cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Formative and Stealth Assessment

Assessing generally refers to the process of gathering information about a person relative to specific competencies and other attributes, in formal or informal learning contexts. This should lead to valid and reliable inferences about competency levels, which in turn may be used for diagnostic and/or predictive purposes. Too often, classroom and other high-stakes assessments are used for purposes of grading, promotion, and placement, but not to enhance learning. In this chapter, we focus on formative assessment which posits that assessment should (a) encourage and support, not undermine, the learning process for learners and teachers; (b) provide formative information whenever possible (i.e., give useful feedback during the learning process instead of a single judgment at the end); and (c) be responsive to what is known about how people learn, generally and developmentally. This type of assessment has as its primary goal improvement of learning, which is critical to support the kinds of learning outcomes and processes necessary for students to succeed in the twenty-first century. It is referred to as “formative assessment,” or assessment for learning, in contrast to “summative assessment” (or assessment of learning). This chapter overviews the role of formative assessment in education generally, and also touches on stealth assessment specifically—an ­evidence-based approach to weaving assessments directly into learning environments (Shute, Computer games and instruction. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers, 2011).
The human genome project: An overview of ethical issues and public policy concerns

The Human Genome Project will identify new genetic information that will enhance the diagnosis and eventually lead to treatment of specific diseases. This information must be integrated into ethical patient care and sound public policy.
Single neuron electrophysiology of transcranial magnetic stimulation. I. Passive responses

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a widely used noninvasive stimulation technique that induces neurons to discharge via a rapidly changing magnetic field directed through the scalp. However, the interaction between neural tissue and TMS stimulation is not well understood. Kamitani et al. [1] and Miyawaki et al. [2] have investigated the afterhyperpolarization that follows TMS evoked discharge in a single cortical neuron model, but they described only the discharge response and silent period evoked by a single TMS stimulus without details as to the orientation of the stimulating E-field. We have previously reported that spiking is induced only when the primary electric (E) field is oriented from the soma toward the apical dendrite (antidromic stimulus). In contrast, an E-field oriented in the opposite direction from the apical dendrite toward the soma (orthodromic stimulus) evokes an excitatory potential (EP) considerably larger (3 mV) than that of an excitatory postsynaptic potential (about 0.75 mV at -70 mV resting potential in this system) [4]. The EP is not sufficient to induce cell firing [4]. To better understand this behavior, we explored the passive membrane response of the model system to different stimulus magnitudes.
Embodied self-regulation and mindful self-care in the prevention of eating disorders

Eating disorders are, in their simplest form, a set of embodied, physical acts that function to negotiate what are perceived as overwhelming internal and external stresses and demands (Cook-Cottone...
Ethylene Regulation of Abscission Competence

Abscission, the process by which plants shed organs, occurs at a specialized site known as the abscission zone. Plant organ detachment is regulated by multiple developmental, hormonal and environmental cues. Cotton is an agronomically important crop that exhibits high rates of premature abscission in response to both biotic and abiotic signals. The developmental acquisition of abscission competence in cotton is associated with significant alterations in ethylene biosynthesis and perception in the abscission zone, adjacent petiole or pedicel tissue, and terminal organ, e.g. leafblade or flower. Abscission of aerial tissues triggered by environmental cues may be dependent upon regulated ethylene action in additional organs including roots. Our research aims to establish the molecular genetic mechanisms by which regulation of ethylene biosynthesis and perception throughout the cotton plant contributes to abscission competence. Here, we report on the cloning of four members of the cotton ACC oxidase gene family from floral abscission zones. Gh-ACO gene expression was evaluated in multiple tissues of plants engaged in drought stress-mediated leaf abscission. Gh-ACO2 mRNA accumulated in wilting roots and shoots of stressed plants, declining upon rehydration. Other Gh-ACO mRNAs were not significantly regulated in these tissues. Accumulation of Gh-ACO2 mRNA in wilting roots is presumed to be dependent upon ACC synthesis catalyzed by one or more root-localized ACC synthases.
Overview of Star-Forming Regions

The dynamical evolution of young star clusters and associations is an evolving interplay of the gravitational potential, as determined by the spatial distribution of volume densities and the motions of both the gas and stars. In this chapter we briefly discuss several nearby star-forming regions which are relevant to our discussion on the dynamics of these young systems, concentrating on those which have been intensively investigated, namely the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region, the Orion Molecular Cloud and the statistical properties of young embedded clusters.
Toward a Buddhist Environmental Ethic

Pour l'A., la question la plus importante a poser est la suivante: quelles valeurs et pratiques pourraient convaincre les gens de moins consommer et de moins produire alors que la possibilite technique de le faire existe? Le bouddhisme apporte une reponse efficace grâce a ses techniques de meditation qui ont le pouvoir de transformer le consumerisme en voie moyenne du bouddhisme. En outre, le bouddhisme met l'accent sur l'interdependance des elements qui forment le monde et leur causalite reciproque: hommes, animaux, plantes, terre, air et eau. Il y a donc remise en question des motifs egocentriques
Effects of enterotoxin B on intestinal transport in vitro.

SummaryThe effect of enterotoxin B on intestinal transport was tested using an everted sac of the middle section of the small intestine in rats. Severe inhibition at the toxin concentration of 2 mg/liter was observed on the net transport of water, Na, K, Cl, glucose and lactate. The degree of inhibition was, however, graded; whereas the transports of water, Na, K and glucose were reduced in the same degree the chloride transport was severely inhibited so that the normally occurring net absorption turned into a net secretion. The lactic acid transport was least affected.The metabolic indices, oxygen uptake and lactic acid production, were not influenced by enterotoxin at the concentration of 2 mg/liter as well as 20 mg/liter.
Directing the Reactivity of [HFe4N(CO)12]− toward H+ or CO2 Reduction by Understanding the Electrocatalytic Mechanism

Selective reactivity of an electrocatalytically generated catalyst–hydride intermediate toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) or reduction of CO2 is key for a CO2 reduction electrocatalyst. Under appropriate conditions, Et4N[Fe4N(CO)12] (Et4N-1) is a catalyst for the HER or for CO2 conversion at −1.25 V vs SCE using a glassy carbon electrode.
Ocular complications in cardiac surgery.

Critical analysis of embolic phenomena associated with myocardial revascularization and cardiac valve surgery.
Analysis of Growth Properties and Cell Cycle Regulation Using Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast Cells

A balance between proliferation and apoptosis is crucial for cellular homeostasis, and its disruption leading to enhanced cellular proliferation and uncontrolled growth are hallmarks of cancer. Genetic manipulation in the mouse offers a powerful approach to delineate the roles of genes in carcinogenesis and determine the molecular and cellular basis of their function. Mouse embryonic fibroblast cells derived from mice that are disrupted for tumor suppressors or oncogenes have served as an invaluable tool to study altered growth properties of cells and identify regulatory molecules involved in neoplastic transformation. In this chapter, protocols for isolation of mouse embryonic fibroblast cells from midgestation mouse embryos and their applications to study altered growth properties by growth curves and colony formation assays are provided. Methods to analyze cell cycle profiles by flow cytometry using bromodeoxyuridine and propidium iodide staining were also provided, entry of cells in S-phase by [3H] thymidine incorporation studies, and the analysis of cells in mitosis by staining with antiphospho-H3 antibodies are also provided.
Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease.

The incidence, pathology, etiology, clinical characteristics, differential diagnosis, and treatment of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease are reviewed. Physical therapy and follow-up care are discussed, with emphasis on the relationship between orthopedic and physical therapy services.
Introduction: Romance and the Globe

When Martin Frobisher and his crew set off in search of a northwest passage to China in 1576, they were outfitted with a host of charts, maps, globes, sea manuals, and other books and navigational equipment. These purchases included “a greate globe of metal in blanke in a case,” “a great mappe universall of Mercator in prente,” a “bible Englishe great volume,” and, perhaps the most surprising item in the inventory, “Sir John Mandevylle (Englishe)” (Collinson ix-x).1 The notoriously fantastical Mandeville’s Travels (which Frobisher most likely read in any of its five English editions up to 1576) thus sat alongside material such as Gerard Mercator’s landmark 1569 world map, a set of texts that seem to point in very different epistemological and even chronological directions.2 Sir Walter Ralegh, too, had read his Mandeville; his description in The Discovery of Guiana of the “Ewaipanoma,” “a nation of people whose heads appear not above their shoulders” receives verification from the book.3 “Such a nation was written of by Mandeville, whose reports were holden for fables many years; and yet since the East Indies were discovered, we find his relations true of such things as heretofore were held incredible” (93). Territorial expansion had transformed old “fables” into new truths, a pattern of discovery that Ralegh himself hoped to replicate in his search for El Dorado, the city of gold.4
Migrating to Father, Migrating to Provide

The idea for this study began several years ago when I was having lunch at a Mexican restaurant in North Carolina. Emilio Lopez, a waiter I had come to know there, showed me a photograph of his two daughters. The wallet-sized image was of two smiling girls, with dark friendly eyes like Emilio’s, and long black hair. They both looked like many young girls in the United States (U.S.) as they posed for the camera.
Computed tomography of the genitourinary tract.

Abstract Eighteen months of experience with computed body tomography have revealed that this radiologic modality is useful in the diagnostic evaluation and management of urologic patients. Renal masses, perirenal lesions, poorly functioning kidneys, pelvic tumors and associated retroperitoneal nodal spread and other diagnostic problems related to the urinary tract have been imaged successfully with computed body tomography. Accuracy is high in the differentiation of benign renal cysts from renal neoplasms. Tumor staging with computed body tomography is being explored currently.
Ultraviolet priming of triboluminescence

Abstract Triboluminescent (TL) materials may be used in embedded structural health monitoring systems for composites. Damage excites a TL emission, providing in situ, real-time damage monitoring. For analysis, the TL light is converted into an electrical signal and transferred to a computer. For precise data analysis, a high signal-to-noise ratio is desired. Therefore, it is of interest to increase the intensity of TL emissions. This work shows ultraviolet light may be used to prime the low-velocity TL emissions of ZnS:Mn, causing the next TL emission to be over five times brighter than an unprimed TL emission. The priming effect decays quickly, with TL emissions returning to unprimed intensity after about ten impacts.
Development of the Spanish Language Houston Pain Outcome Instrument for Spanish Speakers.

Purpose:To address reported disparities in pain management among Hispanic patients, this article reports the psychometrics of the newly developed Spanish language Houston Pain Outcome Instrument (H...
Conservation rates in the real world

Old and familiar ways of setting water rates can fail to recover the cost of providing water service, can send inaccurate signals as to the worth of this scarce resource, and are becoming more and more difficult to defend. At the same time, revenues from rates and charges are essential if water agencies are to accomplish their mission of providing dependable, potable water on demand. What can water utilities do to price water more sensibly, ensure financial viability, and achieve a publicly accepted and successful rate-making process? The California Urban Water Conservation Council has developed a technical handbook on alternative pricing approaches and their associated effects. Designing, Evaluating, and Implementing Conservation Rate Structures demonstrates how quantitative tools can be used to measure rate effects, develop strategies for managing the results of rate changes, and provide insights about the process of successful rate-making. By linking technical knowledge with practical implementation tools, rate-making that incorporates conservation objectives can be accomplished.
Faster, smarter, greener: the future of the car and urban mobility

If you want to catch a glimpse of the future of mobility while keeping up with the latest developments in transportation, then consider reading Faster, Smarter, Greener: The Future of the Car and U...
Effects of fire, topography and year-to-year climatic variation on species composition in tallgrass prairie

Native unploughed tallgrass prairie from Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA is described with respect to plant species compositional changes over a five year period in response to fire and topography. The principal gradient of variation in the vegetation is related to time since burning. Species show an individualistic response in terms of relative abundance to this gradient. Both the percentage of and cover of C4 species and all grasses decrease as the prairie remains unburnt. Forb and woody plant species numbers and abundance increase along this gradient. A secondary gradient of variation reflects topography (i.e. upland versus lowland soils). Upland soils support a higher species richness and diversity. Upland and lowland plant assemblages are distinct except on annually burnt prairie. The interaction between burning regime, topography and year-to-year climatic variation affects the relative abundance of the plant species differentially. The most dominant species overall, Andropogon gerardii, was affected only by year-to-year variation (i.e. climate). Its position at the top of the species abundance hierarchy was unaffected by burning regime or soil type. The other dominant species showed a suite of varying responses to these factors.
Genetics of Hereditary Breast Cancer

The identification and clinical management of patients at inherited risk for breast cancer has become an integral part of the practice of preventative medicine and oncology. Although only about 5–10% of all cases of breast cancer are attributable to a highly penetrant cancer predisposition gene, individuals who carry a cancer susceptibility gene mutation have a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer, as well as other cancers, over their lifetime compared to the general population. The ability to distinguish those individuals at high risk allows physicians and other health-care providers to intervene with appropriate counseling and education, surveillance, and prevention – with the overall goal of improved survival for these individuals. Recently, a number of germline alleles have been identified that have a modest impact on the risk of breast cancer [1] but there remain only a handful of genes in which a mutation substantially elevates the risk of breast cancer. These include BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, PTEN, and CDH1. This chapter will provide an overview of the clinical features, cancer risks, causative genes, and medical management for the most clearly described hereditary breast cancer syndromes with particular attention to the most frequently encountered hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC) due to an underlying mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. The surgical management of HBOC will be discussed in Chap. 4.
Reasoning and Justice

A large part of law-in-action involves a process of reasoning in which people consider whether a behavior is right or wrong, legal or illegal, and weigh the fairness of law enforcement and the justice of legal outcomes. For the most part, social science has ignored this process of reasoning when examining the nexus between youth and justice, choosing instead to focus on explaining juvenile delinquent behavior or describing the operation of the justice system or measuring system outcomes. That reasoning is part of the nexus between youth and justice has not been denied. The challenge has been to design quality research with which to test the hypothesis.
Particle simulations for xerographic development

The electrophotographic system of a copier was presented in some detail in [1; Chapter 17]. Figure 7.1 gives a schematic description of the photocopy process. The image is created when the document is exposed to light. The photocopy comes out on the belt after the latent (electric) image of the document is developed by means of toner, and then the developed visible image is transferred onto a rolling paper, on the belt; the toner is then diffused onto the paper.
A Rapid Method Based on Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Meat Spoilage Detection

Food spoilage is mainly caused by microorganisms, such as bacteria. In this study, we measure the autofluorescence in meat samples longitudinally over a week in an attempt to develop a method to ra...
Transgender Adolescents' Experiences in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study.

Abstract Purpose Transgender adults may avoid medical settings due to concerns about discrimination or past experiences of maltreatment. Emerging evidence shows improved outcomes and psychosocial functioning when transgender adolescents receive gender-affirming care, but little is known about transgender adolescents' experiences in primary care. The objective of this study was to learn about the experiences in primary care of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGN) adolescents and their recommendations for primary care practices and clinicians. Methods Participants were recruited from primary care clinics, gender care clinics, and list serves. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 TGN adolescents aged 13–21 years (75% white/non-Hispanic, average age 16.7 years). Participants answered questions about primary care experiences, how to improve care, suggestions regarding how to ask about gender identity, and recommendations for making offices more welcoming for TGN adolescents. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for themes. Results Overall, participants reported positive experiences in primary care. Most participants commented on distress resulting from being called the incorrect name or the incorrect pronoun. Several concrete recommendations emerged from the interviews, including asking all patients about their gender identity and pronouns at every primary care visit and not asking about gender identity when caregivers are in the room. Participants emphasized the importance of using their affirmed name and pronouns and wanted providers to be knowledgeable about transgender health. Conclusion Delivery of primary care services for transgender adolescents may be optimized if offices provide a welcoming environment, use correct names and pronouns, and discuss gender confidentially with patients.
Exploiting basic principles to control the selectivity of the vapor phase catalytic oxidative cross-coupling of primary alcohols over nanoporous gold catalysts

Abstract Achieving high selectivity for high volume chemical synthesis is important for lowering energy consumption through reduction in waste. We report the selective synthesis of methyl esters—methyl acetate and methyl butyrate—through catalytic O2-assisted cross-coupling of methanol with ethanol or 1-butanol using activated, support-free nanoporous gold (npAu). Both well-controlled studies on ingots in UHV and experiments under ambient pressure catalytic conditions on both ingots and microspherical hollow shell catalysts reveal guiding principles for controlling selectivity. Under UHV conditions, the ester products of the cross-coupling of methanol with both ethanol and 1-butanol evolve near room temperature in temperature-programmed reaction studies, indicating that the reactions occur facilely. Under steady-state catalytic operation, high stable activity was observed for cross-coupling in flowing gaseous reactant mixtures at atmospheric pressure and 423 K with negligible combustion. Optimum selectivity for cross-coupling is obtained in methanol-rich mixtures due to a combination of two factors: (1) the relative coverage of the respective alkoxys and (2) the relative facility of their β-H elimination. The relative coverage of the alkoxys is governed by van der Waal’s interactions between the alkyl groups and the surface; here, we demonstrate the importance of these weak interactions in a steady-state catalytic process.
Estimation of extraction efficiency by droplet digital PCR

Abstract Extraction efficiency experiments were conducted to evaluate the percentage of DNA recovered through three extraction methods: a manual phenol-chloroform method, the use of the Qiagen EZ1 Advanced XL Extraction robot, and with Qiagen QIAamp DNA Mini extraction kit. Three DNA sources (extracted DNA, cells, blood) were tested at varying known concentrations. Extracted samples were quantified with the use of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) with nuclear DNA assays designed and optimized in-house. Droplet digital PCR allows for the absolute quantitation of DNA without the need of a standard curve or calibrant.
Pacific Ocean HF Noise Distributions off Southern California

This paper presents a survey of mean-valued HF external noise figures of mean day and night noise levels and amplitude probability distributions of noise regions for four-, eleven- and twenty-seven-day - collection periods off the southern California coast. Extraction of the quasi-minimum noise (QMN) power [1] used the "median of minimums" algorithm. Results are then compared to established CCIR [2] noise categories (atmospheric, galactic, man-made/residential, rural, quiet rural) and QMN FA estimates. These empirically-derived models provide a general understanding of the reported noise levels compared to historical measurements under referenced conditions.
Aliphatic Chain Modification of Collagen Type I: Development of Elastomeric, Compliant, and Suturable Scaffolds

Collagen type I is one of the most suitable natural biomaterials for constructing tissue-engineering scaffolds. Despite their biocompositional similarities to physiological tissues, these scaffolds...
Abstract TMP30: Genetic Variants on 9p21.3 are Associated with Brain Arteriovenous Malformations with Associated Arterial Aneurysms

Background: The 9p21.3 locus is associated with risk of coronary artery disease and intracranial and abdominal aortic aneurysms (rs10757278). We investigated whether previously reported 9p21.3 SNPs are associated with risk of brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVM), which often have accompanying flow-related arterial aneurysms. Methods: Genotypes for 6 SNPs, including rs10757278, were imputed using 1000 Genomes Phase 1 CEU data (R2>0.9). We tested for association using logistic regression of imputed dosages adjusting for age, sex and top 3 components of ancestry in 338 BAVM cases vs. 504 controls. Of these, 205 cases had aneurysm data available for subgroup analysis: (a) 74 BAVM+(with) aneurysm cases vs. 504 controls, and (b) 131 BAVM-(without) aneurysm cases vs. 504 controls. Results: rs10757278-G was marginally associated with increased risk of BAVM (OR=1.23, 95% CI=0.99-1.53, P=0.064). Compared to controls, the association was stronger in BAVM+aneurysm (OR=1.52, 95% CI=1.03-2.22, P=0.032) than in BAVM-aneurysm cases (OR=0.98, 95% CI=0.72-1.34, P=0.91). Similar effects were observed for other SNPs in linkage disequilibrium (r2>0.8) with rs10757278 (Table). Conclusion: Common 9p21.3 variants showed similar effect sizes as previously reported for aneurysmal disease. The SNP association with BAVM appears to be explained by known association with aneurysms, suggesting that BAVM associated aneurysms share similar vascular pathology mechanisms.
EFFECTS OF ANGIOTENSIN-II AND ANGIOTENSIN-III ON CATECHOLAMINE BIOSYNTHESIS

Publisher Summary The effect of angiotensin-II on catecholamine synthesis in vitro raises the possibility that this polypeptide has a physiological role in regulating the synthesis of norepinephrine in sympathetically innervated tissues. Although the concentrations of peptides used in the experiments on isolated tissues are high and bear no relationship to normal circulating levels of this hormone, the actual concentration of the peptide or its metabolite at the site of action may be much lower because of losses from tissue metabolism. The work with low speed supernatant preparations of tyrosine hydroxylase also indicates that the enzyme is sensitive to the action of the polypeptide and its heptapeptide analogue in concentrations far lower than anything used in the whole tissue experiments. The source of angiotensin needs to be the circulation as the presence of both renin and converting enzyme in vascular tissue suggest that angiotensin-II is formed locally in tissues. The actual mechanism whereby angiotensin-II reaches its site of action intact tissues is also unclear. The chapter illustrates the effect of puromycin on the angiotensin-II and heptapeptide-induced increase in tyrosine hydroxylase.
Do Individuals Learn Differently from Senior Versus Junior Colleagues’ Failures in Organizations?

Organizational learning research has shown that individuals learn from other individuals’ failures. However, do individuals learn equally from all others’ failures in organizations? We propose that...
Authentication with Mildly Myopic Adversaries

In unsecured communications settings, ascertaining the trustworthiness of received information, called authentication, is paramount. We consider keyless authentication over an arbitrarily-varying channel, where channel states are chosen by a malicious adversary with access to noisy versions of transmitted sequences. We have shown previously that a channel condition termed U-overwritability is a sufficient condition for zero authentication capacity over such a channel, and also that with a deterministic encoder, a sufficiently clear-eyed adversary is essentially omniscient. In this paper, we show that even if the authentication capacity with a deterministic encoder and an essentially omniscient adversary is zero, allowing a stochastic encoder can result in a positive authentication capacity. Furthermore, the authentication capacity with a stochastic encoder can be equal to the no-adversary capacity of the underlying channel in this case. We illustrate this for a binary channel model, which provides insight into the more general case.
Employment Mobility and the Belated Emergence of the Black Middle Class

As the Covid-19 pandemic takes its disproportionate toll on African Americans, the historical perspective in this working paper provides insight into the socioeconomic conditions under which President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign promise to “build back better” might actually begin to deliver the equal employment opportunity that was promised by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Far from becoming the Great Society that President Lyndon Johnson promised, the United States has devolved into a greedy society in which economic inequality has run rampant, leaving most African Americans behind. In this installment of our “Fifty Years After” project, we sketch a long-term historical perspective on the Black employment experience from the last decades of the nineteenth century into the 1970s. We follow the transition from the cotton economy of the post-slavery South to the migration that accelerated during World War I as large numbers of Blacks sought employment in mass-production industries in Northern cities such as Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. For the interwar decades, we focus in particular on the Black employment experience in the Detroit automobile industry. During World War II, especially under pressure from President Roosevelt’s Fair Employment Practices Committee, Blacks experienced tangible upward employment mobility, only to see much of it disappear with demobilization. In the 1960s and into the 1970s, however, supported by the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Blacks made significant advances in employment opportunity, especially by moving up the blue-collar occupational hierarchy into semiskilled and skilled unionized jobs. These employment gains for Blacks occurred within a specific historical context that included a) strong demand for blue-collar and clerical labor in the U.S. mass-production industries, which still dominated in global competition; b) the unquestioned employment norm within major U.S. business corporations of a career with one company, supported at the blue-collar level by mass-production unions that had become accepted institutions in the U.S. business system; c) the upward intergenerational mobility of white households from blue-collar employment requiring no more than a high-school education to white-collar employment requiring a higher education, creating space for Blacks to fill the blue-collar void; and d) a relative absence of an influx of immigrants as labor-market competition to Black employment. As we will document in the remaining papers in this series, from the 1980s these conditions changed dramatically, resulting in erosion of the blue-collar gains that Blacks had achieved in the 1960s and 1970s as the Great Society promise of equal employment opportunity for all Americans disappeared.
Differential taxation of nonprofits and the commercialization of nonprofit revenues

The effects of the favorable tax treatment of nonprofit commercial activities are best understood in a framework that explicitly accounts for a number of interactions. These involve differential taxation of nonprofits and for-profits and of nonprofits’ “related” and “unrelated” activities; the preferences of nonprofit executives who may be averse to commercial activity; donors whose giving may be sensitive to nonprofit organization commercial activity; and cost-complementarities between nonprofit core mission-related activities and their secondary money-raising efforts. Differential taxation encourages nonprofits to pursue otherwise avoided commercial ventures by providing excess financial returns that nonprofits can exploit because of their tax-exempt status. Data from the 1992 Statistics of Income (SOI) public use file of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form-990 returns indicate that the propensity of nonprofit organizations to undertake both tax-exempt and taxable activities depends on their primary mission-related output and size, the relative importance of government versus private contributions, and the size of the excess return created by differential taxation of nonprofit and for-profit business. Additional analyses of SOI data also show that organizations that engage in taxable commercial activities are likely to allocate joint costs in ways that reduce, and in most cases eliminate, their taxable income.
Calibration-free 3D reconstruction of firefly trajectories from 360-degree cameras

Over the past few decades, progress in animal tracking techniques, from large migrating mammals to swarming insects, has facilitated significant advances in ecology, behavioural biology, and conservation science. Recently, we developed a technique to record and track flashing fireflies in their natural habitat using pairs of 360-degree cameras. The method, which has the potential to help identify and monitor firefly populations worldwide, was successfully implemented in various natural swarms. However, camera calibration remained tedious and time-consuming. Here, we propose and implement an algorithm that calibrates the cameras directly from the data, requiring minimal user input. We explain the principles of the calibration-free algorithm, and demonstrate the ease and efficiency of its implementation. This method is relatively inexpensive, versatile, and well-suited for automatic processing and the collection of a large dataset of firefly trajectories across species and populations. This calibration-free method paves the way to citizen science efforts for monitoring and conservation of firefly populations.
On the Capacity of Latent Variable Private Information Retrieval

In latent-variable private information retrieval (LV-PIR), a user wishes to retrieve one out of $K$ messages (indexed by θ) without revealing any information about a sensitive latent attribute (modeled by a latent variable $S$ correlated with θ). While conventional PIR protocols, which keep θ2private, also suffice for hiding S, they can be too costly in terms of the download overhead. In this paper, we characterize the capacity (equivalently, the optimal download cost) of LV-PIR as a function of the distribution P S| θ . We present a converse proof that yields a lower bound on the optimal download cost, and a matching achievable scheme. The optimal scheme, however, involves an exhaustive search over subset queries and over all messages, which can be computationally prohibitive. We further present two low-complexity, albeit sub-optimal, schemes that also outperform the conventional PIR solution.
Early Diagnosis and Treatment Are Associated With Improved Outcomes in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.

The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) can be challenging, with up to 20% of patients who attend subspecialty clinics for a second opinion being misdiagnosed with MS.1,2 Part of this diagnostic challenge relates to the lack of a sensitive and specific biomarker for the diagnosis of MS. To overcome this challenge, diagnostic criteria have been developed with the goal of securing an accurate diagnosis in a timely manner while avoiding misdiagnosis. These criteria have been refined since Charcot's initial description of MS over 150 years ago, with significant changes in diagnostic criteria occurring over the past 30 years. The focus of the most recent iterations of MS diagnostic criteria has been to improve the speed of diagnosis to allow early treatment of appropriate patients in the disease-modifying therapy (DMT) era.
Generating Sexually Differentiated Vocal Patterns: Laryngeal Nerve and EMG Recordings from Vocalizing Male and Female African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus laevis)

Male and female African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) produce sexually dimorphic vocalizations; for males these include advertisement, amplectant, and growling calls, whereas female calls include ticking. Previous studies have shown that the vocal organ, the larynx, of the sexes differs in physiological properties that parallel vocal differences. However, it was not clear whether these characteristics are sufficient to explain sex differences in vocal behavior. To examine the contribution of the CNS to generating vocal patterns, we developed a preparation in which both laryngeal nerve activity and electromyograms can be recorded from awake, vocalizing frogs. Recordings reveal that the CNS of the two sexes produces patterned activity that closely matches each vocalization whereas the larynx faithfully translates nerve activity into sound. Thus, the CNS is the source of sexually differentiated vocalizations in Xenopus laevis. Furthermore, detailed analyses of compound action potentials recorded from the nerve lead us to hypothesize that neuronal activity underlying different male call types is distinct; some calls are likely to be generated by synchronous firing of motoneuron populations of either constant size or progressively larger sizes, whereas others are generated by asynchronous activity of motoneurons, a pattern shared with vocal production in females. We suggest that these distinct neuronal activity patterns in males may be subserved by two populations of motor units in males that can be distinguished by the strength of the neuromuscular synapse.
An Application of a Service-oriented System to Support ArrayAnnotation in Custom Chip Design for Epigenomic Analysis

We present the implementation of an application using caGrid, which is the service-oriented Grid software infra- structure of the NCI cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG TM ), to support design and analysis of custom microarray experiments in the study of epigenetic alterations in cancer. The design and execution of these experiments requires syn- thesis of information from multiple data types and datasets. In our implementation, each data source is implemented as a caGrid Data Service, and analytical resources are wrapped as caGrid Analytical Services. This service-based implementation has several advantages. A backend resource can be modifi ed or upgraded, without needing to change other components in the application. A remote resource can be added easily, since resources are not required to be collected in a centralized infrastructure.
Composition and Subunit Structure of Glycerol Kinase from Escherichia coli

Abstract Glycerol kinase of Escherichia coli was purified and crystallized by a gentle modified procedure. A new assay utilizing [γ-32P]ATP was developed for following enzyme activity during purification. Electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels and equilibrium ultracentrifugation of the crystalline enzyme indicated that this preparation was homogeneous. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was analyzed. Two independent tyrosine determinations by a colorimetric and a spectrophotometric method were in good agreement with the value from the amino acid analysis. The cysteine residues in the molecule are all present as the free sulfhydryls, with some residues exposed to reaction with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) only under denaturing conditions. The partial specific volume of the enzyme was found to be 0.732 ml per g from the amino acid composition or 0.724 ml per g by differential equilibrium sedimentation in buffers of H2O and D2O. With the use of these partial specific volumes, the molecular weight of the enzyme was determined by equilibrium ultracentrifugation to be 217,000 or 210,000, respectively. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, even without prior reduction, gave only one band of molecular weight 57,000, determined with respect to the migration of standard proteins. Equilibrium ultracentrifugation in the presence of 6 m guanidine hydrochloride indicated a homogeneous species of molecular weight 55,000. After reaction of the native enzyme with a bifunctional cross-linking reagent, dimethyl suberimidate, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate yielded four bands, consistent with a tetrameric structure. Hydrazinolysis released only glutamic acid, in an amount equimolar to the subunit, suggesting that it is the only carboxyl-terminal amino acid. Mapping of the tryptic fragments of carboxymethylated enzyme yielded a number of ninhydrin-positive and of tyrosine- and tryptophan-containing peptides consistent with that expected from the amino acid analysis if the enzyme were composed of four identical subunits. It is concluded that glycerol kinase is an oligomeric protein composed of four identical subunits.
History as ‘Precarious Gift’: Harland’s Half-Acre and The Great World as Malouf’s Not-So-Historical Novels

Harland’s Half-Acre (1985) and The Great World (1991) were composed at a time of increasing worldwide interest in the historical novel, and both works do have potentially historical settings, yet Malouf is more interested in a lyrical treatment of history, which will underscore the risks, the precariousness, of the past rather than just honoring or revering it. These novels, in their affirmation of lived provisionality, are finally not-so-historical.
Texture analysis of brain CT scans for ICP prediction

Elevated Intracranial Pressure (ICP) is a significant cause of mortality and long-term functional damage in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Current ICP monitoring methods are highly invasive, presenting additional risks to the patient. This paper describes a computerized non-invasive screening method based on texture analysis of computed tomography (CT) scans of the brain, which may assist physicians in deciding whether to begin invasive monitoring. Quantitative texture features extracted using statistical, histogram and wavelet transform methods are used to characterize brain tissue windows in individual slices, and aggregated across the scan. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is then used to predict high or normal levels of ICP using the most significant features from the aggregated set. Results are promising, providing over 80% predictive accuracy and good separation of the two ICP classes, confirming the suitability of the approach and the predictive power of texture features in screening patients for high ICP.
Calcium from Diet and Supplements is Associated With Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer in a Prospective Cohort of Women

We investigated the association between calcium intake and colorectal cancer in a prospective cohort of 45,354 women without a history of colorectal cancer who successfully completed a 62-item National Cancer Institute/Block food-frequency questionnaire. Women were followed for an average of 8.5 years, during which time 482 subjects developed colorectal cancer. We used Cox proportional hazards models, with age as the underlying time metric, to estimate risk of colorectal cancer. Cut points between quintiles of energy-adjusted dietary calcium were 412, 529, 656, and 831 mg/day. We created categories for calcium from supplements as follows: 0 mg/day (n = 25,441), 0 to 400 mg/day (n = 9,452), 401 to 800 mg/day (n = 4,176), and >800 mg/day (n =6,285). Risk ratios and confidence intervals (95% CI) for increasing quintiles of dietary calcium relative to the lowest quintile were 0.79 (0.60-1.04), 0.77 (0.59-1.02), 0.78 (0.60-1.03), and 0.74 (0.56-0.98), P(trend) = 0.05. For increasing categories of calcium from supplements, the risk ratios (and 95% CI) relative to no supplement use were 1.08 (0.87-1.34), 0.96 (0.70-1.32), and 0.76 (0.56-1.02), P(trend) = 0.09. Simultaneously high consumption of calcium from diet and calcium from supplements resulted in even further risk reduction, RR = 0.54 (95% CI, 0.37-0.79) compared with low consumption of both sources of calcium. These data indicate that a difference of 800 mg of calcium per day was associated with an approximately 25% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer, and this reduction in risk occurred regardless of the source of the calcium (i.e., diet or supplements).
Spatiotemporal and semantic information extraction from web news reports about natural hazards

In the field of geographic information science, modeling geographic dynamics based on spatiotemporal information extracted from the Web, especially unconstructed data such as online news reports, is a growing area of research. Extracting spatiotemporal and semantic information from a set of Web documents enables us to build a rich representation of geographic knowledge described in text, capturing where, when, or what events have occurred. This work investigates the role ontologies play as a key component in the process of semantic information extraction. We show how ontologies can be used in conjunction with natural language gazetteers in order to process semantic information about hazard events and augment spatiotemporal extraction with semantics. We are interested in capturing the spatiotemporal patterns of hazard-related events from online news reports to track the occurrences and evolution of natural hazards, such as severe storms. A hazard ontology has been created to assist the spatiotemporal information extraction process, especially with the automatic detection of different kinds of events at multiple granularities from unstructured texts revealing relationships between the events over space-time. The extraction and retrieval of semantic information about event dynamics provides information about the progression of events using both natural and human perspectives. Language: en
Try, try again: Incorporating international perspectives into a course on sex roles and social change

Abstract Because general-education courses attract large numbers of men, incorporating information on women from an international perspective complicates the effort to reach all students. My first effort to modify one such course failed because of a weak goal and poor course design. Subsequently, I created two complementary but independent sex-roles courses that appear to be more effective. Successful strategies include dividing important issues between the two courses while keeping each self-contained and keeping the content areas few and discrete. Information about international issues must pervade the required readings, the lectures, and all other course materials to provide credibility and force to the perspective. Films and works of fiction help situate abstract concepts in lived experience and provide immediacy. Nonhierarchical teaching fosters greater class participation and engagement with course materials.
Student Misbehaviors in Online Classrooms: Scale Development and Validation.

The current program of research included two studies that developed the Student Online Misbehaviors (SOMs) scale and explored relationships between the SOMs and various classroom communication processes and outcomes. The first study inductively developed initial SOM typologies and tested factor structure via an exploratory factor analysis. Subsequently, the second study evaluated the model fit through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and assessed relationships between students’ perceptions of their online misbehaviors, perceived learning, and various demographic characteristics. Four factors were found in the SOMs scale: Seeking Unallowed Assistance, Internet Slacking, Aggressiveness, and Lack of Communication. Reliability and validity were established. Results indicated certain demographics were related to perceptions of use and severity of SOMs; SOMs were minimally related to students’ perception of learning.