cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Membrane Properties of Isolated Olfactory Receptor Neurons

Olfactory receptor neurons from the nasal epithelium exhibit several unique features that have made them the subject of extensive research. Most notably, these neurons play a key role in the olfactory process, being responsible for both the detection and initial discrimination of odorants. Developmentally, the receptor neurons are of interest because they experience continual neurogenesis, even in adult animals. Concomitant with this are changes in neuronal morphology, biochemistry, and selectivity in the response to odorants associated with synaptogenesis in the olfactory bulb. Mammalian olfactory neurons also undergo a change in the selectivity of their response to odorants just prior to birth of the animal, from that of general irritability to the selective responsiveness found in the adult (Gesteland et al., 1980, 1982). Comparing the conductance mechanisms present in olfactory neurons prior to and after this change occurs might provide insight into the mechanisms of discrimination. Because of these unique features, considerable effort has focused on understanding the membrane properties of olfactory receptor neurons.
Removal of Staphylococcus aureus from skin using a combination antibiofilm approach.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) including methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is one of the primary microorganisms responsible for surgical site infection (SSI). Since S. aureus contamination is known to originate from the skin, eradicating it on the skin surface at surgical sites is an important intervention to reduce the chance of SSIs. Here we developed and evaluated the efficacy of a combination probiotic/brush sonication strategy for skin preparation at surgical, injection and insertion sites in medicine. A 24 h biofilm on porcine skin explants was used as a worst-case scenario for the evaluation of preparation strategies. Conventional ethanol wipes achieved 0.8~2 log reduction in viable bacteria depending on how many times wiped (x4 or x6). Brush sonication or probiotic supernatant pre-treatment alone achieved a similar reduction as ethanol wipes (1.4 and 0.7~1.4 log reduction, respectively). Notably, combining sonication and probiotic pre-treatment achieved a 4 log reduction in viable bacteria. In addition, probiotic supernatant incubation times as short as 2 h achieved the full effect of this reduction in the combined strategy. These findings suggest the promising potential of combination-format skin preparation strategies that can be developed to more effectively penetrate cracks and folds in the skin to remove biofilms.
Infective Endocarditis: Update on Epidemiology, Outcomes, and Management

Infective endocarditis remains a highly mortal disease, yet the diagnosis often is missed or made only late in the disease course. The spectrum of patients presenting with endocarditis is shifting with different risk factors, predisposing patient characteristics, and treatment recommendations than in the past. This review addresses changes in the epidemiology of infective endocarditis, along with current diagnostic imaging modalities, treatment recommendations, and mortality trends. Risk factors for endocarditis now include the growing population of adults with congenital heart disease and patients with frequent healthcare contact for other comorbidities, as well as patients who are hemodialysed and immunocompromised or use intravenous drugs. Although transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography are essential for diagnosis, additional testing (nuclear, computed tomographic, and magnetic resonance imaging) is helpful in selected patients. Early surgical management, even in high-risk patients, has a mortality benefit because eradication of infection with antibiotics alone is difficult and because valve destruction often results in hemodynamic compromise. As part of a broad differential diagnosis, clinicians should consider the diagnosis of endocarditis in patients with risk factors, even when the clinical presentation is nonspecific. Blood cultures and echocardiography are the first steps for diagnosis. Other imaging modalities can enhance diagnosis, particularly in patients with intracardiac devices or prosthetic material. Evidence from observational studies support early surgical intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality from this lethal condition.
Practical Application of the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Staging System: A Pictorial Review

Because of issues with the previous staging system, the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Staging System (INRG-SS) was created in 2009. The INRG-SS is based on preoperative imaging, rather than surgical, staging and emphasizes Imaging-Defined Risk Factors as the determining factors between L1 and L2 stages. Like with the introduction of any new tool, based on the authors' experience, there has been a time-lag related to adoption of the INRG-SS staging system by radiologists. This pictorial essay offers a practical approach to learning and utilizing the INRG system, emphasizing use of the descriptive terms which determine the presence or absence of imaging-defined risk factors.
The Impact of Ethnicity on Metabolic Outcomes After Bariatric Surgery.

Abstract Background Previous studies have demonstrated that ethnic minority patients experience significant metabolic improvements after bariatric surgery but less so than non-Hispanic whites. Previous research has primarily investigated differences between non-Hispanic white and black patients. Thus, there remains a need to assess differences in diabetic outcomes among other ethnic groups, including Hispanic and Asian patient populations. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis including 650 patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), who underwent either laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) procedures, was conducted to understand ethnic disparities in diabetic metabolic outcomes, including weight loss, serum concentrations of glucose, fasting insulin, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Data were from a single academic institution in northern California. Ethnicity data were self reported. T2DM was defined as having one or more of the following criteria: a fasting glucose concentration >125 mg/dL, HbA1c >6.5%, or taking one or more diabetic oral medications. Diabetes resolution was defined as having a fasting glucose Results Within-group comparisons in all ethnic groups showed significant reductions in body mass index, body weight, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, and HbA1c by 6 mo, but Asian patients did not experience further improvement in body mass index or diabetic outcomes at the 12-mo visit. Black patients did not experience additional reductions in fasting insulin or glucose between the 6- and 12-mo visit and their HbA1c significantly increased. Nevertheless, the majority of patients had diabetes remission by the 12-mo postoperative visit (98%, 97%, 98%, and 92% in Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, black, and Asian, respectively). Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate that bariatric surgery serves as an effective treatment for normalizing glucose metabolism among patients with T2DM. However, this study suggests that additional interventions that support black and Asian patients with achieving similar metabolic outcomes as non-Hispanic white and Hispanic patients warrant further consideration.
The effects of physical activity on cancer prevention, treatment and prognosis: A review of the literature

Abstract Introduction The World Health Organization has reported that approximately 35% of cancer-related deaths are attributed to modifiable risk factors. Among the most important risk factors amenable to modification are obesity and lack of physical activity. The purpose of this article is to review the current evidence of the benefits of physical activity in various types of cancer. Methods A PubMed search for the key words “physical activity and cancer” as well as “exercise and cancer” was used to identify all indexed publications on this topic for potential utilization in this review. One MET was defined as the amount of oxygen consumed while a person is sitting quietly and is about 3.5 mL O2/kg body weight/min. MET represents the ratio of the working metabolic rate to the resting metabolic rate. Results Routine physical activity was found to be associated with a reduced incidence of several of the most common malignancies, including colon, breast, lung, and endometrial cancer as well as many others. Physical activity also appears to reduce all-cause mortality and cancer-related mortality among patients with breast and colon cancer, and may improve the functional status and quality of life for these patients during cancer therapy. Conclusions The benefits of physical activity in the prevention and progression of cancer patients are multiple. However, the strength of the available evidence is limited by the observational nature of most studies. Given the probable improvement in prevention, mortality, and quality of life with structured physical activity in different malignancies, it is important that healthcare providers discuss physical activity programs with their cancer patients. Larger randomized trials are recommended.
Anesthesia and Analgesia Practices in Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Survey of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons Membership.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to survey the current analgesia and anesthesia practices used by total joint arthroplasty surgeon members of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS). Methods A survey of 28 questions was created and approved by the AAHKS Research Committee. The survey was distributed to all 2208 board-certified adult reconstruction surgeon members of AAHKS in November 2018. Results There were 622 responses (28.2%) to the survey. A majority of respondents (93.2%, n = 576) use preemptive analgesia prior to total joint arthroplasty. Most respondents use a spinal for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) (74.4%) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) (72.6%). A peripheral nerve block is routinely used by 68.7% of respondents in primary TKA. Periarticular injection or local infiltration anesthesia is routinely used by 80.3% of respondents for both TKA and THA patients. The average number of opioid pills prescribed postoperatively after TKA is 49 pills (range 0-200) and after THA is 44 pills (range 0-200). Most surgeons (58%) expect that this prescription should last for 2 weeks. A majority of respondents (74.0%) use multimodal analgesics in addition to opioids. Conclusion There is no consensus regarding the optimal multimodal anesthetic and analgesic regimen for total joint arthroplasty among surveyed board-certified arthroplasty surgeon members of AAHKS. Understanding current practice patterns in anesthesia, analgesia, and opioid prescribing may serve as a platform for future work aimed at establishing best clinical practices of maximizing effective postoperative pain control and minimizing the risks associated with prescribing opioids.
Examining the Academic Advising Experiences of Black Males at an Urban University: An Exploratory Case Study:

To ensure the effectiveness of academic advising efforts on campus and to increase Black male collegians’ use of such services, administrators must better understand how Black males experience acad...
The changing role of high dose melphalan with stem cell rescue in the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma in the era of modern therapies—back to the future!

State of the art treatment for myeloma involves using 3-drug combinations incorporating immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) and proteasome inhibitors (PIs). Clinical trials for 4-drug combinations incorporating monoclonal antibodies added to IMiD and PI based backbones are underway. Recent retrospective analyses show that patients who attain MRD negativity have similar long term outcomes regardless of early or delayed high dose melphalan with autologous stem cell support (HDM-ASCT). Given HDM-ASCT toxicity, not "overtreating" would be beneficial. Short of data from future prospective clinical trials addressing the question of the role of HDM-ASCT in MRD negative patients, varying expert opinions inherently arise. In this paper, we present the historical context of HDM-ASCT and data supporting 3-drug combinations. We then propose that a viable option for patients who reach MRD negativity is to transition to maintenance therapy directly without early HDM-ASCT, and reserving stem cell harvest to cases where HDM-ASCT is a possibility at relapse.
The Hard X-Ray to Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Spectrum of the Crab Nebula

Data from the UCSD/MIT Hard X-ray and Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Experiment on the first High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO 1) were used to determine the spectrum of the Crab Nebula in the 10 keV-5 MeV energy range. The spectral change in the 100 keV-1 MeV region is characterized. When the combined spectrum is fitted to a broken power-law model, the data require a description with the following distinct spectral indices: a power-law slope of 2.08 in the 1-100 keV region and a slope of about 2.5 above 150 keV.
Cavotricuspid isthmus ablation for atrial flutter: Anatomic challenges and troubleshooting.

In patients with cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)-dependent atrial flutter, ablation along the CTI is often a routine and straightforward procedure. However, certain aspects of the regional anatomy can pose technical challenges such that bidirectional block across the CTI can be difficult to achieve.1 Using a case example, we review common challenges with CTI ablation, discuss the important anatomic considerations that are relevant to procedural difficulty, and present approaches to troubleshooting.
Optically modulated cancer therapeutic delivery: past, present and future

Chemotherapeutic regimens are often restricted by dose-limiting toxicities that arise from drug exposure to off-site tissues. Nanoparticle drug carriers that specifically deliver therapeutics to the site of malignant tissue are being actively researched today. One strategy is to utilize materials that are light-responsive, such that the carrier can be triggered to release its drug payload at the distinct time and location of light exposure. This review discusses recent advances in the development of such light-responsive drug carriers. With continued optimization and in vivo validation, these approaches may offer novel treatment options for cancer management.
Metal Composite Power Inductors for Automotive Applications [Passive Components]

Explains the online demonstration of a new family of metal composite power inductors to address the stringent demands of the automotive electronic control units applications, as well as electromagnetic interference filters.
Preoperative Opioid Use is Associated with Inferior Patient Reported Outcomes and Prolonged Opioid Use after Patellofemoral Stabilization Surgery

Objectives:The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between preoperative opioid use and persistent postoperative use, and determine the impact of preoperative opioid use on patie...
Pain during physical examination of a healing upper extremity fracture.

The evidence that symptom intensity and magnitude of limitations correlate with thoughts and emotions means that subjective signs, such as pain with physical examination, reflect both physical and ...
SETTING A COMMON GROUND FOR COLLABORATIVE CARE AND CLINICAL INTERVIEWING

Background: A relationship and communication matrix and collaborative assessment and care, as part of a set of elicited principles and strategies, are hallmarks of person-centered medicine and health care. Their formulation and cultivation have been predicated on both humanistic and scientific grounds. Objectives: This paper is aimed at articulating the bases, key concepts, and strategies for establishing common ground among clinicians, patient, and family for organizing all person-centered clinical care, starting with clinical interviews. Method: For addressing these objectives, a selective review of the clinical literature was conducted. This was complemented by contrasting the findings with the results of similar papers and reflecting on their implications.Results: One of the broadest and most compelling factors for organizing person centered clinical care effectively in general, and particularly concerning interviewing, assessment, and diagnosis as well as treatment planning and implementation, seems to be setting up common ground among clinicians, patient, and family. Crucial dynamic matrices of common ground seem to be (1) assembling and engaging the key players for effective care, (2) establishing empathetic communication among these players, (3) organizing participative diagnostic processes toward joint understanding of the presenting person’s personhood and health (both problems and positive aspects), and (4) planning and implementing clinical care through shared decision making and joint commitments. Critical guiding considerations for common ground appear to include holistic informational integration, taking into consideration the person’s chronological and space context, and attending to his or her health experience, preferences, and values. Among the most promising strategies for operationalizing common ground is the formulation of a narrative integrative synthesis of clinical and personal information as joint distillation of the assessment process and as foundation for planning care. These considerations also serve as framework for the delineation and organization of effective clinical interviewing.Discussion: These findings are supported, first, by historical and anthropological research, which elucidates health care as part of social cooperation for the preservation and promotion of life. Common ground appears substantiated by the principles of person centered medicine, and represents one of its most clear projections. Also supportive of common ground is recent research on the positive perceptions of clinicians on procedures that are culturally informed and consider personal experience and values.Conclusions: It appears that the establishment of a common ground among clinicians, patient, and family is a critical step for the effective person-centered organization of clinical care in general and for interviewing, diagnosis, and treatment planning in particular.
Estimates of mortality following COVID-19 Infection;comparison between Europe and the United States

While there have been so many speculations on calculating a more accurate estimate of COVID-19 mortality since the start of this pandemic, the complexity of the issue along with differences in reporting and testing systems has prevented accurate COVID-19 mortality calculations. Some non-controlled variables affect any mortality calculation which makes real estimation of the COVID-19 mortality extremely challenging and even impossible. Here we would like to re-calculate and compare the estimated COVID-19 mortality in Europe and the United States based on the currently available reported data.
Identification of inferential parameters in the covariate-normalized linear conditional logit model

The conditional logit model is a standard workhorse approach to estimating customers' product feature preferences using choice data. Using these models at scale, however, can result in numerical imprecision and optimization failure due to a combination of large-valued covariates and the softmax probability function. Standard machine learning approaches alleviate these concerns by applying a normalization scheme to the matrix of covariates, scaling all values to sit within some interval (such as the unit simplex). While this type of normalization is innocuous when using models for prediction, it has the side effect of perturbing the estimated coefficients, which are necessary for researchers interested in inference. This paper shows that, for two common classes of normalizers, designated scaling and centered scaling, the data-generating non-scaled model parameters can be analytically recovered along with their asymptotic distributions. The paper also shows the numerical performance of the analytical results using an example of a scaling normalizer.
Immobilized phosphate‐binding protein can effectively discriminate against arsenate during phosphate adsorption and recovery

There is a strong impetus to establish a circular phosphorus economy by securing internally renewable phosphate (Pi ) resources for use as agricultural fertilizers. Reversible Pi adsorption technologies such as ion exchange can remove and recover Pi from water/wastewater for reuse. However, existing reversible adsorbents cannot effectively discriminate against arsenate (As(V)) due to the similarity between As(V) and Pi chemical structure. If As(V) is co-recovered with Pi , the value of the recovered products for agricultural reuse is low. The objective of this study was to construct an immobilized phosphate-binding protein (PBP)-based Pi removal and recovery system and analyze its selectivity for Pi adsorption in the presence of As(V). A range of conditions was tested, including independent, sequential, and simultaneous exposure of the two oxyanions to immobilized PBP (PBP resin). The purity of the recovered Pi product was assessed after inducing controlled desorption of the adsorbed oxyanions at high pH (pH 12.5). Pi constituted more than 97% of the adsorbed oxyanions in the recovered product, even when As(V) was initially present at twofold higher concentrations than Pi . Therefore, PBP resin has potential to selectively remove Pi , as well as release high-purity Pi free of As(V) contamination suitable for subsequent agricultural reuse. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Existing reversible phosphate (Pi ) adsorbents cannot effectively discriminate against arsenate (As(V)) due to the similarity in their chemical structure. Co-recovery of As(V) with Pi can reduce the recovered product's reuse as a fertilizer. An immobilized phosphate-binding protein (PBP)-based system can be highly selective for Pi even in the presence of As(V). Pi constituted more than 97% of the recovered product, even when As(V) was present at 2-fold higher concentrations than Pi . Immobilized PBP offers advantages over existing Pi adsorbents by providing high-purity Pi products free of As(V) contamination for reuse.
Primary Care and Mental Health Prescribers, Key Clinical Leaders, and Clinical Pharmacist Specialists' Perspectives on Opioids and Benzodiazepines.

Objective Due to increased risks of overdose fatalities and injuries associated with coprescription of opioids and benzodiazepines, healthcare systems have prioritized deprescribing this combination. Although prior work has examined providers' perspectives on deprescribing each medication separately, perspectives on deprescribing patients with combined use is unclear. We examined providers' perspectives on coprescribed opioids and benzodiazepines and identified barriers and facilitators to deprescribing. Design Qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Setting One multisite Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system in the United States of America. Subjects Primary care and mental health prescribers, key clinical leaders, clinical pharmacist specialists (N = 39). Methods Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes were identified iteratively, through a multidisciplinary team-based process. Results Analyses identified four themes related to barriers and facilitators to deprescribing: inertia, prescriber self-efficacy, feasibility of deprescribing/tapering, and promoting deprescribing, as well as a fifth theme, consequences of deprescribing. Results highlighted the complexity of deprescribing when multiple prescribers are involved, a need for additional support and time, and concerns about patients' reluctance to discontinue these medications. Facilitators included agreement with the goal of deprescribing and fear of negative consequences if medications are continued. Providers spoke to how deprescribing efforts impaired patient-provider relationships and informed their decisions not to start patients on these medications. Conclusions Although providers agree with the goal, prescribers' belief in a limited deprescribing role, challenges with coordination among prescribers, concerns about insufficient time and patients' resistance to discontinuing these medications need to be addressed for efforts to be successful.
Long-Term Sediment, Carbon, and Nitrogen Accumulation Rates in Coastal Wetlands Impacted by Sea Level Rise

Coastal wetlands provide important ecosystem services, such as carbon and nitrogen sequestration and flood protection, but are vulnerable to increasing sea levels. We examined the vulnerability of coastal wetlands to rising sea levels using radioisotopes (210Pb and 137Cs) to estimate long-term (~100 years) soil accretion rates. We also estimated carbon and nitrogen accumulation rates. We collected soil cores from four transects along the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula of North Carolina, an area experiencing high rates of sea level rise. Transects included four wetland types: forested, transitional between forest and marsh, brackish marsh, and estuarine open water. Of the 16 sites we sampled, we were able to estimate accretion rates for 14 using 210Pb and four cores using 137Cs. Only one site had a vertical accretion rate higher than the local rate of sea level rise (0.45 cm year−1): a transitional wetland site with fine sediment sourced from a nearby canal (0.88 cm year−1). Mean vertical accretion across all sites was 0.20 cm year−1. Our results show that most wetlands in the area are vulnerable to future inundation due to current rates of sea level rise. Extrapolating from our measurement to the entire peninsula suggests that if wetlands have room to migrate and transition from forest to marsh, the potential for sea level rise–induced loss of C and N accumulation will be 2–20%, compared to 35–88% when not accounting for wetland transitions, illustrating the importance of allowing space for wetlands to migrate in these changing landscapes.
Recurrent Implication of Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons in a Range of Neurodevelopmental, Neurodegenerative, and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

Cholinergic interneurons are “gatekeepers” for striatal circuitry and play pivotal roles in attention, goal-directed actions, habit formation, and behavioral flexibility. Accordingly, perturbations to striatal cholinergic interneurons have been associated with many neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders. The role of acetylcholine in many of these disorders is well known, but the use of drugs targeting cholinergic systems fell out of favor due to adverse side effects and the introduction of other broadly acting compounds. However, in response to recent findings, re-examining the mechanisms of cholinergic interneuron dysfunction may reveal key insights into underlying pathogeneses. Here, we provide an update on striatal cholinergic interneuron function, connectivity, and their putative involvement in several disorders. In doing so, we aim to spotlight recurring physiological themes, circuits, and mechanisms that can be investigated in future studies using new tools and approaches.
Online Topic-Aware Entity Resolution Over Incomplete Data Streams

In many real applications such as the data integration, social network analysis, and the Semantic Web, the entity resolution (ER) is an important and fundamental problem, which identifies and links the same real-world entities from various data sources. While prior works usually consider ER over static and complete data, in practice, application data are usually collected in a streaming fashion, and often incur missing attributes (due to the inaccuracy of data extraction techniques). Therefore, in this paper, we will formulate and tackle a novel problem, topic-aware entity resolution over incomplete data streams (TER-iDS), which online imputes incomplete tuples and detects pairs of topic-related matching entities from incomplete data streams. In order to effectively and efficiently tackle the TER-iDS problem, we propose an effective imputation strategy, carefully design effective pruning strategies, as well as indexes/synopsis, and develop an efficient TER-iDS algorithm via index joins. Extensive experiments have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed TER-iDS approach over real data sets.
Perioperative Cost Differences Between Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy and Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Single Institutional Review

Background: Minimizing bariatric surgery care costs is important since more than 250,000 patients undergo bariatric surgery annually in the United States. The study objective was to compare periope...
Precolonial Legacies in Postcolonial Politics: Representation and Redistribution in Decentralized West Africa

Why are some communities able to come together to improve their collective lot while others are not? Looking at variation in local government performance in decentralized West Africa, this book advances a novel answer to this question: communities are better able to coordinate around basic service delivery when their formal jurisdictional boundaries overlap with informal social institutions, or norms. This book identifies the precolonial past as the driver of striking subnational variation in the present because these social institutions only encompass the many villages of the local state in areas that were once home to precolonial polities. Drawing on a multi-method research design, the book develops and tests a theory of institutional congruence to document how the past shapes contemporary elite approaches to redistribution within the local state. Where precolonial kingdoms left behind collective identities and dense social networks, local elites find it easier to cooperate following decentralization.
Lie Groups: A Problem Oriented Introduction via Matrix Groups

1. Symmetries of vector spaces: 1.1. What is a symmetry? 1.2. Distance is fundamental 1.3. Groups of symmetries 1.4. Bilinear forms and symmetries of spacetime 1.5. Putting the pieces together 1.6. A broader view: Lie groups 2. Complex numbers, quaternions and geometry: 2.1. Complex numbers 2.2. Quaternions 2.3. The geometry of rotations of R3 2.4. Putting the pieces together 2.5. A broader view: octonions 3. Linearization: 3.1. Tangent spaces 3.2. Group homomorphisms 3.3. Differentials 3.4. Putting the pieces together 3.5. A broader view: Hilbert's fifth problem 4. One-parameter subgroups and the exponential map: 4.1. One-parameter subgroups 4.2. The exponential map in dimension one 4.3. Calculating the matrix exponential 4.4. Properties of the matrix exponential 4.5. Using exp to determine L(G) 4.6. Differential equations 4.7. Putting the pieces together 4.8. A broader view: Lie and differential equations 4.9. Appendix on convergence 5. Lie algebras: 5.1. Lie algebras 5.2. Adjoint maps { big `A' and small `a' 5.3. Putting the pieces together 5.4. A broader view: Lie theory 6. Matrix groups over other fields: 6.1. What is a field? 6.2. The unitary group 6.3. Matrix groups over finite fields 6.4. Putting the pieces together 6.5. A broader view of finite groups of Lie type and simple groups Appendix I. Linear algebra facts Appendix II. Paper assignment used at Mount Holyoke College Appendix III. Opportunities for further study Solutions to selected problems Bibliography.
Software Quality, Software Process, and Software Testing

Abstract Software testing should play a major role in the definition and improvement of software development processes, because testing is the most precise, most easily measured, and most easily controlled part of the software lifecycle. However, unless testing goals are clearly related to true measurements of software quality, the testing may appear to improve, but the software will not. Much of current testing theory and practice is built on wishful thinking. In this chapter, the state of the testing art, and the theory describing it, is critically examined. It is suggested that only a probabilistic theory, similar to reliability theory, but without its deficiencies, can describe the relationship between test measurements and product quality. The beginnings of a new theory of “dependability” are sketched.
Grappling With Donald Jay Grout’s Essays on Music Historiography

Donald Jay Grout contributed more to musicology than his widely read textbooks A History of Western Music and A Short History of Opera . This paper explores Grout’s little-known essays on music historiography and previously unstudied archival material by employing theories of historians, Hayden White and Hans Kellner, to show Grout as historiographer, critic, pedagogue, and philosopher. White and Kellner posited that looking beyond a historical narrative’s finely tuned content uncovers the “middleground”—the place between the background (sources) and the foreground (narrative) where historians spend most of their time making decisions. In his essays and personal papers Grout established his middleground, one in which he outlined the tasks he deemed most important for musicologists: choosing a subject, maintaining objectivity, and explaining and narrating music history. He grappled with these issues and with a larger philosophical question: why write music history? Simply put, isn’t the music itself enough?
Engaging Young Writers Through Book Design

AbstractCreative book design connects learning in visual arts and language arts. Explore the benefits of bookmaking and specific steps to create a variety of book formats with children. Examples of imaginative books, such as accordion, flip, paper bag, and pop-up, are shared.
The CMU face in action (FIA) database

Our team has collected a face video database named the CMU Face In Action (FIA) database. This database consists of 20-second videos of face data from 180 participants mimicking a passport checking scenario. The data is captured by six synchronized cameras from three different angles, with an 8-mm and 4-mm focal-length for each of these angles. We performed the collection in both a controlled, indoor environment and an open, outdoor environment for each participant. Our data collection was taken in three sessions over a period of ten months. We aimed for a three month separation between sessions for each participant. We expect the database to be useful for analysis and modeling of faces and gestures.
Identification of consonants from formant transitions presented forward and backward.

The effect of coarticulation on perception was studied by asking 18 subjects to identify the place of articulation of stop and fricative consonants from CV and VC vowel transitions played forward and backward. The factors investigated were: (A) transition direction, forward and backward; (B) transition position, CV and VC; (C) manner of production; (D) mode of production; and (E) place of production. The results indicate that: (1) with the exception of voiceless stops identified from forward CV transitions, consonants were identified considerably better than chance from CV and VC vowel transitions, (2) more correct identifications of consonants were made from VC transitions than from CV transitions in both the forward and backward play conditions, (3) backward play CV transitions produced much higher identification scores than those played forward, and (4) backward play VC transitions produced slightly lower identification scores than those played forward. These findings support the conclusion that VC tra...
Firesetting in Children and Youth

Children account for a significant proportion of the fires set in this country. Based on figures reported by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), children playing with fire committed 98,410 fires that were reported to U.S. fire departments, causing an estimated 408 civilian deaths and 3,130 civilian injuries (see Hall, 1995). And, for the first time ever, in 1994 juvenile firesetters accounted for a majority of the arrests for arson in this country (National Fire Protection Association [NFPA], 1995). An estimated $300.7 million in direct property damages was caused by children playing with fire. Fireplay was the leading cause of death among preschoolers. Tragically, most of the victims of child-set fires were under 5 years of age. Those victims who survive may suffer pediatric burn trauma and its serious medical (e.g., hospitalization) and psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress, depression) sequellae (Cella, Perry, Kulchycky, & Goodwin, 1988; Stoddard, Norman, Murphy, & Beardslee, 1989).
Plasma Vitamin B-12 Concentrations in an Elderly Latino Population Are Predicted by Serum Gastrin Concentrations and Crystalline Vitamin B-12 Intake

The prevalence of vitamin B-12 deficiency increases with age, probably resulting from malabsorption of food-bound B-12 secondary to gastric atrophy. On the basis of this assumption, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends those aged >50 y consume crystalline vitamin B-12. There is limited information on the prevalence of gastric atrophy in the elderly and whether the IOM recommendation would be effective. The objective of this study was to assess predictors of vitamin B-12 status and their interactions in free-living elderly. Individuals (n = 57) with deficient plasma vitamin B-12 (p-B12 221 pmol/L) in a cross-sectional sample (n = 1546) of elderly (>60 y) Latinos in California. Associations were examined among p-B12 and serum gastrin, vitamin B-12 intake from food and crystalline sources, and medications that putatively affect vitamin B-12 absorption. Serum gastrin was elevated, indicating gastric atrophy, in 48% of participants with deficient p-B12, 23% with marginal p-B12 and 21% of normal p-B12 participants, and was a significant predictor of deficient p-B12 and high plasma homocysteine (p-tHcy). Median total vitamin B-12 intake exceeded recommendations and was similar among status groups. Crystalline vitamin B-12 intake in the normal p-B12 group was higher than in the deficient p-B12 group (P < 0.01), and tended to be higher than the marginal group (P = 0.07). When serum gastrin was elevated, p-B12 was predicted by crystalline vitamin B-12, but not by intake of vitamin B-12 from food. Elevated serum gastrin was highly prevalent and predicted vitamin B-12 depletion. Crystalline vitamin B-12 intake predicted p-B12 in individuals with elevated serum gastrin, supporting IOM recommendations to increase consumption of crystalline vitamin B-12.
The treatment of ammonia dermatitis with diaparene

Summary 1. A review has been made of 500 cases of diagnosed ammonia dermatitis treated with Diaparene-impregnated diapers. 2. This has proved a safe and efficient treatment for ammonia dermatitis. 3. Other rashes occur in the diaper region which may be confused withammonia dermatitis. Some of these are due to contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, acid fecal irritation, and intertrigo.
Do portable classrooms impact teaching and learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible impact portable classrooms have on the teaching and learning process by exploring current related literature.Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a synthesis approach, analyzing current studies to assess the impact of portable classrooms on teaching and learning.Findings – No significant impact of portable classrooms on teacher perception, teacher morale, teacher job satisfaction, student achievement, and behavior is detected. Negative student attitude is found in one of the studies reviewed. Technical testing shows negative relationships between portable classrooms and health and safety conditions, but the permanent structures are sometimes worse.Research limitations/implications – An experimental study on the impact of portable classrooms on teaching and learning is needed. Analysis of current studies indicate that the impact of portable classrooms on teaching and learning is not as negative as assumed. Still, the negative effects ...
Experimental evidence against goldstone bosons with only pairwise interactions: More difficulties for broken R-invariance in supersymmetric theories

Abstract It is well known that Goldstone bosons cannot couple directly to quarks, except very weakly, without conflict with axion search experiments. We show here that beam-dump experiments also exclude the interesting possibility of Goldstone bosons which are semi-strongly coupled to hadrons through gluons, but only interact in pairs due to a vanishing QCD anomaly. Supersymmetric models with spontaneously broken R -invariance are an example of a class of models which could have exhibited such behavior.
IL-18-based combinatorial adjuvants promote the NK-DC-mediated production of the CCR7 ligand CCL19 in lymph nodes from cancer patients

Effective accumulation and interaction of mature dendritic cells (DCs) and naive T cells within lymph nodes (LNs), driven by the CCR7-CCL19/CCL21 axis, are critical for the induction of adaptive T cell immunity. Human natural killer (NK) cells activated by IL-18 exhibit unique 'helper' activity in promoting productive DC-T cell interactions, inducing dendritic cell (DC) maturation and the type-1-polarization of DC-primed T cell responses. Here we demonstrate that such IL-18-induced 'helper' NK cells uniquely induce high DC production of CCL19 in a TNFα and IFNγ-mediated mechanism, dependent on secondary NK cell stimulation with the additional inflammatory signals IFNα, IL-15, IL-12, or IL-2. Helper NK cell-activated DCs promote efficient CCR7-mediated recruitment of naive CD8+ T cells, and subsequently induce their expansion and acquisition of granzyme B. Using an ex vivo explant culture system of LNs isolated from colorectal cancer patients, we further demonstrate enhanced expression of CCL19 in human tumor-associated lymphoid tissue induced by treatment with helper NK cell-stimulating factors. Our data indicate the ability of two-signal-activated 'helper' NK cells to promote LN production of the DC- and naive/memory T cell-attracting chemokine CCL19, and provide rationale for therapeutic application of IL-18-containing 'combinatorial adjuvants' to promote the induction of anti-tumor immunity.
Modeling of Liquid−Liquid-Phase Separation in Linear Low-Density Polyethylene−Solvent Systems Using the Statistical Associating Fluid Theory Equation of State

The statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) is used to model liquid−liquid-phase equilibria in solutions of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) with hexane, heptane, and octane. The effect of temperature, pressure, polymer concentration, and polymer molecular weight on phase separation is studied. Finally, the effect of polydispersity on cloud point is also considered. SAFT results are compared with experimental data by de Loos et al. (Fluid Phase Equilib. 1996, 117, 40). SAFT can model the phase behavior of the polymer in different solvents at various state conditions with a single adjustable parameter. For a monodisperse polymer in hexane, the critical polymer concentration is linear with respect to the reciprocal of the square root of molecular weight. Calculations with a polydisperse polymer show that the cloud-point curve for a polydisperse polymer differs qualitatively from that of a monodisperse polymer at low polymer concentration. As the polymer concentration is decreased below the critic...
Multi-Dimensional CFD Analysis of Rotating Blades in a Lawnmower Deck

Aerodynamic experimentation and investigation of rotating blades has pioneered the research necessary for innovative lawnmower design. In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models are generated for single and triple-blade arrangements to analyze their flow patterns and behavior. For the 2-D CFD analysis, blade profiles at several arbitrary radial sections have been selected for flow computations around the blade model. Likewise, the 3-D CFD analysis effectively simulates the flow patterns inside the entire triple-blade mower deck, as well as in single-blade enclosures. The accuracy of the attained CFD solutions was determined through comparison with experimental data. The flow behaviors were observed using both Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) and a high-speed video camera recording at 2000 frames per second. Strain gage and pressure transducer analysis also aided in the correlative effort. It has been observed that both the mower deck configuration and blade profile share equal significance in the resultant flow profiles.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Aspects of QED and non-Abelian gauge theories in S1

We study various aspects of Abelian and non-Abelian gauge field theories in flat spacetime with the topology of ${S}^{1}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${R}^{n}$ (n=3,4). We first discuss the effective potential for the electromagnetic field in ${S}^{1}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${R}^{3}$ spacetime, with the objective of finding the dependence of coupling constants on the size L of the compactified dimension. It is first necessary to determine the stable vacuum. In particular, a charged scalar field satisfies an effective periodic boundary condition, while a charged spinor field satisfies an effective antiperiodic boundary condition at the stable vacuum. Then we study the effective coupling constants which depend on the size L of the compactified dimension at one-loop level for QED in ${S}^{1}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${R}^{3}$ spacetime. In the presence of a charged scalar field, the one-loop correction of one of the effective coupling constants for the lowest Fourier component of the electromagnetic field behaves for small L like 1/L, rather than lnL. This is because the lowest Fourier component of the scalar field is constant in the ${S}^{1}$ direction. The effective coupling constants for higher Fourier components have logarithmic L dependence, but due to collinear singularities (i.e., singularities in self-energy occurring in the limit of zero mass when the virtual particles are on shell and have parallel momenta) the coefficient of the lnL term differs from component to component. We also point out some ambiguities in defining the effective coupling constants. Finally we discuss the effective potential of non-Abelian gauge theories with a charged spinor field in ${S}^{1}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${R}^{4}$ spacetime. We find that if periodic boundary conditions are imposed on the spinor field in the beginning, the local gauge symmetry will be spontaneously broken in some cases, and we give an explicit model in which this occurs. This spontaneous symmetry breaking depends on the gauge group and its representations, and does not occur for an Abelian gauge field.
Effects of Hypermedia-Infused Professional Development on Attitudes Toward Teaching Science

Recent calls for improvements in the teaching of science gave rise to the implementation of numerous reform strategies in the elementary classroom. Although, they have not met with success in all content areas, professional development workshops have been shown to be effective in producing changes in teachers, the teaching process, and ultimately student learning. The integration of hypermedia is one method of improving the effectiveness of elementary science professional development workshops. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the integration of hypermedia into professional development opportunities on elementary teachers' attitudes toward science. In this research, integrating hypermedia had a positive influence on elementary teachers' attitudes toward science and was an integral component of increases in their attitudes toward science. The study provides a foundation for future research related to integrating hypermedia into professional development settings.