cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Speed-up methods for simulations of traveling waves in integrate-and-fire neural networks

Abstract We consider single and multiple spike traveling waves solutions in an integrate-and-fire neural network. Due to the special properties of this system it is possible to deduce the dynamical state of each neuron in the full network from a small subset, using recurrence relationships. Since the dimension of the subset is on the order of the number of the traveling waves, this greatly reduces the computational time required for numerical simulations. These ideas are specific to the class of integrate-and-fire neural network models presented here.
K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 based lead free piezoelectrics with expanded temperature usage range

Lead free materials 0.95(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-0.05LiSbO3 modified by CaTiO3 (CT) (1?3wt%) have been synthesized by conventional sintering. All samples exhibited pure perovskite phase with a tetragonal structure at room temperature. The Curie temperature was found to decrease with increasing CT addition in KNN-LS ceramics, while the orthorhombic to tetragaonl polymorphic phase transition was found to shift further downward from room temperature to lower than ?50°C, expanding the temperature usage range. The piezoelectric coefficient d31 and electroemchanical coupling factor k31 for CT (1wt%) modified KNN-LS materials were found to be on the order of ?90pC/N and ?28.5% at room temperature, respectively, comparable to those values of pure KNN-LS. Together with its broadened temperature usage range, makes the CT modified materials promising candidates for sensor and transducer applications.
Comparing introductory course planning among full-time and part-time faculty

Using data from a nationally representative survey of faculty teaching introductory college courses, this exploratory study compares course planning procedures of full-time and part-time faculty teaching courses in eight academic fields. The choice of variables examined was guided by a general model of course design developed from earlier studies of course planning. To control for discipline-related differences in faculty planning assumptions, separate analyses were conducted for the eight fields. No key differences were found between full-time and part-time faculty on the primary factors under investigation: substantive content-related influences on courses, strength of influence within the instructional environment, and planning steps and content arrangements faculty preferred.
Does Vitamin D Protect Against Cardiovascular Disease

Because of its role in maintaining bone density, vitamin D has long been recognized as critical to the health of women, a group at disproportionate risk of osteoporosis. Recent data from epidemiologic and laboratory studies suggest that vitamin D may also protect against the development of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Because three quarters of US women (and men) have suboptimal vitamin D status, many experts advocate increasing daily recommended intakes from 200–600 IU to at least 1,000 IU, which may indeed be a prudent strategy. However, data from large randomized clinical trials testing sufficiently high doses of this vitamin for cardiovascular disease prevention—as well as to assess the overall balance of benefits and risks of such supplementation—are needed.
Role of quisqualic acid receptors in the hypermotility response produced by the injection of AMPA into the nucleus accumbens

Abstract α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5- methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) is an excitatory amino acid which on the basis of electrophysiological and binding studies appears to act as a quisqualic acid receptor agonist. AMPA and other excitatory amino acids, such as quisqualic acid, kainic acid, and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid, as well as picrotoxin, an inhibitor of endogenous GABA, produce a marked stimulation of locomotor activity after bilateral injection into the nucleus accumbens. The intraacumbens injection of γ-D-glutamylaminomethylsulphonate (GAMS) was found to inhibit the hypermotility responses produced by AMPA and quisqualic acid at doses that were unable to inhibit the hypermotility responses produced by kainic acid, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid, and picrotoxin. These results suggest that GAMS is able to selectively inhibit quisqualic acid receptors in the nucleus accumbens. The intraacumbens injection of D-α-aminoadipic acid at a dose that significantly inhibited N-methyl-D-aspartic acid-stimulated locomotor activity did not produce a significant inhibition of AMPA-stimulated locomotor activity, suggesting that AMPA is not acting at N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors. Thus, these results suggest that the activation of quisqualic acid receptors in the nucleus accumbens produces a hypermotility response.
Quality-aware data allocation in approximate DRAM

Approximate computing is an emerging design paradigm that leverages the inherent error tolerance present in many applications to optimize their power consumption and performance. Due to the forgiving nature of these error-resilient applications, highly precise input data is not always necessary for them to produce outputs of acceptable quality. This makes memory, the place where data is stored, a suitable component for introducing errors or approximations in return for considerable energy savings. Towards this end, this paper proposes, for the first time, a systematic way for constructing a quality-aware approximate DRAM system. Our design is based upon an extensive experimental characterization of memory errors as a function of the DRAM refresh rate. Leveraging the insights gathered from this characterization, we propose four novel strategies for partitioning the DRAM into a number of quality bins based on the frequency, location, and nature of bit errors in each of the physical pages. During allocation, critical data is placed in the highest quality bin containing only accurate pages and approximate data is allocated to bins sorted in descending order of quality. We validate our proposed scheme on several error-resilient applications implemented using an Altera Stratix IV GX FPGA based Terasic TR4-230 development board containing a 1GB DDR3 DRAM module. Experimental results demonstrate a significant improvement in the energy-quality trade-off compared to previous work and show a reduction in DRAM refresh power of up to 73% with minimal loss in output quality.
The use of reconstitution and inhibitor/ion interaction assays to distinguish between Ca2+/H+and Cd2+/H+ antiporter activities of oat and tobacco tonoplast vesicles

Tonoplast, ion antiport activities are critical to ion homeostasis and sequestration in plants. The biochemical properties of these activities, and the enzymes that catalyse them, are little characterized. Here we applied biochemical approaches to study some characteristics and to distinguish between Ca 2+ /H + and Cd 2+ /H + antiporter activities of tonoplast vesicles from non-transformed, wild-type plants. Solubilization and reconstitution of oat-seedling (Avena sativa L.) root tonoplast vesicles resulted in about a 6-fold loss of protein, about a 6-fold enhancement of Cd 2+ /H + antiport specific activity (at 10 μM Cd 2+ ), and almost complete loss of Ca 2+ /H + antiport activity. Similar results were found for vesicles from mature tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) roots. Cd 2+ concentration-dependent proton efflux was similar and linear with both oat vesicles and proteoliposomes. In contrast, Ca 2+ concentration-dependent proton efflux of oat vesicles was easily observed while that with proteoliposomes was minimal and nonlinear. Cd 2+ pre-treatment of oat vesicles reduced verapamil inhibition of Cd 2+ /H + activity and verapamil binding to vesicles, while Ca 2+ pre-treatment was much less protective of Ca 2+ /H + activity and verapamil binding. Results show the usefulness of reconstitution, and also inhibitor/ion interaction assays for distinguishing between transporter activities in vitro, but they do not resolve the question of whether there are separate enzymes for Cd 2+ /H + and Ca 2+ /H + . Our observation that solubilization and reconstitution have similar effects on both Cd 2+ /H + and Ca 2+ /H + activities of root tonoplast vesicles from immature oat and mature tobacco roots suggests that the transporters involved are similar in young and mature roots, and in roots of different species.
Neuropeptide Y: vasoconstrictor effects and possible role in cerebral vasospasm after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Abstract The possible role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) as a vasoconstrictor substance contributing to the development of cerebral vasospasm after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage was studied. Autologous blood was injected into the cisterna magna of control rabbits and rabbits that had received bilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy 2 days before blood injection. The days after blood injection the concentration of NPY in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was 5971 ± 551pg/ml while CSF from control animals contained992 ± 162pg/ml of NPY. The effects of porcine NPY on norepinephrine-induced contraction of rabbit cerebral arteries were also studied in vitro. NPY (1.2 nM) caused a 3-fold potentiation of norepinephrine-induced contraction of cerebral arteries. CSF from control rabbits diluted by 50% with Krebs solution had no significant effect on norepinephrine-induced contraction of cerebral arteries when compared to responses in Krebs solution only; however, diluted CSF from denervated blood-injected rabbits potentiated norepinephrine-induced contraction by 2.6-fold. Antiserum containing NPY specific antibodies was used to immunoprecipitate the peptide from CSF taken from denervated blood-injected rabbits. CSF treated with this antiserum contained less than 40 pg/ml of NPY and had no effect on norepinephrine-induced contraction of cerebral arteries. These results show that the concentration of NPY in CSF of rabbits is elevated after experimetal subarachnoid hemorrhage. In addition, NPY in CSF can potentiate the vasoconstrictor effect of norepinephrine which may contribute to the development of cerebral vasospasm.
Aesthetic Deception: On Encounters with the Past

tions, including the reproduction of a portion of the historic canal district. When the original canal terminus was discovered, plans continued to build a nearby replica. The old site was to be reburied; perhaps its outline would be marked on the pavement above to indicate its presence underground. But the historic "feel" of old Buffalo the "experience" of the nineteenth-century canal town was to be evoked by a reproduction slip, by an area of newly laid cobblestone streets, and by interpretive centers and signage, all of which presented fewer engineering and financial complications. To the apparent consternation of officials in charge of the project, this plan met vigorous resistence from the vocal majority of citizens, who might have been presumed to have no interest in what was now little more than a hole in the ground. There were heated public debates, newspaper articles, courtroom hearings, injunctions, and demonstrations. Under pressure, the state development plan was revised, and it was decided to uncover, restore, and rewater the old Commercial Slip, retaining not only its site but also the original limestone walls that had been christened with a splash from a bucket by Governor Dewitt Clinton in 1825 when the canal was opened. This may seem an odd anecdote to introduce a subject in aesthetics, for engineering feat though it may have been, no one has claimed that the canal terminus represents a thing of beauty; nor except in the most extended sense can it be considered
Etched quantum dots for all-optical and electro-optical switches

We present progress to date in the production of quantum dots etched from multiple quantum well structures for use in all-optical and electro-optical switches. Details of fabrication and comparisons to self-assembled quantum dot materials are described, and the direction of our continuing research is outlined.
Bottom–up and top–down forcing in a simple size-structured plankton dynamics model

Abstract A size-structured plankton dynamics model is developed and used to explore the effects of variations in bottom–up and top–down forcing upon the biomass spectrum, size-structured patterns in primary production, and the flux of energy from primary producers to fish. Parameters and mechanisms controlling the steady-state model response to bottom–up forcing via nutrient enrichment and top–down forcing via fluctuations in planktivorous fish are first diagnosed. Results are then compared with mean observed biomass spectra from three ecosystems spanning a broad range of productivity. Solutions using parameters within empirical ranges can recreate trends in the biomass spectrum across these systems. The zooplankton gross growth efficiency is critical for matching the steady-state slopes of the spectra. Variability in export sources and zooplankton half-saturation constants both provide ways of matching the mean biomass. Results support the model's potential to provide mechanistic insights and testable quantitative hypotheses for the dynamics underlying observed biomass spectra.
Quasiclassical transport at a van Hove singularity in cuprate superconductors.

The thermopower in cuprate superconductors shows a quasiclassical temperature independence rather than the $T$-linear behavior of a Fermi liquid, and scales in an approximately universal manner with doping. It is shown that standard transport theory at a van Hove singularity in the band structure can explain both the linear resistivity and these remarkable features of the thermopower in cuprates.
A semiótica de um enterro prematuro: o feminismo em uma era pós-feminista

In this article, I will explore how the death of feminism is represented in order to plumb the larger meanings embedded in proclamations of feminism's symbolic death. I will begin by investigating two mechanisms by which feminism's death has been produced to unearth the tacit values of feminism's morticians. I will then consider competing accounts of the "signs of death" in order to explore how particular assumptions about the ontology of feminism are tied to specific forms of metaphorical death. Given the particular kind of distortion involved in the premature burial of a thriving global feminism, the final section of the article situates contemporary feminism's death knell in the context of a gendered history of live burial practices. By excavating and interpreting such archaic practices, I will link the rhetorical burial of contemporary feminism to an ongoing effort to undermine feminist struggles for social justice.
Multivariate applications of the ash in regression

A simple algorithm for estimating the regression function over the United States is introduced. The approach allows for data obtained from a complicated sampling design, as well as for the inclusion of a few additional covariates. The regression estimates are obtained from an associated probability density estimate, namely the averaged shifted histogram. The algorithm has proven especially successful over a large mesh, say 300 by 200 nodes, in a data rich setting, even on a 486 computer running Splus. We currently run much higher resolution meshes on a Pentium. Commonly available alternative codes including kriging failed to produce useful estimates in this setting.
Cross-National Comparisons of Gender Differences in Late-Life Depressive Symptoms in Japan and the United States

Discussion. The analyses revealed more variety in Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale reports by gender in Japan than in the United States. Future research should consider the diversity of contemporary Japanese households, reflecting new interpretations of traditional family support relationships.
Mullins' effect and the strain amplitude dependence of the storage modulus

Abstract A micromechanically based continuum damage model for carbon black filled elastomers exhibiting Mullin's effect is extended to incorporate viscous response within the framework of a theory of viscoelasticity which includes the classical BKZ model as a particular case and is not restricted to isotropy. The resulting model is shown to qualitatively predict the important effect of a strain amplitude dependent storage modulus even without the inclusion of healing effects. The proposed model for filled elastomers is shown to be well motivated from micromechanical considerations and suitable for large scale numerical simulations.
Use of an environment classification model

Various reference models have been proposed for the classification of features present in an integrated software engineering environment. Two such models are studied and a target system is mapped to the set of services present in these models. This system consisted of approximately 23000 lines of Pascal source code in 31 modules and provided tools for developing Pascal programs using either a syntax-directed editor or a line-oriented editor. In addition to describing the system, this mapping exercise provided additional feedback on the effectiveness of the two reference models used. The results of this mapping and comments on the effectiveness of the models are given. >
Performance evaluation of parallel file systems for PC clusters and ASCI red

Parallel file systems provide high performance disk access, which is crucial for many scientific and commercial applications.In this paper, we explore the current state of the art of parallel file systems for PC clusters.To do so, we evaluate the I/O performance of Intel PFS, a commercial file system for ASCI Red, and PVFS, an open-source file system for Linux clusters.Our study shows that parallel file systems for PC clusters have come a long way.While there is still room for improvements, high performance disk access on PC clusters is becoming a reality.Three and a half years after I/O throughputs of more than 1 Gigabyte/sec have been achieved for the first time (with Intel PFS on ASCI Red), PVFS can now deliver this level of I/O performance on PC clusters.
A parallel local timestepping Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin method with applications to coastal ocean modeling

Abstract Geophysical flows over complex domains often encompass both coarse and highly resolved regions. Approximating these flows using shock-capturing methods with explicit timestepping gives rise to a Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) timestep constraint. This approach can result in small global timesteps often dictated by flows in small regions, vastly increasing computational effort over the whole domain. One approach for coping with this problem is to use locally varying timesteps. In previous work, we formulated a local timestepping (LTS) method within a Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin framework and demonstrated the accuracy and efficiency of this method on serial machines for relatively small-scale shallow water applications. For more realistic models involving large domains and highly complex physics, the LTS method must be parallelized for multi-core parallel computers. Furthermore, additional physics such as strong wind forcing can effect the choice of local timesteps. In this paper, we describe a parallel LTS method, parallelized using domain decomposition and MPI. We demonstrate the method on tidal flows and hurricane storm surge applications in the coastal regions of the Western North Atlantic Ocean.
Remote mineralogical and vegetation mapping using imaging spectrometry

Two airborne flight systems were developed for geological studies: the airborne imaging spectrometer (AIS) and the advanced visible and infrared imaging spectrometer. A satellite imaging spectrometer system, the high resolution imaging spectrometer, is currently being developed and is planned for flight on the proposed NASA Earth Orbiting System. Examples of the application of these instruments in mineral and vegetation studies are described. Experiments conducted with AIS over the Cuprite Mining District (Nevada) and the Owens Valley (California) demonstrate the power of this new approach to remote sensing.
Comparative transmission of soybean dwarf virus by three geographically diverse populations of Aulacorthum (= Acyrthosiphon) solani

SUMMARY Three populations of Aulacorthum (=Acyrthosiphon) solani were compared as vectors of the two strains of soybean dwarf virus (SDV). United States (CA = California) and New Zealand (NZ) populations transmitted both SDV strains less efficiently than did the Japanese population. The CA and NZ populations most readily colonised leaflettuce, curled dock, or wild geranium and the Japanese aphids readily colonised soybeans and curled dock. CA and NZ aphids were smaller, more pigmented, and less prolific on the hosts tested than were Japanese aphids. Nymphs were more efficient vectors than adults. Alatae and apterae transmitted the virus with equal efficiency. All aphids transmitted the dwarfing strain more efficiently than the yellowing strain.
Multiple Marginality How the Disproportionate Assignment of Women and Minorities to Manage Diversity Programs Reinforces and Multiplies Their Marginality

Achieving diversity in the workplace has become the antidote for what ails many organizations. Specifically for public organizations, although many genuinely pursue diversity to achieve public good...
A simple algorithm to achieve equiripple patterns for arbitrary arrays

The authors consider the problem of designing equiripple patterns (uniform sidelobes) for antenna arrays with arbitrary geometry. A simple algorithm is derived which starts with an initial pattern and iteratively aligns the sidelobe peaks to some prespecified level. The initial pattern is selected as having a peak of unity gain at the look direction while simultaneously possessing minimum power in other directions where the sidelobes are of concern. Such a pattern can be obtained straightforwardly by solving a linearly constrained minimization problem with unity gain and zero first derivative constraints. The remaining task is to update the array weights from one iteration to the next until an equiripple pattern is reached. The algorithm has been applied to achieve equiripple patterns for a variety of arrays. >
Resonant oscillations in closed tubes

An investigation is made of the disturbances produced in a closed, gas-filled tube by the oscillations of a piston at one end, when the piston oscillates at near resonant frequencies. Within a well-defined frequency band around each resonant frequency, shock waves appear in the solution; outside this interval the oscillations are continuous, but not purely sinusoidal.The solution includes the effects of compressive viscosity, and of shear viscosity in the boundary layer at the walls of the tube. For typical laboratory conditions the effect of compressive viscosity is found to be quite small (giving a shock thickness of the order of 10−4in.). The boundary layer effect can be more significant, though the most important modification required of the usual acoustic theory is found to arise from the non-linear terms.
QOMA: quasi-optimal multiple alignment of protein sequences

Motivation: We consider the problem of multiple alignment of protein sequences with the goal of achieving a large SP (Sum-of-Pairs) score. Results: We introduce a new graph-based method. We name our method QOMA (Quasi-Optimal Multiple Alignment). QOMA starts with an initial alignment. It represents this alignment using a K-partite graph. It then improves the SP score of the initial alignment through local optimizations within a window that moves greedily on the alignment. QOMA uses two parameters to permit flexibility in time/accuracy trade off: (1) The size of the window for local optimization. (2) The sparsity of the K-partite graph. Unlike traditional progressive methods, QOMA is independent of the order of sequences. The experimental results on BAliBASE benchmarks show that QOMA produces higher SP score than the existing tools including ClustalW, Probcons, Muscle, T-Coffee and DCA. The difference is more significant for distant proteins. Availability: The software is available from the authors upon request. Contact: tamer@cise.ufl.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary material is available at Bioinformatics online.
A novel rapid single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)–based method for assessment of hematopoietic chimerism after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

A major end point of nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the attainment of either mixed chimerism or full donor hematopoiesis. Because the majority of human genetic disparity is generated by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), direct measurement of SNPs should provide a robust tool for the detection and quantitation of chimerism. Using pyrosequencing, a rapid quantitative sequencing technology, we developed a SNP-based assay for hematopoietic chimerism. Based on 14 SNPs with high allele frequencies, we were able to identify at least 1 informative SNP locus in 55 patients with HLA-identical donors. The median number of informative SNPs in related pairs was 5 and in unrelated pairs was 8 (P <.0001). Assessment of hematopoietic chimerism in posttransplantation DNA was shown to be quantitative, accurate, and highly reproducible. The presence of 5% donor cells was reliably detected in replicate assays. Compared with current measures of engraftment based on identification of short tandem repeats (STRs), variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs), or microsatellite polymorphisms, this SNP-based method provides a more rapid and quantitative assessment of chimerism. A large panel of SNPs enhances the ability to identify an informative marker in almost all patient/donor pairs and also facilitates the simultaneous use of multiple markers to improve the statistical validity of chimerism measurements. The inclusion of SNPs that encode minor histocompatibility antigens or other genetic polymorphisms that may influence graft-versus-host disease or other transplantation outcomes can provide additional clinically relevant data. SNP-based assessment of chimerism is a promising technique that will assist in the analysis of outcomes following transplantation.
Ovarian Sarcoma with Pathologic Features of Clear Cell Sarcoma of the Kidney

We report a case of an unusual sarcoma arising in the ovary of an infant girl. Histologically, the tumor was composed of clear, undifferentiated cells set in an arborizing vascular stroma. Immunohistochemical staining was positive only for vimentin. Ultrastructural evaluation demonstrated undifferentiated cells with interdigitating broad cell processes that encompassed irregular electron lucent spaces that contained flocculent extracellular material. Light and electron microscopic features of the tumor resembled a clear cell sarcoma of the kidney. Although the cell of origin is unproven, both tumors may arise from primitive mesenchymal cells that may not be restricted to the kidney.
Evidence for Cooperative Transforming Activity of the Human Pituitary Tumor Transforming Gene and Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Tax

Aneuploidy is frequent in cancers. Recently it was found that pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG; also called Pds1p or securin) is overexpressed in many different tumors. Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus that primarily infects CD4+ T lymphocytes and causes adult T-cell leukemia. Here, we report that overexpression of human PTTG cooperated with the HTLV-I Tax oncoprotein in cellular transformation. Coexpression of Tax and PTTG enhanced chromosomal instability and neoplastic changes to levels greater than overexpression of either factor singularly. Cells that overexpressed both PTTG and Tax induced tumors more robustly in nude mice than cells that expressed either PTTG alone or Tax alone.
The Propaganda of the Deed: Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Mobilization

Many terrorist factions care about the level of popular support they enjoy within a population they claim to represent. Empirically, this level of support can either rise or fall in the aftermath of a campaign of terrorist violence. Under what circumstances is the use of terror an effective tactic for mobilizing political support for an extremist group? This article models a scenario in which an extremist faction considers attacking a government in the hopes of provoking a counterterror response that will radicalize the population, increasing the extremists’ support at the expense of a more moderate faction. In our scenario, such radicalization can result either from the economic damage caused by counterterror operations or by the way in which such operations change the population’s assessment of the government’s motivations. We demonstrate that such attempts at mobilizing public support can be, but need not be, successful, discuss factors that make both the initiation of a terror campaign and successful mobilization more or less likely, and relate our results to several empirical cases.
Catalysis of Protein Folding by Chaperones Accelerates Evolutionary Dynamics in Adapting Cell Populations

Although molecular chaperones are essential components of protein homeostatic machinery, their mechanism of action and impact on adaptation and evolutionary dynamics remain controversial. Here we developed a physics-based ab initio multi-scale model of a living cell for population dynamics simulations to elucidate the effect of chaperones on adaptive evolution. The 6-loci genomes of model cells encode model proteins, whose folding and interactions in cellular milieu can be evaluated exactly from their genome sequences. A genotype-phenotype relationship that is based on a simple yet non-trivially postulated protein-protein interaction (PPI) network determines the cell division rate. Model proteins can exist in native and molten globule states and participate in functional and all possible promiscuous non-functional PPIs. We find that an active chaperone mechanism, whereby chaperones directly catalyze protein folding, has a significant impact on the cellular fitness and the rate of evolutionary dynamics, while passive chaperones, which just maintain misfolded proteins in soluble complexes have a negligible effect on the fitness. We find that by partially releasing the constraint on protein stability, active chaperones promote a deeper exploration of sequence space to strengthen functional PPIs, and diminish the non-functional PPIs. A key experimentally testable prediction emerging from our analysis is that down-regulation of chaperones that catalyze protein folding significantly slows down the adaptation dynamics.
Electoral Reform and Political Pluralism in Local Government

Electoral reform to a system of direct election of mayors has recently been promoted in a number of countries. It has been advocated as a way of strengthening local government, improving governance, and increasing accountability. However, studies supporting such a change have been detached from research on electoral systems and electoral reform. This article examines the consequences of a shift to a two-ballot system through Israel’s 30-year experience following reform of the system for local government elections. The move to direct election of mayors led to a major decline in the main national parties and a rise in smaller parties representing a variety of sectoral interests. This resulted in greater political pluralism and increased representation for a variety of groups, while at the same time widening the gap between national and local elected leaders. The results of this electoral reform raise important considerations for local government reforms that have been proposed in other countries.
Formative, Informative, and Summative Assessment: The Relationship among Curriculum-Based Measurement of Reading, Classroom Engagement, and Reading Performance.

This study explored the relationships among formative curriculum-based measures of reading (CBM-R), student engagement as an extra-academic indicator of student motivation, and summative performance on a high-stakes reading assessment. A diverse sample of third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students and their teachers responded to questionnaires about student engagement in academic tasks. These questionnaires were collected about the same time as fall CBM-R oral reading fluency and maze screening tasks. Results indicated that fall student and teacher reports of engagement and a composite score of reading competence derived from CBM-R screening tests uniquely predicted student performance on year-end standardized reading tests. Profile analyses indicated that student engagement was associated with better reading performance among students with low competence, suggesting that engagement may be particularly important for increasing student performance for struggling readers. Implications for interventions targeting both student motivation, as well as reading skill development, are discussed.
The practical application of retiming to the design of high-performance systems

In spite of recent advances in circuit retiming theory, especially for circuits that use level-sensitive latches, automatic retiming tools see relatively little use in practice. We suggest that the reason for the poor results reported for retiming is that it has been applied too late in the design process when there is little flexibility for performance improvement. We give an example of using retiming early in the design process to achieve better performance while at the same time simplifying the design process itself. We extend the circuit model to include clock skew, latch propagation delay, setup and hold parameters which allow retiming to generate the fastest circuit subject to a given amount of clock stew, or generate the most robust circuit with respect to skew for a given clock frequency. We illustrate these techniques using a serial-parallel multiplier circuit and show that while edge-clocked circuits require a speed margin for clock skew, level-clocked circuits can be retimed to be inherently skew-tolerant.
Consensus and selectivity in fuzzy rule based interpolation

Many fuzzy logic systems, in effect, perform interpolation on fuzzy X-Y graphs. Each If-then rule represents a fuzzy point on the graph; the job of the system is to balance two criteria that sometimes are in conflict. One criterion is selectivity, which asks that the behavior of the function at an intermediate point should resemble its behavior at the nearest given point. The other criterion is consensus, which asks that behavior at an intermediate point should reflect information from all nearby rules. The present paper examines the relationship between the parameter value and the behavior of the family of S-implication operators derived from the Schweizer-Sklar family of T-norms. The context is the interaction between rules, not just the behavior of an isolated rule. Subsequent research will examine other families of operators such as R-implications, Q-implications, and Mamdani pseudo-implications. The key consideration will be the effects of the parameter on the balance between consensus and selectivity. A fuller understanding of this relationship will help system designers to produce a system with desired characteristics by taking advantage of an important dimension of the flexibility that is the raison d'etre of fuzzy systems. >
Students’ Perceptions about Successfully Transitioning to Postsecondary Institutions

Through the auspices of federal legislation, students with disabilities are gaining access to higher education. Still for many students with disabilities, the paramount barriers facing them in their transition to postsecondary education are overwhelming. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study of 59 postsecondary students with disabilities on factors students perceived to inhibit or contribute to their successful transition into college. The study examines support services and access to reasonable accommodations available to students with disabilities. Students reported the major barriers to accessing college and succeeding in college were societal attitudes, lack of preparation, and financial constraints. The students also identified self-determination and families as necessary supports that propelled their transition into postsecondary education. Recommendations and suggestions for teachers, students, and families are presented by the study’s participants to support students’ with disabilities access and retention in postsecondary institutions.
Attributing Responsibility for Organizational Wrongdoing

The economic, social, and human consequences of organizational wrongdoing are enormous and well-documented.1 The 21st century began with almost daily revelations about corporate and organizational misconduct, ranging from widespread economic abuses at Enron and other Fortune 500 corporations to human rights violations by the U.S. military at Abu Ghraib prison. Most observers agree that the costs of “crime in the suites” far outweigh those of “crime in the streets.”2 But who, or what, is responsible for these harms? Should we blame greedy or morally negligent individuals, referred to as “amoral calculators”?3 Organizational cultures, structures, and processes?4 institutional logics and systemic environmental forces that transcend a “focal organization”?5 Broader social norms and institutions, such as capitalism or “technical rationality”?6 Or perhaps the very regulatory agencies charged with controlling organizational wrongdoing create criminogenic environments and deserve blame for placing organizations “beyond the law”?7 Because the state plays the inherently contradictory dual role of both promoting and regulating business corporations, some scholars have come to see corporate wrongdoing as arising from functional interdependencies between corporations and the state, giving rise to the term “state-corporate crime.”8 To what extent do different audiences (e.g., prosecutors, scholars, laypersons) believe that such systemic causes absolve individuals of legal or moral responsibility and under what conditions?
Preliminary measurements of the wideband HF groundwave channel

An experiment was conducted to measure key parameters of the wideband groundwave propagation channel over a nominal instantaneous bandwidth, of 1 MHz. The experiment was conducted to measure the time dispersion induced by the channel, to compare the path loss for wideband signals versus narrowband signals, and to gain a better understanding of the noise and interference environment for the groundwave HF channel. Based on the experiments performed, it was concluded that the channel does not impose any bandwidth limitations on wideband HF signals, and the path loss is the same for both wideband and narrowband HF signals. >
What's being used at home: a household pesticide survey.

Objective. Since very little is known about the health effects that household pesticides have on children, we conducted this survey to identify what pesticides are being used in the home, where they are being used and stored, and what methods are used for their disposal. Methods. In the spring of 1999 we conducted a survey in a community in the state of Arizona, in the United States of America, on the border with Mexico. To be eligible to participate in the survey, households had to have used a pesticide in the 6 mo prior to the survey and to have at least one child under the age of 10 years. We gathered general information on pesticide usage, storage, and disposal, in addition to specific information about each of the pesticides currently being used and/or stored in the home. Results. In the 107 households surveyed, we found 148 pesticide products, for a mean of 1.4 per household. Half of the pesticides were stored less than 4 feet (1.22 m) from the ground, at a level a child could reach. Seventy percent of all the pesticides were stored inside the home, with the kitchen being the storage room most often mentioned. The kitchen was also the room where most of the pesticides were used, with 69% of the respondents saying they had used at least one pesticide there. Conclusions. From our research we conclude that it will be important to continue to investigate all avenues of pesticide exposure in order to fully evaluate childhood exposures. Understanding household pesticide use and developing a model of exposure will help in this process. Profiles of the use, storage, and disposal of products will also guide the development of effective education and poison prevention programs in the community.
Believing is seeing in schizophrenia : The role of top-down processing

The etiology of visual hallucinations is largely undetermined in schizophrenia. Collerton et al.'s PAD model partly concurs with what we know about neurocognition in schizophrenia, but we need to specify the types of perceptual and attentional abnormalities that are implicated in recurrent complex visual hallucinations (RCVH). Available data suggest that abnormal attentional control and top-down processing play a larger role than the ventral stream deficits.
Analysis of memory bandwidth requirements for the H.263 video codec

Memory bandwidth is emerging as the fundamental impediment to higher performance and lower power computer and communication systems. In this paper, we present an analysis of memory bandwidth requirements for the H.263 video codec algorithms. We provide data and insight into how the choice of cache parameters affects external bandwidth requirements of video. We make use of memory traces generated as a result of running Telenor's H.263 video encoder and decoder software implementations to simulate a large number of cache configurations. In the area of analysis of video algorithms, this paper focuses on the following issues: we provide a study of how varying cache size, block size, associativity, replacement policy, and organization parameters such a split versus unified cache affects memory bandwidth requirements. A comparative study of encoder and decoder bandwidth requirements is presented. We also study various advanced encoding options provided with the H.263 standard in this light. Based on our study, we provide guidelines for traffic-directed memory system design.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Radiofrequency and microwave ablation in combination with transarterial chemoembolization induce equivalent histopathologic coagulation necrosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients bridged to liver transplantation

Background: Bridging therapy plays an increasingly important role in the management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) awaiting liver transplantation (LT). Combination therapy with drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) and percutaneous thermal ablation, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) or microwave ablation (MWA), has shown success at prolonging survival and bridging patients to LT. However, few studies have evaluated the two combination therapy regimens head-to-head at a single institution, and fewer have compared histopathology. This retrospective study compares tumor coagulation on explanted livers in patients with HCC treated with DEB-TACE sequentially combined with RFA versus MWA. Methods: From 2005 to 2015, 42 sequential patients underwent combination therapy prior to LT by Milan criteria, with 11 patients (11 tumors; mean, 2.9 cm; range, 1.8–4.3 cm) in the DEB-TACE/RFA cohort and 31 patients (40 tumors; mean, 2.4 cm; range, 1.1–5.4 cm) in the DEB-TACE/MWA cohort. The mean TACE procedures in the RFA and MWA cohorts were 1.3 (range, 1–2) and 1.3 (range, 1–3), respectively. The mean thermal ablations in the RFA and MWA cohorts were 1.2 (range, 1–2) and 1.3 (range, 1–3), respectively. Tumor coagulation was evaluated on explanted livers. Results: Mean tumor coagulation in the RFA and MWA cohorts were 88.9% (range, 0–100%) and 90.5% (range, 30–100%), respectively (P=0.82). Rates of complete tumor coagulation in the RFA and MWA cohorts were 45% and 53%, respectively (P=0.74). No difference in tumor coagulation was found between the cohorts when separating tumors 3 cm (P=0.09). Among all 51 tumors, the 36 in complete response (CR) on imaging at LT demonstrated mean tumor coagulation of 95.8%. No correlation was found between tumor coagulation and initial tumor size or time interval to LT. No tumor seeding was seen along the ablation tracts. Conclusions: RFA and MWA in sequential combination with DEB-TACE, used as a bridge to LT, are equally efficacious at inducing HCC tumor coagulation.
Vaudou and the marine: Jacques-Stéphen Alexis and Zora Neale Hurston on the American occupation of Haiti

ABSTRACT2015 marked the 100-year anniversary of the beginning of the longest occupation by American forces of an independent nation. In Haiti, the American presence was a catalyst for the development of theories and policies which polarized Haitian society and led to the exile of some of Haiti's most important intellectuals, a legacy which continues into the twenty-first century and which contributed to an increased, if not voluntary, transnational black consciousness. In the USA, a significant if less obvious legacy of the occupation is the role it played in the long process of redefining racial and national identities within our own borders. The destinies of the two nations became intertwined during the occupation years in an unprecedented way, with the marine serving as a contradictory symbol of both democracy and domination. Among the many writers and intellectuals who were inevitably influenced by these events, two in particular, Jacques-Stephen Alexis and Zora Neale Hurston, proved to be prescient a...
Kaposi's Sarcoma: Why a ‘Homosexual Disease’?

The relationship of homosexuality to the current epidemic may provide important clues elucidating the underlying viral and immunologic mechanisms of oncogenesis.
Clinical Decision Making for the Internationally Adopted Child With Cleft Lip and Palate

Many children with orofacial clefts are adopted each year into English-speaking families in the United States. These children present unique challenges for achieving best practice in treatment deli...
Naïve realism and phenomenal overlap

Many arguments against naive realism are arguments against its corollary: disjunctivism. But there is a simpler argument—due to Mehta (J Philos 111:311–331, 2014)—that targets naive realism directly. In broad strokes, the argument is the following. There are certain experiences that are, allegedly, in no way phenomenally similar. Nevertheless, naive realism predicts that they are phenomenally similar. Hence, naive realism is false. Mehta and Ganson (Philos Stud, 2016) successfully defend this argument from an objection raised by French and Gomes (Philos Stud 173(2):451–460, 2016). However, all parties to this dispute have missed the real problem with Mehta’s argument. As I see it, the real problem is twofold. First, despite his claims to the contrary, the experiences Mehta cites are phenomenally similar. Moreover, finding experiences that are in no way phenomenally similar turns out to be a difficult task. Second, there are motivated versions of naive realism that are immune to Mehta’s argument. The upshot is that even if Mehta’s argument is sound, the most that it can show is that one version of naive realism is false.
Do-Not-Attempt-Resuscitation Orders in Public Schools

A discussion of arguments for or against the use of DNAR orders in schools for children with life-shortening illness. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.