cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Level set modeling and segmentation of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging brain data

Segmentation of anatomical regions of the brain is one of the fundamental problems in medical image analysis. It is tradition- ally solved by iso-surfacing or through the use of active contours/ deformable models on a gray-scale magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. We develop a technique that uses anisotropic diffusion properties of brain tissue available from diffusion tensor (DT)-MRI to segment brain structures. We develop a computational pipeline starting from raw diffusion tensor data through computation of invari- ant anisotropy measures to construction of geometric models of the brain structures. This provides an environment for user-controlled 3-D segmentation of DT-MRI datasets. We use a level set approach to remove noise from the data and to produce smooth, geometric models. We apply our technique to DT-MRI data of a human subject and build models of the isotropic and strongly anisotropic regions of the brain. Once geometric models have been constructed they can be combined to study spatial relationships and quantitatively ana- lyzed to produce the volume and surface area of the segmented regions. © 2003 SPIE and IS&T. (DOI: 10.1117/1.1527628)
Rapid movement of frozen debris-lobes: implications for permafrost degradation and slope instability in the south-central Brooks Range, Alaska

Abstract. We present the results of a reconnaissance investigation of unusual debris mass-movement features on permafrost slopes that pose a potential infrastructure hazard in the south-central Brooks Range, Alaska. For the purpose of this paper, we describe these features as frozen debris-lobes. We focus on the characterisation of frozen debris-lobes as indicators of various movement processes using ground-based surveys, remote sensing, field and laboratory measurements, and time-lapse observations of frozen debris-lobe systems along the Dalton Highway. Currently, some frozen debris-lobes exceed 100 m in width, 20 m in height and 1000 m in length. Our results indicate that frozen debris-lobes have responded to climate change by becoming increasingly active during the last decades, resulting in rapid downslope movement. Movement indicators observed in the field include toppling trees, slumps and scarps, detachment slides, striation marks on frozen sediment slabs, recently buried trees and other vegetation, mudflows, and large cracks in the lobe surface. The type and diversity of observed indicators suggest that the lobes likely consist of a frozen debris core, are subject to creep, and seasonally unfrozen surface sediment is transported in warm seasons by creep, slumping, viscous flow, blockfall and leaching of fines, and in cold seasons by creep and sliding of frozen sediment slabs. Ground-based measurements on one frozen debris-lobe over three years (2008–2010) revealed average movement rates of approximately 1 cm day−1, which is substantially larger than rates measured in historic aerial photography from the 1950s to 1980s. We discuss how climate change may further influence frozen debris-lobe dynamics, potentially accelerating their movement. We highlight the potential direct hazard that one of the studied frozen debris-lobes may pose in the coming years and decades to the nearby Trans Alaska Pipeline System and the Dalton Highway, the main artery for transportation between Interior Alaska and the North Slope.
Frequency shifting of electromagnetic radiation in totally reflecting systems

We examine acoustic frequency shifting of electromagnetic radiation for situations in which the active medium is terminated by a perfect conductor. For this case, the backward-propagating waves are as intense as the forward ones and all the incident radiation is ultimately reflected. For media in which the static dielectric constant is unity, the reflection spectrum of the unshifted wave can be related to the corresponding transmission spectrum for the situation in which the perfect conductor is removed. For the more general case in which the static dielectric constant of the medium is greater than one, oscillations appear in the reflection spectra that have no analog in the transmission case. These oscillations, whose period is set by the photon round-trip travel time, arise from interference between the reflected waves generated at the vacuum–dielectric interface and the unshifted waves returning from the perfect conductor.
Neuromorphic Processing of Moving Sonar Data for Estimating Passing Range

Ranging sensors typically estimate range in order to register object locations with respect to a floor plan. This paper uses range readings from a moving sonar to estimate the passing range, equal to the minimum range as the sonar passes by the object. Estimating passing range not only indicates if a collision will occur, but also leads to artifact rejection and object classification. We control a conventional sonar to generate a spike process whose density relates to echo waveform intensity, analogous to biological action potentials. While the sonar moves along a linear trajectory, it extracts strong echoes and stores their range measurements in memory. Neuromorphic processing applies delays and coincidence detection to passing-range estimates for localizing and classifying objects. Physical principles governing echo production motivate a multiresolution coincidence detector that accomplishes the important sensing tasks of object classification, collision avoidance, trajectory alignment, artifact rejection, and sonar data fusion. Objects are classified by their hyperbolic range readings that exhibit passing-range estimate coincidence at a resolution related to surface roughness. Distributed objects parallel to the sonar trajectory, such as rough surfaces, exhibit coincidence in range readings. Multiple coincidence detectors tuned to different step sizes can adapt to changes in translational speed by changing the probing pulse period. Drive-by sonar experiments past an isolated post and down a hallway containing retroreflectors and distributed reflectors indicate localization and classification capabilities of passing-range estimation
A study of magnetosphere dynamics during auroral electrojet events by observations of energetic electron intensity changes at synchronous orbit

The central theme of the considered investigation is the surprising detailed correlation between dynamical changes in electron directional intensity measurements at synchronous orbit and the auroral electrojet currents in the polar ionosphere. The statistical study reported has been carried out following the discovery by Erickson and Winckler (1973) of a close relationship between the time profiles of auroral electrojet intensifications and electron intensity decreases observed in the pre-midnight sector at synchronous orbit. The electron data used in the study were obtained during 1967 and 1968 by the University of Minnesota magnetic spectrometer carried onboard ATSl.
First-rib stress fracture in a high-school lacrosse player: a case report and short clinical review.

A 14-year-old right-hand dominant female lacrosse player presented with a complaint of right shoulder and upper posterior thorax pain of 8 days’ duration. She had been playing lacrosse at the attack wing and midfielder positions and experienced insidious pain after a game. She had no history of trauma to that shoulder during that game and had not experienced an injury in the past. Six days after the pain developed, she woke up one night with a sudden increase in the pain, which brought her to tears and caused slight difficulty with breathing. The pain was located anteriorly just lateral to the right sternoclavicular joint and posteriorly in the paraspinal muscles in the upper thoracic region. Physical examination suggested a first-rib stress fracture, which was subsequently confirmed by chest and shoulder radiographs.
Life or death decision making: Qualitative analysis of death penalty jurors

The relationship between capital jury instructions and imposition of the death penalty in the United States is analyzed through 36 semi-structured interviews collected as part of the archives of th...
Block copolymer nanocomposites : Perspectives for tailored functional materials

Heterogeneous materials in which the characteristic length scale of the filler material is in the nanometer range-i.e., nanocomposites-is currently one of the fastest growing areas of materials research. Polymer nanocomposites have expanded beyond the original scope of polymer-nanocrystal dispersions for refractive-index tuning or clay-filled homopolymers primarily pursued for mechanical reinforcement, to include a wide range of applications. This article highlights recent research efforts in the field of structure formation in block copolymer-based nanocomposite materials, and points out opportunities for novel materials based on inclusion of different types of nanoparticles. The use of block copolymers instead of homopolymers as the matrix is shown to afford opportunities for controlling the spatial and orientational distribution of the nanoelements. This, in turn, allows much more sophisticated tailoring of the overall properties of the composite material.
Hox genes and the evolution of vertebrate axial morphology.

Hoxgenes are a family of regulatory genes expressed along the A-P axis in most metazoans. Because homeobox genes encode transcription regulators active in pattern formation during ontogeny, they are obvious factors to study in the investigation of the mechanistic basis for ontogeny, as well as in the relationship between ontogeny and phylogeny. This paper presents a comparative study of the developmental patterns of homeobox gene expression and morphogenesis along the A-P axis between related animals that have homologous regulatory genes but different axial morphologies. The participation of different numbers of segments in any given region of the vertebrate body and the different positions of the appendages relative to the A-P axis, have provoked comment and theory from morphologists for centuries. While common generative rules govern mesodermal segments within individual organisms (serial homology), and common ancestry accounts for their presence in all chordates (historical homology), details of this segmental organization differ dramatically between related organisms resulting in a variety of axial formulae, defined here as the number of vertebrae of each morphological type, e.g. cervical, thoracic, lumbar, etc. In 1906, E. S. Goodrich proposed the term ‘transposition’ to describe evolutionary changes in the number of segments included in any vertebral region. Goodrich surmised that serially and historically homologous regions behave as pliable elements that can slide up or down the A-P axis during evolution. Lankester (1910) expanded the description with a useful musical analogy, comparing an axial structure or region to a tune that can be transposed up or down the scale. The pattern of variation and constraint in axial formulae among different classes of vertebrates demonstrates that transposition has been an important evolutionary phenomenon in the establishment and radiation of different vertebrate groups (Gadow, 1933; Carroll, 1988). Mammals are a vertebrate class with extreme morphological variation. With very few exceptions however, they are constrained by the fixed number of seven cervical vertebrae whether they be whales or giraffes. Birds are not constrained in this character, and vary from 13 (pigeons and swifts), to 25 (swans) cervical vertebrae. Extremes among the vertebrates include the Cretaceous plesiosaur, Elasmosaurussp. which had as many as 76 cervical vertebrae; snakes, with as many as 350 individual vertebrae of equivocal types; and the modern anurans (frogs) with never more than 9 and as few as 6 total presacral vertebrae. Even when the total number of pre-caudal vertebrae is almost the same, as is the case between chickens and mice, the relative length of specific regions, such as cervical versus thoracic, can vary considerably. Members of the Hoxfamily of homeobox genes are expressed along the A-P axis at specific levels in the central
HYDROLOGIC SCENARIOS FOR SEVERE SUSTAINED DROUGHT IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT: This paper considers the risk of drought and develops drought scenarios for use in the study of severe sustained drought in the Southwestern United States. The focus is on the Colorado River Basin and regions to which Colorado River water is exported, especially southern California, which depends on water from the Colorado River. Drought scenarios are developed using estimates of unimpaired historic streamflow as well as reconstructions of streamflow based on tree ring widths. Drought scenarios in the Colorado River Basin are defined on the basis of annual flow at Lees Ferry. The risk, in terms of return period, of the drought scenarios developed, is assessed using stochastic models.
A Drosophila protein related to the human zinc finger transcription factor PRDII/MBPI/HIV-EP1 is required for dpp signaling

Little is known about the signal transduction pathways by which cells respond to mammalian TGF-beta s or to decapentaplegic (dpp), a Drosophila TGF-beta-related factor. Here we describe the genetic and molecular characterization of Drosophila schnurri (shn), a putative transcription factor implicated in dpp signaling. The shn protein has eight zinc fingers and is related to a human transcription factor, PRDII/MBPI/HIV-EP1, that binds to nuclear factor-kappa B-binding sites and activates transcription from the HIV long terminal repeat (LTR). shn mRNA is expressed in a dynamic pattern in the embryo that includes most of the known target tissues of dpp, including the dorsal blastoderm, the mesodermal germlayer and parasegments 4 and 7 of the midgut. Mutations in shn affect several developmental processes regulated by dpp including induction of visceral mesoderm cell fate, dorsal/ventral patterning of the lateral ectoderm and wing vein formation. Absence of shn function blocks the expanded expression of the homeodomain protein bagpipe in the embryonic mesoderm caused by ectopic dpp expression, illustrating a requirement for shn function downstream of dpp action. We conclude that shn function is critical for cells to respond properly to dpp and propose that shn protein is the first identified downstream component of the signal transduction pathway used by dpp and its receptors.
Reconstructing input models via simulation optimization

In some service operations settings, data are available only for system outputs but not the constituent input models. Examples are service call centers and patient flows in clinics, where sometimes only the waiting time or the queue length data are collected for economic or operational reasons, and the data on the "input distributions", namely interarrival and service times, are limited or unavailable. In this paper, we study the problem of estimating these input distributions with only the availability of the output data, a problem usually known as the inverse problem, and we are interested in the context where stochastic simulation is required to generate the outputs. We take a nonparametric viewpoint, and formulate this inverse problem as a stochastic program by maximizing the entropy of the input distribution subject to moment matching. We then propose an iterative scheme via simulation to approximately solve the program.
Is Television Traumatic?: Dreams, Stress, and Media Exposure in the Aftermath of September 11, 2001:

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were traumatic for people living throughout the United States. It has been suggested that people living far from the attacks experienced increased stress because of their exposure to the terrorist events via the media, particularly via television. Following a traumatic or stressful event, individuals may have dreams that reflect that experience. As part of a course on dreaming, individuals recorded their dreams both prior to and following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. On September 12, these same individuals reported their activities and media exposure the previous day. Results revealed (a) changes in dream features following the attacks and (b) a strong relation between exposure to the events on television and changes in dream features after the attacks. Because of the study's within-subjects design, the results provide evidence for a direct association between television viewing and subsequent increases in stress and trauma.
Improved analysis of plasmasphere motion using the VLA radio interferometer

Observations using the very large (VLA) radio interferometer during the past five years have enabled the discovery of a new type of plasmasphere disturbance, the magnetic eastward-directed wave. Previous work indicated these disturbances were likely frozen to the geomagnetic field as determined from their azimuth distributions. This work provides a method to explain more accurately the azimuth distribution, thereby allowing the calculation of the disturbances' location in the plasmasphere independently of the measured velocity. The measurable velocity due to corotation is calculated and subtracted from the measured trace velocity. This difference, or deviation from corotation, is attributed to electrodynamic convection; the measurement of plasmaspheric convection may lead to the eventual monitoring of mid-latitude electric fields. Disturbances are seen convecting predominantly westward, with the fastest having angular velocities greater than the anticorotating VLA line of sight. The direction of convection and conditions of observations indicate that the disturbances are likely the same phenomenon seen by the Los Alamos satellite beacon array.
THE EFFECT OF IODINE ON THE INTERSTITIAL CELLS OF THE TESTIS

AN UNDERSTANDING of the function of the interstitial cells of the testis has been retarded by the lack of an agent with the capacity of selectively damaging these cells without producing coincident change in the seminiferous tubules. The use of such an agent would answer unequivocally the question of whether the interstitial cells elaborate the androgen, and would be an important aid in the analysis of several problems of the biology of the testis. That the desired technic had been found was indicated by Bucheim (1) and Lipschutz and Morales (2) when they reported that chronic daily oral administration of iodine, in the form of the tincture mixed with the food, produced regression of the seminal vesicles and testicular damage restricted to the Leydig cells. Bucheim's experiment utilized a total of 14 animals (rats, mice, and guinea pigs) which received respectively averages of 12, 2.5, and 35 mg. of pure iodine daily for periods varying from 8 days to 4 months.
Automation of GUI testing using a model-driven approach

This paper describes an ongoing research on test case generation based on Unified Modeling Language (UML). The described approach builds on and combines existing techniques for data and graph coverage. It first uses the Category-Partition method to introduce data into the UML model. UML Use Cases and Activity diagrams are used to respectively describe which functionalities should be tested and how to test them. This combination has the potential to create a very large number of test cases. This approach offers two ways to manage the number of tests. First, custom annotations and guards use the Category-Partition data which allows the designer tight control over possible, or impossible, paths. Second, automation allows different configurations for both the data and the graph coverage. The process of modeling UML activity diagrams, annotating them with test data requirements, and generating test scripts from the models is described. The goal of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of our model-based approach for improving automation on software testing. The approach is demonstrated and evaluated based on use cases developed for testing a graphical user interface (GUI).
Organizational Learning, Change and Power: Toward a Practice-Theory Framework.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the practices of the interim and current CEOs employed in managing a supportive environment conducive for learning as well as sustaining organizational change; and second, to describe the theory of practice guiding their efforts.Design/methodology/approach – An action science approach, coupled with the case‐study data‐gathering method to enable a pragmatic grounding of the change processes and organizational learning.Findings – A theory of practice defined as three process principles of power that aid in managing a supportive environment conducive for learning as well as organizational change.Research limitations/implications – The theory of practice set forth combines two advocated views in using power (position power and empowerment) into a framework of reciprocal‐relational power. The theory needs to undergo further research to test its applicable knowledge in an action context.Practical implications – Potential guide in helping practitioners in ...
The Effects of Hazardous Waste Taxes on Waste Generation and Disposal

Abstract In 1990, 31 states levied taxes on the generation or management of hazardous waste. These taxes are one of the broadest applications of emissions taxes in U.S. environmental policy. This paper examines the impacts of the state taxes on chlorinated solvent waste from metal cleaning, using plant-level data from EPA's 1987–1990 Toxic Release Inventories. The results suggest that the amount of solvent waste generated may respond elastically to changes in incineration costs. The overall impact of state hazardous waste taxes currently in place in the United States is estimated to be small, however, because the taxes constitute a small fraction of total waste management costs. The results also suggest that the taxes successfully encourage generators to choose treatment over land disposal as their waste management method.
An experimental assessment of the HSM3D algorithm for sparse and colored data

We recently introduced HSM3D, an algorithm to solve the six dimensional scan-matching problem without relying on features in the input, and whose solution does not depend on initial guesses. Building upon these new findings, in this manuscript we present a more detailed experimental study of the algorithm we proposed. In particular, we show how to improve the algorithm's performance also when matching point clouds produced by stereo cameras, given that this kind of input invalidates some of the assumptions we formerly identified in order to accelerate HSM3D's performance. We also show that by incorporating color information into the the algorithm it is possible to reduce the number of sporadic outliers in the solution set, thus providing a more reliable algorithm.
The Effect of Modification of the Polar Headgroups of Acidic Diacetylenic Phospholipids on Their Bilayer Morphology

The polar headgroup of acidic diacetylenic phospholipids has been modified synthetically and by systematic changes in their aqueous environment. The effect of these modifications on bilayer morphology have been investigated. For this study, the acidic diacetylenic phospholipids 1,2-Bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phospho-hydroxyethanol (DC8,9PEtOH), -phosphohydroxypropanol (DC8,9PPrOH), and -phosphohydroxybutanol (DQ8,9PBuOH) were prepared by means of a phospholipase D catalyzed transphosphatidylation. The diameter of tubule-like cylinders which were formed in aqueous media was influenced by headgroup size, pH, and the counteranion present in the aqueous medium. The results are discussed with regard to the manner in which the modifications affect the ability of the metal ion to bind to the headgroup and affect headgroup mobility and the consequent affect on acyl chain packing.
Republic of Armenia, Draft Law on Consumer Credit: Desktop Review

This paper reviews the draft consumer credit law from the Republic of Armenia. The draft law was based on Directive 87/102/EEC of the European Union, a 1987 law that was amended in 1990 and 1998, which established an EU framework for harmonizing consumer credit laws to promote a common market for credit and establish minimum rules to protect consumers in the Member States. It assesses the law in light of European Union standards, and in particular, EU Directive 87/102/EEC as amended. The author concludes that the draft law is a good transposition of the Directive but needs several modifications to comply with the Directive's mandates.
The transition from single-platform to multi-platform software development

In this paper we will observe that there were sound reasons why multiplatform software development was once regarded as impossible. When the reasons disappeared, the belief of impossibility remained. The first ports of UNIX helped to destroy that belief, opening a floodgate to subsequent UNIX ports and multi-platform software developments.
An Empirical Analysis of Optimization for Max-Margin NLP

Despite the convexity of structured maxmargin objectives (Taskar et al., 2004; Tsochantaridis et al., 2004), the many ways to optimize them are not equally effective in practice. We compare a range of online optimization methods over a variety of structured NLP tasks (coreference, summarization, parsing, etc) and find several broad trends. First, margin methods do tend to outperform both likelihood and the perceptron. Second, for max-margin objectives, primal optimization methods are often more robust and progress faster than dual methods. This advantage is most pronounced for tasks with dense or continuous-valued features. Overall, we argue for a particularly simple online primal subgradient descent method that, despite being rarely mentioned in the literature, is surprisingly effective in relation to its alternatives.
Academic, internship, and cooperative extension programs at botanic gardens

Fifty-five online survey responses, 15 phone interviews, and 9 site visits were conducted to collect information on academic (for credit) classes, internships, and Cooperative Extension programs at botanic gardens and arboreta in the United States. Academic programs investigated were primarily instructional credit classes. Thirty-five (64%) of the respondents indicated their garden offers an entire or partial academic class on-site. The most limiting factor in offering more academic classes was faculty time or staff limitations, as indicated by 21 participants (38%). Thirty-one (56%) gardens offer some type of internship, although only 16 (30%) were offering an academic (for credit) internship. Respondents indicated extension involvement as follows: Extension Specialists/Extension Master Gardeners (EMG) teach classes on-site, 23 (42%); EMG training was held on-site, 17 (31%); EMG answered questions on-site, 16 (29%); and 26 (47%) indicated ‘‘other’’ extension collaboration. Sixty-six percent reported their working relationship with extension as minimal or fair as opposed to 33% who described their extension relationship as good to excellent. Examples of successful programs in these three areas are presented, which offer models for collaborative work between botanic gardens, academia, and extension.
Application of the Finite Elemental Analysis to Modeling Temperature Change of the Vaccine in an Insulated Packaging Container during Transport

This study demonstrated an attempt to predict temperatures of a perishable product such as vaccine inside an insulated packaging container during transport through finite element analysis (FEA) modeling. In order to use the standard FEA software for simulation, an equivalent heat conduction coefficient is proposed and calculated to describe the heat transfer of the air trapped inside the insulated packaging container. The three-dimensional, insulated packaging container is regarded as a combination of six panels, and the heat flow at each side panel is a one-dimension diffusion process. The transit-thermal analysis was applied to simulate the heat transition process from ambient environment to inside the container. Field measurements were carried out to collect the temperature during transport, and the collected data were compared to the FEA simulation results. LAY ABSTRACT: Insulated packaging containers are used to transport temperature-sensitive products such as vaccine and other pharmaceutical products. The container is usually made of an extruded polystyrene foam filled with gel packs. World Health Organization guidelines recommend that all vaccines except oral polio vaccine be distributed in an environment where the temperature ranges between +2 to +8 °C. The primary areas of concern in designing the packaging for vaccine are how much of the foam thickness and gel packs should be used in order to keep the temperature in a desired range, and how to prevent the vaccine from exposure to freezing temperatures. This study uses numerical simulation to predict temperature change within an insulated packaging container in vaccine cold chain. It is our hope that this simulation will provide the vaccine industries with an alternative engineering tool to validate vaccine packaging and project thermal equilibrium within the insulated packaging container.
Colonic Diverticular Disease with Surgical Treatment: A Study of 338 Cases

Although problems persist in the management of diverticular disease, the past decade has seen improvements in surgical management. Some major advances are more aggressive surgical treatment for patients under 50 years of age, longer segments of bowel resected, and some progress in defining criteria for elective resections.
Urolithiasis and Frequent CT Scans: Does Chronic Pain Play a Role?

Abstract Introduction: Urolithiasis is among the top 10 causes of Emergency Department (ED) visits in the United States. Approximately 50% of these patients undergo abdominopelvic CT scan, many more than once. We hypothesized that chronic pain conditions may contribute to frequent CT scans in patients who are evaluated in ED for urolithiasis. Methods: A retrospective review of patients presenting to our tertiary care and the associated satellite EDs for urolithiasis, during the period 12/2012–05/2013, was performed. Patients with multiple ED visits and two or more abdominopelvic CT scans in any 6-month period were labeled as the frequent CT group. Control group consisted of similar patients who had no more than one CT scan in any 6-month period. Background information, number of CT scans for urolithiasis and other reasons, and the presence of chronic pain (established pain clinic visits, chronic pain medication, known chronic pain syndromes) were captured from charts. Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Fisher's e...
Characterization of encapsulated solar cells by x-ray topography

Solar panel's reliability studies focus mainly on the properties of the encapsulating such as gel content and transmittance, while ignoring the impact of encapsulation process on the solar cells themselves. The harsh lamination conditions apply high temperature and pressure on the wafers, which can induce increased stress, deformation and defects. The investigation of solar cells sealed inside modules calls for a non-destructive method. In this paper, we demonstrate that transmission X-ray topography (XRT) can be used as an accurate method to evaluate bending feature of encapsulated wafers and present in detail the experimental methods from capturing diffraction data to the data analysis.
Mighty Fruits: Antioxidant Performance of Various Fruits

Mighty Fruits: Antioxidant Performance of Various Fruits Jason Alvarodiaz, Jennifer Cerda, Christine Curiac, and Luis C. Fernandez-Torres School of Science Technology, and Engineering Management, St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens, FL 33054 Antioxidants help fight free-radicals, which are produced by stress and later can induce many health problems. L-Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is a great antioxidant, and it can be found in a vast variety of fruits. Additionally, vitamin C is marketed as an over-the-counter remedy for the common cold. This motivates our desire to understand vitamin C’s antioxidant properties. This investigation presents the antioxidant capacity of various fruits that are known to be sources of vitamin C, and their comparison to pure vitamin C using the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) oscillatory reaction. The antioxidant species scavenge free radicals formed in the BR reaction, lengthening the time intervals of the reaction’s oscillations; the higher the antioxidant capacity, the longer the oscillation delays. The samples that were tested were: L- Ascorbic acid, Sunny-D®, red grape juice, white grape juice, pineapple juice with pulp, pineapple juice without pulp, mango juice, and kiwi juice. Pure vitamin C could only be tested at low concentrations, as high concentrations completely interrupt the BR reaction. Kiwi exhibited the best antioxidant capacity of the tested samples, followed by mango juice. The antioxidant performance of orange juice resembled that of vitamin C the most. This result suggests that vitamin C is the main antioxidant present in orange juice. The other fruits exhibited antioxidant performances different to pure vitamin C. We ascribe these observations to the presence of other molecules, such as flavonoids and tannins, which also show antioxidant capacity.
A Fundamental Look at Cultural Diversity and the Online Classroom

Understanding the unique differences between online and traditional classroom environments, and how culture manifests itself within each setting, can help shape a positive educational experience for students. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad overview of how cultural diversity can influence the online classroom. The author suggests ways instructional professionals can work towards improving the online learning experience for culturally diverse student groups with respect to communication, course design, and acknowledgement of differences.
Consumer Perceptions of Precise vs. Just-Below Prices in Retail Settings

ABSTRACTConsumer perceptions of the effectiveness of precise prices in communicating good value are compared to that of just-below prices in a retail context. Two studies demonstrate that a retailer employing a precise pricing strategy is seen as offering lower prices relative to one using just-below prices. The likelihood of consumers going to a competitor in hope of finding a better deal was also lower with precise compared to just-below prices. However, this precision effect disappeared when two prices—an original and a discount one—were displayed as part of a promotional discount.
Anomaly Correction by Optimal Trading Frequency

Under the assumption that security prices follow random walk, we look at price versus different moving averages. Different periods of moving averages give investor different signals and we assume that a rational investor would want to buy more when the price goes down. This paper provides a theoretical model for an investor to systematically buy heavy when the security prices go down.
Neural activation to monetary reward is associated with amphetamine reward sensitivity

One known risk factor for drug use and abuse is sensitivity to rewarding effects of drugs. It is not known whether this risk factor extends to sensitivity to non-drug rewards. In this study with healthy young adults, we examined the association between sensitivity to the subjective rewarding effects of amphetamine and a neural indicator of anticipation of monetary reward. We hypothesized that greater euphorigenic response to amphetamine would be associated with greater neural activation to anticipation of monetary reward (Win > Loss). Healthy participants (N = 61) completed four laboratory sessions in which they received d-amphetamine (20 mg) and placebo in alternating order, providing self-report measures of euphoria and stimulation at regular intervals. At a separate visit 1-3 weeks later, participants completed the guessing reward task (GRT) during fMRI in a drug-free state. Participants reporting greater euphoria after amphetamine also exhibited greater neural activation during monetary reward anticipation in mesolimbic reward regions, including the bilateral caudate and putamen. This is the first study to show a relationship between neural correlates of monetary reward and sensitivity to the subjective rewarding effects of amphetamine in humans. These findings support growing evidence that sensitivity to reward in general is a risk factor for drug use and abuse, and suggest that sensitivity of drug-induced euphoria may reflect a general sensitivity to rewards. This may be an index of vulnerability for drug use or abuse.
Neutral axis determination of full size concrete structures using coda wave measurements

Coda waves experiencing multiple scattering behaviors are sensitive to weak changes occurring in media. In this paper, a typical four-point bending test with varied external loads is conducted on a 30-meter T-beam that is removed from a bridge after being in service for 15 years, and the coda wave signals are collected with a couple of sources-receivers pairs. Then the observed coda waves at different loads are compared to calculate their relative velocity variations, which are utilized as the parameter to distinct the compression and tensile zones as well as determine the neutral axis position. Without any prior knowledge of the concrete beam, the estimated axis position agrees well with the associated strain gage measurement results, and the zones bearing stress and tension behaviors are indicated. The presented work offers significant potential for Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation of full-size concrete structures in future work.
Biosynthesis and biological functions of terpenoids in plants

Terpenoids (isoprenoids) represent the largest and most diverse class of chemicals among the myriad compounds produced by plants. Plants employ terpenoid metabolites for a variety of basic functions in growth and development but use the majority of terpenoids for more specialized chemical interactions and protection in the abiotic and biotic environment. Traditionally, plant-based terpenoids have been used by humans in the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries, and more recently have been exploited in the development of biofuel products. Genomic resources and emerging tools in synthetic biology facilitate the metabolic engineering of high-value terpenoid products in plants and microbes. Moreover, the ecological importance of terpenoids has gained increased attention to develop strategies for sustainable pest control and abiotic stress protection. Together, these efforts require a continuous growth in knowledge of the complex metabolic and molecular regulatory networks in terpenoid biosynthesis. This chapter gives an overview and highlights recent advances in our understanding of the organization, regulation, and diversification of core and specialized terpenoid metabolic pathways, and addresses the most important functions of volatile and nonvolatile terpenoid specialized metabolites in plants.
Does hurt linger? Exploring the nature of hurt feelings over time

The utility of distinguishing between introjective hurt (feeling sad, engaging in selfblame, and wondering what one did wrong) and retaliatory hurt (yelling at, blaming, confronting, and feeling angry toward the offender) was explored in a longitudinal design of two months. Participants (N=51) were asked to describe a recent hurtful incident in survey format and complete subsequent measures of various behavioral and emotional reactions, including hurt and forgiveness. Results suggested the stability and relative independence of the two types of hurt and the differential significance of predictor variables (for example, apology) for each hurt type, both simultaneously and over time. These results support the distinction between retaliatory and introjective hurt as they represent distinct reactions with differential interpersonal outcomes.
The Cost of End-of-Life Care A New Efficiency Measure Falls Short of AHA/ACC Standards

Received October 24, 2008; accepted December 18, 2008. Skyrocketing costs jeopardize health coverage at every level and impede efforts to cover the uninsured.1,2 Observations that higher cost care is unassociated with improved outcomes3,4 have further stimulated efforts to gain more value for our healthcare dollars.5,6 To identify and deter unnecessary care (estimated to account for ≈30% of all health costs),4 new provider performance measures and incentives are being developed,7,8 but we must understand their strengths and weaknesses to ensure that they do not misrepresent or compromise care. Care near the end of life consumes a disproportionate share of costs and is a logical target for efforts to promote value in health care.9,10 Recently, Consumer Reports launched a new online tool that rates the relative “aggressiveness” (or inefficiency) of US hospitals,11 based on the average intensity and cost of inpatient care in the last 2 years of life of chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries, as reported in the 2008 Dartmouth Atlas.12 This new measure is the primary focus of this review, which includes an assessment according to the recently published American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) standards for public reporting of efficiency measures.13 Alternate measures including risk-adjusted cost savings and avoidance of nonrecommended care are also discussed and compared. Wennberg et al12 retrospectively measured inpatient costs over the last 2 years of life in Medicare beneficiaries with serious chronic illnesses—including heart failure (CHF), lung disease, cancer, dementia, vascular disease, kidney disease, and liver disease—who died between 2001 and 2005 after receiving care at nearly 3000 US hospitals. They found wide variations in end-of-life spending, even after adjusting for age, gender, race, and type of chronic illlness. Among top teaching hospitals, Mayo Clinic had the lowest cost at $53 …
A longitudinal study of digital cushion thickness and its function as a predictor for compromised locomotion and hoof lesions in Holstein cows

Lameness is a major animal welfare and economic issue for the dairy industry and is a challenge to overcome due to multifaceted causes. Digital cushion thickness (DCT) is a strong predictor of lameness and is phenotypically associated with incidence of claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL; sole ulcers and white line disease). We hypothesized that DCT varies between digits and across lactation within the cow. This variation could be characterized to predict the occurrence of CHDL or compromised locomotion. BCS, visual locomotion score (VLS), DCT, and presence or absence of lesions were collected at 4 time points: <40 d prepartum (DPP), 1 to 30 d in milk (DIM), 90 to 120 DIM, and ≥255 DIM for 183 commercial Holstein cows enrolled in the study. Cows underwent digital sonographic examination for the measurement of DCT evaluated at the typical sole ulcer site beneath the flexor tuberosity for the right front medial and lateral digits and right hind medial and lateral digits. Factors such as parity number and stage in lactation were obtained from farm management software (DairyComp 305; Valley Agricultural Software, Tulare, CA). Cows were grouped by parity: primiparous (parity = 1) or multiparous (parity ≥ 2). The prevalence of CHDL among time points ranged from 0% to 4.2% for primiparous cows vs. 2.5% to 25% for multiparous cows, whereas the prevalence of lameness based on VLS of 3 to 5 ranged from 1.7% to 8.3% for primiparous cows vs. 12.7% to 33% for multiparous cows. DCT varied within primiparous and multiparous cows based on stage of lactation and digit (P < 0.05) and was thicker for both parity groups prior to dry off (≥255 DIM) and thinnest prior to calving (<40 DPP) and after peak lactation (90 to 120 DIM). The DCT of the front medial digit was thickest for primiparous heifers, whereas the hind lateral digit was thickest for multiparous cows. The DCT of the hind medial digit was thinnest for both parity groups. Parity group and DCT of the hind lateral digit <40 DPP were important predictors of CHDL (P < 0.05), whereas parity group and DCT of the hind lateral digit and front lateral digit at 1 to 30 DIM were key predictors of VLS lameness (P < 0.05). These results may help identify animals with higher odds of developing these diseases by highlighting key time points and specific digits of importance for monitoring. In addition, it improves our biological understanding of the relationship between DCT and lameness.
Effects of a knee valgus unloader brace on medial femoral articular cartilage deformation following walking in varus-aligned individuals.

Abstract Background Knee varus alignment may increase loading in the medial tibiofemoral compartment, which can increase strain on the articular cartilage. Knee valgus unloader braces seek to reduce loading through the medial femoral compartment, but their effects on cartilage characteristics during dynamic tasks have not been evaluated. Objective To determine the effects of a knee valgus unloader brace on medial femoral articular cartilage deformation following a single 5000-step walking protocol in individuals with varus-knee alignment. Methods Twenty-four healthy individuals (63% female, BMI = 22 ± 3 kg/m2, age = 21 ± 3 years) completed two testing sessions (braced and unbraced) separated by one week. During both sessions, femoral cartilage ultrasound images were acquired prior to and following a 5000-step treadmill walking protocol at self-selected speed. Percent change scores in medial cartilage cross-sectional area (MCCA) were calculated and used as the primary outcome, and compared between the braced and unbraced conditions. Results There was no difference in percent change of MCCA between conditions (braced = − 2.77%, unbraced = − 3.15%, p = 0.699). Individuals whose cartilage deformed more than a previously established minimal detectable change (MDC ≥ 1.58 mm2) deformed less during the braced condition (braced = − 2.94%, unbraced = − 6.34%, p = 0.028), compared to individuals who did not deform greater than the MDC (n = 15, braced = − 2.67%, unbraced = − 1.23%, p = 0.210). Conclusions There was no significant difference in MCCA percent change between the braced and unbraced conditions across the entire cohort; yet a valgus unloader braces may serve as a potential intervention strategy for reducing articular cartilage deformation in certain varus-aligned individuals who normally undergo measurable deformation during walking.
SOSRepair: Expressive Semantic Search for Real-World Program Repair

Automated program repair holds the potential to significantly reduce software maintenance effort and cost. However, recent studies have shown that it often produces low-quality patches that repair some but break other functionality. We hypothesize that producing patches by replacing likely faulty regions of code with semantically-similar code fragments, and doing so at a higher level of granularity than prior approaches can better capture abstraction and the intended specification, and can improve repair quality. We create SOSRepair, an automated program repair technique that uses semantic code search to replace candidate buggy code regions with behaviorally-similar (but not identical) code written by humans. SOSRepair is the first such technique to scale to real-world defects in real-world systems. On a subset of the ManyBugs benchmark of such defects, SOSRepair produces patches for 22 (34%) of the 65 defects, including 3, 5, and 6 defects for which previous state-of-the-art techniques Angelix, Prophet, and GenProg do not, respectively. On these 22 defects, SOSRepair produces more patches (9, 41%) that pass all independent tests than the prior techniques. We demonstrate a relationship between patch granularity and the ability to produce patches that pass all independent tests. We then show that fault localization precision is a key factor in SOSRepair's success. Manually improving fault localization allows SOSRepair to patch 23 (35%) defects, of which 16 (70%) pass all independent tests. We conclude that (1) higher-granularity, semantic-based patches can improve patch quality, (2) semantic search is promising for producing high-quality real-world defect repairs, (3) research in fault localization can significantly improve the quality of program repair techniques, and (4) semi-automated approaches in which developers suggest fix locations may produce high-quality patches.