cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Details Matter: How Contrasting Design Features in Two MUVEs Impact Learning Outcomes

Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) provide a rich and immersive context for introducing inquiry-based and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) into science classrooms. MUVES can have a significant effect on learning outcomes, however, illuminating how particular design features interact with those outcomes is an important area of investigation for the field. There has been a trend in the development of instructional technology towards designing MUVEs with a top-down, central narrative and positioning the student as an active protagonist in the storyline. A case study contrasted two MUVEs focused on the same science content, a eutrophication scenario, but with different overarching structures and types of guidance. Quest Atlantis: Mystery of Taiga River adopts a narrative approach in which students enter into the storyline about a declining fish population in a local national park and develop an explanation for who is responsible. EcoXPT adopts an epistemological approach that seeks to leverage the affordances of MUVEs to engage students in the investigative approaches that ecosystems scientists use; it invites students to explore an ecosystem in which they discover an environmental puzzle and then, using epistemologically authentic approaches, try to figure out what is going on and why. The case study found that these contrasting structural features interacted with student modes of engagement and their learning outcomes, with the Taiga classes grasping complex human impacts on the environment and EcoXPT classes understanding the epistemologies involved in understanding complex processes within ecosystems.
Evaluating the impact of hydroxychloroquine on mouse lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production in vivo and in vitro

Immunomodulatory drugs can alter lymphocyte function. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is prescribed for many autoimmune diseases and is under investigation as an anti-tumor autophagy inhibitor. Here, we describe a protocol to evaluate the influence of HCQ on lymphocyte function by measuring the in vitro and ex vivo proliferation and cytokine production. The protocol can provide insights into potential immunomodulatory effects of HCQ and can be used for assessing other medications' effects on lymphocyte functions. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wabitsch et al. (2021).
The Effect of Equalization on Nonlinearity in Time-Based Decision Feedback Equalizers

This paper does an empirical investigation of the effect of nonlinearity in time-based wireline receivers. The linearity of the voltage-to-time converter (VTC), a necessary component of the time-based receiver is simulated, and its impact on the performance of the receiver is studied. Simulation results in a 28nm CMOS process show the effectiveness of using equalization to suppress the effect of VTC nonlinearity and improve the receiver performance.
Promoting Reflective Ability Through a Comprehensive Field Experience That Combined Video Analysis and Bug-In-Ear Coaching

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of promoting special education teacher candidates’ reflective ability through a comprehensive field experience that combined (a) refle...
Improved global model for predicting gas radiative properties over a wide range of conditions

Abstract Calculating radiative transfer in gas mixtures, especially those containing CO2 and H2O, is important for high temperature applications, such as boilers and furnaces. Of all the models that can perform such calculations, the weighted-sum-of-gray-gas (WSGG) model is currently the most widely used one for solving engineering problems, due to its excellent computational efficiency. However, the validity range of a WSGG model is usually limited because its accuracy strongly depends on the conditions at which the model coefficients are generated. In this work, a general model is developed for predicting the total emissivities of gas mixtures containing CO2, H2O, and any non-absorbing gases. The model can be used for a wide range of conditions: temperatures 300–2900 K, pressures 1–60 bar and path lengths 0.01–100 m for any mixture compositions. The model is developed based on artificial neural networks (ANN) trained using around 4.5 million samples generated by a statistical narrow band model. Two ANNs were selected—considering both accuracy and computational speed—and were compared against existing WSGG models. The first ANN model has more than an order of magnitude smaller mean error than those of existing WSGG models, and its computational speed is comparable to the WSGG model. The second ANN model has even higher accuracy than the first model, but with slightly lower computational speed.
Improving the safety of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy for patients with solid tumors.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) for infections has been in use for nearly 40 years, and although it has been found safe and efficacious, its use has been studied primarily among otherwise healthy patients. We aimed to develop and evaluate an OPAT program for patients with cancer, particularly solid tumors. We implemented multiple quality improvement interventions between June 2018 and January 2020. We retrospectively and prospectively collected data on demographics, the completeness of infectious diseases (ID) physician consultation notes, rates of laboratory test result monitoring, ID clinic follow-up, and 30-day outcomes, including unplanned OPAT-related readmissions, OPAT-related emergency center visits, and deaths. Completeness of ID provider notes improved from a baseline of 77 to 100% (p < .0001) for antimicrobial recommendations, 75 to 97% (p < .0001) for follow-up recommendations, and 19 to 98% (p < .0001) for laboratory test result monitoring recommendations. Completion of laboratory tests increased from a baseline rate of 24 to 56% (p = .027). Thirty-day unplanned OPAT-related readmission, ID clinic follow-up, 30-day emergency center visit, and death rates improved without reaching statistical significance. Sustained efforts, multiple interventions, and multidisciplinary engagement can improve laboratory test result monitoring among solid tumor patients discharged with OPAT. Although demonstrating a decrease in unplanned readmissions through institution of a formal OPAT program among patients with solid malignancies may be more difficult compared with the general population, the program may still result in improved safety.
Review of Post-laser-resurfacing Topical Agents for Improved Healing and Cosmesis.

Background Laser resurfacing produces a controlled skin injury, resulting in a wound healing response. This wound healing response allows for collagen remodeling, which improves skin texture and tone. Topical agents are often employed following laser treatments to facilitate recovery. The introduction of newer small-molecule technologies allow for improved recovery and cosmesis. Objective We sought to perform a critical review of the safety and efficacy of newer small-molecule technologies employed following laser resurfacing. Methods We performed a PubMed search of the generic name of the following topicals and included literature relevant to laser procedures, with an emphasis on laser resurfacing: thermal spring water, conjugated linolenic acid, vitamin C/vitamin E/ferulic acid serum, tripeptide/hexapeptide technology-containing products, growth factor serum and gel, recombinant human epidermal growth factor ointment and gel, red deer umbilical cord lining mesenchymal stem cell extract cream and serum, silicone-based gel, and microparticulate (1-3, 1-6 beta-glucan) gel. Results Our search of the PubMed database yielded 62 results, out of which 17 clinical studies were included in this publication. The majority of aforementioned topicals show promise in terms of improving post-resurfacing recovery or cosmesis. Conclusion Clinical data regarding these agents is limited by the number and quality of studies. It is therefore challenging to propose a recommendation supporting any particular topical. We provide our own provider-specific post-laser resurfacing protocols to offer insight regarding new small-molecule technologies.
Progress report on a hormonally sensitive neuromuscular system

The bulbocavernosus (BC) muscles are attached to the base of the penis and are active during copulation. In several rodent species, BC muscles are innervated by motoneurons that form the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB). The morphology of SNB motoneurons and of the BC muscles that they innervate, as well as the behavior mediated by those muscles, is sensitive to androgenic hormones both during development and upon maturity. The BC muscles and SNB cells of adult male rats shrink after castration, but the administration of androgens can prevent these changes. Androgens also influence developing SNB cells: at birth, female rats have BC muscles innervated by SNB motoneurons, both of which die soon thereafter. Testicular androgen secretion in male rats prevents the death of these cells, resulting in sexual dimorphism. Perinatal androgens can masculinize females by preventing the death of SNB cells and their targets, but only during that critical period in which they normally die. This androgen-induced sparing of SNB motoneurons is an indirect result of hormone action upon the peripheral target muscle. There is also a sexual dimorphism in the spinal nucleus innervating the BC in humans.
Bulk invariants and topological response in insulators and superconductors with nonsymmorphic symmetries

In this work we consider whether nonsymmorphic symmetries such as a glide plane can protect the existence of topological crystalline insulators and superconductors in three dimensions. In analogy to time-reversal symmetric insulators, we show that the presence of a glide gives rise to a quantized magnetoelectric polarizability, which we compute explicitly through the Chern-Simons 3-form of the bulk wave functions for a glide-symmetric model. Our approach provides a measurable property for this insulator and naturally explains the connection with mirror-symmetry-protected insulators and the recently proposed ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ index for this phase. More generally, we prove that the magnetoelectric polarizability becomes quantized with any orientation-reversing space group symmetry. We also construct analogous examples of glide-protected topological crystalline superconductors in classes $\mathrm{D}$ and $\mathrm{C}$ and discuss how bulk invariants are related to quantized surface thermal Hall and spin Hall responses.
Ultrasonic Techniques for Evaluation of SiC Armor Tile

Obtaining reliable ballistic performance is important to full utilization of ceramic armor tile. One possible way to reduce scatter in ballistic performance is through utilization of a reliable, low-cost, high-speed nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method that could act as a screening tool to select those tiles that could produce poor ballistic performance. Ultrasonic methods utilizing advanced phased array technology would seem to be a possible candidate. As a step towards evaluation of this technology, recent single transducer water-immersion tests have been conducted using both focused and unfocused transducers on a variety of SiC armor materials. These materials had grain sizes from 0.89 um to 5.26 um. These different grain sizes likely impact the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at different frequencies and therefore these tests provide information on which to select the frequencies to use for phased arrays. In addition to these empirical studies, an analytical ultrasonic performance prediction model has been evaluated. This paper will present the ultrasonic methods under study and review results to date.
Mechanisms of Autonomic Integration

The sections in this article are: 1 Transmission in Autonomic Ganglia 1.1 Fast Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials (EPSPs) 1.2 Physiological Significance of Fast EPSPs 1.3 Slow (Cholinergic) EPSPs 1.4 Late Slow (Noncholinergic) EPSPs 1.5 Physiological Significance of Slow EPSPs 1.6 Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials 2 Integration in Autonomic Ganglia 2.1 Cellular and Molecular Substrates 2.2 Physiological Significance of Integration 3 Concluding Remarks
Proposed Changes for NIH's Center for Scientific Review

The Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review is conducting a comprehensive examination of the organization and function of the review process carried out by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Recommendations have been made regarding the Integrated Review Groups that form the functional units of review and for cultural norms that will be needed to make the system function optimally. The Panel now invites comments on its phase 1 draft report posted at http://www.csr.nih.gov/bioopp/select.htm.
The idea of the self in the evolution of Hume's account of the passions

Terence Penelhum has written extensively about the role of the idea of the self in Hume's account of the emotional and moral life of persons. Penelhum fails to notice, however, a change that takes place in the way that the idea of the self functions in Hume's account of the passions as that account evolved after the Treatise. This paper charts part of that evolution, and reflects on its significance for Hume's moral psychology.
Ge 73 ( n , γ ) Ge 74 Gamma-Ray Spectrum and Energy Levels of Ge 74

The $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectra resulting from thermal-neutron capture in targets of natural germanium and enriched ${\mathrm{Ge}}^{73}$ were measured with a Ge(Li) germanium detector. The energies and intensities of 85 $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays in the energy range 0.20-3.00 MeV and 47 $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays in the range 6.1-9.6 MeV were identified with the reaction ${\mathrm{Ge}}^{73}(n,\ensuremath{\gamma}){\mathrm{Ge}}^{74}$. The $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectrum was used to suggest four new levels, and place limits on the spins and partities of three other levels. Errors in the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray energy values were reduced to less than 3 keV in all cases, and to less than 1 keV for many. Based on this experiment and other information, the energy levels identified below 3 MeV were 0.0 (${0}^{+}$), 596.3 (${2}^{+}$), 1204.9 (${2}^{+}$), 1466.2 (${4}^{+}$), [1486 (${0}^{+}$)], [1697.7], 1699.9 (${3}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$, ${4}^{+}$, 2168.3 (${3}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$, ${4}^{+}$), 2200.2 (${2}^{+}$), 2539.3 (${3}^{\ensuremath{-}}$), 2574.1, 2672.4, [2695.8], 2699.1, 2833.2, 2929.2, 2939.7, and 2978.1 keV, where the levels in brackets were not fed directly from the capture state. The level energies were determined to with 1 keV. The energy of the capture state in the compound nucleus (${\mathrm{Ge}}^{73}+n$) was found to be 10 203.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.9 keV.
Master's Thesis: Why Do the Post-Soviet States Integrate? A Qualitative and Network Analysis of Integration Processes at Policy Domain and Micro Levels

This study investigates the underlying causes for the post-Soviet states’ continuing participation in regional integration processes that take place against the backdrop of obvious political animosities, non-compliance with agreements, and little commitment to cooperation. The research traces the development of integration theories articulated both in the West and in Russia. It examines historical links that create common ties among the states, questions the role of leadership and political elites, and analyzes international agreements, state visits, and bilateral trade. I developed a model to assist with studying the region, which used the principles of big data and network analysis. In studying the states’ intrinsic qualities and relations, I identified and established patterns of hierarchical ranking and clustering based on similarities among the post-Soviet states. The study concludes that the main factor driving state cooperation is their access to the networks, which provides economic, political, and social resources to enhance each state’s capital. My observations suggest that each state leverages its position within the network and manipulates its structure to further promote its own interests and, possibly, to subjugate its opponents. Finally, I propose further development of network analysis methods and their application to the field.
LIVES INTERRUPTED!: A CASE STUDY OF HENRY LOUIS WALLACEAN AFRICAN-AMERICAN SERIAL MURDERER IN A RAPIDLY EXPANDING SOUTHERN CITY*

This work is a case study of an African American serial murderer, Henry Louis Wallace, who stalked and preyed on a rapidly industrializing southern city. The study begins by examining the city and the overall con text of the murders within it. We proceed to look back on the police department, examine national and local crime trends, and explore the case and the victims. We also review the developmental hi story of the killer and attempt to understand his motivations. Finally, we consider some lessons learned which further emphasize the importance of crime prevention planning during the development of a rapidly growing city.
Signaling through obstruction

Obstruction is a time-honored tradition in legislative politics. In many cases, obstruction can be foreseen to be ultimately unsuccessful, and in some of these cases, purely costly even to the obstructor. In this article, I construct a model of obstruction in which the individual obstruction of a fait accompli policy proposal is potentially informative precisely and ironically because it is inefficient. The theory, based on the legislators' reelection motivations, offers comparative static predictions about the frequency and length of obstruction as a function of the individual characteristics of the legislator and his or her electoral setting, including the legislator's value for reelection, the appeal of the legislator's challenger, the legislator's individual-specific seniority, competence, and/or valence, and the visibility of the legislator's obstruction efforts to the voter. Finally, the theory illustrates the potential for transparency of legislators' individual actions to be strictly welfare reducing, even in the absence of pandering.
iLOG: a framework for automatic annotation of learning objects with empirical usage metadata

Learning objects (LOs) are digital or non-digital entities used for learning, education or training commonly stored in repositories searchable by their associated metadata. Unfortunately, based on the current standards, such metadata is often missing or incorrectly entered making search difficult or impossible. In this paper, we investigate automating metadata generation for SCORM-complaint LOs based on user interactions with the LO and static information about LOs and users. Our framework, called the Intelligent Learning Object Guide (iLOG), involves real-time tracking of each user sessions (an LO Wrapper), offline data mining to identify key attributes or patterns on how the LOs have been used as well as characteristics of the users (MetaGen), and the selection of these findings as metadata. Mechanisms used in the data mining include data imputation via clustering, association rule mining, and feature selection ensemble. This paper describes the methodology of automatic annotation, presents the results on the evaluation and validation of the algorithms, and discusses the resulting metadata. We have deployed our iLOG implementation for five LOs in introductory computer science topics and collected data for over 1400 sessions. We demonstrate that iLOG successfully tracks user interactions that can be used to automate the generation of meaningful empirical usage metadata for different stakeholder groups including learners and instructors, LO developers, and researchers.
HOPPING CONDUCTION AT VERY LOW TEMPERATURES: SOME NEW RESULTS ON AN OLD PROBLEM

We briefly review the temperature dependence of hopping conduction in doped semiconductors near the metal-insulator transition, with emphasis on recent experimental results in Si:B at very low temperatures. Our main finding is that at sufficiently low temperature the conduction is simply activated in zero magnetic field, indicating the presence of a "hard" gap in the density of states. A magnetic field suppresses this unexpectedly strong temperature dependence, changing it to the variable-range-hopping form expected for a "soft" Coulomb gap. This suggests that the density of states is determined by electron correlations due to exchange as well as charge.
Uniform Hyperbolicity for Szeg\H{o} Cocycles and Applications to Random CMV Matrices and the Ising Model

We consider products of the matrices associated with the Szegő recursion from the theory of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle and show that under suitable assumptions, their norms grow exponentially in the number of factors. In the language of dynamical systems, this result expresses a uniform hyperbolicity statement. We present two applications of this result. On the one hand, we identify explicitly the almost sure spectrum of extended CMV matrices with non-negative random Verblunsky coefficients. On the other hand, we show that no Ising model in one dimension exhibits a phase transition. Also, in the case of dynamically generated interaction couplings, we describe a gap labeling theorem for the Lee-Yang zeros in the thermodynamic limit.
The Convergence of Chemistry & Human Biology

Over the past two decades, “chemical biology” has emerged as the term of choice to describe the interface between chemistry and biology. As its name suggests, the field draws upon chemical insights and tools to understand or engineer living things. This essay focuses on the scientific, societal, and pedagogical potential of an emerging frontier for chemical biologists: namely, the study of Homo sapiens. My goal is to highlight the opportunities and challenges presented to chemistry by human biology at a time when it costs less to sequence an individual's genome than it does to buy a car. But how does chemical biology differ from other similar-sounding fields? By first reaching a clear understanding of the scope of chemical biology, we may address more pertinent questions such as: What is the promise of the emerging interface between chemistry and human biology? Why is it important to nurture the relationship between these fields? And what are the attributes of individuals and environments that are well po...
Makisterone A: The molting hormone of larval Oncopeltus?

The major ecdysteroids of last-stage Oncopeltus fasciatus larvae were determined by HPLC/RIA analysis. An ecdysteroid other than ecdysone or 20-hydroxyecdysone, probably makisterone A, was the major ecdysteroid in hemolymph and in whole body extracts of 4- to 5-day-old larvae, when hemolymph ecdysteroid titers were at their peak. Little, if any, ecdysone or 20-hydroxyecdysone was detected in the hemolymph. Bioassay of the relative activities of ecdysone, 20-hydroxyecdysone, and makisterone A in last-stage larvae revealed that makisterone A was ten times more active than 20-hydroxyecdysone, and that ecdysone was inactive at doses as high as 1 mg/ml, its limit of solubility in 10% ethanol. Thus, it is suggested that makisterone A is the molting hormone in Oncopeltus. The implications of this discovery are discussed.
Dynamic physical model for a solar chimney

The aim of this research is to investigate the theoretical usefulness of a solar chimney with thermal inertia applied to the Mediterranean climates, offering nocturnal ventilation benefits. A mathematical dynamical model is proposed to evaluate the energy performance of a solar chimney with 24 cm concrete wall as storage surface for solar radiation. The results obtained with the proposed model are coherent with several models response and experiments reported on solar chimneys. As well, the difference of the proposed model to others is the incorporation of an unsteady state and the inclusion of thermal inertia. The results show that for a 2 m height and width of air channel of 14.5 cm, 0.011 kg/s air mass flow rate is obtained for 450 W/m 2 . The 24 cm thickness concrete wall, reaches its greater temperature 2 h later with respect to the maximum ambient temperature, maintaining its temperature over the beginning of the night, so nocturnal ventilation is achieved. The model shows the interest in continuing investigating on this cooling techniques and to built a solar chimney with thermal inertia for future experimental research.
Absolute intensities and pressure broadening coefficients measured at different temperatures for the 201II ← 000 band of 12C16O2 at 4978cm-1

Absolute line intensities and self-broadening coefficients have been measured at 197° and 294°K for the 201II ← 000 band of 12C16O2 at about 4978cm-1. The vibration-rotation factor (FVR), the purely vibrational transition moment (∣R(O)∣), and the integrated band intensity (Sband) are deduced from the measurements. The results are: FVR(m)=1+(0.24±0.08)x10-4m+(0.55+0.21)x10-4m2, ∣R(O)∣= (4.340±0.008x10-3 debye, Sband=96372±190cm-1km-1atm-1STP. The results for self-broadening coefficients, as well as for individual vibration-rotation lines, are presented in the text.
Multimodal Dynamic Profiling of Healthy and Diseased States for Future Personalized Health Care

Personalized medicine is rapidly emerging as the future direction in the post–genome sequencing era. Early applications have concentrated on variant-based assessment of individual disease risks. Technological advances and dropping costs now allow for expanding the domain of personalized medicine to include multimodal and dynamic monitoring of individuals (including transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic longitudinal profiling). Such efforts may lead to effective diagnostic and precise monitoring tools that can be applied in a clinical setting. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2013); 93 1, 29–32. doi:10.1038/clpt.2012.204
The Women's Peace Union and the outlawry of war, 1921-1942

The Women's Peace Union (WPU) grew out of the women's suffrage movement of the early twentieth century. In an important contribution, Harriet Hyman Alonso investigates the personalities and the philosophical disagreements of the WPU leading members on their political tactics and fierce commitment to pacifism and feminism, and on their eventual burnout. Drawing on a wealth of primary materials, Alonso traces the lineage of today's women's peace movement from Garrisonian abolitionism through the suffrage movement groups such as the WPU to contemporary efforts of the Seneca Women's Peace Encampment.
Fibrin Deposition and Clearance in Chronic Granulomatous Inflammation: Correlation with T-Cell Function and Proteinase Inhibitor Activity in Tissue

Patterns of fibrin deposition were investigated by immnunofluorescence microscopy in livers of thymus intact (TI) and athymic (AT) mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Thrombin and fibrinolysis inhibitor activity in tissue extracts also were measured. In TI mice fibrin was detected perivascularly by 6 weeks after infection and at 8 weeks it was found over the granulomas as they developed. Fibrin was cleared from the center of granulomas by 10 weeks. Thrombin inhibitor activity increased at 4 to 6 weeks but declined below control levels later as granulomas formed. Fibrinolysis inhibitor activity, on the other hand, peaked at 9 to 12 weeks after infection. In AT mice extensive fibrin deposition was detected in the liver throughout the period when smaller and incomplete granulomas developed. Central clearing did not occur. Thrombin inhibitor activity greatly increased by 8 weeks after infection but fibrinolysis inhibitor activity remained unchanged. These findings suggest that fibrin deposition and fibrinolysis are orderly events regulated in the lesions by proteinases and their inhibitors and this seems to be a general tissue reaction in the early stage of chronic granuloma formation. Since local clearance of fibrin in vivo and fibrinolysis inhibitor activity from tissue extracts studied in vitro are more evident in TI mice than in AT mice, it appears that T cell function is important in modulating the tissue response during granulomatous inflammation.
Impairment in Function and Expression of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Type 4 in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats: Significance and Mechanism

To examine the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) channels in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension, male Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) and -resistant (DR) rats were fed a low-salt (LS) or high-salt (HS) diet for 3 weeks. DS-HS but not DR-HS rats developed hypertension. 4α-Phorbol-12,13-didecanoate (a selective TRPV4 activator; 2.5 mg/kg IV) decreased mean arterial pressure in all of the groups with the greatest effects in DR-HS and the least in DS-HS rats ( P P P 2+ -activated K + channels (Maxiκ channels) with apamin and charybdotoxin, respectively, were examined. Apamin (100 μg/kg) plus charybdotoxin (100 μg/kg) abolished 4α-phorbol-12,13-didecanoate–induced hypotension in DR-LS, DR-HS, and DS-LS rats only. Thus, HS-induced enhancement of TRPV4 function and expression in sensory neurons and resistant vessels in DR rats may prevent salt-induced hypertension possibly via activation of Maxiκ channels given that blockade of TRPV4 elevates mean arterial pressure. In contrast, HS-induced suppression of TRPV4 function and expression in sensory neurons and kidneys in DS rats may contribute to increased salt sensitivity.
A Comparison of Outcomes Using Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy and 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy in Treatment of Oropharyngeal Cancer

Importance Approximately 50% of head and neck cancer survivors experience dysphagia and related morbidity. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is increasingly used to treat oropharyngeal cancers with excellent oncologic outcomes, but few studies have compared it with conventional 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) to determine whether it can decrease treatment-related toxic and adverse effects. Objective To determine whether IMRT improves percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube and treatment-related toxicity outcomes compared with 3D-CRT in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective review of 159 patients with oropharyngeal primary tumors with no history of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery of the head and neck who underwent definitive treatment with radiotherapy for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma at the Hollings Cancer Center outpatient clinic, Medical University of South Carolina, from 2000 to 2009. Intervention Doses of 70 Gy in 35 daily fractions of radiotherapy delivered via IMRT or 3D-CRT. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary end points included PEG tube dependence 1 year after radiotherapy start, weight loss during treatment, and change in Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. Secondary end points included overall and disease-free survival, disease recurrence, and toxic effect profiles. Results The IMRT group (n = 103) had a significantly lower rate of PEG tube dependence 1 year after treatment initiation than the 3D-CRT group (n = 56) for all patients (P = .02) and for those with advanced T stage (P = .01) and a shorter time to PEG tube removal (P Conclusions and Relevance The use of IMRT significantly improves PEG tube and toxicity-related outcomes compared with 3D-CRT in the treatment of oropharyngeal primary cancers. Given the association between mucosal toxic effects, PEG tube dependence, and dysphagia, these findings may be an indication of improved swallowing outcomes with IMRT.
PROM Function Generator

A function generator based on the ultraviolet-light-erasable, programmable read-only memory (PROM) was developed. The generator can-generate a step-wise approximation to any arbitrary single-valued functional relation between an input signal and an output signal, or between an output signal and time. The input signal or the output signal can be a digital voltage, an analog voltage, or a current. The generator can be expanded by adding several PROMs to obtain more bits of resolution in either the input or the output signal, and it is compatible with either computer or manual control.
Effect of Functionally Graded Materials on Resonances of Bending Shafts Under Time-Dependent Axial Loading

The effect of functionally graded materials (FGMs) on resonances of bending shafts under time-dependent axial loading is investigated. The axial load is taken to be a sinusoidal function of time and the shaft is modeled via an Euler―Bernoulli beam approach (pin-pin boundary conditions). The axial load enters the formulation via a "buckling load type" approach. For generality, two distinct particulate models for the FGM are considered, namely, one involving power law variations and another based on a volume fraction approach, for both Young's modulus and material density. The spatial dependence in the partial differential equation of motion is suppressed by utilizing Galerkin's method with homogeneous beam mode shapes. To check the accuracy of this approximation, numerical solutions for the boundary value problem represented by the original partial differential equation are obtained using MAPLE ® 's PDE solver. Good agreement (within 5%) was found between the PDE results and the one-mode approxinzation. The approxinzation leads to ordinary differential equations that have time-dependent coefficients and are prone to parametric and forced motions instabilities. Hill's infinite determinant approach is used to study stability. The main focus is on the primary parametric resonance. It was found that in most cases the FGM shafts increase the parametric resonance frequencies substantially, while decreasing the zone thicknesses, both desirable trends. For instance, for an axial load about one-third of the buckling value, an aluminum/silicon carbide shaft, when compared to a pure aluminum shaft, increases the primary parametric resonance by 21% and decreases instabilities by 23%. For one model of FGM, the sensitivity of the results to volume fraction variations is examined and it was found that increasing the volume fraction is not uniformly beneficial. Results for other parametric zones are also presented. Forced resonances are also briefly treated.
A METHOD FOR FORMULATION OF THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF NON-FOSSIL FUEL FIRED POWER PLANTS

Abstract In this paper, criteria for efficient and optimal design of thermal systems are presented. The main emphasis of the paper is in the problem set-up and in the structuring of the thermal system design information during the conceptual design phase. A two-level design structure (macro-level and micro-level) is introduced to enable the designer to adapt his design to the available (or required) technology level, type of application, economic factors, and O&M requirements. At the macro-level of design, economic feasibility (business) decisions are made, while at the micro-level of design, technical feasibility (engineering) decisions are made. A 50 MW wood burning power plant in Northern California is presented as an illustrative case study. All the information provided in the paper is from real world power plant design, and the problem is presented in a form to allow other researchers to try different optimization techniques to solve the problem.
Diversity of Benthic Foraminifera on the Georgia Continental Shelf

Two indices of species diversity, the species number s and the Shannon-Wiener function H, bring out the difference between the benthic foraminiferal assemblages on the inner part of the Georgia continental shelf and those on the middle and outer parts. The diversity values rise from the shoreline to water depths of about 15 m. From 15 m to the shelf edge (at about 50 m) and beyond, the values remain steady or increase very slightly, with s nearly 50 and H nearly 3. This may be explained by the fact that in terms of variations in water temperature, salinity, and substrate conditions, the nearshore habitat on the Georgia shelf is much more “unstable” or “unpredictable” than the offshore habitat. Such differences in diversity gradients could be expected in comparable late Tertiary foraminiferal assemblages. Foraminiferal equitability values on the different parts of the Georgia shelf do not show any distinct trends.
The owl's interaural pathway is not involved in sound localization

Sound transmission through the barn owl's (Tyto alba) interaural pathway was measured by comparing the thresholds of single auditory neurons of the cochlear nucleus in response to independent stimulation of the ipsilateral and the contralateral ears. The interaural pathway acted as an acoustical low-pass filter. It attenuated sound by an average of 13 dB at 3.5 kHz, and by an average of 63 dB at 7.0 kHz under the experimental conditions used, as determined from single-unit thresholds. Sound pressure measurements in the middle ears confirmed the low-pass filter characteristics of the interaural pathway. Sound attenuation in the interaural pathway is too large to enable/the two ears to function as coupled pressure-difference receivers at the sound pressure levels and for the frequency range (6–8 kHz) important for sound localization by the owl.
Catalytic Activity of an Isolated Domain of Na,K-ATPase Expressed in Escherichia coli

Abstract Fusion proteins of glutathione- S -transferase and fragments from the large cytoplasmic domain of the sheep Na,K-ATPase α 1 -subunit were expressed in Escherichia coli . The Na,K-ATPase sequences begin at Ala 345 and terminate at either Arg 600 (DP600f), Thr 610 (DP610f), Gly 731 (DP731f), or Glu 779 (DP779f). After affinity purification on glutathione-Sepharose, the fusion proteins were labeled with [ α - 32 P]-2-N 3 -ATP, and incorporation of the radiolabel into the fusion proteins was measured by scintillation counting after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. K d values of 220–290 μ M for 2-N 3 -ATP binding to the fusion proteins were obtained from the photolabeling experiments. Approximately 1mol of 2-N 3 -ATP was calculated to be incorporated per mole of fusion protein after correction for photochemical incorporation efficiency. Labeling of all of the fusion proteins by 25 μ M 2-N 3 -ATP was reduced in the presence of MgATP, Na 2 ATP, MgCl 2 , 2′,3′- O -(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-ATP, and p -nitrophenylphosphate, and K i values of 2–11mM for Na 2 ATP, 0.2–5mM for MgCl 2 , 0.1–5mM for MgATP, and 20–300 μ M for p -nitrophenylphosphate were calculated for these ligands. All of the fusion proteins catalyze the hydrolysis of p -nitrophenylphosphate. The reaction requires MgCl 2 and is inhibited by inorganic phosphate, which is similar to the hydrolysis of p -nitrophenylphosphate by native Na,K-ATPase. Based on these observations, it appears that the soluble fragments from the large cytoplasmic domain of Na,K-ATPase expressed in bacterial cells are folded in an E 2 -like conformation and are likely to retain much of the native structure.
Comparing agreement measures

Agreement is estimated by comparing correlated/paired scores (e.g. the scores from two doctors reading the same set of images), such as the correlation coefficient and measures of concordance. Some variance estimation techniques for these measures are also available in the literature. In this work, we compared four agreement measures: the widely used Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient, Kendall's tau, and two measures that are generalizations of AUC, the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. The generalization allows for ordinal truth that is polytomous (multi-state) or even continuous instead of just binary, and thus AUC is a special case. We investigate how these measures behave in a multi-reader multi-case (MRMC) simulation experiment as we change the intrinsic correlation and number of rating levels. We also investigate a few variance estimation techniques for these measures that are available in the literature. These agreement measures will help investigators developing model observers to compare their models against a human on a case-by-case basis instead of with a summary figure of merit that requires and is limited by binary truth , like AUC. The model observer AUC can equal the human observer AUC, while making very different decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Histologic comparison of needle, holmium:YAG, and erbium:YAG endoscopic goniotomy

An endoscope allows visualization of the anterior chamber angle in porcine eyes despite the presence of cloudy corneas. The pectinate ligaments in the anterior chamber angle are a surgical model for primary infantile glaucoma. This study investigated the histologic results, one month after treating the anterior chamber angle with a goniotomy needle, the holmium:YAG laser, or the erbium:YAG laser coupled to a small endoscope. The anterior chambers were deepened with a viscoelastic material in one-month-old anesthetized pigs. An Olympus 0.8 mm diameter flexible endoscope was externally coupled to a 23 gauge needle or a 300 micron diameter fiber. The angle was treated for 120 degrees by one of the three methods, and the probe was removed. During the acute study, all three methods cut the pectinate ligaments. The histologic findings one month after healing demonstrated minimal surrounding tissue damage following goniotomy with a needle and the most surrounding tissue damage following treatment with the holmium:YAG laser.
The effects of environmental hormones on reproduction

Considerable attention has been given in the past few years to the possibility that man-made chemicals (xenobiotics) in the environment may pose a hazard to human reproductive health. The endocrine-disrupting effects of many xenobiotics can be interpreted as interference with the normal regulation of reproductive processes by steroid hormones. Evidence reviewed here indicates that xenobiotics bind to androgen and oestrogen receptors in target tissues, and to androgen-binding protein and to sex hormone-binding globulin. Although environmental chemicals have weak hormonal activity, their ability to interact with more than one steroid-sensitive pathway provides a mechanism by which their hazardous nature can be augmented. A given toxicant may be present in low concentration in the environment and, therefore, harmless. However, we are not exposed to one toxicant at a time, but, rather, to all of the xenobiotics present in the environment. Therefore, numerous potential agonists/antagonists working together through several steroid-dependent signalling pathways could prove to be hazardous to human reproductive health.
Matrilineal signatures in the recruitment screams of pigtail macaques, Macaca nemestrina

In macaques and baboons, scream vocalizations play a major role in the recruitment of allies against agonistic opponents. Pigtail macaques make use of 4 acoustically distinct scream types, with each associated with a particular agonistic context (defined in terms of the opponent's relative dominance rank and the intensity of the aggression). Information about caller identity must also be encoded in recruitment screams if spatially distant allies are to make decisions about intervention. In this study, the agonistic screams of pigtail macaques were analyzed for evidence of vocal signatures that may serve to identify matrilineal kin groups. Maternal genealogical relationships were known for all individuals in the 56 member study group. Direct discriminant analysis was used to classify calls of individuals on the basis of their acoustic structure to one of 3 groups defined by matrilineal relatedness (two homogeneous groups, or matrilines, and one heterogeneous control group). Two scream types associated with higher-ranking opponents were analyzed separately: contact aggression screams and noncontact screams. A highly significant proportion of calls was classified to the correct matrilineal group for both scream classes. The acoustic basis for matrilineal vocal signatures in these calls apparently exists. Efficient vocal communication may require monkeys to classify group members at different levels, depending upon the degree of specificity needed.
Quantitative Changes in Microtubule Distribution Correlate with Guard Cell Function in Arabidopsis

Radially arranged cortical microtubules are a prominent feature of guard cells. We observed guard cells expressing GFP-tubulin (GFP-TUA6) with confocal microscopy and found recognizable changes in the appearance of microtubules when stomata open or close (Eisinger et al., 2012). In the present study, analysis of fluorescence distribution showed a dramatic increase in peak intensities of microtubule bundles within guard cells as stomata open. This increase was correlated with an increase in the total fluorescence that could be attributed to polymerized tubulin. Adjacent pavement cells did not show similar changes in peak intensities or integrated fluorescence when stomatal apertures changed. Imaging of RFP-tagged end binding protein 1 (EB1) and YFP-tagged α-tubulin expressed in the same cell revealed that the number of microtubules with growing ends remained constant, although the total amount of polymerized tubulin was higher in open than in closed guard cells. Taken together, these results indicate that the changes in microtubule array organization that are correlated with and required for normal guard cell function are characterized by changes in microtubule clustering or bundling.
Sequencing mixed-model assembly lines with genetic algorithms

This research introduces the use of an artificial-intelligence based technique, genetic algorithms (GA), to solve mixed-model assembly-line sequencing problems. This paper shows how practitioners can comfortably implement this approach to solve practical problems. A substantial example is given for which GA produces a solution in just a matter of seconds that improves upon Toyota's Goal Chasing Algorithm. The new method is then investigated on a test bed of 80 problems. Results indicate GA generates an improved sequence over Goal Chasing on 50 of the problems and also shows a performance advantage of 2% across all 80 problems using Toyota's variability of parts consumption criterion. The paper concludes that further investigation to fine tune the GA methodology is warranted. It also points out that the GA approach can readily be used by practitioners to address a variety of managerial goals concurrently, such as inventory and work load equalization.