cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CIBench: a dataset and collection of techniques for build and test selection and prioritization in continuous integration

Continuous integration (CI) is a widely used practice in modern software engineering. Unfortunately, it is also an expensive practice --- Google and Mozilla estimate their CI systems in millions of dollars. There are a number of techniques and tools designed to or having the potential to save the cost of CI or expand its benefit - reducing time to feedback. However, their benefits in some dimensions may also result in drawbacks in others. They may also be beneficial in other scenarios where they are not designed to help. Therefore, we built CIBench, a dataset and collection of techniques for build and test selection and prioritization in Continuous Integration. CIBench is based on a popular existing dataset for CI --- TravisTorrent [2] and extends it in multiple ways including mining additional Travis logs, Github commits, and building dependency graphs for studied projects. This dataset allows us to replicate and evaluate existing techniques to improve CI under the same settings, to better understand the impact of applying different strategies in a more comprehensive way.
Theranostic Polymeric Micelles for Cancer Imaging and Therapy

Remarkable progress has been made in recent years to establish polymeric micelles as a novel multifunctional platform of nanoscale constructs for cancer diagnosis and therapy. The combination of tumor-targeted imaging and therapy in an “all-in-one” system provides useful modular approaches for tailoring nanostructures to achieve personalized medicine. This chapter will focus on recent advancements in the design of theranostic micellar systems with imaging and therapeutic capabilities. These integrated nanotherapeutic platforms hold considerable promise as the next generation of medicine that allows for early detection of cancer, targeted therapy with minimal toxicity and real-time monitoring of therapy.
The Effects of Prosthesis Inertial Properties on Prosthetic Knee Moment and Hip Energetics Required to Achieve Able-Bodied Kinematics

There is a major need in the developing world for a low-cost prosthetic knee that enables users to walk with able-bodied kinematics and low energy expenditure. To efficiently design such a knee, the relationship between the inertial properties of a prosthetic leg and joint kinetics and energetics must be determined. In this paper, using inverse dynamics, the theoretical effects of varying the inertial properties of an above-knee prosthesis on the prosthetic knee moment, hip power, and absolute hip work required for walking with able-bodied kinematics were quantified. The effects of independently varying mass and moment of inertia of the prosthesis, as well as independently varying the masses of each prosthesis segment, were also compared. Decreasing prosthesis mass to 25% of physiological leg mass increased peak late-stance knee moment by 43% and decreased peak swing knee moment by 76%. In addition, it reduced peak stance hip power by 26%, average swing hip power by 76%, and absolute hip work by 22%. Decreasing upper leg mass to 25% of its physiological value reduced absolute hip work by just 2%, whereas decreasing lower leg and foot mass reduced work by up to 22%, with foot mass having the greater effect. Results are reported in the form of parametric illustrations that can be utilized by researchers, designers, and prosthetists. The methods and outcomes presented have the potential to improve prosthetic knee component selection, facilitate able-bodied kinematics, and reduce energy expenditure for users of low-cost, passive knees in developing countries, as well as for users of advanced active knees in developed countries.
Implementation and Evaluation of a ReplicaSet Grid Service

We present the implementation and performance of a ReplicaSet service based on the specification developed in the OGSA Data Replication Services (OREP) Working Group of the Global Grid Forum. This standard is based on the open grid services infrastructure. The ReplicaSet service aggregates information about replicated data items and enforces policies for authorization, replica semantics and consistency.
Landslides — Cause and effect

Landslides can cause seismic disturbances; landslides can also result from seismic disturbances, and earthquake-induced slides have caused loss of life in many countries. Slides can cause disastrous flooding, particularly when landslide dams across streams are breached, and flooding may trigger slides. Slope movement in general is a major process of the geologic environment that places constraints on engineering development. In order to understand and foresee both the causes and effects of slope movement, studies must be made on a regional scale, at individual sites, and in the laboratory. Areal studies — some embracing entire countries — have shown that certain geologic conditions on slopes facilitate landsliding; these conditions include intensely sheared rocks; poorly consolidated, fine-grained clastic rocks; hard fractured rocks underlain by less resistant rocks; or loose accumulations of fine-grained surface debris. Field investigations as well as mathematical- and physical-model studies are increasing our understanding of the mechanism of slope movement in fractured rock, and assist in arriving at practical solutions to landslide problems related to all kinds of land development for human use. Progressive failure of slopes has been studied in both soil and rock mechanics. New procedures have been developed to evaluate earthquake response of embankments and slopes. The finite element method of analysis is being extensively used in the calculation of slope stability in rock broken by joints, faults, and other discontinuities.
Flight Analysis of a Sounding Rocket with Special Reference to Propulsion by Successive Impulses

In Part I of this paper an exact solution of the problem of determining the height reached by a body in vertical flight in vacuo propelled by successive impulses is presented. On the basis of this analysis it is concluded that a rocket propelled by successive impulses—the impulses being obtained, for example, from rapidly burning powder—can theoretically reach much greater heights than is possible by sounding balloons and, therefore, further experimental research is justified. In Part I I the effect of the variation of the acceleration of gravity with height above sea level on the flight performance of a sounding rocket is analyzed. For a 1000 mile sounding rocket the decrease in gravitational pull accounts for a 25 percent increase in the maximum height reached over that calculated on the basis of a constant gravitational acceleration. In Part I I I the fundamental performance equation for flight of a sounding rocket in air is expressed in terms of dimensionless parameters and factors and their physical significance is discussed. Finally, in Part IV the theory of the preceding sections is applied to a specific case of a sounding rocket propelled by successive impulses which are supplied by a reloading type of powder rocket motor.
Probing the Limits of Internationalism: African Students Confront Soviet Ritual

The event organizers hope to attract public attention to the scourge of racial bigotry and xenophobia afflicting post-Soviet Russia, an epidemic of hatred that has left in its wake dozens of innocent victims – from African students, subjected to physical assaults and harassment in the streets of Russian cities, to Russia‘s own ethnic minorities, openly abused and publicly humiliated, to murdered human rights activists and scholars. A recent study conducted among Africans residing in Moscow has revealed the staggering dimensions of the problem: almost sixty percent of those polled had experienced racially-motivated violence. 3 Neither the Russian government nor the general public seem to be prepared to so much as acknowledge this unfolding crisis of race relations in a country that in a not-so-distant past used to stake its international reputation on a vociferous campaign against racism. It is reasonable to expect that the march in St. Petersburg, planned by such groups as the African Union of Russia and a veteran human rights organization Memorial, will attract scant media attention inside Russia. If previous protests of this kind are any indication the turnout for the march will be pitifully low and its participants and their message are likely to be met with indifference, if not mockery, from the passers-by. After decades of antiracist and anti-imperialist propaganda during the Soviet rule, post-socialist Russia and its citizens exhibit little taste for internationalist and egalitarian causes. The purpose of this article is to contextualize the rise of racial intolerance in post-Soviet Russia by examining some of its historical and cultural roots. I argue that the ideas of race and racial difference entertained by many modern-day Russians were formed to a large extent through their encounters with and official and popular representations of Africans residing in the Soviet Union, most of them young men who, from 1957 onwards, traveled to the USSR to pursue affordable higher education. Their presence amidst the Soviet society and their interaction with both the Soviet system and Soviet citizens would make a profound impact on the common perceptions of racial difference still resonating across the former Soviet spaces.
Citryl 1-Phosphate and the Citrate Cleavage Reaction

Abstract Citryl 1-phosphate has been synthesized chemically. It is an active substrate of ATP:citrate lyase (EC 4.1.3.8). With coenzyme A present, the enzyme catalyzes the cleavage of citryl-1-P into oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA. Starting with radioactive citryl-1-P, the products of cleavage have been isolated from incubation mixtures in the form of convenient derivatives which have been purified to constant specific activity. The identity of oxaloacetate as a cleavage product has been further confirmed through its specific oxidation of NADH in the presence of malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.37).
CORRELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND AUTOIGNITION PARAMETERS OF ALTERNATE FUELS.

The correlations between the physical properties and autoignition parameters of several alternate fuels have been examined. The fuels are DF-2 and its blends with petroleum derived fuels, shale derived fuels, high aromatic naphtha sun-flower oils, methanol and ethanol. A total of eighteen existing correlations are discussed. An emphasis is made on the suitability of each of the correlations for the development of electronic controls for diesel engines when run on alternate fuels. A new correlation has been developed between the cetane number of the fuels and its kinematic viscosity and specific gravity.
Sampling and Subsampling for Cluster Analysis in Data Mining: With Applications to Sky Survey Data

This paper describes a clustering method for unsupervised classification of objects in large data sets. The new methodology combines the mixture likelihood approach with a sampling and subsampling strategy in order to cluster large data sets efficiently. This sampling strategy can be applied to a large variety of data mining methods to allow them to be used on very large data sets. The method is applied to the problem of automated star/galaxy classification for digital sky data and is tested using a sample from the Digitized Palomar Sky Survey (DPOSS) data. The method is quick and reliable and produces classifications comparable to previous work on these data using supervised clustering.
Plasma estrone, estradiol, estriol, progesterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in human pregnancy: I. Normal pregnancy☆

Abstract The plasma concentrations of progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and unconjugated estrone, estradiol, and estriol, were measured by radioligand assays in 0.21 ml. plasma aliquots obtained during the second half of normal human pregnancy. The mean plasma concentrations of unconjugated estrone, estradiol, and estriol as well as progesterone gradually increased toward term whereas the mean plasma 17-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations increased significantly only after the thirty-third week of gestation. Mean plasma progesterone concentrations were at least ninefold higher than any of the unconjugated estrogens measured in this study. Estradiol was quantitatively the most important unconjugated estrogen throughout the second half of pregnancy. The ratios of plasma progesterone: estradiol (unconjugated), progesterone: estriol (unconjugated), and estradiol (unconjugated): estriol (unconjugated) remained constant throughout the second half of gestation. There appears to be no preferential increase in the plasma concentrations of any one of these hormones as measured.
On uniqueness for an inverse boundary value problem in electrical prospection1This work was completed at Wichita State University.1

In this paper, we consider the problem of determining the discontinuous conductivity @l in the equation div(@l grad u)=0 in @W when for any Dirchlet data g, we are given the Neumann data h; in other words, results of all possible boundary measurements are known. We derive a uniqueness proof of inclusions of different(analytic) conductivities under the minimal assumptions: (i) the boundaries of inclusions are only Lipschitz, (ii) no topological assumptions. After some modification of Alessandrini's construction [J. Diff. Eq. 84 (1990) 252-272], we gave an existence proof of singular solution for Lipschitz piecewise analytic coefficients and used it for our purpose.
Effect of Preincubation of Protoplasts on PEG-induced Fusion of Plant Cells

Summary Protoplasts from pea leaves (Pisum sativum) and vetch cell suspension cultures (Vicia hajastana) were fused by agglutination with polyethylene glycol (PEG 1540). The frequency of heterokaryocytes was a function of the duration of preincubation, i.e. the time lapsed between the removal of cell wall digesting enzymes from the isolated protoplasts and agglutination with PEG. The yield of heterokaryocytes decreased from 9 % after 5 min to 1 % after 2 h of preincubation. The most obvious drop occurred between 5 and 15 min of preincubation. The decrease in fusion frequency may be due to rapid cell wall regeneration in vetch protoplasts.
Transcervical Double Mandibular Osteotomy Approach to the Infratemporal Fossa

Background In this study, we propose an alternative to the traditional transmandibular lower lip and chin splitting approach for exposing high infratemporal fossa and parapharyngeal space lesions involving the carotid canal and jugular foramen. Methods We present 2 cases of high skull base tumors removed transcervically with anterior and posterior segmental mandibulotomies preserving the mental nerve without the use of a lip or chin incision. Results Making the posterior osteotomy in an inverted L configuration is necessary so that the coronoid process does not prevent rotation of the mandible out of the visual field. Both patients had complete tumor resection with access to the carotid canal and jugular foramen and functional preservation of the mental nerve and marginal branch of the facial nerve. Neither patient had malocclusion or other dental complications from the approach. Conclusions This novel technique is useful for providing excellent access to high infratemporal fossa or parapharyngeal space tumors. It avoids the traditional chin or lip incision and preserves the mental and facial nerves and is a useful procedure in the armamentarium of skull base/cerebrovascular neurosurgeons.
Novel syntheses of 1-(trialkylsilyl)-1,3-diynes and 1,4-bis-silyl-1,3-butadiynes from (Z)-1-methoxy-1-buten-3-yne

Abstract Alkylation or silylation of lithiated Z -1-methoxy-1-buten-3-yne affords the corresponding substituted methoxyenynes which, upon sequential treatment with lithium diisopropylamide followed by chlorotrialkylsilanes, furnish 1-trialkylsilyl-1,3-diynes and 1,4-bis-silyl-1,3-butadiynes, respectively.
Prediction of Children’s Academic Competence From Their Effortful Control, Relationships, and Classroom Participation

The authors examined the relations among children's effortful control, school relationships, classroom participation, and academic competence with a sample of 7- to 12-year-old children (N = 264). Parents and children reported on children's effortful control, and teachers and children reported on children's school relationships and classroom participation. Children's grade point averages (GPAs) and absences were obtained from school-issued report cards. Significant positive correlations existed between effortful control, school relationships, classroom participation, and academic competence. Consistent with expectations, the teacher-child relationship, social competence, and classroom participation partially mediated the relation between effortful control and change in GPA from the beginning to the end of the school year. The teacher-child relationship and classroom participation also partially mediated the relation between effortful control and change in school absences across the year.
Corporate Identity in Citizens United: Legal Fictions and Anthropological Theory

The United States Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [2010] from the outset has been a contested, highly politicized case, where judicial interpretation affected more than just election finance law; the majority's opinion explicitly intervened in a wider political struggle over personhood and the boundaries of citizenship. This article moves beyond questions of legal doctrine to highlight the social–theoretical–political contexts of the decision and its consequences for anthropological understanding of American citizenship. I trace how the majority decision appropriated and reshaped a discourse of identity. In its first formulation in social movements, “identity” was offered as a positive basis for rights and inclusion; however, the Court's appropriation reformulated identity on a negative basis, barring both regulation and recognition of identity-based claims by the State. It also went further than a traditional liberal demarcation of rights by specifically attributing agency and authoritative representation to corporate speech. Drawing on previous theoretical discussions of the corporate form and American citizenship and personhood, this article concludes that Citizens United not only allowed for new corporate power in the political sphere, but actively worked against the flourishing of a more humane and inclusive American citizenship in ways that legal anthropologists may wish to address as a matter of theory as much as politics.
Spectroscopic Investigation of the Electronic Structure of YN: The X1Σ+ Ground State and the New B1, C1 and D1 Excited Electronic States

Abstract YN molecules were produced in a free jet molecular beam apparatus by a laser vaporizing yttrium metal in the presence of He doped with NH3. Laser excitation spectra were observed in the range 18 250–19 850 cm−1. The ground state was confirmed to have 1Σ+ symmetry. The fundamental vibration in the ground state was measured to be 650.6(1) cm−1. Three new electronic states, B1, C1, and D1, were observed at 18 974.7(1), 19 023.3(1), and 19 824.0(1) cm−1, respectively. The fundamental vibrations and equilibrium internuclear distances were found to be 718.3(1) cm−1 and 1.939(8) for the B1 state and 723.5(1) cm−1 and 1.9194(3) for the C1 state. Two additional electronic states were identified with the help of a deperturbation procedure, one of which is either the 1Σ+ or the 3Σ0− state. The newly observed electronic states cannot be accounted for based on the existing ab initio results. We expect that these states correlate with the excited asymptote Y(4d15s22D)+N(2D).
The Kuramoto-Sivashinsky Equation: Spatio-Temporal Chaos and Intermittencies for a Dynamical System

During the last decade we have seen a number of major developments which show that the long-time behavior of solutions of a very large class of partial differential equations (PDEs) possess a striking resemblance to the behavior of solution of finite dimensional dynamical systems, or ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The first of these advances was the discovery (by a number of researchers) that a dissipative PDE has a compact, maximal attractor X with finite Hausdorff and fractal dimensions. More recently [6, 12–15] it was shown that some of these PDEs possess a finite dimensional inertial manifold, i.e., an invariant manifold that contains the attractor X. For the later equation, the connection with ODEs is no longer a mere resemblance, instead it has become a striking reality! The reason for this is that where one restricts the PDE to the inertial manifold one obtains an ODE, which we call an inertial form for the given PDE. Since an inertial manifold contains the universal attractor, this means that the long-time behavior of solutions of a PDE with an inertial manifold is completely determined by the inertial form.
Validity of a Scale Designed to Measure Beliefs in Free Will and Determinism

After hearing a lecture on free will and determinism, 58 junior and senior students volunteered to respond to a scale designed to assess an individual's position on the issue. 11 days following the administration of the scale, students were given an essay examination which asked them to specify and defend their views on free will and determinism. Two judges graded the essays independently and provided assessments of students' positions on free will and determinism as well as students' knowledge of the issue. Statistically significant correlations between position scores on the essays and responses to the Free Will-Determinism Scale provided convergent evidence for the construct validity of the scale. Students' knowledge scores were not significantly correlated with scale scores.
Customer relationship management: key components for IT success

This article is directed towards information technology (IT) and marketing managers considering implementation of a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. The goal of this article is not to provide an all‐inclusive tutorial on CRM, but rather to provide a high level insight of the fundamental principles behind CRM and critical aspects of the IT development process. The article begins with an IT manager’s introduction into the basic CRM business and marketing principles. At the heart of the article is a proposed system development lifecycle that highlights the aspects unique or critical to CRM. Finally, it concludes with some final thoughts for long‐term success. After reading this article, the reader will be mindful of the major issues needed for success and be equipped to discuss primary development matters with vendors, staff and management.
Fifty Years of Open-Heart Surgery

On May 6th, 2003, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first successful open-heart operation performed with the use of the heart-lung machine, one of the most important forms of therapy in the history of cardiac disease. On that spring day in Philadelphia, John H. Gibbon, Jr, MD, of the Jefferson University Medical Center, using total cardiopulmonary bypass for 26 minutes, closed a large secundum atrial septal defect in an 18-year-old woman. Beginning with this case, generations of cardiac surgeons have been able to operate on millions of human hearts with alacrity, efficiency, and consistency to correct complicated congenital heart defects, cardiac valve disorders in the young and old, atherosclerotic coronary artery obstructions, and large aneurysms of the thoracic aorta. Until 1953, cardiac surgery was in its infancy and was more of a curiosity, except for treatment of rheumatic mitral stenosis, beginning in 1923 with Cutler’s successful case of a closed mitral commissurotomy with a tenotomy knife at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston.1 The only successful heart operations done before 1953 were closed techniques for mitral stenosis,2 a few clinical experiments in 1952 with “open” heart by deep hypothermic arrest by John Lewis at the University of Minnesota,3 and the “blue-baby” operations of the 1940s and 1950s.4 It is not a fluke that John Gibbon was the first to do this procedure. He had studied and worked tirelessly on this project for 23 years before the first successful application. Dr Gibbon, who would have also celebrated his one-hundredth birthday in 2003, was a medical student at Jefferson and finished his residency in surgery at the Pennsylvania Hospital in the late 1920s. In 1930, he obtained a research fellowship with Dr Edward Churchill, the Chief of Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. On …
Using polymers to control substrate, ligand, or catalyst solubility

The attributes and design of soluble polymer supports for catalysis and synthesis are discussed. By manipulating polymer structure, polymer supports can be prepared so that the solubility of an attached reagent, substrate, or ligand is affected by heating, cooling, pH, or solvent identity. Supports with such engineered solubility are useful both in organic synthesis and catalysis. They can be used as purification handles in organic synthesis as a way to recover catalysts, as a way to turn reactions on or off, and more generally, as a handle for separations.
Sinkage and slippage estimation for an articulated vehicle

This paper describes an approach to estimating in real-time the degree to which an articulated robotic vehicle is undergoing wheel slip and/or sinkage in soft terrain. Robotic vehicles generally have hazard avoidance sensors which measure the shape of the sensible surface, and these can be used to predict what the articulation pose of the vehicle will be as it moves over the surface. An articulated vehicle (one with three or more wheels on each side) can directly measure the shape of the loadbearing surface by combining inclination and articulation sensing. Delays between the actual articulations and the expectations can be explained by wheel slippage. Differences between the expectation and the actual articulations can be explained by sinkage below the sensed surface. If one assumes that successive wheels on each side follow the same profile as the front wheel (sinking the same amount, if any, into the soil), then it is possible to estimate sinkage and slippage separately. A Maximum-A-Posteriori estimation procedure formalizing this heuristic approach is developed and simulated, and the results presented and discussed.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
“Theories of responsibility”: The social construction of intentions in mediation

Drawing on Anscombe's (1960) description of intention as a language game, this article explores the negotiation of “theories of responsibility” (O'Barr & Conley, 1985) in informal legal narratives. Using examples of conversation drawn from a mediation session, I show how intentions, as discursive formations, are central not only to both narrative structure and interaction sequences but to the politics of subject position in discourse as well; the management of subject position is discussed in terms of critical coherence points—locations in the discourse from which intentions are conjointly constructed and contested.
Acute haloperidol administration induces depolarization block of nigral dopamine neurons in rats after partial dopamine lesions.

Abstract The effects of the antipsychotic drug haloperidol (HAL) on the electrophysiological activity of dopamine (DA)-containing cells in the substantia nigra was assessed in rats 6 weeks after partial 6-hydroxy-dopamine (6-OHDA)-induced lesions of the nigrostriatal DA pathway. Depleting 75% or more of striatal DA altered the response of DA neurons to acute HAL administration. Whereas acute HAL administration generally accelerates DA neuron firing in control rats, similar HAL doses given to lesioned rats not only increased firing rate but induced depolarization block of DA neuron spike generation similar to that resulting from chronic neuroleptic administration. In contrast, acute administration of doses of HAL up to lethal levels typically could not induce depolarization block of DA neurons in non-lesioned rats. This preparation thus could be an effective model for investigating the exacerbation of behavioral deficits produced by an increased demand placed upon a compromised DA system, as may occur in Parkinson's disease or with antipsychotic drug treatment.
Improving aggregated channel performance through decentralized channel monitoring

Aggregating low-speed WAN links into a higher-speed logical link promises to improve data-transfer rates to collaborating communities of wireless mobile multihomed devices. Such bandwidth aggregation systems must adapt to link dynamics as the number of links and the channel conditions vary with time due to mobility, power dissipation, and channel interference. A monitoring architecture that accurately measures the link dynamics and promptly feeds this information to the system is vital to realize significant bandwidth aggregation performance gains. In this paper we present various architectural design alternatives for such a monitoring system, and evaluate them using both analysis and simulation. We show that a properly-designed monitoring system can accurately measure and quickly respond to changes in communication link performance while minimizing the control overhead.
Contact of rough surfaces with asymmetric distribution of asperity heights

The Greenwood and Williamson (GW) statistical approach of characterizing rough sur-faces is extended to include asymmetric distribution of asperity heights using the Weibulldistribution. A key parameter that is used to characterize asymmetry is the skewness, andthe corresponding Weibull parameters are investigated for a range of practical skewnessvalues. The Weibull distribution is then adopted to model the asperity heights, and oncenormalized, is used to calculate the contact load, real area of contact and number ofcontacting asperities using the CEB elastic-plastic model of an equivalent rough surfacein contact with a smooth plane. The effect of skewness on different levels of surfaceroughness, ranging from very smooth surfaces encountered in microtribological applica-tions to rougher surfaces encountered in macrotribological applications is investigated,and also compared to the symmetric Gaussian case. Also, to allow for closed-form solu-tion of the contact equations, simpler exponential distributions are curved-ﬁtted to thecontact side of the Weibull distribution, and the analytical results are favorably comparedwith the numerical results using the Weibull distribution. @DOI: 10.1115/1.1403458#
Etiology and Family History of Pediatric Cardiomyopathy: The Early Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry (PCMR) Experience • 125

Etiology and Family History of Pediatric Cardiomyopathy: The Early Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry (PCMR) Experience • 125
Supporting Self-Regulated Learning Processes in Adolescents: An Examination of Teaching Methods Used on Outdoor Adventure Expeditions

Self-regulation (SR) is essential to the healthy development of youth (Dahl, & Conway, 2009; Gestsdottir & Lerner, 2007) and is a key factor in their academic achievement, motivation, and lifelong learning (Dignath, Buettner & Langfeldt, 2008). Self-regulated learners are those individuals who intentionally and adaptively direct their emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, by planning, monitoring, and evaluating their efforts to reach self-determined goals. Self-regulation presents a substantial challenge for many adolescents, as they are experiencing significant changes in their neural and cognitive development that affect how SR strategies are processed and employed (Steinberg, 2005). As a result, many adolescents choose maladaptive SR strategies resulting in decreased learning motivation (Cleary, Zimmerman, & Keating 2006).
World Bank Funding and Health Care Sector Performance in Central and Eastern Europe

This article looks at the impact of World Bank funding on health care sector performance in Central and Eastern European countries. The World Bank has been one of few organizations involved in health care sector assistance in these nations during the transition period, mainly through funds disbursement. This article tests hypotheses that those countries that perform better economically, that are more favorably evaluated by the World Bank, and that have more effective institutions are also more likely to benefit from World Bank assistance, through improvements in the performance of their health care sectors.
Myelin synthesis in peripheral nerve in vitro: sulphatide incorporation requires a transport lipoprotein.

— Sciatic nerves from 18-day-old chick embryos incorporated 35SO4 into myelin sulphatide in vitro. Sulphatide in a microsomal subfraction of the nerve was rapidly labelled with 35SO4, and a lipoprotein fraction in the nerve served to transfer the [35S]sulphatide from the microsomal subfraction to myelin. Puromycin and cycloheximide inhibited the incorporation of [35S]sulphatide into myelin after a lag period of about 2 h. These agents did not alter the rate of appearance of [35S]sulphatide in the microsomal subfraction, and did not diminish the capacity of myelin to take up [35S]sulphatide from the lipoprotein fraction; instead, they appeared to interfere with the incorporation of [35S]sulphatide into myelin by decreasing the available pool of the transport lipoprotein. Partial characterization of the [35S]labelled lipoprotein fraction indicated that it had a density of 1.06–1.08. The lipoprotein was highly aggregated, but, after incubation with SDS and mercaptoethanol, it was dissociated into sulphatide-containing micelles and proteins.
Laser Doppler velocity bias in separated turbulent flows

Velocity bias effects on data obtained with a coincident two channel laser Doppler velocimeter in a highly turbulent separated supersonic flow are presented. Probability distributions of the fluctuating velocities were distorted by velocity bias in a manner consistent with theory and a two-dimensional velocity inverse weighting function bias correction produced reasonable appearing velocity probability distributions. The addition of an approximate correction term to account for the effects of the unmeasured third velocity component improved these results but had little effect on the velocity statistics. Experimental factors that could partially compensate or falsely add to the velocity bias, conditions for the bias to occur, and conditions for which the bias may also be observed and corrected for are discussed.
Hidden Profiles: A Brief History

In 1985, we challenged the idea that group decisions are more informed than individual decisions (Stasser & Titus, 1985). This idea had, and still has, intuitive appeal. After all, group discussion allows members to pool their disparate knowledge about decision alternatives. Thus, Jack and Jill considering which route to take up the hill can combine their knowledge of the obstacles and dangers of the various routes. Assuming that each knows some things that the other does not, their collective decision should be more informed than a decision make by either alone. Of course, this advantage to collective choice presupposes that Jill and Jack actually exchange their unique knowledge and that Jack listens to Jill and Jill listens to Jack. But why should they not listen to each other if they both want to get up the hill as safely? Seems reasonable, but our findings suggest that Jack and Jill would choose the route that was favored by their common knowledge-that is, the information they both knew before discussing the issue. Moreover, this common knowledge solution would likely persist even when their combined or collective knowledge clearly favored another route. Because Stasser and Titus (1985) falls in the category of an "overlooked gem," we do not assume here that the findings are widely known. The study has attracted the attention of some, primarily those interested in team performance and group process, but probably is not common knowledge among the readership of Psychological Inquity. Thus, we describe the study and results in sufficient detail to set the stage for other points that this article addresses. Those other points address two questions. First, how did we have the insight or, perhaps more aptly, the luck to explore the impact of common and unique knowledge on group decisions? A related question that we have often pondered in retrospect is "Why didn't someone else do it before we did?" Unfortunately, we cannot answer this related question, but hindsight suggests that it was a study waiting to be done. The second question that we address is, "What other empirical and theoretical work has been spawned or inspired by this study?" Unfortunately, our answer to the second question must be brief and selective, omitting too much notable and sophisticated work by others. Hopefully, our answer, like a good book review, albeit not telling the whole story, will entice the reader to read more. For those wanting to read more, we suggest two recent chapters: Stasser (1999) and Stasser and Birchmeier (2003).
Statistical pattern recognition for Structural Health Monitoring using time series modeling: Theory and experimental verifications

Statistical pattern recognition methodologies have gained considerable attention for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) applications to detect changes in a structure (e.g. damage). For most of such applications, outlier analysis of the damage sensitive features obtained from the SHM data is used to detect the changes in the structure. There are a number of different approaches used by different research groups and it is widely accepted that success of a certain methodology may depend on the structure and/or structural change to be identified. Therefore, it is very important that promising methodologies are verified by using different test structures and damage cases. The main objective of this study is to investigate statistical pattern recognition methods in the context of SHM using different laboratory structures. Time series modeling, i.e. auto-regressive models, is used in conjunction with Mahalanobis distance-based outlier detection algorithms to identify different types of structural changes on different test structures. Similar approaches were reported in the literature but here the methodology is modified by using random decrement functions to eliminate the effects of the exogenous input. Then a number of tests are conducted by using two different test structures in laboratory conditions in order to evaluate the results in a comparable fashion. The first test specimen is a simply supported steel beam where the second structure is a highly redundant steel grid structure. Various damage conditions are simulated by using these structures. The ambient vibration data is analyzed by using the methodology described and results are presented. Finally, the advantages and drawbacks of the methodology are discussed in the light of experimental results.
The teratogenicity of cytochalasin D and its inhibition by drug metabolism

Pregnant rats received intraperitoneal injections of cytochalasin D (CD) on gestational days 7-11. Doses of 400 micrograms/kg were only minimally and nonsignificantly teratogenic, leading to 2 exencephalic fetuses among the 111 fetuses delivered. By contrast, embryos exposed to CD in vitro on day 10 showed significant frequencies of neural tube abnormalities when exposed to CD concentrations at or above 3.1 ng/ml. These embryos also exhibited significantly decreased protein, somite counts, and crown-rump lengths. In order to understand this apparent discrepancy between the teratogenicity of CD in vivo and in vitro we performed experiments to determine whether drug metabolism could inhibit the teratogenicity in vitro. Male rats were pretreated with a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls as cytochrome P-450 inducers, and their livers were used to prepare a microsome-rich fraction (S-9). This S-9 fraction, plus a source of reducing equivalents (NADPH), significantly inhibited the teratogenicity of CD. The teratogenicity was restored by the omission of NADPH, and was partially restored with the addition of carbon monoxide. These results led us to conclude that the teratogenic effect of CD can be inhibited by drug metabolism in vitro; additionally, it is likely that some or all of this drug metabolism may depend on cytochrome P-450. We further speculate that CD may be inactivated in vivo by these same systems, explaining the discrepancy between the teratogenicity of CD in vivo and in vitro.
Seizures in experimental porphyria.

WE report work which represents the first experimental model for neurological effects observed in acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), a genetically determined disorder, clinically characterized by gastrointestinal, neurological and psychotic signs. Increased urinary excretion of the porphyrin precursors delta-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) and porphobilinogen (PBG) is found in overt as well as in most of the latent asymptomatic cases. Severe, often fatal, attacks may be precipitated or aggravated by certain drugs, especially barbiturates. The mechanisms responsible for the clinical signs in AIP, all of which seem to be on a neurogenic basis, are totally unknown1,2; the risk involved by the use of drugs precludes clinical studies on the possible factors involved until more information can be derived from experimental models. Chemical manifestations, similar to those of the human disorder—that is, increased synthesis and excretion of porphyrins and their precursors—can be produced in laboratory animals by the use of certain drugs. No clear-cut neurological abnormalities, however, have been described in experimental porphyria2.
Variation in elective primary cesarean delivery by patient and hospital factors.

Abstract Objective: Our purpose was to describe variation in elective primary cesarean rates by nonclinical factors. Study Design: With use of California discharge data and American Hospital Association data for 1995, patients were classified into 13 mutually exclusive categories for elective primary cesarean delivery. With use of recursive partitioning algorithms, women in each category were then studied to determine whether nonclinical factors were associated with elective primary cesarean delivery. Results: A total of 463,196 women were delivered at 288 hospitals, and the elective primary cesarean delivery rate was 4.25% (19,664/463,196). Risk for elective primary cesarean delivery varied by clinical condition. The most discriminant risk factors were hospital type (malpresentation, multiple gestation, macrosomia, other hypertension), maternal age (antepartum bleeding, uterine scar, soft tissue disorder, preterm, unspecified), and teaching status (herpes, severe hypertension, unengaged head). Conclusion: This article presents methods that use administrative data to isolate and monitor the impact of nonclinical factors on the use of elective primary cesarean. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:1521-34.)
The economic impact of esophageal variceal hemorrhage: Cost-effectiveness implications of endoscopic therapy

Esophageal variceal hemorrhage (EVH) is a serious and expensive sequela of chronic liver disease, leading to increased utilization of resources. Today, endoscopic sclerotherapy (ES) and endoscopic ligation (EL) are the accepted, community standards of endoscopic treatment of patients with EVH. However, there are no published studies comparing the economic costs of treating EVH using these interventions. As part of a prospective, randomized trial comparing ES and EL for the treatment of EVH, we estimated the direct costs of health care utilization and cost-effectiveness for the prevention of variceal rebleeding and patient survival at 1-year follow-up. Treatment groups were similar in incidence of variceal rebleeding (41.9% vs. 42.9%), variceal obliteration (41.9% vs. 40.0%), hospital days, blood transfusions, shunt requirements, and survival (71.0% vs. 60.0%). There were significantly more treatment failures for active bleeding using EL (42% vs. 0%; P = .027) and esophageal stricture formation in the ES-treated patients (19.4% vs. 2.9%; P = 0.03). Median total direct cost outcomes were similar between groups (EL = $9,696 and ES = $13,197; P = .46). EL and ES had similar cost/variceal rebleeding prevented ($28,678 vs. $29,093) and cost/survival ($27,313 vs. $23,804). In the subgroup of active bleeders, ES had a substantially lower cost/survival ($28,523 vs. $51,696). We conclude that resource utilization was similar between treatment groups and that the choice of endoscopic therapy for EVH must still rely on clinical grounds. Further studies comparing costs and resource utilization in this patient population are needed.
An analysis of quantile measures of kurtosis: center and tails

The consequences of substituting the denominator Q3(p) − Q1(p) by Q2 − Q1(p) in Groeneveld’s class of quantile measures of kurtosis (γ2(p)) for symmetric distributions, are explored using the symmetric influence function. The relationship between the measure γ2(p) and the alternative class of kurtosis measures κ2(p) is derived together with the relationship between their influence functions. The Laplace, Logistic, symmetric Two-sided Power, Tukey and Beta distributions are considered in the examples in order to discuss the results obtained pertaining to unimodal, heavy tailed, bounded domain and U-shaped distributions.
EFFECTS OF THE HERBICIDE ATRAZINE ON AMBYSTOMA TIGRINUM METAMORPHOSIS : DURATION, LARVAL GROWTH, AND HORMONAL RESPONSE

ABSTRACT We exposed larval tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) reared in the laboratory from eggs collected from a prairie wetland in North Dakota to three concentrations of atrazine (0, 75, and 250 mg/L) in a static renewal test to determine the pesticide's effect on (1) plasma corticosterone and thyroxine concentrations, (2) larval size, and (3) days‐to‐stage at stages 2 and 4 of metamorphic climax. We found significant effects of atrazine on each of these response variables. Plasma thyrox‐ine was elevated in both atrazine‐exposed groups compared with the control group; plasma corticosterone was depressed in the 75 mg/L treatment compared with both the control and 250 mg/L treatment. Larvae exposed to 75 mg/L atrazine reached stage 4 later but at a size and weight comparable to the control group. By contrast, larvae in the 250 mg/L treatment progressed to stage 4 at the same time but at a smaller size and lower weight than larvae in the control group. These results indicate that the herbicide has the...
The rapid inhibition of urokinase by plasma from pregnant women at risk for abruptio placenta.

Abstract Rapid inhibition of urokinase in plasma obtained from women in the third trimester of pregnancy was assessed by the addition of 75 IU urokinase per ml plasma, and measurement of residual urokinase activity with PyroGlu-Gly-Arg-pNA after 5 minutes incubation at 37°C. The urokinase inhibitory capacity was markedly increased for the pregnant women compared to non-pregnant controls. Alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha2-macroglobulin and alpha2-antiplasmin did not account for the activity. Inhibition was higher for women with multiple gestations or macrosomia (n = 11) compared to normal pregnant women (n - 35) suggesting that the placenta contributes significantly to the measured activity. Inhibition was lower for women with hypertension (n = 33) compared to the normal pregnant women. Although the etiology for this difference is unclear, the decreased inhibitory activity may contribute to the increased risk for placental abruption that is observed for this group of women.