cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Positive Education: Developing Skills for School Life and Beyond

Schools are one of few institutions with direct and sustained access to children, their families, and the communities in which they reside, and are therefore well positioned to address the important challenge of preparing children for successful adulthood in the twenty-first century. By adopting the ethos of positive education and committing to educating the whole-student (academic as well as well-being skills), some schools are now teaching preventative skills that will help students to be resilient, lead meaningful lives, and engage positively with the world around them (White M, Murray S: Evidence-based approaches to positive education in schools: Implementing a strategic framework for well-being in schools. Springer Press, The Netherlands. Series Editor Ilona Boniwell. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9667-5, 2015, 2015). Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1994), the next challenge is to align the student’s immediate surroundings (e.g. school, family, peers) with the broader community so that the skills they learn at school are reinforced and further developed beyond the school gates.
Encapsulation of Bolbophorus damnificus (Digenea: Bolbophoridae) Metacercariae in Juvenile Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Is Linked to Delayed‐onset Mortality

Bolbophorus damnificus (Digenea: Bolbophoridae) causes significant economic losses in catfish aquaculture in the southeastern USA. To determine mortality trends associated with B. damnificus exposure, three separate disease challenges were conducted. The first challenge exposed channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, fingerlings (7–13 cm) to approximately 285 B. damnificus cercariae/L, while the second exposed fish to approximately 215 cercaria/L. Fish were monitored for morbidity and mortality for 28 d. In both studies, mortality first occurred 8 d postchallenge (PC) and peaked at 9 and 10 d PC, respectively. Mortality had subsided by 14 d PC, with only sporadic mortality occurring >15 d PC. Dead and moribund fish presented with lesions consistent with B. damnificus infection. A third challenge was performed to record histological changes associated with parasite development from initial exposure up to the cessation of mortality. Catfish (2–5 cm) were exposed as described above to a range covering 0, 35, 70, 100, 150, 175, and 215 cercariae/L. Each day, two fish were sampled from each treatment. Mortality trends were consistent with previous challenges. The mortality window coincided with parasite encapsulation, neovascularization, and development of the host-derived cyst, suggesting that morbidity and mortality are linked to host pathophysiological changes in response to metacercariae encapsulation.
A New Managerial Approach

To control crime, a new form of police institution is needed that is purpose-oriented, outgoing to the environment, and creative; the new managerial approach is to seek this new form. The three major capabilities that cumulatively characterize the new form of police institution were described in the first chapter. Concerning purpose, it is the capacity for developing- in consultation with other public and private agencies- plans for order enhancement. Concerning outgoingness or openness to the environment, it is the capacity for mobilizing and leading agencies and individuals to achieve the improved order level. Concerning creativity, it is the capacity for utilizing research results and new perspectives in achieving the other two capabilities. This chapter comments on these three capabilities- providing an account of the new managerial approach, that new direction for police management that can be expected to work with the new community approach to give us crime control and the other benefits of the new form of police agency. The first section of this chapter describes purpose-orientation, providing an account of a budgeting method of police resources allocation decision-making. The second comments on openness in both policy-making and implementation, and the third discusses creativity.
Measuring Semantic Relations between Human Activities

The things people do in their daily lives can provide valuable insights into their personality, values, and interests. Unstructured text data on social media platforms are rich in behavioral content, and automated systems can be deployed to learn about human activity on a broad scale if these systems are able to reason about the content of interest. In order to aid in the evaluation of such systems, we introduce a new phrase-level semantic textual similarity dataset comprised of human activity phrases, providing a testbed for automated systems that analyze relationships between phrasal descriptions of people’s actions. Our set of 1,000 pairs of activities is annotated by human judges across four relational dimensions including similarity, relatedness, motivational alignment, and perceived actor congruence. We evaluate a set of strong baselines for the task of generating scores that correlate highly with human ratings, and we introduce several new approaches to the phrase-level similarity task in the domain of human activities.
Lattice vibrations of Si 1 − x C x epilayers on Si(100)

Raman spectroscopy has been used to investigate the lattice vibrations of ${\mathrm{Si}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{C}}_{x}$ $(0lxl0.02)$ epilayers grown on Si(100) by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Spectral contributions due to first- and second-order longitudinal and transverse optic phonons together with disorder-induced features have been evaluated by a detailed polarization and C concentration dependence analysis. The band parameters exhibit generally a linear dependence on $x.$ A Raman line observed near $630{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1},$ which in past work has been associated with C ordering in the Si lattice, is found not to agree with this interpretation. It is associated with interstitial C. The optical absorption coefficient near 458 nm is deduced from the Raman intensity information, and is found to increase significantly with increasing $x.$
Pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase

Four classes of protein serine/threonine phosphatases have been identified in eukaryotic cells on the basis of substrate specificities and sensitivity to activators and inhibitors (Cohen, 1989; Shenolikar and Nairn, 1991). Protein phosphatase 1 is sensitive to the thermostable proteins inhibitor 1 and inhibitor 2, and protein phosphatases 1 and 2A are sensitive to okadaic acid. Protein phosphatase 2B is Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated and protein phosphatase 2C is Mg2+-dependent. The protein serine/threonine phosphatases of known sequence comprise two distinct gene families, a major family that includes protein phosphatases 1, 2A, and 2B and isoforms thereof, and a smaller family that includes protein phosphatase 2C and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) phosphatase.
Surgery of Primary Breast Cancer

Whereas for almost 100 years radical mastectomy was virtually unchallenged and accepted as standard therapy for clinically curable female breast cancer, there presently exists great controversy and actual confusion regarding the management of that disease. Women with breast cancers may have surgical procedures ranging from extended radical mastectomy with internal mammary node dissection to “lumpectomy,” depending entirely upon the belief of the surgeon. Unfortunately, more often than not the decision regarding which operation to employ has been based upon information obtained from poorly carried out retrospective analyses of heterogeneous groups of case records (the comparison of data which are worthless because they were acquired from divergent series of patients); peer pressure; emotionalism; and an outmoded concept of tumor biology. It is the latter which this reviewer considers the most significant factor responsible for the present period of clinical uncertainty.
Development and Characterization of Tungsten Disulfide Ink for Ink-jet Printing

In this work, a printable tungsten disulfide (WS2) based ink is developed from readily available WS2 powder (0.6 µm average particle size), and an ink-jet printing based deposition method for a tungsten disulfide film is presented. WS2 flake coverage and bulk electrical characteristics under three different irradiance conditions are examined and discussed. Presence of excitons in the absorbance of the inks is performed by optical UV-Vis spectrometry. Metrics using the A exciton peak generated by the few-layered flakes are used to calculate the average flake lateral dimensions, the concentration of WS2 in the inks after size selection and filtering, as well as the average monolayer count of the flakes. After printing, scanning electron microscopy is used to confirm average flake lateral size and average flake area coverage, while an atomic force microscope is used to confirm flake thickness.
Interferon signaling during Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection and HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) pathogenesis. The World Health Organization estimates that globally 257 million people are chronic HBV carriers at risk of developing liver cancer. Current therapies for prevention and treatment of HCC are inadequate. Although interferon-based treatment strategies hold great promise for combating chronic infection and HCC, many patients do not respond to the IFN-based drugs for reasons not completely understood. Interferon signaling plays key roles in activation of innate and adaptive immunity. However, HBV has evolved various mechanisms to suppress IFN signaling. In this review, we present the basics about HBV infection and interferon signaling. Next, we discuss mechanisms through which HBV downregulates the function -activity and transcription- of the transcription factor STAT1 during acute and chronic infection. STAT1 is activated in response to all types (I/II/III) of interferon signaling and is essential in mediating all types (I/II/III) of interferon responses. Lastly, we discuss emerging evidence from different human cancers linking loss of interferon signaling to aggressive cancer and cancer stem cells. Whether the same occurs during HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis is discussed and currently under investigation.
Adjoint-Based Optimization for Thrust Performance of Three-Dimensional Pitching–Rolling Plate

An adjoint-based optimization is applied to study the thrust performance of a pitching–rolling ellipsoidal plate in a uniform stream at Reynolds number 100. To achieve the highest thrust, the optim...
Stiripentol for the treatment of seizures in Dravet syndrome.

INTRODUCTION Dravet syndrome is an early childhood-onset epilepsy syndrome characterized by drug-resistant seizures, frequent episodes of status epilepticus, and the development of neurocognitive impairment. Seizure freedom in this condition is rare and there is a higher rate of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy patients (SUDEP) than other epilepsy syndromes. Stiripentol is a recently approved medication with an indication specifically for the treatment of seizures in children with Dravet syndrome. Areas covered: Review of relevant literature including the current and emerging treatment of seizures in children with Dravet syndrome, with a focus on stiripentol. This includes a review of the literature regarding the mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, and safety/tolerability of stiripentol. Expert opinion: Stiripentol has been available through expanded access programs resulting in a reduction of seizures and episodes of status epilepticus. With the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval, this treatment option will be more readily available to the Dravet syndrome population in the United States. The approval comes at a time of other treatment options also receiving approval (cannabidiol) and several products in ongoing studies (fenfluramine, TAK-935) providing additional treatment options and hope on the horizon for those impacted by this severe epilepsy syndrome.
Distance Learning in Educational Administration Doctoral Programs: The Wave of the Future?.

Survey research was conducted to determine the status of distance learning in educational administration doctoral programming. Results from 109 institutions (55.9% response rate) indicated approxim...
Correction: Polariton chemistry: controlling molecular dynamics with optical cavities

Correction for ‘Polariton chemistry: controlling molecular dynamics with optical cavities’ by Raphael F. Ribeiro et al., Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 6325–6339, DOI: 10.1039/C8SC01043A.
The curious case of polyamines: spermidine drives reversal of B cell senescence.

ABSTRACTSpermidine, a polyamine that induces macroautophagy/autophagy, exhibits anti-aging properties. It is thought that these properties of spermidine are primarily due to its ability to modulate...
National policy actions on dementia in the Americas and Asia-Pacific: Consensus and challenges

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) affect over 50 million persons globally, and the number is expected to rise. In response, health ministries are developing and implementing policies and programs to systemically address the needs of individuals and families affected by ADRD. While national plans of action on ADRD are advancing among European Member States of World Health Organization (WHO), those in the Asia-Pacific and Americas are lagging behind. Since previous studies have largely ignored the Americas and Asia-Pacific-where approximately two-thirds of the global ADRD population resides-this study sought to identify (a) the socioeconomic factors associated with the likelihood of having a national dementia policy, and (b) to examine common and differing features among the national plans in these regions. Employing the dementia policy guidelines of WHO and the Pan American Health Organization as an extraction guide for data collection and analysis, the national dementia plans and available socioeconomic data of 10 Member States were analyzed with comparative and qualitative analyses. Findings suggested at least a 14-fold increase in the likelihood of having a national dementia plan if a Member State had one of the following: a universal health care system, more than 14% of the population 65 years of age or older, or high-income. All the Member States in the study identified dementia as a public health priority, but priorities differed. Inconsistencies included development of information systems, training for health care professionals, and long-term care systems.
Energy Portfolio-based Joint Flexibility Scheduling of Coordinated Microgrids

This paper aims at co-optimizing day-ahead operation schedules of distributed energy resources (DER) in a coordinated microgrids (MG) cluster to enhance resiliency. The proposed model strategically integrates the potential flexibility provided by the DERs in neighboring MGs, while capturing the joint portfolio flexibilities on an hourly basis scheduling scheme. In this context, the proposed optimization model, which is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem, minimizes the total operation cost of the MGs in both normal and emergency cases, where the upstream grid might be unavailable in the latter leading the MGs to work in an autonomous mode. In order to reveal the merits of the proposed model, multiple case studies are investigated through the modified IEEE 16-node test feeder, where we decompose the original system to a 6- and 10-node systems denoted by MG 1 and MG 2, respectively.
Fellow selection protocols in sleep surgery: a national survey of sleep surgery program directors

To determine the factors that sleep medicine/surgery fellowship program directors look for in applicants. Program directors from 9 sleep medicine/surgery fellowship programs in the USA were sent an anonymous online survey. They were asked to select the five most important academic factors (of a list of 17) when evaluating potential fellowship candidates, then rank those five in order of importance. They were then asked to do the same for the most important subjective criteria (of a list of 12). Eight of 10 survey responses met inclusion criteria. Of the academic factors, strength of letters of recommendation, reputation of letter writer, and letters from sleep surgeons ranked highest. As for the subjective criteria, faculty assessment of the applicant on interview was ranked highest, followed by initiative and personality “fit” with the program. The reputation of an applicant’s residency was ranked as more important than the reputation of their medical school. An applicant’s performance in residency was assessed as more predictive of their performance in fellowship than performance during the interview process or position on the rank order list for the match. Only one program has a United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step, and a different program has an Otolaryngology Training Examination (OTE) score cutoff. Letters of recommendation and interview are the most important factors in the selection process for hybrid sleep medicine and surgery fellowship programs, followed by research and residency program reputation. Sleep surgery-specific experience is helpful.
The influence of temperament on stress-induced emotional eating in children.

Background Stress-induced emotional eating is a risk factor for overweight and obesity. Previous research proposes both the human serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and child's reactive temperament are promising candidates to help explain individual differences in stress-induced emotional eating and weight. Understanding the association between specific genotypes, reactive temperament factors, and stress-induced emotional eating may inform the development of personalized and effective treatment for children who may be at risk for overweight and obesity. Objective The current study explored the conditional indirect effect of genetic and environmental susceptibility (i.e., the interaction between 5-HTTLPR and reactive temperament) on weight (as measured by percent body fat) mediated by stress-induced emotional eating. Method One hundred and forty-seven children (4 to 6 years old; 50.3% female; 22.4% Hispanic), along with their primary caregiver, completed laboratory tasks and questionnaires that assessed the child's reactive temperament, stress-induced emotional eating, and percent body fat. Results The interaction between 5-HTTLPR and impulsivity as well as with negative affectivity significantly predicted percent body fat. The interaction between 5-HTTLPR and impulsivity as well as with negative affectivity significantly predicted both total calorie consumption and rate of total calorie consumption. However, the mediation aspect of this statistical model was not supported. Conclusions Child reactive temperament is an important indicator of how children approach eating when stressed. Mental health providers may consider prescribing strategies to reduce emotional eating among children with the SL variant and moderate to high impulsivity as well as children with the LL variant and high negative affectivity.
Wellness and Integrative Health Strategies for Rural Populations

Nearly 20% of the US population lives in rural and frontier areas. Many of these populations have significant differences from urban populations that create disparities in how they experience disease and achieve health and wellness. Rural populations frequently struggle to access health care, in terms of geography, affordability, and finding providers across the spectrum of care. Nurses in all specialties have an opportunity to apply an integrative health framework to improve the health of these populations in ways that are highly accessible, affordable, and build overall resiliency into population health.
Analysis of temporal bone thickness outside of the petrous temporal bone between superior semicircular canal dehiscence and normal patients.

Abstract Background SSCD is a rare inner ear disorder. This study aims to compare the thickness of the temporal bone beyond the petrous portion between healthy subjects and those with SSCD to determine whether the etiopathology of SSCD is localized to the petrous temporal bone or generalized to other parts of the temporal bone. Methods A retrospective chart review of electronic medical records from September 2011 to February 2018 was conducted at a single-institution study at the University of California, Los Angeles. Participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 had a confirmed diagnosis of SSCD, while Group 2 had no known ear or temporal bone pathology. Participants’ high-resolution coronal and axial temporal bone computed tomography scans were analyzed. Regions within the temporal bone were measured and compared between the two groups. Results A total of 262 scans were included. Group 1 consisted of 103 scans, while Group 2 consisted of 159 scans. There was no statistically significant difference in the thickness of temporal bones between patients diagnosed with SSCD and patients without otologic disease. Conclusion The results suggest that the etiology of SSCD is limited to the petrous portion of the temporal bone. SSCD may be unrelated to a larger process of global temporal bone degeneration. Additional clinical screening for regions outside the petrous temporal bone is not warranted unless SSCD patients present with symptoms characteristic of other temporal bone pathologies.
The development of incorpoRATE: A measure of physicians' willingness to incorporate shared decision making into practice.

Abstract Objectives To develop ‘incorpoRATE’, a brief and broadly applicable measure of physicians’ willingness to incorporate shared decision making (SDM) into practice. Methods incorpoRATE was developed across three phases: 1) A review of relevant literature to inform candidate domain and item development, 2) Cognitive interviews with US physicians to iteratively refine the measure, and 3) Pilot testing of the measure across a larger sample of US physicians to explore item and measure performance. Results The final measure consists of seven items that assess physician perspectives on various components of SDM use that may present as barriers in practice. During pilot testing, the majority of physicians expressed positive opinions about the overall concept of SDM, yet were less comfortable acting on informed patient choices when there was known incongruence with their own recommendations. Conclusions incorpoRATE is a novel physician-reported measure that assesses physicians’ willingness to incorporate SDM in practice. Practice implications incorpoRATE has the potential to help us further understand the limited adoption of SDM and areas of focus for improving the use of SDM in the future. We recommend that incorpoRATE be subject to further psychometric, real-world testing, in order to explore its performance across different samples of physicians and organizations.
Learning With Laughter: Implementing Engaging Virtual Simulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the methods used to develop clinical judgment in the simulation setting. In many cases, virtual simulation has replaced face-to-face simulation but lack of interaction between the students and educators is a limitation. Sample Ninety-six prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students at a Midwestern university participated in the end-of-semester simulation as part of the course. Method Based on the review of aggregate standardized test results, a simulation scenario was developed using a synchronous online format with educators portraying nurses and patients using a fun approach. At three predetermined stopping points, students discussed further nursing actions which were performed by the educators, followed by debriefing at the end of the scenario. Results Simulation evaluation as part of routine systematic simulation program assessment indicated students perceived both pauses for discussion during the scenario and debriefing at the end were valuable in promoting their learning. Conclusion This project is consistent with research which found virtual simulation enhances student learning and clinical judgment. The positive perception of students about the use of humor through implementation of the simulation scenario was consistent with current research related to student engagement and motivation to participate.
Development and analysis of electric vehicle driving cycle for hilly urban areas

Abstract In this work, a real-world urban driving cycle with road slope profile is developed for the hilly urban terrain of Islamabad city. A hybrid data collection methodology is adopted which employed global positioning system , on-board diagnostics, and digital surface model. The driving cycle was constructed using the Markov chain Monte Carlo method which considered the weights of different road types in the geographic area under study. The developed driving cycle is compared with different driving cycles using 15 characteristic, 4 distribution parameters, and the speed acceleration probability distribution. Powertrain simulations were performed on 24 vehicle models of different vehicular technologies operating under 8 different driving cycles to determine core factors (i.e.) energy consumption, range, grid charging energy requirement factors, and carbon dioxide emission factors. Results with validation indicate that without road slope profile, errors ranging from 10.2 to 22.2% accumulated in the powertrain simulation besides substantial impacts on considered factors.
AML-410: Efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Hematologic Malignancy Patients: A Single Comprehensive Cancer Center Retrospective Review of 50 Patients

Introduction: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is approved for difficult-to-treat tissue injury. It also been used as a second-line treatment for refractory infection in hematologic malignancies. However, data on the efficacy of HBO in such population are limited. Here, we reviewed our single-center experience of HBO used in patients with hematologic malignancies. Methods: We identified patients undergoing HBO treatment by insurance authorization data between December 2012 and October 2019 at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Patients with a diagnosis of hematologic malignancies with or without history of stem-cell transplant were included. Clinical and demographic data were collected by retrospective chart review. Results: A total of 50 patients were included: 26 (52%) patients had Acute Myeloid Leukemia, 31 (62%) patients had received an SCT, and 34 (68%) patients had active disease, of whom 28 (56%) had relapsed/refractory disease. The most common infections were: 19 (38%) BK cystitis and 17 (34%) fungal sinusitis. Median number of HBO sessions was 5 (range 1–60), and median HBO duration was 17 days (range 0–109). All patients received initial HBO in the hospital; 25 (50%) patients were discharged from hospital at either completion of HBO or after transition to outpatient treatment. Sixteen (32%) patients were discharged to hospice, and 8 (16%) patients died during the hospitalization. Ninety-day and 1-year mortality were high at 52% and 78%, respectively. Median survival was 3.1 months. Patients with BK cystitis were less likely to respond to HBO (odds ratio 0.16, p=.004). Eight patients had response to HBO and achieved remission of infection at last follow-up. These patients had a higher proportion (50%) of underlying disease in remission, compared to 29% in rest of patients (n=42). The treatment indications in the responding group were 2 BK cystitis, 2 fungal sinusitis, 2 cellulitis, and 2 non-BK cystitis. Other patient characteristics were similar to the rest of the patients. Patients with response/infection remission had better survival with HR 0.18 (95% CI .063–.529, p=.002). Conclusion: A small subset of patients with hematologic malignancies, 16% in our study, had meaningful recovery from infection after HBO treatment. In our experience, patients whose underlying malignancy was in remission and patients with non-BK infection had better outcomes. Additional studies are needed to better identify the population who would benefit from HBO.
Mission Operations of EO-1 with Onboard Autonomy

Space mission operations are extremely labor and knowledge-intensive and are driven by the ground and flight systems. Inclusion of an autonomy capability can have dramatic effects on mission operations. We describe the prior, labor and knowledge intensive mission operations flow for the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) spacecraft as well as the new autonomous operations as part of the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment.
A Re-Liquefying Hydrogen Refrigerator

For reasons of economy or convenience it is sometimes desirable to store liquid hydrogen without loss. Due to inevitable heat leaks to storage dewars, it is necessary to periodically refrigerate the hydrogen load to prevent the build-up of excessive pressures. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the function of liquid hydrogen refrigerators and to describe a new refrigeration system developed by the NBS-AEC Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory.
A study of performance and effort expectancy factors among generational and gender groups to predict enterprise social software technology adoption

Social software technology has gained considerable popularity over the last decade and has had a great impact on hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Businesses have also expressed their interest in leveraging its use in business contexts. As a result, software vendors and business consumers have invested billions of dollars to use social software to improve business and employee productivity. The purpose of this study was to provide insights to business leaders and decision makers as they shaped their enterprise social software (ESS) delivery plans. A vast body of information exists on the benefits of ESS and its technical implementation, but little empirical research is available on employees' perceptions of ESS expectancy factors (i.e. usefulness and ease of use). This study focused on IT managers' perceptions of ESS expectancy factors to understand their behavioral intent to adopt ESS technology. Additional research was performed to uncover relationships and differences between IT Managers' adoption intentions and employee age, gender, and generational groups. Survey results were analyzed using a correlation research design and demonstrated significant relationships were found between IT managers' expectancy factors and their behavioral intent to adopt ESS technology. Differences were also demonstrated between IT managers' age, gender, and generational cohort groups. The results of this research should help business leaders gain insights into technology adoption factors among IT managers. Lastly, the practical applicability and opportunities for future research are discussed.
Model checking RSML/sup -e/ requirements

Model checking is a promising technique for automated verification or refutation of software systems. Nevertheless, it has not been used widely in practice mainly due to the lack of the supporting tools that incorporate the model checking activity into the development process. As a part of our overall method supporting specification centered system development, we have implemented a translator between a formal specification language RSML/sup -e/ and a symbolic model checker NuSMV. Our translation and abstraction approach aims at usability in practice so that model checking can be used as a routine process during requirement analysis without requiring much knowledge about formal methods. Preliminary results from applying the system in a commercial setting is quite promising. We discuss our translation and abstraction approach in some depth and illustrate its feasibility with some preliminary results.
Macroeconomic Factors and Insurer Rating Transitions

This paper examines macroeconomic factors and their relationship to property-liability insurer rating transitions. We find that intensities of insurer rating upgrades and downgrades are significantly related to macroeconomic and market covariates. In particular, controlling for firm-specific characteristics including rating history, firm size, business mix, and organizational form, results indicate that macroeconomic conditions are important to insurers’ upgrade intensity, while insurance market conditions are dominant in insurers’ downgrade transitions.
Large-scale simulation of RNA macroevolution by an energy-dependent fitness model

Simulated nucleotide sequences are widely used in theoretical and empirical molecular evolution studies. Conventional simulators generally use fixed parameter time-homogeneous Markov model for sequence evolution. In this work, we use the folding free energy of the secondary structure of an RNA as a proxy for its phenotypic fitness, and simulate RNA macroevolution by a mutation-selection population genetics model. Because the two-step process is conditioned on an RNA and its mutant ensemble, we no longer have a global substitution matrix, nor do we explicitly assume any for this inhomogeneous stochastic process. After introducing the base model of RNA evolution, we outline the heuristic implementation algorithm and several model improvements. We then discuss the calibration of the model parameters and demonstrate that in phylogeny reconstruction with both the parsimony method and the likelihood method, the sequences generated by our simulator, rnasim, have greater statistical complexity than those by two standard simulators, ROSE and Seq-Gen, and are close to empirical sequences.
Beneficial effects of Mg-excess in La1-xSrxGa1-yMgy + zO3-δ as solid electrolyte

Abstract One of the paramount obstacles to the commercialization of La 1-x Sr x Ga 1-y Mg y O 3-δ (LSGM)-based intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells is the high cost and low mechanical strength associated with the use of Ga 2 O 3 . We demonstrate in this study the use of excess Mg-doping on Ga-site as a means of lowering cost and potentially increasing mechanical strength of the final LSGM product. Conventional techniques such as XRD, SEM and AC impedance spectroscopy are applied to characterize the synthesized Mg-excess La 0.8 Sr 0.2 Ga 0.83 Mg 0.17 + z O 3-δ . The microstructures revealed by SEM indicate an increased appearance of the Mg-rich second phase along the grain-boundaries with increasing Mg-excess level even though regular XRD could not discern the presence of this second phase. Surprisingly, the total oxide-ion conductivity of Mg-excess LSGM becomes progressively higher than the stoichiometric LSGM as the temperature increases, which is also accompanied by a gradual disappearance of the grain-boundary effect. Mechanisms of re-dissolution of the Mg-rich grain-boundary phase at elevated temperatures and formation of dopant-vacancy associates are proposed to interpret the observed compositional as well as the grain-boundary effect on the total ionic conductivity. Overall, no alarming adversary effect on oxide-ion conductivity of LSGM from Mg-excess doping (up to 10 mol%) has been found in this study.
Long-lived states in cold Rydberg gases

Summary form only given. Laser-cooled atoms can be excited into Rydberg states to study Rydberg gases at high densities and low atomic velocities. Dense clouds of such atoms undergo virtually complete ionization when their density exceeds a critical value dependent on the principal quantum number n. We report a new regime in which the excited Rydberg population spontaneously evolves into long-lived high-l states, the lifetimes of which exceed the natural lifetimes of the initially excited Rydberg levels by two orders of magnitude. /sup 87/Rb atoms are collected and cooled to 50 /spl mu/K in a magneto optical trap (MOT), which is periodically turned off for 50 ms. 1 ms after the shutdown of the MOT the Rydberg atoms are created via a two-step excitation process using a 5 /spl mu/s long diode laser pulse.
Particles, Metals, and Water Quality in Runoff from Large Urban Watershed

Water quality, metals concentration, and particle size distributions were characterized in urban runoff. The distribution of metals in the macrocolloidal (0.45–20 μm) and dissolved (<0.45 μm) size fractions was determined from samples taken under both storm and background conditions. Concentrations of particle number, organic carbon, suspended solids, iron, and zinc increased during storms. The presence of zinc was highly correlated with organic carbon, each displaying significant concentrations in both size fractions. Iron existed almost exclusively in the macrocolloidal fraction. Differences in iron and zinc behavior suggest that sedimentation is not always an effective technique for metals removal. Data from two storms followed throughout their duration show individual materials eluting at different stages during storms. These measurements also indicated potential relationships between the zinc/organic carbon and iron/macrocolloid pairs. In addition, elevated contaminant concentrations and increased fl...
To Have and To Hold: Marrying and its Documentation in Western Christendom, 400–1600 – Edited by Philip L. Reynolds and John Witte Jr.

This collection of thirteen essays, most of them written for this volume, focuses on the ways in which changes in the laws and practice of marriage in the medieval West are reflected in changes in ...
Improving ground beef safety and stabilizing color during irradiation using antioxidants, reductants or TSP.

The objective of this research was to extend ground beef retail display life using antioxidants, reductants, and/or TSP treatments combined with electron beam irradiation. Ground beef was produced with added butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) plus butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) with the following combinations; (1) ascorbate; (2) trisodium phosphate(buffer); (3) erythorbate; (1) and (2); (1) and (3); (1), (2), and (3); and an untreated control, C. Half of the treated samples were irradiated (I) at 2.0 kGy-absorbed dose under a nitrogen atmosphere, half remained non-irradiated (N). Samples were displayed under atmospheric oxygen and evaluated for total aerobic plate count (TPC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and instrumental color during 9 d of simulated retail display (SRD). Controls had the highest (P < 0.05) TBARS value and the lowest (P < 0.05) redness (CIE a∗), proportion of oxymyoglobin and vividness. Treated irradiated samples were just as red and vivid on SRD day 9 as the non-irradiated untreated control at day 0. Treatments stabilized color and lipids of ground beef after irradiation and during SRD.
Expanding the spacecraft application base with MEMS gyros

MEMS devices have a promising future in space given their inherent low power, low volume, and low mass qualities. In December of 2006, flight testing of the Inertial Stellar Compass (ISC) onboard the Air Force TacSat-2 spacecraft qualified and demonstrated superb MEMS gyros performance in the relevant space environment over a variety of conditions. This development helped reduce the risk and cost associated with selecting MEMS based gyro devices for future space missions further providing spacecraft designers with the full benefits of this new sensor technology. Since the ISC flight, various spaceflight applications in need of low power and low mass rate solutions have been enabled and envisioned for use within the spacecraft application base. This paper describes prior history, proposed applications, and future benefits with the inclusion of MEMS gyros in the spacecraft domain.
THE ECONOMICS OF DECOMPOSITION: RESOURCE ALLOCATION VS TRANSFER PRICING

Two distinctively different decomposition algorithms have been developed. Both are analagous to decentralized decision making in the firm. One essentially deals with the allocation of corporate resources by the use of transfer prices charged to the divisions, while the other deals with the direct allocation of fixed quantities of the corporate resources to each division. The analogy of a price coordinated, or transfer pricing, technique to decentralization was developed by Baumol and Fabian [1] and later by Kim [4]. The second approach to decomposition was developed by Kornai and Liptak [5] [6] in an attempt to formulate the planning problem in a Socialist economy. It is the purpose of this paper to develop the analogy of the resource allocation decomposition to decentralized decision making.
Compare costs of different fuels for drying lumber

Drying lumber is the highest operational cost for sawmills, and those mills should be able to closely estimate that cost. Cost estimation is important for those mills that are thinking of changing from one energy source, such as natural gas, to another energy source such as wood hogged fuel; sawdust, trim ends and bark. Different sources of energy, such as natural gas, electricity, propane and wood can be compared using their heat content. In the US, the most common measure of heat content is the British thermal unit (Btu). One Btu is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit, and at sea level it takes 1,000 British thermal units of energy to evaporate 1 pound of water. Based on this information, an Excel spreadsheet was developed to help sawmills estimate their drying costs. This paper will discuss how lumber drying costs are estimated and how a mill can compare costs of using one energy source versus another.
Differential effects of ovine LH and human chorionic gonadotropin on testicular interstitial cells of the lizard Leiolopisma laterale.

Abstract Male Leiolopisma laterale were treated with 1.0 IU of either LH, HCG, FSH, FSH plus LH or PMSG at a season when the testicular interstitial cells are sparse and the epididymides and renal sexual segment quiescent. All of these mammalian gonadotropins, with the notable exception of LH, increased interstitial cell number, stimulated interstitial cell hypertrophy and cytoplasmic granulation, and increased epididymidal and sexual segment epithelial height. The differential effects of HCG and LH are discussed.
A unified spray model for engine spray simulation using dynamic mesh refinement

Abstract This study is based on dynamic mesh refinement and uses spray breakup models to simulate engine spray dynamics. It is known that the Lagrangian discrete particle technique for spray modeling is sensitive to gird resolution. An adequate spatial resolution in the spray region is necessary to account for the momentum and energy coupling between the gas and liquid phases. This study uses a dynamic mesh refinement algorithm that is adaptive to spray particles to increase the accuracy of spray modeling. On the other hand, the accurate prediction of the spray structure and drop vaporization requires accurate physical models to simulate fuel injection and spray breakup. The present primary jet breakup model predicts the initial breakup of the liquid jet due to the surface instability to generate droplets. A secondary breakup model is then responsible for further breakup of these droplets. The secondary breakup model considers the growth of the unstable waves that are formed on the droplet surface due to the aerodynamic force. The simulation results are compared with experimental data in gasoline spray structure and liquid penetration length. Validations are also performed by comparing the liquid length of a vaporizing diesel spray and its variations with different parameters including the orifice diameter, injection pressure, and ambient gas temperature and density. The model is also applied to simulate a direct-injection gasoline engine with a realistic geometry. The present spray model with dynamic mesh refinement algorithm is shown to predict the spray structure and liquid penetration accurately with reasonable computational cost.
Electron donation to photosystem I.

Electron donation to photosystem I was studied in highly resolved particles from spinach. Divalent cations increased the efficiency of electron donation from spinach plastocyanin to P700 + through a decrease in the apparent K m for plastocyanin. Cytochrome f was not an efficient electron donor for P700 + in the presence or absence of divalent cations. Cytochrome f photooxidation could be observed in the presence of both plastocyanin and divalent cations. The efficiencies of electron donors from eukaryotic and prokaryotic algae to P700 + were also examined. Divalent cations enhanced the effectiveness of electron donors from eukaryotic organisms, while inhibiting electron donors from prokaryotic organisms. The prokaryotic electron donors were also much more efficient donors than were the electron donors from eukaryotic organisms. A correlation between the K m for the electron donor and its isoelectric point suggests that the net charge on the donor protein is a major determinant of the efficiency for electron donation. The data presented raise interesting questions with respect to the evolution of electron donation to photosystem I and the possibility of an additional electron carrier between plastocyanin and P700 + .
Temporal changes in medial basal hypothalamic catecholamines in male Syrian hamsters exposed to short photoperiod.

The gonadal and accessory organ atrophy following transfer of male hamsters from long (LP) to short photoperiod (SP) is preceded by reduced prolactin secretion and involves reductions in hypothalamic LHRH release and catecholamine turnover. These experiments examined the temporal aspects of changes in medial basal hypothalamic/ median eminence (MBH/ME) catecholamine turnover rates in male hamsters undergoing SP-induced gonadal atrophy. Hamsters were sacrificed at three, six, nine and twelve weeks of SP exposure. MBH/ME catecholamines and indoleamines were determined by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection. Reductions in serum prolactin (PRL) levels and increased MBH/ME dopamine (DA) turnover rates were observed at three and six weeks of SP exposure. Both steady state concentrations and turnover rates of norepinephrine (NE) and DA were depressed after nine and twelve weeks of SP exposure, at which time testicular and accessory organ atrophy had occurred. Serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) concentrations were insignificantly changed during the period of SP treatment but the 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio was significantly increased after six weeks of SP exposure. It was concluded that increased MBH/ME DA turnover represents an initial, SP-induced neuroendocrine event. This increase in DA turnover probably contributes to the reduced PRL secretion which precedes, and may play a role in the ensuing gonadal and accessory organ atrophy.
Determinants of Apparel Exports in Developed Economies Application of the Gravity Model and Economic Geography Theory

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that can explain apparel export in economically developed countries. Theoretical framework is based on the gravity model and economic geography theory. Three factors were investigated in relation to apparel export in developed countries: (a) supply of apparel export, (b) potential apparel demand and (c) existence of fashion capital. Secondary data were collected for thirty-one country-members of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Multiple regression analysis showed that apparel domestic supply and potential apparel demand are strong determinants of apparel export in developed countries. The final model explained the 74% of variance in apparel exports from developed countries. Understanding determinants that drive apparel export could facilitate development of new strategies for fostering competitiveness of domestic apparel industries. The results might be beneficial to multinational companies assessing possible apparel production sites for high-value added products.