouse models. The capsule structures formed after Ad intratumoral injection may prevent viral particles from spreading to the entire tumor.
Does Effect Size in Naltrexone Trials for Alcohol Dependence Differ for Single‐Site vs. Multi‐Center Studies?

Background: The opioid antagonist naltrexone was first shown in single-site trials to be efficacious in the treatment of alcohol dependence. Recent clinical trials of the medication have used multi-center designs, which permit greater generalization and increased statistical power. We compared effect sizes for these two kinds of trial design on the hypothesis that multi-center trials introduce sources of variation that reduce the observed effect size. Methods: A meta-analysis of data from 19 placebo-controlled trials of the efficacy of naltrexone (7 multi-center and 12 single-site studies) was performed. Effect size estimates for these two study designs were compared using two outcomes: percentage of days drinking and percentage of subjects relapsing to heavy drinking. Results: Compared with single-site studies, multi-center studies were estimated to yield a nonsignificantly smaller effect on the percentage of days drinking (Cohen's d = 0.20 vs. 0.33, respectively) and a significantly smaller effect on the percentage of subjects relapsing to heavy drinking (Cohen's d = 0.17 vs. 0.41, respectively; p= 0.014). Earlier studies showed a larger effect size than later studies. Conclusion: The smaller effect size seen with multi-center studies may reflect random error due to heterogeneity among the sites. However, because multi-center studies were, in general, conducted more recently than single-site studies, it was not possible conclusively to disentangle the moderating impact of study type and year of publication on effect size. Further research on factors that moderate effect size can contribute to the development of medications to treat alcohol dependence.
The three-legged stool of corporate governance reform

In March 1998, the London Stock Exchange issued some proposed changes to its Listing Rules. This document incorporates what has become known as the “combined Code” of corporate governance practices, a project of the Committee on Corporate Governance (“the Hampel Committee”). Article by Jayne W. Barnard (Professor of Law, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA) published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.
Children distinguish conventional from moral violations in interactions with a personified agent

This paper describes the preliminary results of a study conducted to answer two questions: (1) Do children generalize their understanding of distinctions between conventional and moral violations in human-human interactions to human-agent interactions? and (2) Does the agent.s ability to make claims to its own rights influence children's judgments? A two condition, between-subjects study was conducted in which 60 eight and nine year-old children interacted with a personified agent and observed a researcher interacting with the same agent. A semi-structured interview was conducted to investigate the children.s judgments of the observed interactions. Results suggest that children do distinguish between conventional and moral violations in human-agent interactions and that the ability of the agent to make claims to its own rights significantly increases children.s likelihood of distinguishing the two violations.
Two-vehicle side impact crashes: The relationship of vehicle and crash characteristics to injury severity

Injury type and severity among front outboard occupants of passenger vehicles struck in the side by another passenger vehicle and recorded in the United States National Accident Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System were examined in relation to the location of impact, the angle of impact, occupant gender and age, seat belt use, the weight and body style of the side-impacted vehicle, and the weight and body style of the striking vehicle. Elderly occupants were three times as likely as younger occupants in similar crashes to be seriously injured. Serious injuries were also more likely for occupants seated on the struck side and occupants of lightweight passenger vehicles. After accounting for vehicle weight differences, struck-side occupants of cars were still much more likely to be seriously injured than struck-side occupants of light trucks. However, among occupants seated on the side of the vehicle opposite the impact, the likelihood of serious injury was higher for those seated in light trucks.
Transient energy transfer by radiation and conduction

Abstract The transient energy transfer by radiation and conduction through a semi-infinite medium has been investigated. A kernel substitution technique has been used in order to obtain analytic solutions and hence to display readily the main features and parameters of the problem. The temperature and heat flux as a function of position and time are shown and compared with the pure conduction solution.
Gender Differences in Parent Care: Demographic Factors and Same-Gender Preferences

This study tested the hypothesis that, when aging parents are assisted in the tasks of daily living by their adult children, the gender of the child providing care depends in part upon the gender of the parent requiring care. Data on 4,371 infirm elders and their 13,172 adult children from the National Long-Term Care Survey were analyzed by means of logistic regression. Separate analyses show that adult children are more likely to provide care to a parent of the same gender, and infirm elders are more likely to receive care from a child of the same gender. Because the substantial majority of elderly parents requiring care from children are mothers, this tendency toward gender consistency in the caregiving relationship partially accounts for the fact that daughters are more likely than sons to be involved in parent care.
TBASE: A computerized database for transgenic animals and targeted mutations

A computerized database, called TBASE, has been developed to organize and make available information on transgenic animals and targeted mutations by using resources at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The database is available through the JHU Computational Biology Gopher Server. To ensure that all interested users have access, several mechanisms will be installed to accommodate varying levels of telecommunication network connectivity.
Genetic correlational analysis reveals no association between MPP+ and the severity of striatal dopaminergic damage following MPTP treatment in BXD mouse strains

Abstract 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is a pro-neurotoxicant that must be metabolized to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP + ) and taken up into striatal dopaminergic neurons to produce neurodegeneration. Recently, we showed wide genetic variability in MPTP-associated neuronal damage in a panel of recombinant inbred mouse strains. Here we examined the amount of MPP + produced in the striatum in the same strains of inbred BXD mice. This allowed us to determine if the differences in the dopaminergic neurotoxicity and associated astrogliosis among the BXD mouse strains were due to differential metabolism of MPTP to MPP + . Using the same BXD mouse strains examined previously (Jones et al., 2013) we found that the extent of the striatal damage produced following MPTP treatment is not correlated quantitatively with the production of MPP + in the striatum. Our findings also extend those of others regarding strain differences in MPTP-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity. Importantly, our finding suggests that additional factors influence the neurodegenerative response other than the presence and amount of the toxicant at the target site.
Photochemical electron transfer in chlorophyll-porphyrin-quinone triads : the role of the porphyrin-bridging molecule

The photochemistry of four chlorophyll-porphyrin-naphthoquinone molecules possessing both fixed distances and orientations between the three components is described. These molecules consist of a methyl pyropheophorbide a or pyrochlorophyllide a that is directly bonded at its 3-position to the 5-position of a 2,8,12,18-tetraethyl-3,7,13,-17-tetramethylporphyrin, which is in turn bonded at its 15-position to a 2-triptycenenaphthoquinone. In addition, porphyrin-quinone compounds in which the chlorins are replaced by a p-tolyl group were also prepared as reference compounds. Selective metalation of the macrocycles with zinc gives the series ZCHPNQ, ZCZPNQ, HCZPNQ, HCHPNQ, HPNQ, and ZPNQ, where H, Z, C, P, and NQ denote free base, Zn derivative, chlorophyll, porphyrin, and naphthoquinone, respectively. Selective excitation of ZC in ZCZPNQ and ZCHPNQ, and HC in HCHPNQ dissolved in butyronitrile yields ZC[sup +]ZPNQ[sup [minus]], ZC[sup +]HPNQ[sup [minus]], and HC[sup +]HPNQ[sup [minus]] with rate constants of 1.0 [times] 10[sup 11], 9.0 [times] 10[sup 9], and 8.2 [times] 10[sup 9] s[sup [minus]1] respectively, while the corresponding ion-pair recombination rate constants are 1.4 [times] 10[sup 10], 4.0 [times] 10[sup 9], and 4.0 [times] 10[sup 9] s[sup [minus]1], respectively. The fact that ZCZPNQ possesses faster rates of charge separation than do ZCHPNQ and HCHPNQ is inconsistent with an electron transfer mechanism involvingmore » superexchange with virtual states possessing anionic character on the bridging porphyrin. The data support an electron transfer mechanism in which the lowest excited singlet state of the bridging porphyrin weakly mixes with the lowest excited singlet state of the chlorophyll. This mixed state crosses over to a charge transfer in which the bridging porphyrin is oxidized and the quinone is reduced. This charge transfer state then relaxes to yield the final state which possesses an oxidized chlorophyll and a reduced quinone. 58 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.« less
Robotic repair of giant paraesophageal hernias

Background and objectives Giant paraesophageal hernia accounts for 5% of all hiatal hernias, and it is commonly seen in elderly patients with comorbidities. Some series report complication rates up to 28%, recurrence rates between 10% and 25%, and a mortality rate close to 2%. Recently, the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) has shown equivocal benefits when used for elective surgeries, whereas for complex procedures, the benefits appear to be clearer. The purpose of this study is to present our preliminary experience in robotic giant paraesophageal hernia repair. Methods We retrospectively collected data from patients who had a diagnosis of giant paraesophageal hernia and underwent a paraesophageal hernia repair with the da Vinci Surgical System. Results Nineteen patients (12 women [63.1%]) underwent surgery for giant paraesophageal hernia at our center. The mean age was 70.4 ± 13.9 years (range, 40-97 years). The mean American Society of Anesthesiologists score was 2.15. The mean surgical time and hospital length of stay were 184.5 ± 96.2 minutes (range, 96-395 minutes) and 4.3 days (range, 2-22 days), respectively. Nissen fundoplications were performed in 3 cases (15.7%), and 16 patients (84.2%) had mesh placed. Six patients (31.5%) presented with gastric volvulus, and 2 patients had other herniated viscera (colon and duodenum). There were 2 surgery-related complications (10.5%) (1 dysphagia that required dilatation and 1 pleural injury) and 1 conversion to open repair (partial gastric resection). No recurrences or deaths were observed in this series. Conclusion In our experience robotic giant paraesophageal hernia repair is not different from the laparoscopic approach in terms of complications and mortality rate, but it may be associated with lower recurrence rates. However, larger series with longer follow-up are necessary to further substantiate our results.
Minimum-fuel aircraft transition trajectories

Sequential quadratic programming is used to solve several minimum-fuel flight path optimization problems for a point-mass aircraft flying in a vertical plane. Each optimal control problem involves two control functions: a ''steering'' control and a ''thrust'' control. Range is the independent variable. Four dynamic models are examined. The usual point-mass model requires four states (speed, flight path angle, altitude, and mass) and angle of attack as the steering control. An intermediate model with three states (speed, altitude, and mass) neglects the flight path angle dynamics and uses flight path angle as the steering control. An energy-state approximation and a point-mass model including engine dynamics are also treated. Explicit function representations are used to model the aircraft's thrust, lift, and drag characteristics. Numerical solutions are presented for several fuel-optimal transition flight paths between specified states. A comparison of results for the various dynamic models is also given.
Organizational Loyalty, Professional Commitment, and Academic Research Productivity

This study examined the relationships between organizational loyalty, professional commitment, and research productivity of 84 professors at a large Midwestern university. Likert scales and counts ...
Adaptive control for the boost converter with inductor resistance

The inductor series resistance may lead to large steady-state errors at the output of the boost converter if it is not accounted for in the design of the controller and in the stability analysis of the closed-loop systems. In this letter, a controller that relies only on output voltage measurements, with an easily tunable parameter, is designed for the boost converter. The controller guarantees a tight asymptotic regulation of the output voltage despite load variations and the presence of the parasitic inductor resistance. The stability analysis taking into account the inductor resistance is carried out within the framework of the highly nonlinear closed-loop system. The robustness of this controller is validated by computer simulations and experimental tests.
Analytic formulation of SU(3) vector coupling coefficients for n particles

Abstract Title of program: SU(3)VCC Catalogue number: AAWA Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland (see application form in this issue) Computer: IBM 360/40; Installation: Indiana University of Pa. Operating system: Disk operating system Programming language used: Fortran IV High speed storage required: 8,178 words. No. of bits in a word: 32 Is the program overlaid? No No. of magnetic tapes required: None Other peripherals used: Card reader, line printer No. of cards in combined program and test deck: 817 Card punching code: EBCDIC
Small, Nonstoichiometric Zinc Sulfide Clusters

Recent experiments indicated that the formation of small, nonstoichiometric clusters Zn n S m and Zn n S m + was possible. In this work, the ground states of these clusters, where 1 ≤ n, m ≤ 4, were studied using density functional theory. Global minima were found to be primarily cyclic structures in which the S-Zn-S preference for large bond angles was preserved. Ionization was shown to lead to structural relaxation and occasionally major changes in conformation. Cohesive energies are reported as a function of cluster composition. Qualitative comparisons were extracted from the energetics resulting from structural optimizations, and such comparisons appear to be consistent with the experiment. The computational data for the ZnS n and Zn n S m (where m > n) clusters indicated that sulfur-sulfur bonding in larger ZnS clusters could be feasible without significant energetic cost and that such structures should at least be considered.
Measurement and Simulation of Ash Deposit Microstructure

Critical deposit properties such as thermal conductivity and strength are thought to be strongly dependent on deposit microstructure. Image analysis techniques were applied to scanning electron microscopy images of ash deposit cross sections to measure quantitatively the microstructure of two ash deposits formed while firing sub-bituminous coal in a pilot-scale combustor under different temperature conditions. The measurements indicate that the high-temperature deposit has a more interconnected and coarser structure than the low-temperature deposit. Little spatial variability of the structural parameters was observed, except for a significant gradient in the contiguity (a measure of particle interconnectedness) across the high-temperature deposit. The measurements are compared to predictions of a ballistic deposition model. Both sampled and simulated deposits are coincident in terms of the measured structural parameters. The results suggest that temperature and composition can be used to predict the effec...
Sodium channel inactivation from resting states in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.

1. Unitary Na+ channel currents were recorded from isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes using the cell-attached patch-clamp technique with high [Na+] in the pipette to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. 2. The probability that the channel enters the inactivated state (I) directly from resting states (C) was investigated over a wide range of membrane potentials. 3. At membrane potentials of -60 mV or more positive, Markov chain theory was used to estimate the probability of C----I from histograms of the number of channel openings per depolarizing period. Holding potentials at least as negative as -136 were required to ensure that all channels resided in C prior to depolarization. 4. At membrane potentials negative to -60 mV, a two-pulse protocol was employed to determine the probability of C----I from the fraction of blank sweeps during the pre-pulse with correction for missed events. 5. The probability of C----I was found to be steeply voltage dependent at negative potentials, falling from 0.87 +/- 0.03 (mean +/- S.D.) at -91 mV to 0.42 +/- 0.01 at -76 mV. At potentials positive to -60 mV, this probability was less steeply voltage dependent and decayed to near zero at 0 mV. 6. Under physiological conditions, C----I transitions may produce appreciable Na+ channel inactivation at diastolic potentials. At potentials above the action potential threshold, inactivation is much more likely to occur from the open state.
Internal-External Control as a Conditioner for Choice Behavior in Interpersonal Situations

Summary It is suggested that internal-external locus of control concept (I-E) can serve to reconcile some inconsistencies in the literature regarding interpersonal attraction. The reinforcement position emphasizes amount of reward, while the gain-loss position emphasizes the sequence effect as the major determinant of interpersonal attraction. Sixty college students served as Ss and were classified as internals and externals on the basis of their scores on Rotter's I-E Scale. Results indicated that Ss classified as internals expected that they could change the situation and therefore behaved according to the prediction of the gain-loss position; Ss classified as externals expected that they could not change the situation and therefore behaved according to the prediction of the reinforcement position. These results held true for both males and females, suggesting that I-E may indeed reconcile inconsistencies in the predictions and findings for some psychological theories.
Agmatine containing axon terminals in rat hippocampus form synapses on pyramidal cells

We examined the cellular and subcellular localization of agmatine in the hippocampal CA1 region by immunocytochemistry. By light microscopy, agmatine-like immunoreactivity (agmatine-LI) was found primarily in the perikarya and dendritic profiles of pyramidal cells and in punctate processes preponderantly in stratum radiatum. Electron microscopy revealed that agmatine-LI was cytoplasmic and concentrated in 'clusters' associated with mitochondria and tubular vesicles. In stratum radiatum, agmatine-LI was primarily in axons and axon terminals associated with small, synaptic vesicles. The terminals almost exclusively formed asymmetric synapses on the spines of dendrites, many of which originated from pyramidal cells. Some agmatine-LI also was present in shafts and spines of pyramidal cell dendrites and in astrocytic processes. The results demonstrate that agmatine in the hippocampus is found primarily in terminals forming excitatory (asymmetric) synapses on pyramidal cells, some of which contain agmatine-LI. These findings further implicate agmatine as an endogenous neurotransmitter which may be co-stored with L-glutamate and may act in part in the rat hippocampus as a blocker of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and nitric oxide synthase.
Using Smartphone Technology in Environmental Sustainability Education: The Case of the Maasai Mara Region in Kenya

This study engaged key stakeholders in an economically and environmentally fragile region in Kenya in a unique, interdisciplinary, and integrative approach to explore the extent to which the use of smartphone technology helps access the environmental values and sustainability perspectives of the people of the Maasai land. The results of the study indicate that the participants' environmental values and sustainability perspectives, exposed through photovoices, pertain mainly to issues regarding livestock grazing, deforestation, soil erosion, wildlife and human co-habitation, waste management, afforestation, and the conservation of the natural vegetation. A common theme permeating the participants' photovoices was their awareness of the intertwining effects of these major environmental issues on the environment. The results also suggest a strong understanding of ecological compositions and connections in the environment by the participants.
The importance of coulombic interactions for the induction of beta structure in lysine oligomers by sodium dodecyl sulfate.

Circular dichroism spectra have been obtained for tri(L-lysine), tetra(L-lysine), and penta(L-lysine) in aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate at 25°C. None of the oligomers are affected significantly by sodium dodecyl sulfate at detergent concentrations exceeding 0.01 M. Literature results show that the high-molecular-weight polymer forms a β strucure under these conditions. At detergent concentrations near 3.5 × 10−4M the penta(L-lysine), but not the smaller oligomers, undergoes a conformational change. Its circular dichroism under these conditions is essentially identical to that observed with poly(L-lysine) when it forms a β structure in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Solutions of the penta(L-lysine), which exhibit this modified circular dichroism, are also turbid, leading to the conclusion that the oligomer has formed an intermolecular β structure. When these experiments are conducted in the presence of 0.1 M sodium hydroxide, the sodium dodecyl sulfate produces neither turbidity nor a modified circular dichroism spectrum. These observations provide compelling evidence that Coulombic interaction between the anionic detergent head and the cationic lysyl amino groups is essential for the conformational change induced in penta(L-lysine) by sodium dodecyl sulfate.
The Effects of Brief Interruptions on Task Resumption

Research has suggested that the duration of an interruption can affect the time it takes to resume an interrupted task. According to the memory for goals model, goal activation gradually decays over time. Therefore goals that have been suspended for longer will require a greater amount of strengthening and time to retrieve. Whereas most interruptions research has examined interruptions ranging from 5 seconds to several minutes, there are both theoretical reasons and empirical evidence to suggest that interruptions as short as 250 ms can lead to delays in task resumption. The effects of brief interruptions were investigated across two studies. In the first study, participants were interrupted for 250 ms and 5000 ms. In the second study, participants were interrupted for 500 ms, 1000 ms, and 2000 ms. Findings indicated that interruptions as brief as 500 ms can delay resumption. Additionally, resumption delays tended to increase as a function of interruption duration.
Comparison of Scores on the Cognitive Levels Test and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised:

The Cognitive Levels Test and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised were administered to 30 freshman college students at a small state college in the mid-Atlantic region. The correlations between the two tests were significant (median e .52; range e .46 to .64). This suggested that the PPVT-R measures a component of the CLT. The mean Peabody score was significantly higher than the Cognitive Levels Test means. Implications of these results were discussed.
A Simple Technic for Studying the Periodicity and Survival of the Respiratory Center

SummaryA method for studying the periodicity and survival of the primitive respiratory mechanism of young animals is described. Certain chemical and phvsical factors capable of influencing frequency, duration, and pattern of these periodic movements are indicated.
Effect of flavonoids on survival time of rats fed thrombogenic or atherogenic regimens.

Summary Four experiments were conducted in which 20 groups of rats (260 animals) were fed different flavonoids or derivatives, i.e. hesperidin (crude, pure or methylene-carboxy-chalcone) rutin, naringin or tangeretin at 1,2,3 or 5 g/kg diet in thrombogenic or atherogenic regimens. Sixteen groups of rats were fed the thrombogenic regimen plus a flavonoid and all 16 groups showed an average increase in survival time over controls fed similar regimens without flavonoids. Four groups of rats were fed the atherogenic regimen with flavonoids but only two groups showed a mean increase in survival time over controls. Consideration of the 4 experiments in total, χ 2 analysis on the distribution of the means showed a highly significant effect ( P Based on the evidence that all flavonoids tested showed activity on one or both diets, it was postulated that flavonoids in addition to any activity related to specific groups on the molecule, exert action due to the presence in the blood of a molecule of certain configuration and molecular weight. In this respect they may have an effect similar to low molecular weight dextrans which increase suspension stability of blood, deaggregate blood cells and improve flow. The flavonoids, similar to dextrans, may show specific effects depending on a number of parameters.
For the Record: Robert Desnos, Music, and Wartime Memory

The following is an attempt to shed some light on the as yet unacknowledged significance of Robert Desnos's interest in music at the time of the Occupation and, specifically, his enthusiastic support of the production and playing of phonograph records as a meaningful form of cultural practice during the war years.1 Unlike those of his wartime contemporaries who refused to publish in the German-controlled public sphere, Desnos remained throughout the Occupation an assiduous contributor to the non-clandestine press, including a longstanding role as "critique de disques" at Aujourd'hui, a collaborationist Parisian daily where he penned on average one or two record reviews each month between October 1940 and February 1944the last entry appearing just six days before his arrest and deportation for Resistance activities.2 These reviews, virtually unknown today,3 provide a revealing map of his frequent interventions in the non-clandestine press of the period. Like the Pathe-Marconi index of record releases that Desnos reviewed in 1941, these textsfor all their apparent trivialityoffer "de precieux documents pour l'historien futur qui voudra ecrire, d'une part l'histoire de l'etat d'esprit actuel, d'autre part le tableau d'une activite intellectuelle en laquelle il est permis de placer notre espoir" (Aujourd'hui June 26, 1941). In a surprisingly candid fashion given the context in which the statement
SNAP-29 Is a Promiscuous Syntaxin-Binding SNARE

SNARE proteins are key regulators of membrane fusion and are proposed to dictate the specificity with which particular vesicles fuse with particular target organelles. On intracellular organelles that serve as targets for transport vesicles, organelle-specific syntaxins form heterodimers with either SNAP-23 or its recently described homolog SNAP-29. We have performed a variety of in vitro and in vivo binding assays in an attempt to determine whether SNAP-23 and SNAP-29 differ in their ability to form binary SNARE complexes with different intracellular syntaxins. While SNAP-23 preferentially binds to plasma membrane-localized syntaxins, SNAP-29 binds to both plasma membrane and intracellular syntaxins equally well. Furthermore, binding to SNAP-29 augments the ability of syntaxin to bind to vesicle-associated SNAREs and the presence of vesicle SNAREs dramatically increases SNAP-29 binding to syntaxin. These data suggest that SNAP-23 preferentially regulates plasma membrane-vesicle fusion events while SNAP-29 plays a role in the maintenance of various intracellular protein trafficking pathways.
The Lens of Contract: Private Ordering

James Buchanan (2001 p. 29) avers that "mutuality of advantage from voluntary exchange is ... the most fundamental of all understandings in economics." He further contends that this fundamental understanding is better realized by examining economics through the lens of contract rather than the lens of choice (Buchanan, 1975). Because the latter has been the reigning paradigm in economics during the 20th century (Lionel Robbins, 1932; Melvin W. Reder, 1999), the lens of contract is (understandably) less fully developed. Interest in contractual approaches has nevertheless been building up, whence the gap between these two has been closing. This paper sketches some of these developments, with emphasis on private ordering.
Perceived values, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions: The role of familiarity in Korean restaurants

Abstract This study examined American customers’ perceptions of values regarding dining experiences in Korean restaurants in the United States. Specifically, the effects of hedonic and utilitarian values on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions were investigated. This study also examined the moderating effect of familiarity with Korean restaurants on the relationships among perceived values, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Overall, the results indicated that American customers valued the utilitarian aspects of Korean restaurants more than the hedonic aspects. Additionally, utilitarian aspects had a stronger impact on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions than hedonic aspects. However, when considering customers’ familiarity level with the restaurants, hedonic aspects more effectively induced positive behavioral intentions in the low familiarity group, proving that familiarity has a moderating role. Conversely, utilitarian aspects appeared to be more influential in terms of the behavioral intentions of the high familiarity group. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.
Anisotropic Diffusion in Face-Centered Cubic Opals

Diffusion in face-centered cubic (fcc) opals synthesized from 250 nm-diameter silica spheres was investigated by electrochemical methods and finite-element simulations. Opal modified electrodes (OME) ((111) opal surface orientation) were prepared by thermal evaporation of Au onto ∼1 mm-thick opals. Linear sweep voltammetry of Au OMEs in aqueous solutions containing an electroactive molecule and a supporting electrolyte (0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 ) was used to determine molecular diffusion coefficients, D fcc , within the opal. D fcc is related to the diffusion coefficient of the molecule in free solution, D sol , by the relationship D fcc , = (e/τ)D sol , where e is the interstitial volume fraction of a fcc opal (e = 0.260 for an infinitely thick opal) and τ is the tortuosity; the tortuosity reflects the increased distance traversed by molecules as they diffuse through the curved interstitial spaces of the opal lattice, and is a function of both the direction of transport relative to the lattice and the number of layers of spheres in the opal lattice. Finite-element simulations are used to compute τ for transport orthogonal to the (111), (110), and (100) surface orientations for 1-7 layers of spheres. Values of τ = 1.9 ± 0.7 and 3.1 ± 1.2 were obtained from experiment for transport of Ru(NH) 6 3+ and Fe(CN) 6 4- normal to the (111) surface, respectively, in reasonable agreement with a value of ∼3.0 obtained from the simulation.
Cutaneous silent periods in patients with Fabry disease

We assessed the cutaneous silent period (CSP) in 24 patients with Fabry disease with small-fiber sensory neuropathy and 12 normal subjects to test the hypothesis that small-diameter afferents are responsible for producing the CSP. Sensory nerve conduction studies and quantitative sensory testing for cold and vibration detection thresholds were also measured. Overall, Fabry patients had impaired thermal, but not vibration, detection thresholds, with greatest impairment in the feet. In the upper extremity, CSP latencies, duration, and suppression of electromyographic activity (EMG) did not differ. In the lower extremity, patients had reduced suppression of EMG during the CSP compared to normal controls. CSP durations exhibited a bimodal distribution in patients, including a subset of seven patients with durations shorter than all controls. This subset had profound loss of thermal sensation in the feet, but this was also true of some patients who had normal CSPs. Patients with shortened CSPs had modestly elevated vibration thresholds and reduced sensory potentials in comparison to patients with normal CSPs. Reduced CSPs in Fabry patients are associated with, but not entirely explained by, the severity of small-fiber neuropathy as measured by quantitative sensory testing. The possibility that large-diameter fibers provide a minor contribution to producing the CSP should be considered.
Towards parameter-free classification of sound effects in movies

The problem of identifying intense events via multimedia data mining in films is investigated in this work. Movies are mainly characterized by dialog, music, and sound effects. We begin our investigation with detecting interesting events through sound effects. Sound effects are neither speech nor music, but are closely associated with interesting events such as car chases and gun shots. In this work, we utilize low-level audio features including MFCC and energy to identify sound effects. It was shown in previous work that the Hidden Markov model (HMM) works well for speech/audio signals. However, this technique requires a careful choice in designing the model and choosing correct parameters. In this work, we introduce a framework that will avoid such necessity and works well with semi- and non-parametric learning algorithms.
Polarization imaging light scattering facility

Understanding the interaction of polarized light with materials is critical to applications such as remote sensing, laser radar, and quality control. The availability of angular and spatial information add additional dimensions to this understanding. A facility is constructed for Mueller Matrix Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution (MMBRDF) imaging. Polarized light at near infrared and visible wavelengths is scattered from samples ranging from bare metals to complex organic structures with various textures and orientations. The resulting scattered polarized light is measured with a Mueller matrix active imaging polarimeter. The in-plane MMBRDF is measured for a sanded aluminum sample as a demonstration of the facility. The aluminum is found to be a weak depolarizer, with a somewhat higher depolarization index at specular angles. Retardance is dominated by its linear component and is close to 180° for the majority of angles. Diattenuation is weak, especially in the specular region, and increases in the region further away from specular angles.
Reassignment of fundamental vibrational modes of cyclic S4N3 cation

MP2/6 31G* calculations were carried out to investigate the vibrational spectrum of cyclic S4N3+. The results indicate that previous assignments of several fundamental vibrational modes are in error. On the basis of the calculated results, reassignments of these modes are proposed.