cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Two Lightweight and Customizable Picture-based Word-Learning Mobile Applications for Chinese Children with Autism

Language development has long been recognized as one of the core areas of deficiency in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A large number of technology-based intervention applications have been developed to support, enhance and facilitate the language and literacy development among individuals with ASD. However, although it has been argued that allowing flexible and personalized customization of applications to accommodate ASD children's individual development trajectories is highly desirable, relatively few systems had been built to allow for such personalization and adaptivity. In this demo, we present two flexible and individually adaptable picture-based word-learning mobile applications which are lightweight in terms of the technologies utilized (i.e. Swipe-N-Tag, and Snap-N-Recognize). Specifically, both applications allow the caregivers and teachers to build up the picture database based on a child's learning progress in the classroom and the items available at home (or outdoor during an activity). As such, the words acquired in the classroom could hopefully be transferable to real-life situations. The iOS version of Swipe-N-Tag (for both iPhone and iPad) is currently being alpha tested among a limited number of parents and teachers in a private autism center in the city with satisfying results.
Modeling and Optimization of Direct Communications from IoT Devices to Vehicles

This paper describes networks based on direct communications between dynamic vehicles and static devices. One application of this model is an Internet of Things (IoT) setting where each moving vehicle harvests spatially distributed data generated by IoT devices. This paper presents a stochastic geometry model to capture the direct communications from IoT devices to vehicles. This model features static roads, moving vehicles, and static IoT devices. The network performance is analyzed in the spatial domain. The interference encountered by the typical vehicle, the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) distribution of the typical vehicle, and the area spectral efficiency of the network are all derived in closed or integral forms. Then, we optimize the area spectral efficiency by considering the point of view of IoT devices.
Preemptive ECMO Cannulation in a Patient with Severe Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction Undergoing Cesarean Delivery

Obstetric patients with heart failure undergoing cesarean delivery are high risk and the perioperative care of these patients poses significant multidisciplinary challenges. In contrast to the nonobstetric patient population the potential role of mechanical circulatory support in parturients with heart failure is not well established and the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has rarely been reported. We report the case of a super morbidly obese patient with decompensated heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and superimposed preeclampsia undergoing preemptive ECMO cannulation for urgent cesarean delivery.
Octreotide: Prevention of Recurrent Gastrointestinal Bleeding in LVAD Patients

Background Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common complication of continuous flow Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) therapy leading to frequent hospitalizations, invasive GI procedures, and reduction of antithrombotic therapies. There is a need for ongoing investigation of GI bleed prevention in LVAD patients in order to understand mechanisms, predictors and optimal medical therapy. Currently, very few pharmacological methods have been found to provide reliable decreased GI bleeding with minimal side effects. Octreotide has shown efficacy in treating and preventing GI and variceal bleeding through decreasing splanchnic blood flow. Our goal was to reduce burdensome GI bleeding events while maintaining maximally tolerated anticoagulation therapy to prevent thrombotic events. Methods The Advanced Heart Failure Team at Moses Cone Hospital has placed over 70s LVADs since inception, May 2013. These patients are a combination of HeartMate II, III and 2 Heart Ware devices. While most LVAD patients are maintained on warfarin with INR goal 2-2.5 and aspirin 81mg daily without difficulty, we have had eight patients with recurrent GI bleeding. This is a single center pre/post evaluation of GI bleeding with use of Octreotide IM 20mg LAR given once a month for a minimum of 6 months. LVAD patients were enrolled after recurrent GI bleeding was diagnosed despite discontinuation of aspirin and reduction of INR goal. To date eight patients have been initiated on our octreotide injection protocol. Results Despite removal of aspirin and reduction in INR goal, these 8 patients suffered recurrent GI bleeding. With the initiation of octreotide injections, the number of GI bleeds was decreased by one half, with 16 bleeds prior to initiation and seven bleeds post. Six of the bleeds occurred in one patient, another patient re-bled once after a year of therapy. Six patients have not re-bled since initiation of octreotide. Treatment time ranged from 2-14 months with an average of 6 months. Though all patients remain off aspirin, all patients have been able to maintain anticoagulation with an INR target in the range of 1.5-2.5 with only one thrombotic event (TIA) diagnosed in this cohort since the initiation of octreotide. Only one patient stopped treatment after two doses due to intolerable diarrhea. Discussion In our cohort, IM octreotide was well tolerated and there was a noticeable decrease in recurrent GI bleeding. Despite our small numbers, these results are encouraging, as it has led to a decreased need for blood transfusions, GI procedures and hospitalization due to GI bleeding.
Blockchain Based Distributed Key Provisioning and Secure Communication over CAN FD

The continual trend of adding features to state of art automobiles has sparked an awareness in the capability and reliability of the controller area network (CAN) communication bus for future automobile designs. CAN with flexible data-rate (FD) has alleviated some of these issues by increasing the transmission rate of the payload and increasing the number of data bytes in a message. CAN FD does not include any features to secure message transmission on the bus. Specifically, it lacks identification of the source of messages on the bus. In this paper we propose a source identification, blockchain and smart contract based key provisioning scheme and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) based secure transmission over CAN FD and implement a process of whitelisting and blacklisting the source address of messages on the bus. A testbed application of multiple nodes demonstrates security features and the effectiveness of the proposed method.
‘From Cabinda to Cunene’: Monuments and the Construction of Angolan Nationalism since 1975

Since coming to power in 1975, the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) government of Angola has constructed a nationalist narrative that serves to honour and legitimise its rule. T...
The Effects of Learners' Perceptions and Affective Factors on L2 Learning Outcomes.

La confiance en soi sur le plan linguistique est un facteur sous-jacent de la motivation a l’egard de la L2 et des resultats positifs dans l’apprentissage de la L2. Or, peu de chercheurs se sont pe...
AV NODAL ABLATION IMPROVES LEFT VENTRICULAR REMODELING AND SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION UNDERGOING CARDIAC RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY (CRT) IMPLANTATION

AV nodal (AVN) ablation is often considered as a last line treatment option in patients with poorly controlled AF. However, small studies have suggested its utility in patients undergoing CRT implantation with concomitant history of AF. Its role in improving LVEF and long term survival is not well
Predicting Success for Computer Science Students in CS2 using Grades in Previous Courses

In this Work in Progress Innovative Practice paper, we describe a process for finding predictors for student success – and failure – for Computer Science and Computer Engineering students with a focus on the second programming course (CS2). We use readily available off-the-shelf statistical and data mining tools for generating summary statistics, calculating correlations, testing statistical significance, and creating decision trees. We analyze grade data from the first programming course (CS1), entry-level STEM courses (Calculus and Physics), and an English course to determine success predictors for CS2. Not surprisingly, the grade in CS1 is the best predictor for success in CS2. We also find that success in CS2 is independent of gender. Looking deeper into the data, we find characteristics of students who are very likely to pass or fail CS2. Being able to identify predictors for success is useful for calibrating admission criteria and designing appropriate interventions (e.g., requiring prereq classes, recitation sessions, and so on) to improve success probability for all students. A key contribution of this paper is a step-by-step process that can be used by other programs to find success predictors and design appropriate interventions.
Diversity-Oriented Enzymatic Synthesis of Cyclopropane Building Blocks

While biocatalysis is increasingly incorporated into drug development pipelines, it is less commonly used in the early stages of drug discovery. By engineering a protein to produce a chiral motif with a derivatizable functional handle, biocatalysts can be used to help generate diverse building blocks for drug discovery. Here we show the engineering of two variants of Rhodothermus marinus nitric oxide dioxygenase (RmaNOD) to catalyze the formation of cis- and tran- diastereomers of a pinacolboronate-substituted cyclopropane which can be readily derivatized to generate diverse stereopure cyclopropane building blocks.
The distribution of parotid gland neoplasms in a veteran population

Abstract Objective Salivary gland tumors account for 6%–8% of head and neck neoplasms with the parotid gland as the most common primary site. Pleomorphic adenomas (PA) are considered the most common benign parotid gland neoplasms, followed by Warthin tumors (WT). The goal of this study was to investigate the distribution of parotid gland neoplasms among a United States veteran population. Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants Veterans who underwent fine needle aspiration (FNA) for a parotid gland mass from 2000 to 2018 were included. Medical records were reviewed for gender, age, tobacco use, surgery date, and pathology results. Main outcome measures Changes in the distribution of parotid neoplasms and tobacco use over an 18-year period. Results Of 141 patients with parotid gland masses, 86.5% (n = 122) were benign, 9.9% (n = 14) were malignant, and 3.5% (n = 5) were indeterminate. Of benign tumors, WT accounted for the majority at 51.6%, followed by PA at 40.2%. When stratified by decade (2000–2009 and 2010–2018), the proportion of WT compared to all other benign and malignant neoplasms increased from 31.6% to 53.6%, whereas the proportion of PA decreased from 36.8% to 33.3%. The rate of tobacco use was unchanged at approximately 32.0% among our cohort from 2000 to 2018. Conclusion Among our cohort of veteran patients, WT was the most common benign parotid tumor and has increased in incidence over the last two decades despite an unchanged smoking rate.
Experiences of HIV/STD Providers in New York State During Hurricane Sandy: Strengths, Challenges, and Recommendations.

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess strengths and challenges experienced by HIV/STD providers in providing care during the response to Hurricane Sandy (Sandy) in New York State, and their recommendations for future preparedness. Methods A mixed methods approach, including a focus group (n = 3), interviews (n = 3), and survey (n = 31) of HIV/STD providers, was used. Key words identified by means of open coding methodology from collected data were organized into strengths, challenges, and recommendations and then grouped into federal and study-associated preparedness capabilities. Results Key words were organized into 81 strengths (38.8%), 73 challenges (34.9%), and 55 recommendations (26.3%). Services most interrupted during Sandy were related to HIV/STD outreach and education. While providers reported challenges with external agency communication, the ability to still connect clients to needed resources was reported as a strength. Strengthening partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies was among the major recommendations made by these providers. Conclusions This study presents unique information about challenges experienced by HIV/STD providers in providing services during a natural disaster and the use of national public health emergency preparedness capabilities to address and overcome those challenges. Lessons learned and recommendations regarding inter-agency communications emerged as an important priority during a natural disaster to minimize or reduce service interruption.
The Use of Hemostatic Blood Products in Children Following Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Associated Outcomes.

To describe the use of hemostatic transfusions in children following cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass and the association of hemostatic transfusions postoperatively with clinical outcomes. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting PICU of a tertiary care center from 2011 to 2017. Patients Children 0-18 years old undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results Four-hundred twenty children underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The median (interquartile range) age was 0.8 years (0.3-5 yr) and 243 (58%) were male. The majority of cases were classified as Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 2 (223, 54%) or Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 3 (124, 30%). Twenty-four percent of children (102/420) received at least one hemostatic transfusion with the most common first product being platelet transfusions (47/102), followed by plasma (44/102), and cryoprecipitate (11/102). The children who received hemostatic transfusions were younger (p = 0.006), had lower body weights (p = 0.004), less likely to be their initial operation with cardiopulmonary bypass (p = 0.003), underwent more complex surgeries (p = 0.001) with longer bypass runs (p < 0.001), and had more use of hypothermic circulatory arrest (p = 0.014). The receipt of hemostatic blood products postoperatively was independently associated with more days of mechanical ventilation (p < 0.001) and longer PICU lengths of stay (p = 0.001) but not with time receiving vasoactive mediations (p = 0.113) or nosocomial infections (p = 0.299). Conclusions Nearly one-quarter of children undergoing cardiac repair with cardiopulmonary bypass receive hemostatic transfusions postoperatively. These blood products are independently associated with worse clinical outcomes. Larger studies should be performed to determine the hemostatic efficacy of these products, as well as to clarify associated morbidities, in order to inform proper blood management.
The valuation of currency call options in selected target zones: a theoretical formulation

The market for currency call options is growing rapidly with the number of options contracts traded daily in April 2016 at $254 billion, as reported in the Triennial Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and OTC Derivatives (Bank for International Settlements, 2018). A European currency call option gives the owner the right to purchase foreign currency at a specified exercise price within a specified time period, suggesting that it offers gains for appreciating currencies. Speculators invest in currency call options to earn abnormal returns upon currency appreciation. The call option's chief purpose in trade is to hedge against adverse appreciations in foreign currency. An importer making future payment in foreign currency does not wish to increase payment due to appreciating values of foreign currency. The purchase of currency calls will permit the exchange of foreign currency at the exercise price, which if lower than the market exchange rate, yields a small gain to the option holder. If the exercise price is higher than the market exchange rate, the option would simply expire, with purchase of foreign currency at market rates.
Second-hand smoke and NFE2L2 genotype interaction increases paediatric asthma risk and severity.

BACKGROUND Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure is associated with paediatric asthma, and oxidative stress is believed to play a role in mediating this association. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NFE2L2) is important for the defence against oxidative stress. OBJECTIVE To explore interactions between NFE2L2 genotype and SHS exposure in paediatric asthma risk. METHODS We used a genotyped subset of patients of European ancestry (N = 669, median age at enrolment = 6.8 years) enrolled in the clinical cohort Greater Cincinnati Pediatric Clinic Repository as the study population, and a population-based paediatric cohort (N = 791) to replicate our findings. History of asthma diagnosis was obtained from medical records, and SHS exposure was obtained from questionnaires. Four NFE2L2 tagging SNPs were included in the analysis, and interactions between SHS and NFE2L2 genotype were evaluated using logistic regression. RESULTS Three of the analysed SNPs, rs10183914, rs1806649 and rs2886161, interacted significantly with SHS exposure to increase asthma risk (p ≤ .02). The interaction was replicated in an independent cohort for rs10183914 (p = .04). Interactions between SHS exposure and NFE2L2 genotype were also associated with an increased risk of hospitalization (p = .016). In stratified analyses, NFE2L2 genotype was associated with daily asthma symptoms in children with SHS exposure (OR = 3.1; p = .048). No association was found in children without SHS exposure. Examination of publicly available chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) data sets confirmed the presence of active histone marks and binding sites for particular transcription factors overlapping the coordinates for the significantly associated SNPs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Our study provides evidence that NFE2L2 genotype interacts with SHS exposure to affect both asthma risk and severity in children and identifies a population of children at increased risk of asthma development.
Anesthetic Management for Atrial Fibrillation Procedures in the Electrophysiology Lab

Invasive procedures in the electrophysiology lab for managing and treating atrial fibrillation are evolving and increasing in number. Providing anesthesia in a remote location requires an understanding of the physical environment and availability of emergently needed resources. The anesthesia provider should also have knowledge of the procedure, including the critical portions for the electrophysiologist, and the many comorbidities found in this patient population. The complex patients and the limitations of the work environment warrant careful planning to maximize patient safety and improve procedural outcomes.
Interaction Time with Electronic Health Records: A Systematic Review.

Background The amount of time that health care clinicians (physicians and nurses) spend interacting with the electronic health record is not well understood. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the time that health care providers spend interacting with electronic health records (EHR). Methods Data are retrieved from Ovid MEDLINE(R) and Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations and Daily, (Ovid) Embase, CINAHL, and SCOPUS. Study Eligibility Criteria Peer-reviewed studies that describe the use of EHR and include measurement of time either in hours, minutes, or in the percentage of a clinician's workday. Papers were written in English and published between 1990 and 2021. Participants All physicians and nurses involved in inpatient and outpatient settings. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods A narrative synthesis of the results, providing summaries of interaction time with EHR. The studies were rated according to Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs. Results Out of 5,133 de-duplicated references identified through database searching, 18 met inclusion criteria. Most were time-motion studies (50%) that followed by logged-based analysis (44%). Most were conducted in the United States (94%) and examined a clinician workflow in the inpatient settings (83%). The average time was nearly 37% of time of their workday by physicians in both inpatient and outpatient settings and 22% of the workday by nurses in inpatient settings. The studies showed methodological heterogeneity. Conclusion This systematic review evaluates the time that health care providers spend interacting with EHR. Interaction time with EHR varies depending on clinicians' roles and clinical settings, computer systems, and users' experience. The average time spent by physicians on EHR exceeded one-third of their workday. The finding is a possible indicator that the EHR has room for usability, functionality improvement, and workflow optimization.
Cardiac involvement in the long-term implications of COVID-19

Throughout 2021, the medical and scientific communities have focused on managing the acute morbidity and mortality caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. With the approval of multiple vaccines, there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel and an opportunity to focus on the future, including managing the long-term sequelae in patients who have survived acute COVID-19. In this Perspectives article, we highlight what is known about the cardiovascular sequelae in survivors of COVID-19 and discuss important questions that need to be addressed in prospective studies to understand and mitigate these lasting cardiovascular consequences, including in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. To provide the greatest benefit to these survivors, prospective studies should begin now, with resources made available to monitor and study this population in the coming years. In this Perspectives article, the authors highlight what is known about cardiovascular sequelae in survivors of COVID-19 and discuss important questions that need to be addressed in prospective studies to understand and mitigate these lasting cardiovascular consequences, including in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.
Their First Encounter: How to Encourage At-Risk Students' Return to the Library

Abstract This article discusses the response of at-risk students to their initial library orientation. By presenting an entertaining yet informative session, students will be quickly put at ease. The goal of this type of orientation is to promote the library's resources and services, address basic queries, and encourage students' return in a non-threatening, entertaining manner. The article includes a review of the literature on the need for library orientation for non-users, a description of a summer success program on campus, the process involved in putting the library component together, the program's design, and a preliminary assessment of the program.
Geometric Approaches to Input File Modification for Part Quality Improvement in Additive Manufacturing

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) machines use the Stereolithography (STL) file as standard input file format to build parts. STL model is a triangular faceted approximation of a CAD model, which represents a part with less accuracy than the CAD model. Commercial softwares have the ability to convert a CAD file into an STL file based on a user defined threshold value to uniformly convert the entire part body into triangular facets. Increasing the geometric accuracy of STL models is typically accomplished by decreasing the user defined threshold value, which results in an increase in STL file size. In this research, a Surface-based Modification Algorithm (SMA) that adaptively and locally increases the facet density of an STL model is presented. The Surface-based Modification Algorithm is an error minimization approach to modify the STL facets locally based on chordal error, cusp height and cylindricity error for cylindrical features and is typically able to achieve a smaller file size compared to uniform export option. A novel bounding box based algorithm is developed to calculate cusp height error from the point cloud generated from the part by slicing the STL facets or from the CAD surface. Final results show a distinct improvement in the part error of the STL model using Surface-based Modification Algorithm (SMA) when compared to the original STL file.
Hyaline Membranes in Lebanon

Because of recent interest in the geographical incidence of hyaline membrane formation in the lungs of infants dying in the newborn period, the following observations are reported. Between July 1, 1948, and June 30, 1958, there were 7,131 live births at the American University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. There were 117 known deaths during the first month of life. Autopsies were performed on 91 infants (78%). With use of the criteria of Potter,1 sections of the lungs of the 63 infants who died during the first 3 days of life were reviewed.
The Dynamics of the Electronic Market: An Evolutionary Game Approach

The capabilities afforded by network technologies have facilitated the growth of electronic commerce. However, online frauds pose serious challenges to the further adoption of the electronic market. In order to promote trust and reduce transaction risks, various trusted third parties have emerged and new models have been proposed. Will people use the trusted third parties while conducting online transactions? How will the electronic market evolve? This research attempts to identify the different equilibria of the electronic market using an evolutionary game theoretic approach and to explore the best strategy to do transactions in the electronic market. Also, the work provides a theoretical justification to the emergence and necessity of trusted third parties for electronic transactions.
Atomistic Calculation of Mechanical Behavior

Mechanical behavior is stress-related behavior. This can mean the material response is driven by externally applied stress (or partially), or the underlying processes are mediated by an internal stress field; very often both are true. Due to defects and their collective behavior [1], the spatiotemporal spectrum of stress field in a real material tends to have very large spectral width, with non-trivial coupling between different scales, which is another way of saying that the mechanical behavior of real materials tends to be multiscale. The concept of stress field is usually valid when coarse-grained above a few nm; in favorable circumstances like when crystalline order is preserved locally, it may be applicable down to sub-nm lengthscale [2]. But overall, the atomic scale is where the stress concept breaks down, and atomistic simulations [3, 4, 5] provide very important termination or matching condition for stress-based theories. Large-scale atomistic simulations (chap 2.27) are approaching μm lengthscale and are starting to reveal the collective behavior of defects [6]. But studying defect unit processes is still a main task of atomistic simulation.
Creating and Managing a Quality Management System

A comprehensive quality management system (QMS) has become an integral part of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical operations due to increased market demand and business competition. A well-designed QMS, with mature, developed processes, provides the required infrastructure and support for successful manufacturing operations. This article provides an understanding of QMS to succeed in pharmaceutical manufacturing operation. Keywords: quality management system (QMS); biopharmaceutical operations; pharmaceutical manufacturing operation; market demand; business competition
Rocket and Missile Propulsion: Shared Challenges, Shared Solutions

Jim Maser, president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, said United Technologies' announcement was not a surprise. "We've been prepared for today's news," he said. "I've been involved in the process. I don't see the sale making a major impact on our business strategy. I’m optimistic about our future.” – Los Angeles Times
Extracting principal diagnosis, co-morbidity and smoking status for asthma research: evaluation of a natural language processing system

Background The text descriptions in electronic medical records are a rich source of information. We have developed a Health Information Text Extraction (HITEx) tool and used it to extract key findings for a research study on airways disease.
False Claims Act Liability for Off-Label Promotion of Pharmaceutical Products

This article details pharmaceutical company liability for off-label promotional marketing strategies. Despite near record revenues, the pharmaceutical industry faces struggles relating its business cycle of research, development, patenting and then inevitable competition from generics. This boom-bust scenario forced companies to seek profits from both increased marketing and through expanding the markets for their drugs. The twin phenomena of direct-to-consumer advertising and off-label promotions prompted regulatory action and resulting in legislation of the False Claims Act. The author reviews pharmaceutical tactics that have triggered review by the government, and concludes with recommendations on compliance and best practices for pharmaceutical companies.
The Thermodynamic and Kinetic Aspects of Power Ultrasound Processes

Most high intensity or power ultrasound applications involve a special transmission mode of sound waves in a medium that is composed of consecutive compressions and rarefactions. Since the propagation of such longitudinal waves is normally associated with a liquid medium, the use of power ultrasound is often termed as sonication. When the negative pressure in the rarefaction phase surpasses the tensile stress of the liquid, the liquid will be torn apart and cavities will be formed (Leighton, 1994). The inception of cavitation and the subsequent mechanical and chemical effects rising from the cavitation activity enable interactions between the acoustic energy and food and biological systems being processed. Such interactions take place at microscopic levels as the average diameters of cavitation bubbles are at 150–170 μm, for bubbles generated in water by 20 kHz ultrasound transducers (Awad, 1996; Vago, 1992).
Dimensions of the Argentine Crisis 2001/02 - A Critical Survey of Politico-Economical Explanations

When the Argentine economy collapsed in the final days of December 2001, in fact, this did not come too much as a surprise. The country had entered its fourth consecutive year of recession and skepticism about the sustainability of its economic model was widespread. However, the magnitude of the collapse was both surprising and terrifying. In 2002, Argentina’s real GDP slumped by approximately eleven percent, gross fixed investment fell by 36.4 percent and private consumption by 14.4 percent. After almost an entire decade of price stability, in 2002, the inflation rate shot up to an annual 41 percent and capital flight added up to more than twelve billion U.S. dollar. This economic misery was accompanied by social unrest and political turmoil. Living standards of the majority of Argentineans had deteriorated considerably in the second half of the 1990s. In mid-2002, open unemployment stood at 21.5 percent and poverty had risen dramatically, affecting 52 percent of urban population. Even compared to the sad experiences of the various financial crises in the last decade of the 20th century, Argentina’s collapse was a particularly dramatic case. In fact, Argentina had been hit by a highly complex multidimensional crisis. The sheer magnitude and complexity of the crisis prompted a wide range of economists to try to deliver explanations of what had happened and why it had happened. In principle, at least three different (though partly interrelated) interpretations of the crisis can be distinguished. Firstly, numerous authors identify the so-called ›convertibility system‹ as the main cause of the crisis. A second group of economists puts the blame on the authorities’ fiscal irresponsibility. A third view emphasizes the crucial role played by the external shocks that hit the country in the course of the 1990s. These three principal strands of interpretation will be treated in the following three sections of the paper and rounded off with some final remarks.
Complex reconstruction of a massive shoulder and chest wall defect: de-bone appétit flap.

We report the use of a fillet of upper arm pedicled flap, which has not been previously reported in the literature. The fillet of upper arm flap follows the principle of “spare parts” surgery, and can provide vascularized soft tissue coverage for defects of the shoulder and the chest wall when the upper extremity cannot otherwise be salvaged, such as in cases of radical tumor excision. The fillet of upper arm pedicled flap was used to successfully cover a large shoulder and chest wall defect measuring 25 cm x 15 cm. This “spare parts” reconstructive technique has several advantages over the previously reported forearm free flap, including minimal need for microsurgery and the ability for expansion to cover larger defects. This case demonstrates effective use of fillet of upper arm flaps in reconstruction of large defects of the shoulder and chest wall.
Le mal zairois: why policy fails in Zaire

IN JANUARY 1973 President Mobutu promulgated Law 73-015, a new statute concerning the territorial and administrative organization of Zaire. The law was a sweeping, yet ill-fated, attempt to reform the nation's existing administrative structure. My aim here is neither to recount nor analyze all of the changes which the new law was designed to initiate, but to emphasize those provisions affecting the basic units of local government and administration-the collectivities-and to explain why these reforms failed. Collectivities are crucial in Zaire and merit attention because, to quote one Zairian leader, it is on the shoulders of the collectivity 'that the chances for success of the country's general policy are grounded for it is the only entity in contact with national realities.' In addition, these policy reforms warrant scrutiny because they were conceived and, for the most part, implemented when the now-beseiged regime of Mobutu Sese Seko was at the height of its powers and appeared to be forging ahead on all fronts. An examination of this case of policy failure should indicate, therefore, some of the more deeply-rooted problems of the Zairian polity; difficulties which the present fascination with the more glaring international aspects of the current crisis tends to obscure.2 The reasons why this administrative reform was still-born will be treated in the context of a case study of efforts to implement the new policy in the hinterland, specifically in the area of Lisala.3 Initially, however, I should like to furnish an overview of the motives which prompted the reform.
Selection and design of a TCSC control signal in damping power system inter-area oscillations for multiple operating conditions

Abstract A method is proposed to identify an effective local signal that can be used by a thyristor controlled series compensation (TCSC) device as a supplementary controller to dampen inter-area oscillations for multiple power system operating conditions. Two residue-based indices are developed for this purpose. The first index is to identify the most effective signal to feedback for different operating conditions, and the second index is to assess the interaction of the controller with other oscillation modes than the critical mode, i.e. the mode that is to be controlled. Two designs are presented to illustrate the proposed methodologies, a conventional lead–lag controller, and a controller using a multi-step control design approach. The proposed techniques are applied to a four-generator two-area power system. Nonlinear simulation is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed controller.
Lyotropic liquid crystals from lecithin, water, and polyethylene glycol

Abstract Lyotropic liquid crystals with lecithin as the amphiphile and with water/polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions as the solvent were prepared with polyethylene glycol/water ratios from 182 to 0. The liquid crystals were lamellar and the interlayer spacing was independent of the solvent content for water/PEG ratios ⩽1 but increased strongly with the water/PEG ratio. Higher ratios gave increased interlayer spacing with solvent content similar to the variation for liquid crystals with water as solvent but the absolute values of the spacing were higher.
Using Sandia technologies to improve national competitiveness

Sandia National Laboratories was established in 1945 to provide engineering support for the United States nuclear deterrence program. Technologies developed for that and other federal programs are coupled with Sandia's industrial management roots. Together, they have resulted in a national laboratory whose systems engineering orientation is based on research and development processes modeled after those of AT&T Bell Laboratories. Recent dramatic changes in international relationships have redirected Sandia's role toward the transfer of its government-sponsored technologies to commercial and industrial applications in the private sector.
Active Learning to Improve Presentation Skills: The Use of Pecha Kucha in Undergraduate Sales Management Classes

Recruiters seek candidates with certain business skills that are not developed in the typical lecture-based classroom. Instead, active-learning techniques have been shown to be effective in honing these skills. One skill that is particularly important in sales careers is the ability to make a powerful and effective presentation. To help students develop strong presentation skills, two sections of an undergraduate sales management course included an exercise in which students make a presentation using a Pecha Kucha format. Active-learning exercises like this promote both thinking and doing, and improve student engagement. The expectation is that the exercise will not only improve presentation skills, but also content knowledge. The effectiveness of the format is assessed through instructor observation, pre- and postpresentation student surveys, student reflection papers, and examination.
Continuous L-cluster methods☆

Abstract Right and left continuity are investigated in a certain order theoretic model for cluster analysis. These conditions are related to purely order theoretic concepts. Semiflat cluster methods are characterized in terms of left continuity and flat cluster methods in terms of right continuity.
Social Skills and Leadership Abilities among Children in Small-Group Literature Discussions.

Many childhood educators are attempting to shift from the dominant “recitation” format of discussions found in today's classrooms. This study draws on reader response, and sociocognitive and sociocultural theories to investigate children's perceptions of social skills and leadership moves after participating in small-group discussions of literature for the first time. The researcher interviewed a stratified random sample of 24 elementary-age students after participating in such discussion groups for 4 months. Findings included that children perceived incidents of peers who helped, took turns, got along, and kept the discussion going. Results suggest that participation in small-group, peer-led literature discussions, with the support of teacher scaffolding, may support children's social and leadership skills.
Dynamics of glomerular ultrafiltration: VI. Studies in the primate

Dynamics of glomerular ultrafiltration: VI. Studies in the primate. Pressures and flows were measured in accessible surface glomeruli of the squirrel monkey under conditions of normal hydropenia. Mean glomerular capillary hydrostatic pressure and the mean glomerular transcapillary hydrostatic pressure difference (ΔP) averaged approximately 45 mm Hg and 35 mm Hg, respectively. These findings are in close accord with recent direct estimates in the rat. The net driving force for ultrafiltration was found to decline from a maximum value of about 12 mm Hg at the afferent end of the glomerular capillary network essentially to zero by the efferent end, indicating that, in the monkey as in the rat, filtration pressure equilibrium is achieved under normal hydropenic conditions. The monkey differs from the rat in one important respect, however, in that, as has long been recognized, the monkey tends to have higher systemic total plasma protein concentrations (CA) than the rat. This is of interest since monkey, like man, is found to have lower filtration fractions than the rat. Since ΔP is found to be essentially similar in monkey and rat, and since, at filtration pressure equilibrium, filtration fraction is determined by ΔP and CA, these observed differences in filtration fraction between rodent and primate must therefore be due to these differences in CA.
Mathematical reasoning in software engineering education

Discrete mathematics, especially logic, plays an implicit role in software engineering similar to the role of continuous mathematics in traditional physically based engineering disciplines.
A distributed scheduling method for computer integrated manufacturing: the use of local area networks in cellular systems

This paper describes a distributed scheduling approach that takes into account characteristics of the communication network in the computer-integrated manufacturing environment. The approach is based on a network-wide bidding scheme wherein the scheduling decision is made by collecting the price of each manufacturing cell for taking on the job; different dynamic scheduling heuristics can be incorporated in this scheme and executed in a distributed fashion. This paper also describes the formalism and model for the distributed scheme that can be embedded in a communication protocol. A simulation study has been conducted to evaluate and compare the performance of different strategies or heuristics employed in the scheduling method.
Cutaneous Blastomycosis as a Complication of Transthoracic Needle Aspiration

A patient with an ill defined density in the left upper lobe underwent transthoracic needle aspiration. A diagnosis of Blastomyces dermatitidis was made from the aspiration. The patient later returned with a cutaneous ulcer at the site of needle aspiration. B dermatitidis was subsequently recovered from the skin lesion.
Simultaneous computation of the DFT of an N -point real sequence and the IDFT of an N -point complex sequence with conjugate symmetry with a single N -point DFT

Several methods for the simultaneous computation of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of an N-point real sequence and the inverse DFT of an N-point complex sequence having conjugate symmetry with a single N-point complex DFT are presented.
Formation control based on a consensus protocol under directed communications with two time delays

This paper presents an extension of the traditional consensus problem to a formation control for a group of agents driven by second order dynamics. The communication between members of the group is assumed to be directed and affected by two rationally independent time delays, one in the position and the other in the velocity information channels. These delays are considered as constant and uniform throughout the communication topology. The stability of the consensus protocol is studied first, using a simplifying factorization procedure and deploying the Cluster Treatment of Characteristic Roots (CTCR) paradigm to obtain exact stability boundaries in the domain of the delays. CTCR requires the determination of all the potential stability switching loci in the domain of the delays. For this, a surrogate domain, called the “Spectral Delay Space (SDS)” is used. As the stability of the system is studied the findings yield a paradoxical control concept of “Delay Scheduling”. It shows that the stability of the system can be regained by increasing the delays. Once the stability of the consensus protocol is guaranteed, a new control term is added to obtain a desired stable formation for the agents.
Virus-specific proliferative T-cell responses: Parameters and specificity

Abstract The genetic requirements for inducing virus-specific T-cell proliferation were investigated by taking spleen cells from animals primed with vaccinia virus in vivo , then culturing the cells in vitro with vaccinia virus-infected syngeneic peritoneal macrophages, and finally restimulating these cells a second time in vitro with vaccinia virus-infected macrophages from several strains of mice. Under these conditions, T cells proliferated in the tertiary response to virus-specific stimulation, whereas background proliferation caused by allogeneic differences between stimulator and responder cells was minimal. Compatibility between T cells and infected stimulator cells at the K or I regions alone or at I - A or I - A + I - B regions of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) produced strong proliferative responses, whereas compatibility at D alone often resulted in somewhat weaker responses. However, these responses were rarely as great as in combinations of completely syngeneic stimulator and responder cells. Homology between responding and virus-infected stimulating cells in more than one of the H -2 K , D , or I regions resulted in an additive, but not potentiating, effect. Genes coded outside the H-2 region did not seem to play a role in this system. In some rare cases, a weak response occurred across allogeneic barriers, but in general, virus-specific T-cell proliferation was strongly H-2 restricted.
Type I interferon signaling regulates the composition of inflammatory infiltrates upon infection with Listeria monocytogenes

Abstract Type I IFN is key to the immune response to viral pathogens, however its role in bacterial infections is less well understood. Mice lacking the type I IFN receptor (IFNAR−/−) demonstrate enhanced resistance to infection with Listeria monocytogenes. We have now determined that following infection with Listeria, the composition of innate cells recruited to the peritoneal cavity of IFNAR−/− mice reflects an increase in the frequency of neutrophils and a decrease in monocyte frequency compared to WT controls. These differences in inflammatory infiltrates could not be attributed to distinct bone marrow composition prior to infection or to level of apoptosis. We also observed no differences in neutrophil oxidative burst. However, blocking CXCR2 prevented enhanced neutrophil influx and hampered bacterial clearance. Taken together, these studies highlight a novel mechanism by which type I interferon signaling regulates the immune response to Listeria, through negative regulation of chemokines driving neutrophil recruitment.