cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The nature of randomness: Part 1 – Knowable or unknowable?

Purpose – In this two‐part series, this paper seeks to consider certain intriguing aspects of randomness, the basic mathematical concept used to model financial risk and other unknown quantities in the physical world. Design/methodology/approach – Part 1 applies concepts from quantum physics and algorithmic information theory to distinguish between knowable complexity and unknowable complexity. Findings – In Part 1, it is found that Heisenberg's uncertainty principle can be used to provide concrete examples of random variables, and that the Kolmogorov/Chaitin notion of algorithmic complexity can be used to define the formal concept of randomness. Originality/value – The two‐part series explores the underlying nature of randomness in terms of both its physical/mathematical properties and its role in human cognition.
Predictors of interleukin‐1β and interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist in infant saliva

Objectives This study assesses the feasibility of measuring interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in infant salivary samples as representative of pro- and anti-inflammatory processes, and explores predictors of these biomarkers in a US population. Methods Data were collected from 73 US mother-infant pairs. Salivary samples were collected with an infant swab and analyzed for IL-1β, IL-1ra, and immunoglobulin A (IgA) using ELISA. Household, maternal, infant, and anthropometric predictors were selected using stepwise regression to build final multivariate models. Results Both IL-1β and IL-1ra can be feasibly measured in infant saliva. The predictors in the final IL-1β model were IL-1ra and reported infant illness. IL-1β, IgA, infant age, household income, maternal BMI, and infant weight-for-age z-score were significant in the final model for IL-1ra. Conclusions IL-1β and IL-ra are useful biomarkers of immune function for infants. In particular, IL-1ra has the potential to address the relationship between immune function and body composition in the mother-infant dyad.
Sex Hormones and Incident Heart Failure in Men and Postmenopausal Women: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

CONTEXT Sex differences exist in heart failure (HF) phenotypes, but there is limited research on the role of sex hormones in HF and its subtypes. OBJECTIVE To examine the associations of total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with incident HF, HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). DESIGN Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (prospective cohort study). Median follow-up is 19.2 years. SETTING General community. PARTICIPANTS 4107 men and 4839 postmenopausal women, with mean age of 63.2 (standard deviation [SD] 5.7) and 62.8 (5.5) years, respectively. EXPOSURE Plasma sex hormone levels were measured at visit 4 (1996-1998). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incident HF events were identified through hospital discharge codes and death certificates. RESULTS The Hazard Ratios for HF associated with 1 SD decrease in log-transformed total testosterone, DHEA-S, and SHBG were 1.10 (95% confidence interval 1.03, 1.17), 1.07 (1.00, 1.15), and 1.04 (0.96, 1.11) in men, and 1.05 (0.99, 1.13), 1.17 (1.09, 1.24), and 0.93 (0.85, 1.01) in women, respectively. The associations between sex hormones with subtypes of HF had similar patterns but were attenuated and became statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION In this prospective cohort, lower levels of endogenous testosterone and DHEA-S in men and DHEA-S in postmenopausal women were associated with the development of HF. Similar directions of association in both sexes and both HF subtypes suggest that sex hormones play a role in the development of HF through common pathways regardless of sex.
Psychological Resilience to the Challenges of Physical Aging in Older U.S. Veterans: Results From the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

ABSTRACT Objectives To employ a novel analytic approach to quantify psychological resilience to physical health difficulties and identify factors associated with greater resilience in older U.S. veterans. Methods Data from a nationally representative sample of older U.S. military veterans (N = 3,001), who participated in the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study were analyzed to develop the Psychological Resilience Against Physical Difficulties Index (PRAPDI). Multiple regression and relative importance analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with greater PRAPDI scores. Results Secure attachment style [17.3% relative variance explained (RVE)], mindfulness [16.6% RVE], and purpose in life [15.0% RVE] emerged as the strongest correlates of PRAPDI scores. Conclusion Intervention strategies aimed at fostering mindfulness, attachment security, and purpose in life may help promote psychological resilience to the challenges of physical aging in older veterans.
How Science Journalists Verify Numbers and Statistics in News Stories: Towards a Theory

Despite repeated investigations showing that routine news coverage involving statistics leaves much to be desired, scholarship has failed to produce an adequate theoretical understanding of how sta...
The dynamic organelle primary cilia: emerging roles in organ fibrosis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Primary cilia, the antenna-like organelles on most mammalian cells, host key components of multiple morphogen signal transduction pathways. Mutations in genes responsible for primary cilia assembly and function generally result in pathological conditions known as ciliopathies, which underlie several diseases, including various forms of fibrosis. Primary cilia modulate cellular responses to extracellular cues, including TGF-β and morphogens, such as Hedgehog. Aberrant morphogen signaling is recognized as essential for the transition of mesenchymal progenitor cells to myofibroblasts, the key step in fibrosis. This article aims to provide a critical overview of recent developments and insights in primary cilia biology relevant to fibrosis. RECENT FINDINGS Several studies have highlighted the association of altered primary cilia with various forms of fibrosis. In a rather complex manner, the presence of primary cilia seems to be required for initiation of myofibroblast transition, whereas its loss promotes myofibroblast transition at a later stage. Recent evidence also suggested that noncanonical functions of ciliary transport proteins may influence, such cellular transitions independently of primary cilia. The possibility of opposing signaling regulations being topologically separated between primary cilia and plasma membrane could also be critical for fibrosis. SUMMARY Recent progress in the field suggests that primary cilia are critical mediators of the pathogenesis of fibrosis. Understanding the potential role of primary cilia in fibrosis and the underlying mechanisms may pave the way for entirely new approaches for fibrosis prevention and treatment of SSc.
Cardiac involvement in hydrocarbon inhalant toxicity — role of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: A case report

Cardiac involvement in hydrocarbon inhalant toxicity — role of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: A case report
The impact of classroom context upon 1st and 2nd grade students’ critical criteria for science representations

We report on a design based research study exploring how the organization of classroom activity impacts early elementary students’ critical criteria for evaluating representations in science class. The ability to critique representations produced by others as well as one’s own is an important practice when working with representations. Effective critique requires understanding the purpose of the representation and the context of its use. We use Activity Theory to explore how a change in teacher prompts can facilitate a shift in how the teacher and the students organize their collective activity ultimately resulting in a change to the nature of their critical criteria for evaluating their peers’ representations. To explore this relationship, we worked with a teacher to iteratively adapt and refine whole-group discussions of students’ representations to provide a context in which students critique their peers’ work on scientific grounds. After each representational activity, the teacher engaged the students in discussing the representations (three groups of students across a total of six sessions, N = 39). Findings indicate that contextual cues lead to a statistically significant shift in students talk. Video analysis indicates that shifts in contextual cues resulted in dramatic shifts in how the activity is mediated, resulting in the verbalization and application of increasingly robust scientific criteria across three different sessions.
Facile solid-phase synthesis of C-terminal peptide aldehydes and hydroxamates from a common Backbone Amide-Linked (BAL) intermediate

C-Terminal peptide aldehydes and hydroxamates comprise two separate classes of effective inhibitors of a number of serine, aspartate, cysteine, and metalloproteases. Presented here is a method for preparation of both classes of peptide derivatives from the same resin-bound Weinreb amide precursor. Thus, 5-[(2 or 4)-formyl-3,5-dimethoxyphenoxy]butyramido-polyethylene glycol-polystyrene (BAL-PEG-PS) was treated with methoxylamine hydrochloride in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride to provide a resin-bound methoxylamine, which was efficiently acylated by different Fmoc-amino acids upon bromo-tris-pyrrolidone-phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBrOP) activation. Solid-phase chain elongation gave backbone amide-linked (BAL) peptide Weinreb amides, which were cleaved either by trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the presence of scavengers to provide the corresponding peptide hydroxamates, or by lithium aluminum hydride in tetrahydrofuran (THF) to provide the corresponding C-terminal peptide aldehydes. With several model sequences, peptide hydroxamates were obtained in crude yields of 68-83% and initial purities of at least 85%, whereas peptide aldehydes were obtained in crude yields of 16-53% and initial purities in the range of 30-40%. Under the LiAlH4 cleavage conditions used, those model peptides containing t-Bu-protected aspartate residues underwent partial side chain reduction to the corresponding homoserine-containing peptides. Similar results were obtained when working with high-load aminomethyl-polystyrene, suggesting that this chemistry will be generally applicable to a range of supporting materials.
Chemoprophylaxis and HAART Therapy in Botswana

Botswana has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, with 37.4% of adults infected in 2003 according to UNAIDS. To address the problems of widespread infections, the government of Botswana instituted aggressive programs for the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in both chemoprophylaxis for pregnant women and HAART therapy for treatment of clinical AIDS. At present, about 25% of AIDS patients receive HAART, and about 40% of HIV positive pregnant women receive chemoprophylaxis. After the country adopted an "opt out" policy for HIV testing in early 2005, these numbers are rapidly rising. Both the chemoprophylaxis regimen and the first line regimen for AIDS, include nevirapine (NVP). This is likely to cause problems with drug resistance when mothers with young infants need therapy, as about half of the mothers who receive NVP during labor reveal genotypic resistance when analyzed. In a recent trial we showed that NVP given only to newborn infants is as effective as when given to the mother during labor and the newborn infant, at least when used on a background of zidovudine (ZDV). This may provide a mechanism to avoid the establishment of NVP-resistance in HIV-positive mothers. HIV-1C, the subtype of southern Africa, shows higher rates of NVP-resistance as compared to HIV-1A or HIV-1D.
Waves in the Martian Atmosphere: Results from MGS Radio Occultations

Temperatures retrieved from Mars Global Surveyor radio occultations have been searched for evidence of waves. Emphasis has been on the initial series of occultations between 29 deg N and 64 deg S, obtained during the early martian southern summer, L(sub s) = 264 deg - 308 deg. The profiles exhibit an undulatory behavior that is suggestive of vertically propagating waves. wavelengths approximately 10 km are often dominant, but structure on smaller scales is evident. The undulatory structure is most pronounced between latitudes 29 deg N and 10 deg S, usually in regions of "interesting" topography, e.g., in the Tharsis region and near the edge of Syrtis Major. Several temperature profiles, particularly within 30 deg of the equator, exhibit lapse rates that locally become superadiabatic near the 0.4-mbar level or at higher altitudes. This implies that the waves are "breaking" and depositing horizontal momentum into the atmosphere. Such a deposition may play an important role in modulating the atmospheric winds, and characterizing the spatial and temporal distribution of these momentum transfers can provide important clues to understanding how the global circulation is maintained.
An empirical comparison of the usability for novice and expert searchers of a textual and a graphic interface to an art-resource database

The present paper reports an experimental test of a prototype graphic and textual search interface for a university database on art-resource works. Novice and expert searchers were tested on both interfaces with performance assessed in terms of search speed and accuracy. Verbal protocols and navigation strategies were also examined. Experts performed significantly faster than novices though both user groups performed slightly (but not significantly) faster with the graphical interface. Furthermore, the graphical interface significantly reduced navigation effort. While there were no significant task accuracy differences, novices failed to complete more searches with the textual interface. Implications of these results for search interfaces to digital resources are briefly discussed.
Statistical tools to assess the breadth and depth of shrimp aquaculture certification schemes

Abstract Nearly two decades ago, significant concern about the environmental impacts of aquaculture production gave rise to environmental certification schemes as a means to ensure production adhered to less impactful environmental standards. Currently, some governments with more robust regulations are also engaging by creating national voluntary sustainability certification schemes. While its likely that the majority of aquaculture standards originated independently of one another, they generally overlap on the main impact issues but with differing requirements for compliance, making it difficult to differentiate more unique or robust schemes. Differentiation and encouragement of the adoption of the more rigorous standards is one means to encourage the industry to lessen environmental and social impacts. One confounding factor in benchmarking studies is the lack of a consistent methodology making wider comparisons difficult. Here we created a tool for standards comparison that began with a broad reaching set of factors based on the FAO Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification and the International Principles for Responsible Shrimp Farming. Our analysis first compared if the factors were addressed (the breadth of the scheme), as well the mechanism by which compliance was required (the scheme depth), a proxy for how rigorously each factor was addressed. This analysis compared 112 factors divided into five impact areas (community, environment, food safety, feed and marine resource use, and supply risk), for three national shrimp aquaculture certification schemes including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and three global schemes including Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Global Aquaculture Alliance and GLOBALG.A.P. The global schemes were found to be of greater breadth and depth than the national schemes. As an analysis tool, the breadth–depth (B–D) graphical analysis was compared to more rigorous statistical methods including multiple analysis of variance and cluster analysis. Overall, the B–D analysis provided a relatively simple means to assess rigor (breadth and depth) of multiple certification standards when compared using a broad baseline set of factors. It was further observed that the global certification programs overlapped in breadth and depth largely because of an uneven application across the five impact areas. The use of this analysis can be implemented to better understand similarities and differences between standards, and can be foundational in developing and adjusting schemes to ensure they are unique and operating at different levels of rigor, which can be a roadmap towards increasing the sustainability of aquaculture production.
Hypo- and Hyperresponse to Egg Cholesterol Predicts Plasma Lutein and β-Carotene Concentrations in Men and Women

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the plasma response to dietary cholesterol from eggs is associated with the plasma carotenoid response and whether gender influences the carotenoid response. Using a crossover design, 40 subjects classified as either hyper- (10 men and 10 women) or hyporesponders (10 men and 10 women) to dietary cholesterol consumed an egg (EGG, 640 mg/d additional dietary cholesterol and 600 microg lutein + zeaxanthin) or placebo (SUB, 0 mg/d cholesterol, 0 microg lutein + zeaxanthin and 568 microg beta-carotene) diet for 30 d, followed by a 3-wk washout period and the alternate diet. Plasma concentrations of lutein and beta-carotene after each dietary period were then examined to determine whether the response to carotenoid intake was similar to that seen for dietary cholesterol. After the EGG period, the increase in plasma lutein in female hyperresponders (mean increase +/- SD; 0.32 +/- 0.19 micromol/L) and male hyperresponders (0.26 +/- 0.11 micromol/L) was significantly greater than that of their hyporesponsive counterparts (0.16 +/- 0.18 micromol/L for women and 0.14 +/- 0.11 micromol/L men). Gender was not a significant factor influencing lutein response. Both men and women classified as hyperresponders significantly increased plasma beta-carotene after the SUB period, whereas their hyporesponsive counterparts were not affected. The increase in plasma beta-carotene in female hyperresponders (0.29 +/- 0.48 micromol/L) was significantly greater than that in male hyperresponders (0.07 +/- 0.07 micromol/L). We conclude that plasma responses to cholesterol and carotenoids are related and that gender influences the beta-carotene response to a greater degree than the lutein response.
Chromosome mapping of Rmp-4, a gonad-dependent gene encoding host resistance to mousepox.

DBA/2 (D2) mice are susceptible and C57BL/6 (B6) mice are resistant to lethal mousepox. A congenic resistant strain, D2.B6-Rmp-4r (D2.R4), was developed by serially backcrossing male mice that survived ectromelia virus infection with D2 mice, beginning with (B6 x D2)F1 mice. Male D2.R4 mice were at least 300-fold more resistant to lethal mousepox than male D2 mice. Female D2.R4 mice were 100-fold more resistant than male D2.R4 mice and 500-fold more resistant than female D2 mice. Neonatal gonadectomy prevented development of resistance in D2.R4 mice of both sexes. Differences in resistance between strains and between sexes correlated with restriction of virus replication in spleen and liver, but gender differences were less evident in liver than in spleen. High-resolution interval mapping of the 19 autosomes of D2.R4 mice using dispersed informative microsatellites as marker loci revealed a segment of distal chromosome 1 to be of B6 origin. Haplotypes for a marker locus, D1Mit57, from the differential segment were determined in (D2.R4 x D2)F1 x D2 backcross mice, which were then infected with ectromelia virus. Significantly more heterozygotes than homozygotes survived ectromelia virus infection in both sexes. Whereas nearly all surviving males were heterozygotes, 44% of surviving females were homozygotes. These results indicate that resistance in D2.R4 mice is determined by a gonad-dependent gene on distal chromosome 1, provisionally named Rmp-4, and by an ovary-dependent factor that is not genetically linked to Rmp-4.
Relation of novel echocardiographic measures to invasive hemodynamic assessment in scleroderma-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Objective Systemic sclerosis (SSC; scleroderma)–associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of mortality in SSc patients and represents an important diagnostic and therapeutic target. Our aims were to evaluate the relationship between echocardiogram-derived right-sided heart hemodynamics and gold standard right-sided heart catheterization (RHC) measurements in a scleroderma population and to investigate whether this relationship is modified by a subset of pulmonary hypertension. Methods We performed RHC and echocardiography on the same day, with pulmonary function testing in 21 consecutive subjects with scleroderma and precapillary pulmonary hypertension (mean ± SD age 57 ± 10 years, 81% women). Results RHC measures, including pulmonary arterial systolic and mean pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), correlated strongly with echocardiogram-derived data. RHC-derived PVR was negatively associated with right ventricular (RV) systolic performance, as measured by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE; rho = −0.70, P < 0.001), tissue Doppler tricuspid s′ velocity (rho = −0.68, P = 0.002), and RV fractional area change (rho = −0.78, P < 0.001). Correlations with TAPSE and s′ velocity were strengthened when forced vital capacity %/diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide % ≥1.6 was used to identify pure PAH phenotypes in SSc. Bland-Altman analyses demonstrated strong agreement between RHC and echocardiogram-derived hemodynamic measures. Conclusion Our findings suggest that echocardiography may play a clinical role in identifying pulmonary hypertension and RV dysfunction noninvasively, particularly in a subset of SSc patients stratified by pulmonary function testing. This method may establish specific disease phenotypes with differential cardiovascular impact and prove useful as a marker of disease progression/risk stratification in SSC patients that warrants further investigation in larger cohorts.
Posttraumatic stress and emotion dysregulation: Relationships with smoking to reduce negative affect and barriers to smoking cessation.

Introduction Many cigarette smokers have experienced a traumatic event, and elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are associated with increased smoking levels. Previous research has found that elevated PTSS are associated with smoking to cope with negative affect, and it has been posited that perceptions of being unable to cope with the consequences of smoking cessation interfere with smoking cessation in this population. However, the mechanism of the relationship between PTSS and these smoking maintenance factors (i.e., smoking to reduce negative affect and barriers to cessation) has not been established. Emotion dysregulation is one potential mechanism as it is associated with PTSS as well as addictive behavior aimed at avoiding and reducing negative emotional states.
Channel modeling and simulation for mobile user objective system (MUOS)--part 1: flat scintillation and fading

Performance of the mobile user objective system is dominated by the channel conditions characterized by ionospheric scintillation and multipath fading. Detail analytical channel modeling is provided, with the emphasis on narrowband waveforms in part I of this paper. Efficient computer simulation techniques for these flat fading channel impairment have also been presented.
Effects of social and psychosocial factors on risk of preterm birth in black women

Our objective was to examine how social and psychosocial factors may influence the risk of preterm birth. The design of the study was a hybrid retrospective and prospective cohort. African-American women residing in Baltimore, Maryland, were enrolled prenatally if they received care at one of three Johns Hopkins Medical Institution prenatal clinics (n=384) or enrolled post-partum if they delivered at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution with late, none or intermittent prenatal care (N=459). Preterm birth was defined as less than 37 weeks completed gestation. Interview data were collected on 832 enrolled women delivering singletons between March 2001 and July 2004. The preterm birth rate was 16.4%. In both unadjusted and adjusted models, exposure to racism over a woman's lifetime had no effect on risk of preterm birth in our sample. However, we found evidence of a three-way interaction between reported lifetime experiences of racism, depressive symptoms during pregnancy and stress during pregnancy on preterm birth risk. Racism scores above the median (more racism) were associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in three subgroups with the effect moderated by depressive symptoms and stress. Social and psychosocial factors may operate in a complex manner related to risk of preterm birth.
Seminary Formation and Homosexuality: Changing Sexual Morality and the Church's Response

The article examines recent comments by Pope Benedict XVI in Light of the World regarding the recent Vatican instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders, which deals with homosexuality and the priesthood. This article demonstrates that Pope Benedict XVI's comments are consistent with the "fractures" in the understanding of sexual morality which he identified in The Ratzinger Report. As sexual mores have changed, attempting to "normalize" homosexuality, gradually the Church has developed norms and guidelines for seminary formators, culminating in the instruction.
Life History strategy and Evaluative Self-Assessment

Abstract Life History (LH) theory describes the existence of individual differences in the optimal allocation of inherently limited bioenergetic and material resources towards different types of reproductive-enhancing activities. LH theory predicts that slow LH (“High-K”) individuals are biased toward allocating resources toward enhancing the phenotypic quality (e.g., physical and mental health) of oneself and one’s offspring. Sociometer theory suggests that self-esteem tracks an individual’s level of social acceptance and inclusion. We examined the hypothesis that slow LH strategy positively predicts a more positive Evaluative Self-Assessment due to enhanced phenotypic quality. Participants completed questionnaires measuring their Life History (LH) strategies and a variety of measures of Self-Assessment (perceived mate value, perceived mating success, social economic exchange, positive and negative adjectives, global self-esteem, and collective self-esteem). An Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated that the measures of Evaluative Self-Assessment were best represented as a single latent factor. Slow LH strategy correlated moderately and positively with this Evaluative Self-Assessment factor. This relationship was not accounted for by socially desirable responding (self-deceptive enhancement or impression-management), sex, or age of participants. Consistent with Sociometer theory, we suggest that slow LH strategists exhibit high perceived self-worth due to increased social prestige and, relatedly, enhanced phenotypic quality.
Microtopography promotes coexistence of an invasive seagrass and its native congener

Environmental heterogeneity can promote coexistence, and is therefore predicted to increase invasibility of communities, but decrease invasion impacts. We examined the role of local-scale environmental heterogeneity in promoting the coexistence of the invasive seagrass, Zostera japonica, and its native congener Zostera marina in a patch mosaic. In its introduced range, Z. japonica often co-occurs with the native Z. marina in a patch mosaic associated with intertidal microtopography (centimeter to decimeter relief over meter to decameter distances). Here, Z. marina inhabits depressions that retain water during low tides, and Z. japonica inhabits well-drained mounds. Transplant experiments revealed that Z. marina suppressed Z. japonica shoot densities, more so in pools than on mounds. Z. marina suppressed Z. japonica above-ground and below-ground biomass by 47 and 19 % respectively, on mounds, and by over 60 % in pools. Z. marina shoot densities and biomass were 40 and 95 % lower, respectively, on mounds, regardless of Z. japonica presence. Topographic context remained the most influential predictor of Z. marina responses, even when we transplanted Z. marina into higher densities of Z. japonica. These results indicate that the native Z. marina is physiologically restricted from mounds and competitively excludes the introduced Z. japonica from pools. We provide empirical evidence of local-scale heterogeneity promoting coexistence of an invasive and a native macrophyte, supporting the hypothesis that environmental heterogeneity increases invasibility and decreases invasion impacts. Furthermore, active control of the invader in mixed beds is unlikely to benefit the native.
Dynamically programmable digital tissue phantoms

As optical imaging modalities gain acceptance for medical diagnostics and become common in clinical applications, standardized protocols to quantitatively assess optical sensor performance are required to ensure commonality in measurements and to validate system performance. The current emphasis is on the development of 3-dimensional, tissue-simulating artifacts with optical scattering and absorption properties designed to closely mimic biological systems. These artifacts, commonly known as tissue phantoms, can be fairly complex and are tailored for each specific application. In this work, we describe a conceptually simpler, 2-dimensional digital analog to the 3-dimensional tissue phantoms that we call Digital Tissue Phantoms. The Digital Tissue Phantoms are complex, realistic, calibrated, optical projections of medically relevant images with known spectral and spatial content. By generating a defined set of Digital Tissue Phantoms, the radiometric performance of the optical imaging sensor can be quantified, based on the accuracy of measurements of the projected images. The system is dynamically programmable, which means that the same system can be used with different sets of Digital Tissue Phantoms for sensor performance metrics covering a wide range of optical medical diagnostics, from cancer and tumor detection to burn quantification.
High mobility solvent holes in cycloalkane liquids studied by a two-color laser ionization

Solvent holes were studied in two-laser, two-color experiments in decalin, methylcyclohexane, and cyclohexane solutions containing aromatic solutes. The holes were produced by photoinduced valence band electron transfer from the solvent to the excited doublet states of aromatic radical cations. The d.c. conductivity signals of these rapidly migrating holes exhibit an exponential decay in both decalins and methylcyclohexane. The rate constants for reaction of the solvent holes with various solutes were measured in trans-decalin, mixtures of trans- and cis-decalins, and methylcyclohexane at room temperature.
Improved identification of noisy spectra using higher-ordered correlation spectral analysis.

We used a higher-order correlation-based method of comparison for spectral identification. Higher-order correlations are an extension of the more familiar second-order cross-correlation function and have the significant advantage of being theoretically shown to eliminate noise of unknown spectral density under certain conditions. Specifically, we applied a third-order correlation technique to the identification of similar IR spectra in the presence of noise. We were able to reduce the effects of noise from a second-order correlation measurement by further processing the measurement with a third-order autocorrelation. Our results showed that the third-order correlation-based method increased the probability of detection of a spectrum in the presence of noise, when compared to using a second-order technique alone. The probability of detection increased enough at low signal-to-noise ratios that this technique may be useful when a second-order correlation technique is not acceptable. The third-order technique...
VARIANCE OF CERTAIN FLUX ESTIMATORS USED IN MONTE CARLO CALCULATIONS.

Calculations were set up to determine the effect of the grazing flux on the surface-crossing flux estimator and the pillbox track-length estimator used in Monte Carlo calculations. It was found tha...
Carbon Nanotubes for Organic Solar Cells

Ideal interdigitated heterojunctions are considered to be the best solution for high-performance organic solar cells. However, the implementation of the ideal interdigitated structure is difficult. In this article, the general application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in organic solar cells is first discussed followed by the investigation of electrical roles of CNTs in organic solar cells. Based upon the current research results, we propose a novel inverted interdigitated structure for organic photovoltaic cells, which can be implemented by vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA CNTs). The power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells with this interdigitated structure, verified by simulation, exceeds the state-of-the-art performance.
Test-retest reliability of knee biomechanics during stop jump landings.

Abstract Studies that seek to determine the effects of an intervention on knee biomechanics during landing from a jump implicitly assume that the variables of interest are reliable both within and between data collection sessions. Currently, such reliability data are not available for a stop jump. Standard three-dimensional motion analysis was used to determine sagittal and frontal plane peak angles and moments and peak vertical ground reaction force within and between sessions for a stop jump. Twelve female recreational athletes participated in two data collection sessions spaced two weeks apart. Interclass correlation coefficients and coefficient of multiple correlation were used to determine within and between session reliability of peak knee flexion angle, peak internal knee extension moment, peak knee abduction angle, peak internal knee adduction moment and peak vertical ground reaction force. Overall reliability within a session (ICC (3,1) 0.631–0.881; CMC 0.672–0.958) and between sessions (ICC (3, k ) 0.685–0.959; CMC 0.598–0.944) was good. Peak angles and moments were similar between sessions. The stop jump is less reliable within a session than a drop vertical jump reported previously in the literature. This is likely due to increased intrasubject variability between trials due to the less constrained nature of the task. Reliability of the stop jump is comparable to the drop vertical jump between sessions. Reliability of knee adduction moment is lower than reported for the drop vertical jump. The results of this study support the use of a stop jump task to evaluate knee biomechanics during landing in longitudinal studies with a repeated measures design.
A technique for the evaluation of emulsion stability.

An economical sampling and statistical treatment has been developed for screening the stability of experimental fat emulsion formulations. Coalescence or progressive increase in mean globule diameter with passage of time was interpreted to indicate physical instability. The test technique attempts to efficiently extract reliable data from a relative minimum of man hours and materials per test formulation. The counting and measuring of 100–200 globules per determination was considered to be adequate.
Using Digital Service Inventories to Create Customer Value

Technology continues to affect today's businesses in general and services in particular. With the globalization of business, service organizations have access to many of the same external resources. As a result, services must look internally to how they design their delivery processes to increase the value of their offerings. One element that appears to offer such opportunities is the creation of service inventories in the design of the service delivery process. We define service inventory as any tangible or intangible operand resource that is transformed by the service provider with or without customer input and is stored prior to the customer's arrival. The goal of service inventories is to facilitate the steps in the service delivery process, thereby creating customer value during the service encounter. Within this context, service inventories can be either physical or digital; we focus primarily on the creation of digital service inventories and how they add value for both the provider and the customer. We introduce a framework that relates the degree of customer interaction and the degree of service inventory differentiation to operational "stickiness." Our objective is to acknowledge the increasing role of technology in the delivery of services, and we discuss how services can leverage this technology by incorporating service inventories into the design of their delivery processes. The resulting synergy from both increasing the level of customer interaction during the value cocreation process and creating service inventories both of which are integral elements in our framework provides firms with increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Lies, Slander and Obscenity in Medieval English Literature: Pastoral Rhetoric and the Deviant Speaker

Introduction 1. The pastoral movement and deviant speech: major texts 2. The lies of the Fall, the tongues of Pentecost: typing and converting the deviant speaker 3. Exemplifying deviant speech: murmur in Patience 4. Confessing the deviant speaker: verbal deception in the Confessio Amantis 5. Reforming deviant social practices: turpiloquium/scurrilitas in the B Version of Piers Plowman 6. Restraining the deviant speaker: Chaucer's Manciple and Parson Bibliography Index.
Clinical Validation of the Ansi C63.19 Draft Standard for Measuring Compatibility between Digital Wireless Phones and Hearing Aids

Acoustic interference can be generated in hearing aids by the pulsed transmission signal of a digital wireless phone. This interference, resembling a buzzing, clicking, or static sound, is annoying and can seriously degrade the intelligibility of the speech. The objective of the ANSI C63.19 Draft Standard is to provide a simple, reliable test procedure for measuring the immunity of hearing aids to this interference. To clinically validate the standard, hearing aids were custom manufactured for eighteen hearing-impaired participants. The participants rated the effects of the interference experienced when using five digital wireless phone technologies (CDMA at 800 and 1900 MHz, TDMA-50 Hz at 800 and 1900 MHz, and TDMA-217 Hz at 1900 MHz) at five transmission power levels (0, 6, 12, 18, and 24 dBm). More than two-thirds of the subjects responded as predicted by acoustic measurements of the interference. The remaining subjects experienced difficulties unrelated to wireless phone interference due to severe hea...
Sensory modulation of auditory stimuli in children with Autism And Receptive Developmental Language Disorder: Event-related brain potential evidence

Three groups of age- and PIQ-matched children (Autism, Receptive Developmental Language Disorder, and normal controls) participated in two event-related brain potential (ERP) experiments. Each of these experiments was aimed at evaluating whether either of the two clinical groups of children demonstrated abnormalities in two auditory ERP components, N1 and P2, which are known to be dependent on stimulus characteristics (frequency, intensity, and probability), and believed to be generated within primary and secondary cortex. Results of Experiment 1 provide partial support for the idea that both clinical groups failed to fully process changes in stimulus intensity as indexed by the N1 component. Results are discussed in reference to potential abnormalities in serotonergic regulation of auditory cortex.
Enabling Large-Scale Ground-Truth Acquisition and System Evaluation in Wireless Health

Large-scale activity monitoring is a core component of systems aiming to improve our ability to manage fitness, deliver care, and diagnose conditions. While much research has been devoted to the accurate classification of motion, the challenges arising from scaling to large communities have received little attention. This paper introduces the problem of scaling, and addresses two of the most important issues: enabling robust large-scale ground-truth acquisition and building a common database for systems comparison. This paper presents a voice powered mobile acquisition system with efficient annotation tools and an extendable online searchable activity database with 331 datasets totaling over 700 h with 8 sensing modalities and 15 activities.
Band structure and quantum conductance of nanostructures from maximally localized wannier functions : The case of functionalized carbon nanotubes

We have combined large-scale, Gamma-point electronic-structure calculations with the maximally localized Wannier functions approach to calculate efficiently the band structure and the quantum conductance of complex systems containing thousands of atoms while maintaining full first-principles accuracy. We have applied this approach to study covalent functionalizations in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes. We find that the band structure around the Fermi energy is much less dependent on the chemical nature of the ligands than on the sp(3) functionalization pattern disrupting the conjugation network. Common aryl functionalizations are more stable when paired with saturating hydrogens; even when paired, they still act as strong scattering centers that degrade the ballistic conductance of the nanotubes already at low degrees of coverage.
Thermal recovery effect on light-induced degradation of amorphous silicon solar module under the sunlight

Abstract The thermal recovery effect from the light-induced degradation under the sunlight is experimentally investigated on the amorphous silicon photovoltaic module (a-Si PV module) for installing directly to the roof flames of wooden houses. To enhance the recovery effect, the heat-insulating material is attached to the back side of the module for increasing the module temperature under the sunlight: the heat-insulated module. The generated power from the heat-insulated module is compared with that from the normal module (without the heat-insulating material) for 2 yr, and it has been cleared that the generated power normalized at 25°C from the heat-insulated module is approximately 7.3% higher than that from the normal one with the average temperature increase of 4.2°C under the sunlight.
Sparsity-based change detection of short human motion for urban sensing

In this paper, we consider sparsity-driven change detection for short human motion indication in urban sensing and through-the-wall radar imaging applications. Stationary targets and clutter are removed via change detection, resulting in a sparse scene of a few human targets, undergoing sudden short movements of their limbs, heads, and/or torsos, inside enclosed structures and behind walls. We establish an appropriate change detection model that permits the scene reconstruction within the compressive sensing framework. Results based on Laboratory experiments show that a sizable reduction in the data volume is achieved using the proposed approach without a degradation in system performance.
Applications of stable isotope analysis in mammalian ecology

In this editorial, we provide a brief introduction and summarize the 10 research articles included in this Special Issue on Applications of stable isotope analysis in mammalian ecology. The first three articles report correction and discrimination factors that can be used to more accurately estimate the diets of extinct and extant mammals using stable isotope analysis. The remaining seven applied research articles use stable isotope analysis to address a variety of wildlife conservation and management questions from the oceans to the mountains.
Depth distribution in ocean basins and plate tectonics.

IN this article I shall show that relationships between the movement of lithospheric plates1–3 and the depths of the sea floor are leading towards a quantitative theory of the distribution of oceanic depths, and that some predictions can be made. Several principal lithospheric plates have now been recognized; their relative motion over the mantle is described by a rotation of one plate relative to an adjacent plate4–6. The rotation requires two parameters to locate the pole of relative rotation, and one to specify the magnitude of the angular velocity. The direction of spreading is along small circles concentric about the pole of rotation and the velocity of spreading varies as the sine of the distance (measured in degrees of arc) from that pole, to a maximum at a distance of 90° along the equator of rotation. The angular velocity of rotation is the same everywhere. In the Atlantic Ocean the fracture zones between about 60° N and 10° S are very nearly small circles centred about a pole near the southern tip of Greenland (62 ± 5° N, 36 ± 2° W), and the spreading rates approximately agree with the velocities required for the opening of the North Atlantic about this pole1,3.
Correlation of VEGF and angiopoietin expression with disruption of blood-brain barrier and angiogenesis after focal cerebral ischemia.

In an effort to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral vascular alteration after stroke, the authors measured the spatial and temporal profiles of blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakage, angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), associated receptors, and angiopoietins and receptors after embolic stroke in the rat. Two to four hours after onset of ischemia, VEGF mRNA increased, whereas angiopoietin 1 (Ang 1) mRNA decreased. Three-dimensional immunofluorescent analysis revealed spatial coincidence between increases of VEGF immunoreactivity and BBB leakage in the ischemic core. Two to 28 days after the onset of stroke, increased expression of VEGF/VEGF receptors and Ang/Tie2 was detected at the boundary of the ischemic lesion. Concurrently, enlarged and thin-walled vessels were detected at the boundary of the ischemic lesion, and these vessels developed into smaller vessels via sprouting and intussusception. Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of cerebral vessels at the boundary...
THE STATUS OF MESONIC EXOTICA

Over twenty years ago QCD-inspired models of hadronic states began a rigorous search for meson outside of Naive Quark Model. Here we briefly review the current status of Exotica.