cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Serving the gifted: A national survey of school psychologists

Gifted students are among the most underserved population in American schools and are some of the most underperforming in the world, ranking last in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, and Geometry among 13 other developed countries. To improve services for the gifted, possible gaps in training and service delivery must be identified. There is a lack of research addressing many of the practical aspects of the delivery of services to the gifted. There is also a lack of research examining how well school psychologists are prepared to provide services to gifted and talented students. We conducted a national survey of school psychologists to evaluate the amount of time school psychologists allocate for gifted assessment and consultation. We also collected information about graduate school and professional development on gifted topics, familiarity with prominent figures in the gifted field, and gifted assessment methods. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Signatures of charginos in the ZR0-decay in the left-right supersymmetric model

Abstract Decay rates and branching ratios for production of charginos in Z R 0 → X i + X j − in the left-right supersymmetric model are considered. We study in detail the signatures of two-sided events in Z R 0 → X 1 + X 1 − and their dependence on the parameters of the chargino mixing matrix.
Actigraph Accelerometer Interinstrument Reliability during Free-Living in Adults

The Actigraph (AG; model 7164 v. 2.2) accelerometer is widely accepted as a valid means of physical activity (PA) assessment. However, no studies have investigated interinstrument reliability for data collection in a free-living condition. Purpose: To determine agreement (on raw outputs and derived variables) between AG accelerometers worn concurrently on the right hip (RH) and left hip (LH) during 24 h of free-living. Methods: Ten distinct pairings of AG were evaluated on 10 participants (four males, six females; age = 30.1 ± 3.8 yr). AG were worn during waking hours (other than water activities). Raw outputs were activity counts and steps. Derived variables were time (minutes) in sedentary, light, moderate, vigorous, and MVPA (moderate + vigorous) intensity using published cut points. Intraclass correlations (ICC), absolute percent error (APE), coefficient of variation (CV), and paired t-tests were evaluated between accelerometers. Results: Raw variables of total activity counts and steps, and derived variables of time in sedentary, light, vigorous, and MVPA intensity displayed high interinstrument reliability. The ICC, APE, and CV values for moderate intensity were 0.98, 18.8%, and 13.5% and, for MVPA, 0.99, 3.7%, and 4.9%, respectively. Only MVPA displayed a statistically significant mean difference (2 min) between RH versus LH AG, but the effect size was small (ES = 0.07). Conclusion: Results display evidence of decreased interinstrument reliability of moderate-intensity time assessed during free-living. If separate moderate and vigorous categories are not necessary for specific research questions, MVPA may be the optimal intensity range to report, at least in terms of interinstrument reliability.
Photoinduced formation of electrically conductive thin palladium nanowires on DNA scaffolds.

A photochemical method has been exploited for the very fast synthesis of electrically conductive Pd nanowires on DNA. The nanowires have an average diameter of 55−75 nm and a length of ∼3−5 μm. Our...
The Antibacterial Lectin RegIIIγ Promotes the Spatial Segregation of Microbiota and Host in the Intestine

The mammalian intestine is home to ~100 trillion bacteria that perform important metabolic functions for their hosts. The proximity of vast numbers of bacteria to host intestinal tissues raises the question of how symbiotic host-bacterial relationships are maintained without eliciting potentially harmful immune responses. Here, we show that RegIIIγ, a secreted antibacterial lectin, is essential for maintaining a ~50-micrometer zone that physically separates the microbiota from the small intestinal epithelial surface. Loss of host-bacterial segregation in RegIIIγ(-/-) mice was coupled to increased bacterial colonization of the intestinal epithelial surface and enhanced activation of intestinal adaptive immune responses by the microbiota. Together, our findings reveal that RegIIIγ is a fundamental immune mechanism that promotes host-bacterial mutualism by regulating the spatial relationships between microbiota and host.
The role of mediators in human ARDS

A RDS, adult respiratory distress syndrome, is the name given to the clinical manifestation of a number of indirect lung injury states.’ However, the term ARDS is also commonly used to describe direct lung injury processes such as lung contusions and smoke inhalation injury. There are probably several distinct ARDS states, each with a different initiating cause but with a common pulmonary response. The common practice of referring to ARDS as one specific clinical entity probably results in more confusion than clarification. This practice has resulted in many investigators trying to fit one causative agent, no matter how difficult, into all the ARDS states. Although the pathophysiology may vary depending on the cause, the presenting signs and symptoms are nearly identical. The hypoxemia produced is characteristically refractory to an increase in FiO, indicating pulmonary shunting. In addition, the degree of shunt is not directly correlated with the degree of increased water content as is the case with cardiogenic edema.2-3 There appears to be a significant parenchymal, interstitial, and airways component to the disease process responsible for the increased lung stiffness, in addition to increased water.4 The modern version of human ARDS can be divided into four clinical phases, based on both clinical presentation and pathophysiologic changes (Table 1). In the first or initial phase, dyspnea, and tachypnea are noted with a relatively normal PaO, and a hyperventilationinduced respiratory alkalosis. Some pulmonary hypertension is also present. Lung findings are absent on physical exam or x-rays. Pathologic changes are not well defined at this early stage except for neutrophil sequestration in experimen-
Errors resulting from assuming opaque Lambertian clouds in TOMS ozone retrieval

Abstract Accurate remote sensing retrieval of atmospheric constituents over cloudy areas is very challenging because of insufficient knowledge of cloud parameters. Cloud treatments are highly idealized in most retrieval algorithms. Using a radiative transfer model treating clouds as scattering media, we investigate the effects of assuming opaque Lambertian clouds and employing a Partial Cloud Model (PCM) on Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) ozone retrievals, especially for tropical high-reflectivity clouds. Assuming angularly independent cloud reflection is good because the Ozone Retrieval Errors (OREs) are within 1.5% of the total ozone (i.e., within TOMS retrieval precision) when Cloud Optical Depth (COD)⩾20. Because of Intra-Cloud Ozone Absorption ENhancement (ICOAEN), assuming opaque clouds can introduce large OREs even for optically thick clouds. For a water cloud of COD 40 spanning 2– 12 km with 20.8 Dobson Unit (DU) ozone homogeneously distributed in the cloud, the ORE is 17.8 DU in the nadir view. The ICOAEN effect depends greatly on solar zenith angle, view zenith angle, and intra-cloud ozone amount and distribution. The TOMS PCM is good because negative errors from the cloud fraction being underestimated partly cancel other positive errors. At COD⩽5, the TOMS algorithm retrieves approximately the correct total ozone because of compensating errors. With increasing COD up to 20–40, the overall positive ORE increases and is finally dominated by the ICOAEN effect. The ICOAEN effect is typically 5–13 DU on average over the Atlantic and Africa and 1–7 DU over the Pacific for tropical high-altitude (cloud top pressure ⩽300 hPa ) and high-reflectivity (reflectivity ⩾ 80%) clouds. Knowledge of TOMS ozone retrieval errors has important implications for remote sensing of ozone/trace gases from other satellite instruments.
Cognitive and context-aware applications

Diminished vigilance caused by fatigue, stress, and excessive mental load have been cited as a major cause for most aviation accidents. The job of an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) includes helping pilots maintain safe distances between planes, avoid all obstacles, as well as safe landing and takeoff. Unfortunately, the ATC work environment along with extended hours and overtime consistently results in widespread fatigued Air Traffic Controllers. Similarly, distracted, and fatigued drivers are also the cause of an increasing number of traffic related accidents and deaths. Dynamic working conditions along with the user's physical and emotional state have significant impact upon the usability and security of the system. In order to address this problem we present a Cognitive and Context-Aware Framework (CCF) that determines user's affective state, cognitive load, and context information. This enables applications to make real-time decisions to improve usability, security, or simply enhance user experience. The CCF framework constantly captures and analyzes user's biometric data (e.g. pupillometric indices of cognitive load), environmental analysis, location and time. The CCF can be used to develop a variety of applications that want to make decisions based upon user's current affective states and context. The application's decisions can be as simple as alerting a supervisor in the event an ATC is found to be fatigued/sleepy or disable critical functionality. The CCF also has applications in the gaming industry, healthcare, and advertisement. In this paper, we present the overview of the framework along with a dynamically adaptable user interface as an example of CCF application.
A note on baroclinic solitary waves with radial symmetry

Abstract It is shown, by use of a simplified model, that the baroclinic, radially symmetric solitary waves found by Flierl are not consistent with solvability at higher order. Valid solutions are sought, but it appears that none exist.
Synthesis of 5'-deoxy-5'-nucleosideacetic acid derivatives.

Several new 5'-deoxy-5'-nucleosideacetic acid derivatives have been synthesized by the reactions of alkoxycarbonylmethylene triphenylphosphoranes with nucleoside 5'-aldehydes. The oligomerization of adenine derivatives IIa, IIIa, IV, V and guanine derivatives IIc and IIIc in aqueous solution was studied using a water-soluble carbodiimide as a condensing agent. It is found that the saturated acid (IV) tends to cyclize to the lactone, while IIa and unsaturated acids (IIIa and V) oligomerized efficiently, especially in the presence of poly (U) as a template.
LiBOB: Is it an alternative salt for lithium ion chemistry?

In this paper, the perspective of lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB) as a possible candidate for the lithium ion batteries was evaluated on the basis of the knowledge accumulated thus far. Emphasis was placed on the electrochemistry of the BOB-anion on both graphitic anode and metal-oxide-based cathode surfaces. Certain issues associated with the impurity and safety of the salt in lithium ion systems were also discussed.
An Examination of the Conditions under which Various Student Rating Parameters Replicate Across Time.

The high reliabilities of student ratings of instruction have been extensively documented, both for rating instruments as a whole, and for many of the individual items making up these instruments (e.g., Bausell & Magoon, 1972; Lovell & Haner, 1955; Spencer, 1968); their relatively high consistency across time has also been documented. Guthrie (1954) reported correlations of .87 and .89 between overall rankings of instructors from one year to the next, which if general, would easily make student ratings the most stable measure of teaching proficiency available. While reliability information of this sort is extremely important, there are equally important validation concerns which need to be addressed before ratings are used as measures of teaching proficiency by faculty and administrative consumers. Regardless of how stable student ratings are, for example, it must be recognized that they normally involve several different parameters, and that they occur under several different conditions. It is not only important to know (1) which parameters replicate across time and (2) the extent of these replications; it is also crucial to know (3) under what conditions the parameters replicate, in order to ascertain which are primarily due to consistent, idiosyncratic instructional behaviors (i.e. teaching proficiency), and which are due primarily to consistencies in instructional settings (and hence invalid for the assessment of teaching proficiency).
Quality Assurance in Capitated Physician Groups: Where Is the Emphasis?

Objective. —To describe quality assurance (QA) programs implemented by capitated physician groups; to measure their relative emphasis on monitoring of overuse compared with underuse and monitoring and improving preventive services compared with chronic disease care; and to examine how group characteristics influence QA activity. Design. —Cross-sectional questionnaire. Setting. —A large network-model health maintenance organization in California (133 contracting physician groups). Participants. —Ninety-four physician groups (71%) caring for 2.9 million capitated patients. Main Outcome Measures. —Self-reported use of quality monitoring and improvement methods. Results. —All capitated physician groups conducted some QA. Groups' QA programs monitored areas subject to overuse, such as cesarean delivery and angioplasty rates, more than areas subject to underuse, such as childhood immunization rates and performance of retinal examinations for diabetic patients (64% vs 43%, P P P Conclusion. —Capitation places a large share of responsibility for QA in the hands of physician groups, but not all aspects of QA are being equally addressed. The emphasis on overuse may result from financial incentives inherent in capitation, while the focus on preventive services may stem from lack of adequate quality measurement tools for monitoring chronic disease care. Further research efforts should address how capitated physician groups might expand their QA programs to include monitoring of underuse, especially for patients with chronic disease.
Approaches to efficient coupling of laser beams to obscured telescopes

For free-space propagation, often laser sources with Gaussian intensity profile are utilized. A Cassegrainian telescope's central obstruction can block a significant amount of the transmitted beam energy. The previously known approaches to solve the problem include: use of an axicon optical element and or sub-aperture illumination of the telescope primary mirror. Two new approaches have been identified to eliminate all secondary mirror and baffle vignetting. These approaches include a beam-slicer and a beam-splitter/combiner optics. The new approaches eliminate the precise alignment required for axicon devices and are simple to fabricate. The beam-splitter/prism combiner approach results in a clean far field pattern and has transmission divergence that is limited to the diffraction limit for each of the sub-aperture transmission beams.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Cultural Values and Caregiving: The Updated Sociocultural Stress and Coping Model

This review revises the sociocultural stress and coping model for culturally diverse family caregivers proposed in 1997 by Aranda and Knight. Available research on the influence of cultural values on the stress and coping process among family caregivers supports a common core model that is consistent across ethnic groups and that links care recipients' behavior problems and functional impairments to caregivers' burden appraisals and health outcomes. Familism as a cultural value appears to be multidimensional in its effects, with obligation values often being more influential than family solidarity. The effects of cultural values and other ethnic differences in stress and coping appear to involve social support and coping styles rather than burden appraisals. Implications of the revised model for research and practice are discussed.
Entrepreneurial Endeavors: (Re)Producing Neoliberalization through Urban Agriculture Youth Programming in Brooklyn, New York.

Driven by social and environmental criticism of the neoliberalization of agro-food systems, urban agriculture today enjoys renewed interest throughout the United States as a primary space to engage the politics of food. Using Brooklyn, New York as a case study, I employ mixed qualitative methods to investigate the contradictions that arise in tensions between the goals of urban agriculture and its practice. Education and youth development programming figure prominently in Brooklyn’s urban agriculture movement and provide insights into understanding the neoliberalization of food politics, especially an emphasis on market mechanisms as central to human well-being and the disciplining of youth in the skills and modes of conduct required by the neoliberal economy. Although current trends indicate that urban agriculture youth programming works to (re)produce neoliberalism and undercuts the political efficacy of Brooklyn’s urban agriculture, these projects simultaneously produce openings for building political ...
A Kernel Adaptive Algorithm for Quaternion-Valued Inputs

The use of quaternion data can provide benefit in applications like robotics and image recognition, and particularly for performing transforms in 3-D space. Here, we describe a kernel adaptive algorithm for quaternions. A least mean square (LMS)-based method was used, resulting in the derivation of the quaternion kernel LMS (Quat-KLMS) algorithm. Deriving this algorithm required describing the idea of a quaternion reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS), as well as kernel functions suitable with quaternions. A modified HR calculus for Hilbert spaces was used to find the gradient of cost functions defined on a quaternion RKHS. In addition, the use of widely linear (or augmented) filtering is proposed to improve performance. The benefit of the Quat-KLMS and widely linear forms in learning nonlinear transformations of quaternion data are illustrated with simulations.
Climate and the complexity of migratory phenology: sexes, migratory distance, and arrival distributions

The intra- and inter-season complexity of bird migration has received limited attention in climatic change research. Our phenological analysis of 22 species collected in Chicago, USA, (1979–2002) evaluates the relationship between multi-scalar climate variables and differences (1) in arrival timing between sexes, (2) in arrival distributions among species, and (3) between spring and fall migration. The early migratory period for earliest arriving species (i.e., short-distance migrants) and earliest arriving individuals of a species (i.e., males) most frequently correlate with climate variables. Compared to long-distance migrant species, four times as many short-distance migrants correlate with spring temperature, while 8 of 11 (73%) of long-distance migrant species’ arrival is correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). While migratory phenology has been correlated with NAO in Europe, we believe that this is the first documentation of a significant association in North America. Geographically proximate conditions apparently influence migratory timing for short-distance migrants while continental-scale climate (e.g., NAO) seemingly influences the phenology of Neotropical migrants. The preponderance of climate correlations is with the early migratory period, not the median of arrival, suggesting that early spring conditions constrain the onset or rate of migration for some species. The seasonal arrival distribution provides considerable information about migratory passage beyond what is apparent from statistical analyses of phenology. A relationship between climate and fall phenology is not detected at this location. Analysis of the within-season complexity of migration, including multiple metrics of arrival, is essential to detect species’ responses to changing climate as well as evaluate the underlying biological mechanisms.
Technique to manage polarization aberrations

Optimizing the polarization characteristics of an optical system is generally a complicated problem, unlike the case of optimizing scalar characteristics such as pupil function. Here, we will propose a linear approximation approach to solve this problem systematically and define the conditions to be satisfied to make the approximation accurate. This approximation scheme is constructed by naturally extending a concept of the scalar imaging theory.
Black-White Differences in Work Environment Perceptions and Job Satisfaction and Its Correlates.

Numerous studies have reported racial differences in intelligence, abilities, motivation, job satisfaction, and so forth. Relatively few of these studies, however, limited their comparisons to blacks and whites experiencing similar work conditions. The present effort compared black (n= 166) and white (n= 1,451) sailors assigned to the same shipboard divisions in order to investigate possible differences in perceived work conditions, satisfaction, need strength, and relationships among these variables. Also explored were two hypothesized sources of race-related satisfaction differences–differences in perceived work conditions and differences in need strength. The results tended to support the need strength hypothesis although satisfaction differences were fewer than expected.
MikeTalk: a talking facial display based on morphing visemes

We present MikeTalk, a text-to-audiovisual speech synthesizer which converts input text into an audiovisual speech stream. MikeTalk is built using visemes, which are a set of images spanning a large range of mouth shapes. The visemes are acquired from a recorded visual corpus of a human subject which is specifically designed to elicit one instantiation of each viseme. Using optical flow methods, correspondence from every viseme to every other viseme is computed automatically. By morphing along this correspondence, a smooth transition between viseme images may be generated. A complete visual utterance is constructed by concatenating viseme transitions. Finally, phoneme and timing information extracted from a text-to-speech synthesizer is exploited to determine which viseme transitions to use, and the rate at which the morphing process should occur. In this manner, we are able to synchronize the visual speech stream with the audio speech stream, and hence give the impression, of a photorealistic talking face.
A backroom without the smoke? Superdelegates and the 2008 Democratic nomination process

This article is an examination of the candidate preferences of 2008 superdelegates and of their role in determining the eventual Democratic nominee. Multivariate analysis suggests that female superdelegates were less likely to support Obama than were men; African-Americans, in contrast, were more likely to support his candidacy. A higher percentage of the popular vote received by Obama in the primary or caucus also influenced superdelegates to support him. The effect of contributions from Obama to superdelegates appeared to boost his support, but Clinton contributions had little impact. Also examined is the effect that superdelegates had on the nomination outcome. Analysis suggests that the impact of unpledged superdelegates on the 2008 Democratic nomination was significant. A substantial number of superdelegates continue to follow their own preferences, especially in states where Clinton was victorious, and this asymmetry made a difference in the nomination outcome. The race for the nomination could have...
Suppression of survival signalling pathways by the phosphatase PHLPP

The recently discovered pleckstrin homology (PH) domain leucine-rich repeat protein phosphatase (PHLPP) family is emerging as a central component in suppressing cell survival pathways. Originally discovered in a rational search for a phosphatase that directly dephosphorylates and inactivates Akt, PHLPP is now known to potently suppress cell survival both by inhibiting proliferative pathways and by promoting apoptotic pathways. In the first instance, PHLPP directly dephosphorylates a conserved regulatory site (termed the hydrophobic motif) on Akt, protein kinase C and S6 kinase, thereby terminating signalling by these pro-survival kinases. In the second instance, PHLPP dephosphorylates and thus activates the pro-apoptotic kinase Mst1, thereby promoting apoptosis. PHLPP is deleted in a large number of cancers and the genetic deletion of one isozyme in a PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue located on chromosome 1) +/- (or heterozygous) prostate cancer model results in increased tumourigenesis, underscoring the role of PHLPP as a tumour suppressor. This review summarizes the targets and cellular actions of PHLPP, with emphasis on its role as a tumour suppressor in the oncogenic phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signalling cascade.
Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis

Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis was first described by Ofuji et al in 1970. It is characterized by pruritic circinate plaques that are studded with follicular papules and pustules. Lesions are located chiefly on the face, trunk, and arms. Biopsies of lesions demonstrate an infiltrate of eosinophils and neutrophils within hair follicles, dermis, and epidermis. Peripheral leukocytosis and eosinophilia are common.
Design of a self-energized wireless sensor for simultaneous pressure and temperature measurement

On-line monitoring of polymer melt state is critical to ensuring part quality in injection molding. This paper presents the design of a dual-parameter acoustic wireless sensor for simultaneous measurement of pressure and temperature variations within the mold cavity. The sensor consists of three major functional components: a piezoceramic energy harvester, a modulator circuit, and an electric-acoustic signal converter. It discretizes pressure and temperature variations during the molding cycle into a number of acoustic pulses with varying carrier frequencies, and transmits them to an remote receiver for data retrieval. To minimize sensor dimension and optimize functionality, the mechanical and electronic portions of the sensor are concurrently designed as a mechatronic system. The sensor is prototyped and evaluated on a production grade injection molding machine. Good agreement is found between the new, wireless sensor and traditional wired sensors.
Elastoviscous properties of polyisobutylene. I. Relaxation of stress in whole polymer of different molecular weights at elevated temperatures

The relaxation of stress in polyisobutylene whole polymer of different average molecular weights has been investigated over the temperature range 30–100°C., and at different elongations. The shape of the relaxation curve is independent of elongation in a range of low elongations; above this range there is a gradual change in curve shape with increasing elongation. The shape of the relaxation curve for a given molecular weight is the same at different temperatures, when plotted as reduced stress vs. logarithmic time; a change in temperature essentially shifts the position of the curve along the logarithmic time scale. The activation energy for relaxation, calculated by use of the Arrhenius equation, is found to be independent of molecular weight in the molecular weight range investigated (Mv = 665,00.0 to 1,420,000), the average value being 15.4 kcal. Straight lines are obtained when reciprocal viscosity-average molecular weight is plotted against log time required for the reduced stress to reach a certain arbitrary value, at a fixed temperature and elongation. Relaxation rate depends on molecular weight with sufficient sensitivity so that relaxation measurements may be a practical method of measuring molecular weight directly in the solid state.
A quantitative Learning Model for Software Test Process

Learning through experience shows improvement in productivity. Many models and approaches related to learning or experience curve have been established and successfully applied to the traditional industries. This paper investigates the learning process and extends the idea of improvement through learning to software test processes. A novel quantitative learning model for software life cycle is proposed and compared with the existing learning models. An existing formal software test process model is modified to include effects of learning based on the developed learning model. Finally, the extended quantitative software test process model is applied to several industrial software test projects to validate the improved prediction capabilities of the model.
Ring Array Transducers for Real-Time 3-D Imaging of an Atrial Septal Occluder

Abstract We developed new miniature ring array transducers integrated into interventional device catheters such as used to deploy atrial septal occluders. Each ring array consisted of 55 elements operating near 5 MHz with interelement spacing of 0.20 mm. It was constructed on a flat piece of copper-clad polyimide and then wrapped around an 11 French O.D. catheter. We used a braided cabling technology from Tyco Electronics Corporation to connect the elements to the Volumetric Medical Imaging (VMI) real-time 3-D ultrasound scanner. Transducer performance yielded a –6 dB fractional bandwidth of 20% centered at 4.7 MHz without a matching layer vs. average bandwidth of 60% centered at 4.4 MHz with a matching layer. Real-time 3-D rendered images of an en face view of a Gore Helex septal occluder in a water tank showed a finer texture of the device surface from the ring array with the matching layer.
Mechanical Properties of Polymers

Polymers are being used in every day consumer products manufacturing and various engineering applications. They provide design and manufacturing flexibility, as well as desirable combinations of properties. However, successful implementation of any polymer requires a basic understanding of its mechanical behavior and what factors affect that behavior. The chapter overviews the basic principles of polymer mechanical behavior which includes a discussion of the microstructure and morphology of polymers, stress-strain behavior, time–temperature relationships, deformation mechanisms, fracture mechanics, polymer toughening, and reinforced polymers (and composites). The behavior of polymers in load-bearing applications is also described, with introductions to creep, fatigue, and high-strain rate performance. Keywords: crazing; polymethyl methacrylate; polystyrene; semicrystalline materials; viscoelasticity
Ultracold atoms and precise time standards

Experimental techniques of laser cooling and trapping, along with other cooling techniques, have produced gaseous samples of atoms so cold that they are, for many practical purposes, in the quantum ground state of their centre-of-mass motion. Such low velocities have virtually eliminated effects such as Doppler shifts, relativistic time dilation and observation-time broadening that previously limited the performance of atomic frequency standards. Today, the best laser-cooled, caesium atomic fountain, microwave frequency standards realize the International System of Units (SI) definition of the second to a relative accuracy of ≈3×10(-16). Optical frequency standards, which do not realize the SI second, have even better performance: cold neutral atoms trapped in optical lattices now yield relative systematic uncertainties of ≈1×10(-16), whereas cold-trapped ions have systematic uncertainties of 9×10(-18). We will discuss the current limitations in the performance of neutral atom atomic frequency standards and prospects for the future.
Analysis of Snail1 function and regulation by Twist1 in palatal fusion

Palatal fusion is a tightly controlled process which comprises multiple cellular events, including cell movement and differentiation. Midline epithelial seam (MES) degradation is essential to palatal fusion. In this study, we analyzed the function of Snail1 during the degradation of the MES. We also analyzed the mechanism regulating the expression of the Snail1 gene in palatal shelves. Palatal explants treated with Snail 1 siRNA did not degrade the MES and E-cadherin was not repressed leading to failure of palatal fusion. Transforming growth factor beta 3 (Tgf3) regulated Snail1 mRNA, as Snail1 expression decreased in response to Tgf3 neutralizing antibody and a PI3K inhibitor. Twist1, in collaboration with E2A factors, regulated the expression of Snail1. Twist1/E47 dimers bond the Snail1 promoter to activate expression. Without E47, Twist1 repressed Snail1 expression. These results support the hypothesis that Tgfβ3 may signal through Twist1 and then Snail1 to downregulate E-cadherin expression during palatal fusion.
Characterization of Sputtered Ge Film

The electrical resistivity and microstructure of sputtered germanium film were characterized as a function of anneal temperature from 400 to 700°C. The as-deposited sputtered Ge film had an amorphous structure with resistivity of 165 Ω-cm which was maintained after annealing up to 540°C. After annealing above 550°C, the resistivity dropped by almost four orders of magnitude to ∼0.027 Ω-cm. The sharp transition of resistivity at 550°C is believed to be due to the recrystallization of Ge film from the as-deposited amorphous structure. The ohmic contact property on Ge films was also evaluated using sputtered tungsten. Low resistance ohmic contacts were obtained both on as-deposited and annealed Ge films, with typical ohmic contact resistance of 0.05 ± 0.008 Ω-mm on annealed Ge films. The W contacts were thermally stable after annealing up to 650°C.
Effect of Alfalfa Meal, Corn Gluten Meal and Other Dietary Components on Egg Yolk Color

Abstract THE COLOR of egg yolks or their degree of pigmentation has a definite effect on visual estimates of quality. There is considerable variation in consumer preference for egg yolk color (Jasper and Cray, 1953; Slocum and Swanson, 1954). For the graded shell egg market, producers and marketing firms favor eggs with light to medium yellow yolks. Because of the demand for egg yolk as a food coloring ingredient, the egg breaking industry prefers much darker yolks. Egg yolk color continues to be measured and expressed following a method developed for the National Egg Products Association (N.E.P.A.) by Kahlenberg (1949). The breaking industry prefers egg yolks that are at least N.E.P.A. number 3 or darker. Frozen or liquid yolks with a N.E.P.A. number of 4 to 5 generally sell for a premium of 2 to 7 cents more per pound than do lighter colored yolks. The xanthophylls (class term for hydroxy …
Reduction Of Quantization Noise In Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) Image Coding

A new technique to reduce the effect of quantization in PCM image coding is presented in this paper. The new technique consists of Roberts' pseudonoise technique followed by a noise reduction system. The technique by Roberts effectively transforms the signal dependent quantization noise to a signal independent additive random noise. The noise reduction system that follows reduces the additive random noise. Some examples are given to illustrate the performance of the new quantization noise reduction system.
The NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Accelerated Leadership Program to Promote Global Agility Leaders Five Years Later (2005-2010)

The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has for more than two decades provided leadership development programs to promote leadership and management opportunities for individuals in scientific and engineering directorates, along with other core directorates within the NASA/GSFC organization. NASA/GSFC as a unit organization within NASA interfaces across the whole NASA organization, as leadership development at NASA/GSFC is anchored by the NASA Leadership model.In this paper the primary focus and description is about the NASA/GSFC Accelerated Leadership Program (ALP), a new leadership development program that was an internal talent model devised and implemented to meet and fulfill a perceived leadership development gap in the NASA/GSFC organization. On a second level, the ALP sought to identify high potential individuals who would explore, acquire and apply both leadership and management principles as practice while gaining consideration for promotion and leadership advancement in NASA/GSFC directorates. The summarized data as presented describes and illuminates the setting of the ALP leadership direction and approach at NASA/GSFC. A secondary area of content in this paper is a discussion and analysis of key leadership assumptions, drivers and factors that impact and influence leading world-class scientific and space organizations to include NASA, CERN, and collaborative or competitor organizations in Russia, China, India and Japan. The third area of discussion by this paper offers future leadership development and leadership practice considerations for NASA/GSFC and competitor organizations, as well as partner organizations around the world.
Feasibility Study and Fuel Optimal Control Techniques for Constrained Relative Satellite Orbit Geometries

The majority of recent work in relative satellite motion has concentrated on closed or drifting orbits of a deputy satellite about a chief satellite, assumed to be located at the center of a local reference frame. A problem of interest to mission planners is the ability to “hover” in a prescribed vicinity of a chief satellite for an extended period of time. Recent papers have developed initial methodologies for maintaining restricted tear drop shaped hover orbits that exist in a plane fixed within the chief’s local reference frame. These papers develop a method to utilize the natural drift of the deputy satellite in the relative frame and non-continuous thrust to keep the deputy in a bounded area relative to the chief but do not address fuel-optimality. The research described herein explores fuel optimal trajectories such that the deputy stays within a user-defined area/volume, thus providing a “hover” capability in the vicinity of the chief. The work assumes the linear Clohessy-Wiltshire equations of motion are valid.
Phylogenetic Analysis of Chikungunya Virus Strains Circulating in the Western Hemisphere

In December 2013, chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was isolated for the first time in the Western Hemisphere (WH) during an epidemic on the island of St. Martin. Subsequently, the virus has spread to 42 countries or territories in the Caribbean, Central, South, and North America. In this study, we have determined the full genomic sequences of 29 temporally and geographically diverse CHIKV strains from 16 countries of the WH. Phylogenetic analyses revealed minimal evolution among compared emergent CHIKV strains of the New World.
Acute effect of 6 methyl prednisolone (medrol) on impaired water excretion of adrenal and pituitary insufficiency.

SummaryAcute administration of 6 methyl prednisolone (Medrol®) can markedly improve impaired water diuresis of adrenal and pituitary insufficiency. This effect is not dependent on altered renal hemodynamics or sodium reabsorption, and it suggests a specific action on the diluting segment of the nephron.
Growth and Sporulation of Triposporina Yakuensis

During a survey of predacious fungi of Johnson County, Iowa (Kitz and Embree, 1979) conducted during the spring of 1976, a species of Triposporina von Hohnel was isolated from soil and leaf mold collected in an oak-hickory woodland at Lake MacBride State Park. This fungus, Triposporina yakuensis Matsushima, has been reported previously only from Yaku Island, Japan (Matsushima, 1975). Matsushima isolated T. yakuensis from leaves of Machili tunbergii (?Machilus thunbergii Sieb. & Zucc.), and provided a description of the species from this habitat and from culture on potato-sucrose agar. However, very little information was provided on the biology of the organism. The purpose of the following report is to compare our isolate of T. yakuensis with Matsushima's isolate, and to discuss the growth and sporulation of this fungus. The field collection from which our North American isolate was obtained had been placed on 2% water agar in a Petri dish and maintained under room light and temperature conditions. Although few conidia developed, their form was so distinctive that they were readily noticed. Spores were removed and washed by serial transfer through sterile drops of water, inoculated onto 1% malt agar, and axenic cultures were obtained.
Siloxane Modified SiO2-TiO2 Glasses via Sol-Gel

Polydimethylsiloxane [PDMS]-modified SiO2-TiO2, glasses have been prepared via the sol-gel route. Polymer compositions varied between 17 and 67 wt% PDMS, using PDMS of molecular weights 1,700 and 36,000. Also varied was the Si/Ti ratio for a given polymer content and the nature of the Ti alkoxide. A general synthetic procedure was found which made optically clear samples. Dense monolithic structures were obtained at room temperature for all compositions. The room temperature densification is attributed to relaxation and flow in the sample due to the presence of the polymer. The effects on properties of the overall composition and molecular weight of the polymer are reported, and implications in terms of structural models are considered.
Lupus Nephritis in the Era of Biomarkers

Renal biopsy remains the standard of care for the evaluation of suspected flares in lupus nephritis ([1][1]) and is generally indicated when proteinuria, active urine sediment, or elevated serum creatinine is present. By the time that a patient presents with these features, injury induced by the
Induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in nonhuman primates by chemical carcinogens

Several compounds were evaluated in nonhuman primates for their potential to induce neoplasms, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The compounds can be classified into three groups: food contaminants, model rodent carcinogens, and nitrosamines. All three compounds in the food contaminants group, namely, aflatoxin B1, sterigmatocystin, and methylazoxymethanol acetate, induced HCC. None of the model rodent carcinogens tested consistently induced HCC in rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys. Three of four nitrosamines evaluated induced HCC in rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys. One nitrosamine, diethylnitrosamine, is a predictable and potent inducer of HCC and is useful for establishment of a nonhuman primate model for numerous oncologic studies.
Giorgio Scarpa’s Model of a Sea Urchin Inspires New Instrumentation

Abstract Giorgio Scarpa (1938–2012) was an Italian designer, artist and teacher who worked in bionics, topology and rotational geometry. This article describes Scarpa’s bionic model of “Aristotle’s Lantern”—the mouth of the sea urchin. The technical literature on Echinoidea lacks a detailed study of its remarkable mouth mechanism. Scarpa’s model is the only known analysis and physical analogue of the mechanism. It is a striking example of geometrical analysis and craftsmanship, bridging science and art. Built in the early 1970s and described in 1988 in Modelli di Bionica, his model has inspired designs for a biopsy harvester and for a mini-rover to collect soil samples on Mars.
The Moderating Role of Career Progression on Job Mobility: A Study of Work-Life Conflict

Employment and professional mobility are important aspects of life for both hospitality organizations and individual employees. Across two studies, we examine the effects of work–life conflict and ...
Is Regional Anesthesia for Cardiac Surgery a Good Idea

High thoracic epidural anaesthesia (HTEA) has been used successfully in cardiac surgery and has many potential advantages. However, its safety and practicality have been called in to question because of the need for full heparinization prior to cardiopulmonary bypass, the risks associated with heparin use and neuraxial anaesthesia, and the need to delay cardiac surgery in the event of traumatic epidural placement. HTEA is excellent for postoperative pain control, and there is evidence HTEA can have a positive impact on short-term mortality.
Statistical Approaches for Assessing Health Effects of Environmental Chemical Mixtures in Epidemiology: Lessons from an Innovative Workshop

Summary:Quantifying the impact of exposure to environmental chemical mixtures is important for identifying risk factors for diseases and developing more targeted public health interventions. The Na...
Academic Improvement through Behavioral Intervention

As the preceding chapter demonstrates, the black child’s academic performance may be negatively influenced by a host of factors, ranging from personal variables to teacher expectations. Given the fact that academic performance is of major importance in predicting future success, methods of mitigating the influence of these factors are essential. This chapter will therefore be devoted to techniques used to combat those factors that inhibit the establishment and maintenance of academic performance.
Influence of Religion on Later Burden and Health of New Black and White Caregivers

Objective: We assessed the relationship between positive aspects of religiosity and reduced stress in caregivers, and negative aspects of religiosity and increased caregiver burden. Method: Using data from the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study, we performed multiple linear regression analysis on 584 caregivers. Results: Mental health, but not physical health, was predicted by caregiver burden. Caregivers who viewed God as loving and not controlling and felt a sense of community with their church family had less burden. Caregivers who engaged in negative religious coping had a greater decline in mental health than those who saw God as loving and not controlling and who gave emotional support to others. Discussion: Some aspects of religion appear to play an important role in alleviating the mental stresses of being a caregiver.
Mitochondrial recovery from shotgun metagenome sequencing enabling phylogenetic analysis of the common thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus)

Abstract The common thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) is an important fisheries species in the northeastern Pacific Ocean along California, USA and Mexico; yet genetic understanding of this species is incomplete. Using IonTorrent PGM generated metagenomic libraries constructed from the skin surface, we recovered the complete mitogenome of the common thresher shark. The length of the mitogenome was 16,712 basepairs and consisted of 22 tRNA, two rRNA, 13 protein coding sequences, a replication origin and a control region, similar to other Alopias spp. The median coverage across the mitogenome was 21 ×, ranging from 1 to 48 × coverage. The mean GC content of the mitogenome was 37.83%. Using the 13 protein coding genes of the mitogenome, we show phylogenetic placement of the common thresher shark with the pelagic thresher (Alopias pelagicus; a posterior probability of 1). In addition, the inclusion of this mitogenome increased certainty for the placement of the Lamniformes family with the Carcharhiniformes family (a posterior probability of 1), rather than with the Orectolobeformes family, as has been previously reported. The availability of the common thresher shark mitogenome will aid phylogenetic inference and population based studies of this important fisheries species.
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Energeia: An Extended Note

In Book III of the Rhetoric, Aristotle focuses at length on the effect of lexical energeia. Scholarship on energeia in this passage almost always associates it with with analysis of enargeia in lat...