cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What are they good for? A constructionist account of counterfactuals in ordinary Chinese

Abstract The ubiquity of counterfactual thinking as an experiential universal is well established in social psychology, decision research and neuropsychology. It challenges both the premise and the conclusion of earlier studies on the linguistic relativity of Chinese counterfactuality, which focused on the cognitive effect of the assumed absence of counterfactual marking in Chinese ( Bloom, 1981 , Au, 1983 , Au, 1984 , Liu, 1985 , Yeh and Gentner, 2005 ). Recent corpus-based as well as formal semantic research indicates the role of patterned combinations of lexical and grammatical structures in counterfactual interpretations in Chinese ( Feng and Yi, 2006 , Wang and Jiang, 2011 , Wang, 2013 ), a finding consistent with recent formal pragmatic research that rejects the notion of a single grammatical category as a dedicated marker of counterfactuality across languages ( Jiang, 2000 , Van Linden and Verstraete, 2008 , Patard, 2014 , Elder and Jaszczolt, 2016 ). Despite the demystification of the lack of counterfactual marking in Chinese, little is known about the form-function mapping of Chinese counterfactuals. This study takes a constructionist approach to counterfactual language in Chinese and analyzes the pairing of counterfactual constructions with particular discourse functions in ordinary communication. The analysis elucidates the affective force and interpersonal functions of counterfactual language, and affirms the human relevance and significance of counterfactual reasoning.
MetricsVis: A visual analytics framework for performance evaluation of law enforcement officers

Limited resources and increasing costs require law enforcement agencies to develop effective methods for measuring and evaluating officer performance. The methods enable law enforcement to be more effective in their event planning, resource allocation, decision making, and community policing efforts. The paper introduces a visual analytics framework for efficient measurement and evaluation of officers' performance through interactive and coordinated visual dialogs. Through collaboration with our partner law enforcement agency, we have developed a comprehensive categorization of offense types utilizing a crowdsourcing approach. Our system allows end-users to interactively specify the offense types and customize the performance metric based on their domain knowledge and policing priorities. The performance scores for each officer are then visualized based on a matrix representation. The representation supports a rich set of interactions including selection, filtering, ranking and correlation to allow end-users to supervise and refine the performance evaluation process. With our system, end-users can explore the activity patterns and performance trends for either a large group or an individual, and identify critical factors that help to improve the operational decision making process. To demonstrate the proposed approach, we present two case studies and provide domain expert feedback.
Metabolomics reveals distinct neurochemical profiles associated with stress resilience

Acute social defeat represents a naturalistic form of conditioned fear and is an excellent model in which to investigate the biological basis of stress resilience. While there is growing interest in identifying biomarkers of stress resilience, until recently, it has not been feasible to associate levels of large numbers of neurochemicals and metabolites to stress-related phenotypes. The objective of the present study was to use an untargeted metabolomics approach to identify known and unknown neurochemicals in select brain regions that distinguish susceptible and resistant individuals in two rodent models of acute social defeat. In the first experiment, male mice were first phenotyped as resistant or susceptible. Then, mice were subjected to acute social defeat, and tissues were immediately collected from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), basolateral/central amygdala (BLA/CeA), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and dorsal hippocampus (dHPC). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS) was used for the detection of water-soluble neurochemicals. In the second experiment, male Syrian hamsters were paired in daily agonistic encounters for 2 weeks, during which they formed stable dominant-subordinate relationships. Then, 24 h after the last dominance encounter, animals were exposed to acute social defeat stress. Immediately after social defeat, tissue was collected from the vmPFC, BLA/CeA, NAc, and dHPC for analysis using UPLC-HRMS. Although no single biomarker characterized stress-related phenotypes in both species, commonalities were found. For instance, in both model systems, animals resistant to social defeat stress also show increased concentration of molecules to protect against oxidative stress in the NAc and vmPFC. Additionally, in both mice and hamsters, unidentified spectral features were preliminarily annotated as potential targets for future experiments. Overall, these findings suggest that a metabolomics approach can identify functional groups of neurochemicals that may serve as novel targets for the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of stress-related mental illness.
Examining co-occurring and pure relational and physical victimization in early childhood.

Abstract The current study took a novel approach to examining peer victimization experiences on a continuum in early childhood. A bifactor approach was used to examine co-occurring victimization as well as the relative contribution of subtypes of victimization, including both physical and relational victimization. To date, no known research has examined co-occurring victimization in early childhood. The fit of a bifactor model, as well as the utility of the model in testing associations with internalizing problems, was examined. The short-term longitudinal study ( N = 231; 109 girls; M age = 47.46 months, SD = 7.35) found support for a hierarchical structure of victimization, including co-occurrence and “pure” victimization dimensions, in early childhood. Regression analyses supported that both co-occurring victimization and relational victimization were associated with internalizing adjustment outcomes. These associations differed by gender. A bifactor model may be a useful statistical technique to address the common finding of co-occurrence of victimization to better understand peer harassment experiences and risk for adjustment problems.
Music and Fantasy in the Age of Berlioz

The centrality of fantasy to French literary culture has long been accepted by critics, but the sonorous dimensions of the mode and its wider implications for musical production have gone largely unexplored. In this book, Francesca Brittan invites us to listen to fantasy, attending both to literary descriptions of sound in otherworldly narratives, and to the wave of 'fantastique' musical works published in France through the middle decades of the nineteenth century, including Berlioz's 1830 Symphonie fantastique, and pieces by Liszt, Adam, Meyerbeer, and others. Following the musico-literary aesthetics of E. T. A. Hoffmann, they allowed waking and dreaming, reality and unreality to converge, yoking fairy sound to insect song, demonic noise to colonial 'babbling', and divine music to the strains of water and wind. Fantastic soundworlds disrupted France's native tradition of marvellous illusion, replacing it with a magical materialism inextricable from republican activism, theological heterodoxy, and the advent of 'radical' romanticism.
Strain control of oxygen kinetics in the Ruddlesden-Popper oxide La1.85Sr0.15CuO4.

Oxygen defect control has long been considered an important route to functionalizing complex oxide films. However, the nature of oxygen defects in thin films is often not investigated beyond basic redox chemistry. One of the model examples for oxygen-defect studies is the layered Ruddlesden–Popper phase La2−xSr x CuO4−δ (LSCO), in which the superconducting transition temperature is highly sensitive to epitaxial strain. However, previous observations of strain-superconductivity coupling in LSCO thin films were mainly understood in terms of elastic contributions to mechanical buckling, with minimal consideration of kinetic or thermodynamic factors. Here, we report that the oxygen nonstoichiometry commonly reported for strained cuprates is mediated by the strain-modified surface exchange kinetics, rather than reduced thermodynamic oxygen formation energies. Remarkably, tensile-strained LSCO shows nearly an order of magnitude faster oxygen exchange rate than a compressively strained film, providing a strategy for developing high-performance energy materials. The desirable functional properties of complex oxide materials are often influenced by the presence of oxygen defects and epitaxial strain. Meyer et al. demonstrate the role of oxygen defect kinetics in the strain control of the superconducting transition temperature of LSCO.
Cybersecurity Challenges and Opportunities in the New "Edge Computing + IoT" World

The paradigm shift to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the emergence of the edge computing concept have brought huge potentials for various future IoT application scenes such as smart home, smart transportation, smart health, smart grids, and smart energy. It also brings a series of new Cybersecurity challenges. We envision that many new research and innovation opportunities will emerge in the conjunction of "Cybersecurity + edge computing + IoT + AI". In this article, we will discuss the major new Cybersecurity challenges and the related opportunities in such a vision.
WORLD POPULATION AND MAXIMUM CROP YIELD

At the present level of conversion of solar energy to dry-matter energy of the cereal plants (1 per cent), it was shown that crops such as wheat, barley or rice grown on existing arable land and under an average sunshine regime can produce a protein-carbohydrate balanced diet sufficient for more than fifteen times the present world population.
Fast and Adaptive Empirical Mode Decomposition for Multidimensional, Multivariate Signals

Over the last decade, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) has developed into a versatile tool for adaptive, scale-based modal decomposition. EMD has proven to be capable of decomposing multivariate signals with cross-channel mode alignment. However, the algorithms for envelope identification in multivariate EMD come with a computational burden rendering it unsuitable for the large computational demands of multidimensional signal processing. The current work introduces an alternative approach to multivariate EMD, and by combining it with existing fast and adaptive algorithms, paves the way for performing multivariate EMD on multidimensional signals.
Is the time to revision surgery after peri-prosthetic fracture of the knee associated with increased rates of post-operative complications?

Abstract Background This registry study assesses 30-day outcomes, including complications, length of stay (LOS), transfusions, and discharge disposition, as a function of time to revision surgery for knee periprosthetic fracture (PPF). Methods We compared outcomes when surgery occurred ≤ (expedited) or > 24 hours (nonexpedited) after admission using the 2005-2016 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program registry. Outcome variables were assessed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results Of 484 patients undergoing revision knee arthroplasty for PPF, 337 (77.9%) had expedited surgery and 107 (22.1%) had nonexpedited surgery. The average time to surgery in the nonexpedited group was 3.2 days (range 0-11). Patients with nonexpedited surgery were more likely to be older, female, and diabetic, received general anesthesia, and had a higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class, dependent functional status, and longer operative time. On multivariate analysis, nonexpedited patients had more complications (odds ratio [OR], 2.35; P = 0.037), surgical site infections (OR, 12.87; P = 0.029), urinary tract infections (OR, 10.46; P = 0.048), nonhome discharge (OR, 4.27; P Conclusions Nonexpedited revision surgery for knee PPF had worse outcomes, specifically more surgical site and urinary tract infections, longer LOS, need for blood products, and more discharge to acute care facilities. This registry study cannot assess reasons for unavoidable delay, such as medical optimization and team or implant availability. Level of Evidence III.
Supplementation of diets with Brazil nut powder can meet dietary methionine requirement of organic broiler chickens

Synthetic amino acids are not permitted in organic feeds by the National Organic Standard Board (NOSB) in the USA. However, low levels of methionine (Met) are permitted, and the NOSB recommends 0.1% synthetic Met for broilers. Inadequate level of dietary methionine poses concerns pertaining to health and welfare of broilers, as these limitations lead to possible Met deficiency. This research examined the effects of complete replacement of synthetic DL-methionine (DLM) by Brazil nut powder in a 100% organic diet. Eight hundred Ross 308 chicks were hatched and randomly divided into 4 treatments with 4 replicates of 50 chicks and raised for 56 days. Treatments included birds fed a conventional diet and raised organically (Conv_Org), NOSB diet raised organically (NOSB_Org), 100% organic diet and raised organically (Org_Org), and a conventional diet raised conventionally (Conv_Conv). Body weight at 56 days were 3960, 3995, 3981, and 3676 g for Conv_Org, NOSB_Org, Org_Org, and Conv_Conv, respectively. Body weights of the Conv_Conv group were lower (P < 0.05) than the other treatments. The FCR (0–8 weeks) of Org_Org treatment was lower (P < 0.05) than the NOSB diet. The birds on the NOSB diet had increased feed intake perhaps to compensate for the deficiency in Met. The NOSB diet may not sufficiently meet the requirement of broiler chickens even when raised with access to pasture. There were no differences in carcass yield and composition in any treatment. We conclude that Brazil nut powder is a viable substitute for DLM in organically raised broilers, as there were no differences in growth and carcass yield and improved FCR when compared to current NOSB recommended diet.
A Mathematica code for calculating massless spectrum of (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg orbifold

In this short paper, we try to explain how to use our program which has been written in Wolfram Mathematica to get the massless spectrum of any Landau-Ginzburg orbifold. The technique has been developed by Witten-Kachru theoretically, but calculating it for an explicit Landau-Ginzburg model is exhausting and in general, beyond human ability to calculate using pen and paper.
Chapter 13 – Community Policing at the Crossroads

Publisher Summary This chapter briefly appraises the social context that gives rise to community policing, discusses the ideal form of community policing, and raises issues and questions about the current state of policing and its relationship to the community policing movement. The idea of community policing is a radical departure from traditional notions of policing. Community policing is a paradigm shift that challenges long-standing conceptualizations of the police and the fundamental assumptions about police work. A community policing approach allows the police to expand beyond a narrow focus on crime to address a broader spectrum of community concerns such as fear of crime, quality of life issues, and neighborhood needs. This allows the police to become advocates for their communities and hopefully affect public policy. To understand fully the issues and challenges involved in shifting to community policing, taking another look at the past is required to understand the forces that spawned the community policing movement. The policing stands at a crossroads; one path takes policing toward the spirit of community engagement and social responsiveness, whereas the other path takes policing back to the failed crime-fighting traditions of the past. The turbulent forces that led to the rise of community policing still loom on the social horizon. Communications technology allows people to be better informed than in the past, and the prosperity of the recent economic expansion offers some people greater opportunity to think and learn about social justice and economics issues.
Predictors of receptivity to an alcohol intervention among mandated students.

Abstract Objective Students in violation of campus alcohol policy often must participate in an alcohol risk reduction intervention, and some mandated students express overt resistance to change. This study tested a priori hypotheses about psychological variables that might predict receptivity to an online brief alcohol intervention. Method Participants were 193 students (56% male, 88% underclassmen, 70% white) who were referred to the campus Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs after being cited for alcohol policy violations. Before their mandated online alcohol intervention, they completed a baseline assessment consisting of demographics and questionnaires about their alcohol use, attitudes toward moderate and heavy drinking, beliefs about the centrality of alcohol in college life, perceived descriptive and injunctive drinking norms, trait defensiveness, social desirability and response to the event leading to their sanction. They also responded to a set of questions about how interested in, open-minded, and likely to benefit they were from the computer-delivered alcohol intervention they were about to take. Results Controlling for covariates and all other predictors, greater receptivity to intervention was predicted by heavier alcohol consumption, positive attitude towards moderate drinking, perceptions that peers were less approving of heavy drinking, and taking personal responsibility for the incident. Conclusions Among students mandated to participate in an alcohol intervention, openness to benefitting from the intervention varies in predictable ways. Because intervention receptiveness is associated with post-intervention change, we offer suggestions to tailor mandated interventions in ways that might improve outcomes.
Light-emitting diodes with AlN polarization-induced buried tunnel junctions: A second look

Interband Zener tunneling of electrons has been recently used in III-nitride semiconductor based light emitters to efficiently inject holes into p-cladding layers. Zener tunneling probabilities can be significantly enhanced if crystal symmetry-induced internal polarization fields assist the dopant-induced built-in electric fields of tunnel junctions because of the large reduction of the tunneling distance. In a metal-polar buried tunnel junction geometry, such electric field alignment needs an AlN interlayer at the tunnel junction. Because AlN is a larger bandgap semiconductor than GaN, it is not clear a priori if the net tunneling probability is reduced or enhanced compared to a homojunction. By combining theoretical modeling with experimental blue light emitting diodes, we find that the large tunneling enhancement due to the polarization field and band realignment overcome the reduction in tunneling due to the larger bandgap of AlN. Compared to a homojunction tunnel-junction, the inclusion of AlN in the tunnel junction is found to lower the turn-on and operating voltages and increase the wall-plug efficiency. This proves that polarization-induced AlN tunnel junctions are superior to homojunctions at low injection currents, resulting in higher optical emission intensity and superior uniformity.
Microcomputer Application of Digital Elevation Models and Other Gridded Data Sets for Geologists

Personal computers have the disk storage capacity, processor speed, and color graphics displays necessary to manipulate and display large gridded data sets recording elevations, bathymetry, gravity, and magnetic information. These gridded data sets can be used for general terrain analysis, specific geologic calculations, or as the base for a geographic information system. Standard microcomputer hardware lets geologists evaluate, compare, and use data sets with hundreds of thousands of values.
“We don’t always get it right”: Coaches’ perspectives on supporting injured athletes

Research with injured athletes highlights a considerable lack of support from coaches during rehabilitation, yet coaches’ perspectives are rarely studied. Knowledge critical to effective coaching h...
Catalogue of Rose Gall, Herb Gall, and Inquiline Gall Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Background Cynipidae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea) is a diverse group of wasps, many of which are capable of inducing plants to make galls, novel structures that protect and nourish the wasps' larvae. Other cynipids, especially those species in Ceroptresini and Synergini, are understood to be usurpers of galls made by other cynipids. The North American cynipid fauna has not been fully catalogued since 1979, but there is renewed interest in revising the taxonomy and in doing research that sheds light on the mechanisms of gall induction, the evolution of this life history, and their ecological interactions more broadly. Significant taxonomic changes have impacted the group since 1979, thereby warranting a new catalogue. New information The current state of knowledge of species classified in Aulacideini, Ceroptresini, Diastrophini, Diplolepidini, Phanacidini and Synergini in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is summarised in catalogue format. We report 323 names, including 170 valid species of rose gall wasps, herb gall wasps, and inquiline gall wasps, classified in 12 genera, from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Current taxonomic status, distribution, host associations, and vernacular names are listed for each species. The catalogue also includes the original description of galls for many species of gall-inducer, as well as atomised characterisations of different gall traits as key-value pairs. For most galling species without existing vernacular names, new vernacular names are proposed.
A Counterexample to Deflationary Nominalism

According to Jody Azzouni’s “deflationary nominalism,” the singular terms of mathematical language applied or unapplied to science refer to nothing at all. What does exist, Azzouni claims, must satisfy the quaternary condition he calls “thick epistemic access” (TEA). In this paper I argue that TEA surreptitiously reifies some mathematical entities. The mathematical entity that I take TEA to reify is the Fourier harmonic, an infinite-duration monochromatic sinusoid applied throughout engineering and physics. I defend the reality of the harmonic, in Azzouni’s account, not by satisfying all four TEA conditions with respect to it, but by showing that the harmonic renders satisfiable the TEA condition called “grounding,” specifically in Azzouni’s (Talking about nothing: numbers, hallucinations, and fictions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) example of a human visually perceiving a vase. The harmonic thereby plays what Azzouni calls an “epistemic role,” and merits inclusion in the deflationary nominalist ontology. Against the “coding” objection of Azzouni and Bueno (Br J Philos Sci 67:781–816, 2016), which would nominalize the harmonic to nonexistent status, I reply that in the context of grounding, the coding objection begs the question.
Biofertilizer recovery from organic solid wastes via hydrothermal liquefaction.

Abstract Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) has emerged as a viable pathway for processing wet organic solid wastes (OSW) to yield biocrude oil which could be upgraded to transportation fuels and specialty chemicals. The HTL process results in two byproducts laden with high levels of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Recovery of phosphates in the byproducts as struvite and ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH4-N) as ammonium sulfate is proposed here as a promising pathway to utilize the HTL byproducts. A case study of this pathway using algal biomass as a model OSW yielded 8.2 g struvite/100 g OSW and 10.7 g ammonium sulfate/100 g OSW. Heavy metal levels in both struvite and ammonium sulfate crystals were below EPA regulations for land application. This biofertilizer recovery pathway could render OSW processing by HTL a greener alternative to anaerobic digestion, offering feedstock versatility, substantially smaller footprint, and a higher degree of OSW valorization.
Helicopter human factors

The state-of-the-art helicopter and its pilot are examined using the tools of human-factors analysis. The significant role of human error in helicopter accidents is discussed; the history of human-factors research on helicopters is briefly traced; the typical flight tasks are described; and the noise, vibration, and temperature conditions typical of modern military helicopters are characterized. Also considered are helicopter controls, cockpit instruments and displays, and the impact of cockpit design on pilot workload. Particular attention is given to possible advanced-technology improvements, such as control stabilization and augmentation, FBW and fly-by-light systems, multifunction displays, night-vision goggles, pilot night-vision systems, night-vision displays with superimposed symbols, target acquisition and designation systems, and aural displays. Diagrams, drawings, and photographs are provided.
Traumatic brain injury and late-life dementia

Little is known of the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on outcomes decades later when the effects of the injury interact with the aging brain. Some, but not all, epidemiologic studies have reported an association between TBI and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders years after the injury. There is evidence that this association has a dose-response pattern such that risk of dementia progressively increases as the number and severity of head injuries increase. Some studies have shown that one of the mechanisms underlying the association is that TBI may contribute to earlier onset of dementia. The APOE ϵ4 allele has been proposed as a biological link between TBI and AD because individuals with an APOE ϵ4 allele show typical AD pathology within a short period postinjury and are at increased risk of poorer cognitive outcomes. There are also likely other, yet to be identified factors that interact with the postinjury damage and aging-related brain changes leading to exacerbated cognitive decline and dementia. Given the large number of young individuals with military, sports-related, and other causes of head injuries, there is a window of opportunity and an urgency to understand the link between TBI and dementia before these TBI survivors reach the age of risk for dementia.
An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti. By Marcus Rainsford. Edited by Paul Youngquist and Grégory Pierrot. (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2013. Pp. lviii, 344. $27.95.)

This study is an excellent analysis of the life and works of the British soldier Marcus Rainsford, whose history of the time he spent in Saint‐Domingue during the British military's occupation of t...
Inertial fusion reactors and magnetic fields

The application of magnetic fields of simple configurations and modest strengths to direct target debris ions out of cavities can alleviate recognized shortcomings of several classes of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactors. Complex fringes of the strong magnetic fields of heavy-ion fusion (HIF) focusing magnets may intrude into reactor cavities and significantly affect the trajectories of target debris ions. The results of an assessment of potential benefits from the use of magnetic fields in ICF reactors and of potential problems with focusing-magnet fields in HIF reactors conducted to set priorities for continuing studies are reported. Computational tools are described and some preliminary results are presented.
The reduction of the Stefan problem to tbe solution of an ordinary differential equation

The solution of the Stefan problem is reduced to the solution of a differential equation of order n. Computational evidence allows the conjecture of convergence to the boundary curve and to the solution of the problem when n tends to infinity, for all values of the time variable. The method generalizes.
Semantic Routing and Filtering for Large-Scale Video Streams Monitoring

In this paper, we propose a semantic routing and filtering framework for large-scale monitoring of video streams. Our goal is to build a distributed system that at any given time is capable of simultaneously monitoring the content of multiple video streams being transmitted over the Internet (or a proprietary network). A key design requirement of such a system is the ability to handle tens of gigabytes of multimedia data per second. Traditional techniques have an important limitation. Once a bottleneck in terms of CPU or storage is reached, data is dropped indiscriminately. In this paper, we propose distributed real-time semantic filters to route and filter video data. We propose a mechanism to alter the accuracy of classification with the complexity of execution; thus avoiding system failure during periods of overload. We propose a set of novel video features that perform better than our previous semantic classifiers. This system is capable of classifying over a hundred concepts. Experiments on 190 hours of pre-stored and live video streams validate the effectiveness of the proposed system
An Economic History of Organized Crime: A National and Transnational Approach

1. The ABCs of a Comparative Economic History of Organized Crime: A National and Transnational Approach Part 1: Europe 2. Italian Mafias 3. Russian Mafias 4. Vignette: Albanian Mafia Part 2: North America 5. US Mafia 6. Mexican Drug Cartels 7. Vignette: Organized Crime in Canada Part 3: Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Basin 8. Colombian Drug Cartels 9. Gangs of the Caribbean 10. Vignette: Organized Crime in Cuba Part 4: AfricSoa 11. Resource Wars 12. Somali Piracy 13. Vignette: International Trugs, Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Terrorism in North and West Africa Part 5: Asia and Western Pacific 14. Triads 15. Yakuza 16. Vignette: International Drugs Trafficking, Organized sCrime and Terrorism in Afghanistan. Bibliography
Bounding Signal Probabilities in Combinational Circuits

In [2] Savir, Ditlow, and Bardell presented an algorithm for estimating the signal probability of a line in combinational circuits, but were unable to show that the algorithm always produced correct results. This paper shows that their algorithm for cutting reconvergent fan-out lines in a circuit eventually produces a circuit without reconvergent fan- out that can be used to estimate signal probabilities in all lines of the original circuit.
n-3 PUFA fail to affect in vivo, antigen-driven CD8+T-cell proliferation in the spleen of naïve mice.

One of the most frequently reported immunomodulatory actions of n-3 PUFA is their ability to diminish in vitro lymphocyte proliferation. The purpose of this study was to determine if n-3 PUFA intake affects the kinetics or magnitude of the antigen-driven expansion of CD8 þ T-lymphocytes in vivo. In this study we utilized a well-characterized model of T-cell immunity (i.e. infection with the intracellular bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes). Weanling BALB/c mice were fed one of two experimental diets that differed solely in fat source. Our control diet contained lard (180 g/kg) and was devoid of long-chain n-3 PUFA. The experimental diet contained 150 g/kg menhaden fish oil and 30 g/kg corn oil, thus providing approximately 8 % of energy from long-chain n-3 PUFA. After 4 weeks, mice were infected intravenously with 10 6 colony-forming units of actA-deficient L. monocytogenes. Clonal expansion of antigen-specific CD8 þ T-cells in the spleen was measured at 5, 7, 9 and 14 d post-challenge using a class I MHC tetramer loaded with the immunodominant peptide from this pathogen (i.e. K d :LLO91 – 99). We report that feeding mice a diet rich in n-3 fatty acids did not significantly impact either the kinetics or magnitude of in vivo, antigen-driven expansion of CD8 þ T-cells. Furthermore, contraction of this T-cell population was not affected by n-3 PUFA treatment. To our knowledge this is the first time MHC tetramers have been used to investigate the influence of n-3 PUFA on in vivo CD8 þ T-cell proliferation.
The Impact of Anxious and Calm Emotional States on Color Usage in Pre-drawn Mandalas

The purpose of this single-subject experiment was to test whether a link exists between emotional state and color usage in a common art therapy technique. The researchers hypothesized that when coloring a pre-drawn mandala, participants would choose warm colors when they were anxious and cool colors when they were calm. The non-random sample consisted of 64 undergraduate and graduate students who were assigned to one of three evenly distributed groups. For each group, a different mood (anxious, calm, or neutral) was induced through a brief writing exercise. The researchers calculated the percentage of the total area of each mandala that was colored with warm colors and compared the results for each group. The researchers found no statistical differences in the color choices of participants who were feeling anxious, calm, or neutral when coloring a pre-drawn mandala. Color usage may have more to do with color preferences and memories that are associated with colors than current emotional state.
Peritonitis nach Nierentransplantation

Wir berichten uber 20 Patienten mit intraperitonealen Infektionen unter 322 Nierenempfangern. Die Letalitat betrug 70% und war fur 20% aller Todesfalle nach Transplantation verantwortlich. Wundinfektionen waren der Ausgangspunkt der Peritonitis in uber 50% aller Patienten, 40% befanden sich unter hochdosierter immunosuppressiver Therapie. Im Gegensatz zu den verstorbenen war das klinische Bild der uberlebenden Patienten charakterisiert durch 1. lokalisierte Peritonitis, 2. keine hochdosierte immunosuppressive Therapie, 3. keine ungewohnlichen Krankheitserreger wie C. albicans und S. marcescens und 4. sorgfaltige Peritonealtoilette mit Spulung der Bauchhohle wahrend der Operation.
The determinants of random choice

The purpose of the present experiment was to describe a pattern of reinforcement sufficient to produce an unpredictable pattern of choice response by rats. On each trial two levers were inserted into an experimental chamber. If the reinforcement was always contingent upon single alternation (a simple pattern), Ss learned to alternate at significantly better than chance level; if reinforcement was contingent upon alternation on 50% of the trials (an insoluble pattern), Ss developed a position preference. To produce apparently random responding, the less preferred response (an alternation) was differentially reinforced on 75% of the trials. A simple stochastic model adequately described the results.
A quality assurance program for the on-board imager®

Purpose: To develop a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) program for the On-Board Imager (OBI) used for patient positioning verification and to present the results of QA tests over extended periods from multiple institutions. Radiographic and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) mode have been evaluated. Methods and Materials: The QA program consists of three parts; (1) safety and functionality (2) geometry and (3) image quality. Safety checks evaluate the functionality of collision interlocks and audible alarms. Functional QA checks the flow of clinical operation during tube warm-up. Geometry QA checks geometrical accuracy and variation of the OBI/CBCT and hardware/software. Image quality QA includes measurements to monitor accuracy and stability of the OBI/CBCT imaging system. Results: All test items show stable functionality for safety and functional QA on a daily bases. The precision of arm positioning is very high with variation of 1mm and average accuracy of 2 mm. Results of geometry QA have been stable within tolerances through the test periods. All tests for Image quality tests also show consistent results within tolerances. Conclusion: We have developed a practical yet comprehensive set of QA tests for the OBI system. Data collected for these tests over the extended period show that the OBI system has mechanical reliability and stable image quality. Nevertheless, the tests were useful in detecting performance deficits in the OBI system that needed recalibration. It is important that all tests are performed on a regular basis within a suggested period to establish a guideline.
Optical Determination Of Semiconductor Device Edge Profiles

The edge profiles of semiconductor devices and developed resist images are usually determined with a scanning electron microscope. This paper presents a fast, nondestructive optical method by which edge profiles can be taken at any point on a wafer of any size. The edge profile is deduced from the angular distribution of the light scattered by the edge. The angular distribution is a signature of the edge profile, and contains information about such characteristics as double slopes, hooks or lips, rounding of corners, very low-angle slopes, and even step heights of the order of 500 A. Such complex edge structure can be evaluated by simply calibrating the angular distribution with SEM observations. By applying a simple model of light diffraction from an edge to simple slopes, we are able to deduce edge slope, slope length, and step heights. This analysis can be applied to slope angles from 5° to 80° and step heights from 0.3 to 2.5 μm. The values thus deduced agree well with those obtained with the SEM. The method can be applied routinely at critical steps in production to monitor process variations across a wafer or from wafer to wafer.
Holographic Fringe Linearization Interferometry (Fli) For Defect Detection Part Iii Load Desensitization With Moire Techniques

Holographic FLI technique provides a means of reducing fringe clutter noise. Holographic interferometry measures position changes of the order of the wavelength of the light used. Moire techniques provide a means of desensitizing holographic interferometry. Moire techniques may be employed with FLI with the objective of automating the defect detection process. It may be necessary to employ a spatial frequency filtering step to remove fringe clutter noise.
Differential effects of prolactin and src/abl kinases on the nuclear translocation of STAT5B and STAT5A.

In this study, DNA binding and tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT5A and STAT5B were compared with their subcellular localization determined using indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Following prolactin activation, both STAT5A and STAT5B were rapidly translocated into the nucleus and displayed a detergent-resistant, punctate nuclear staining pattern. Similar to prolactin induction, src activation resulted in tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding of both STAT5A and STAT5B. However, nuclear translocation of only STAT5B but not STAT5A was observed. This selective nuclear translocation appears to be mediated via the carboxyl-terminal sequences in STAT5B. Furthermore, overexpression of a dominant negative kinase-inactive mutant of JAK2 prevented prolactin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT5A and STAT5B but did not block src kinase activation and nuclear translocation of STAT5B. In co-transfection assays, prolactin-mediated activation but not src kinase-mediated activation of STAT5B resulted in the induction of a β-casein promoter-driven reporter construct. These results suggest that STAT5 activation by src may occur by a mechanism distinct from that employed in cytokine activation of the JAK/STAT pathway, resulting in the selective nuclear translocation of STAT5B.
Why Not Let Kids Be Kids? An Exploratory Analysis of the Relationship Between Alternative Rationales for Managing Status Offending and Youths’ Self-Concepts

Over the past several decades, the juvenile justice system has struggled with an effective response to status offenders and their unwanted behaviors. Three divergent rationales have emerged for handling these youth: (1) treatment, (2) deterrence, and (3) normalization. Using data from over 300 youth under supervision by agencies in three states, the current study assesses how these differing practices are related to youths’ self-concepts. Results provide support for both deterrence and normalization-based rationales over the historical treatment-based rationale. Viewing status offending as normal adolescent behavior (i.e., normalization) has the most beneficial effect on self-concept. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
Effects of Heparin on Amylin Fibrillization

Amylin is an endocrine hormone that helps regulate blood glucose levels and controls appetite. In patients with type 2 diabetes, amylin misfolds into amyloid plaques that have been implicated in the destruction of the pancreatic β-cells that synthesize insulin and amylin. The plaques found in situ contain not only amylin but heparan sulfate proteoglycans that attach to the fibrils through their glycosaminoglycan chains. We investigated the interaction of amylin with heparin fragments of defined length, that model the glycosaminoglycan chains associated with amyloid deposits. We found that heparin enhances fibrillization in a manner that depends on the length of the polysaccharide fragments. We used NMR to establish that the negatively charged heparin fragments bind to the positively charged N-terminal half of amylin. We used FRET to determine that heparin associates with amylin fibrils rather than enhancing fibrillization catalytically. We used TIRFM to show that fluorescein-labeled heparin is co-localized with amylin fibrils. The mechanism of binding appears to involve electrostatic complementation between the negatively charged heparin helix structure and the positively charged cross-β sheet structure of amylin fibrils. To see how heparin affects the biological function of amylin, we used a fluorimetric assay of cytotoxicity towards a mouse model of pancreatic β-cells. With heparin fragments longer than 20 saccharides, cell death was similar to when amylin was added alone. By contrast, short heparin fragments of 2 to 8 saccharides protect against cytotoxicity and as such may be leads for drugs to treat type 2 diabetes.
Biomolecular modification of p(AAm-co-EG/AA) IPNs supports osteoblast adhesion and phenotypic expression

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) were designed to resist materials fouling caused by non-specific protein adsorption, and indiscriminate cell or bacterial adhesion. These IPNs were thin adherent films ( ~ 20 nm) comprised of acrylamide (AAm), ethylene glycol (EG), and acrylic acid (AA) grafted to either silicon waters or quartz substrates via photoinitiated free radical polymerization. These networks were further modified to promote specific cell adhesion by tethering bioactive groups such as peptides that mimic cell-binding domains found on extracellular matrix molecules. As a specific example of biomolecular surface engineering, peptides from the cell-binding domain of bone sialoprotein were tethered to a p(AAm-co-EG/AA) IPN to control cell behavior at the surface. The networks were characterized by contact angle measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to convey information on IPN wettability, thickness, and chemistry. The surface characterization data supp...
Regulation of early lung morphogenesis: questions, facts and controversies

During early respiratory system development, the foregut endoderm gives rise to the tracheal and lung cell progenitors. Through branching morphogenesis, and in coordination with vascular development, a tree-like structure of epithelial tubules forms and differentiates to produce the airways and alveoli. Recent studies have implicated the fibroblast growth factor, sonic hedgehog, bone morphogenetic protein, retinoic acid and Wnt signaling pathways, and various transcription factors in regulating the initial stages of lung development. However, the precise roles of these molecules and how they interact in the developing lung is subject to debate. Here, we review early stages in lung development and highlight questions and controversies regarding their molecular regulation.
Kronecker products of permutations and its applications to group matrices

For i =1,…, k, let Zni = {0,1,… ni-1} and let ξi be a permutation of Zni . In this paper, we defined the Kronecker product and we proved some useful properties of the Kronecker products of permutations , which are automorphisms of Zni respectively. As an application, we proved a characterization of matrices which are of the form A where A is a group matrix.
Microwave drying characteristics of spinach

Abstract Spinach leaves ( Spinacia oleracea L. cv. “Meridian”) with 50 g weight and 9.01 humidity on dry basis were dried in microwave oven using eight different microwave power levels ranging between 90 and 1000 W, until the humidity fell down to 0.1 on dry basis. Drying processes were completed between 290 and 4005 s depending on the microwave power level. Energy consumption remained constant within the power range of 350–1000 W, whereas 160 and 90 W resulted in significant increase in energy consumption. In this study, measured values were compared with predicted values obtained from Page’s thin layer drying semi-empirical equation. The best quality in terms of colour and ascorbic acid values were obtained in the drying period with 750 W microwave power. Microwave power of 750 W for 350 s produced the least energy consumption and the energy requirement for drying was only 0.12 kW h.
Coacervates as prebiotic chemical reactors

Coacervates are colloidal systems that are comprised of two immiscible aqueous layers, the colloid-rich layer, so-called coacervate, and the colloid-poor layer, so-called equilibrium liquid. Although immiscible, the two phases are both water-rich. Coacervates are important for prebiotic chemistry, but also have various practical applications, notably as transport vehicles of personal care products and pharmaceuticals. Our objectives are to explore the potential of coacervates as prebiotic chemical reactors. Since the reaction medium in coacervates is water, this creates a challenge, since most organic reactants are not water-soluble. To overcome this challenge we are utilizing recent Green Chemistry examples of the organic reactions in water, such as the Passerini reaction. We have investigated this reaction in two coacervate systems, and report here our preliminary results.
Haptics-based virtual reality periodontal training simulator

This paper focuses upon the research and development of a prototype dental simulator for training of periodontal procedures. By the use of virtual reality and haptics technology, the periodontal simulator allows trainees to learn performing diagnosis and treatment of periodontal diseases by visualizing a three-dimensional virtual human mouth and feeling real tactile sensations while touching the surface of teeth, gingiva, and calculi with virtual dental instruments. Since periodontics requires dentists to depend primarily on tactile sensations to perform diagnostic and surgical procedures, the use of haptics is unquestionably crucial for a realistic periodontal simulator. The haptics-based virtual reality periodontal training simulator has been validated by a experiment conducted by the College of Dentistry at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with faculty members and dental students, which demonstrates the scientific contribution and usefulness of the simulator as a vital part of the curriculum of the Department of Periodontics at UIC.
The Evolution of NATO's Strategy of Flexible Response: A Reinterpretation

(1991). The Evolution of NATO's Strategy of Flexible Response: A Reinterpretation. Security Studies: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 132-156.
Fine structural localization of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in rat corpus luteum.

A procedure for the ultracytochemical demonstration of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) is described and the results for the localization of this enzyme in the lutein cells of the rat corpus luteum are presented.