cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A classifier based on the artificial neural network approach for cardiologic auscultation in pediatrics

Objective:: This research work was aimed at developing a reliable screening device for diagnosis of heart murmurs in pediatrics. This is a significant problem in pediatric cardiology because of the high rate of incidence of heart murmurs in this population (reportedly 77-95%), of which only a small fraction arises from congenital heart disease. The screening devices currently available (e.g. chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, etc.) suffer from poor sensitivity and specificity in detecting congenital heart disease. Thus, patients with heart murmurs today are frequently assessed by consultation as well with advanced imaging techniques. The most prominent among these is echocardiography. However, echocardiography is expensive and is usually only available in healthcare centers in major cities. Thus, for patients being evaluated with a heart murmur, developing a more accurate screening device is vital to efforts in reducing health care costs. Methods and material:: The data set was collected from incoming pediatrics at the cardiology clinic of The Children's Hospital (Denver, Colorado), on whom echocardiography had been performed to identify congenital heart disease. Recordings of approximately 10-15s duration were made at 44,100Hz and the average record length was approximately 60,000 points. The best three cycles with respect to signal quality sounds were extracted from the original recording. The resulting data comprised 241 examples, of which 88 were examples of innocent murmurs and 153 were examples of pathological murmurs. The selected phonocardiograms were subject to the digital signal processing (DSP) technique of fast Fourier transform (FFT) to extract the energy spectrum in frequency domain. The spectral range was 0-300Hz at a resolution of 1Hz. The processed signals were used to develop statistical classifiers and a classifier based on our in-house artificial neural network (ANN) software. For the latter, we also tried enhancements to the basic ANN scheme. These included a method for setting the decision-threshold and a scheme for consensus-based decision by a committee of experts. Results:: Of the different classifiers tested, the ANN-based classifier performed the best. With this classifier, we were able to achieve classification accuracy of 83% sensitivity and 90% specificity in discriminating between innocent and pathological heart murmurs. For the problem of discrimination between innocent murmurs and murmurs of the ventricular septal defect (VSD), the accuracy was higher, with sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 93%. Conclusions:: An ANN-based approach for detection and identification of congenital heart disease in pediatrics from heart murmurs can result in an accurate screening device. Considering that only a simple feature set was used for classification, the results are very encouraging and point out the need for further development using improved feature set with more potent diagnostic variables.
Resonance transduction of low level periodic signals by an enzyme: an oscillatory activation barrier model

The overall rate of an enzyme catalyzed reaction is determined by the activation barrier of a rate-limiting step. If the barrier is oscillatory due to the intrinsic properties of a fluctuating enzyme, this enzymatic reaction will be influenced by a low level periodic electric field through the resonance transduction between the applied field and the oscillatory activation barrier. The ATP hydrolysis activity of a highly purified, detergent solubilized Ecto-ATPase from chicken oviduct was used to test the above concept. At 37 degrees C, this activity (1,800 mumols mg-1 min-1) was stimulated up to 47% (to 2,650 mumols mg-1 min-1) by an alternating electric field (AC), with a frequency window at 10 kHz. The maximal stimulation occurred at 5.0 V (peak-to-peak) cm-1. The potential drop across the dimension of the enzyme was approximately 10 microV (micelle diameter 20 nm). The activation barrier, or the Arrhenius activation energy, of the ATP splitting was measured to be 30 kT and the maximal barrier oscillation was calculated to be approximately 2.5 kT according to the oscillatory activation barrier (OAB) model. With the optimal AC field, full impact of the electric stimulation could be effected in much less than a second. The OAB model is many orders of magnitude more sensitive for deciphering low level periodic signals than the electroconformational coupling (ECC) model, although the latter has the ability to actively transduce energy while the former does not.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The American print news media 'construction' of five natural disasters.

In 1985, five international 'natural' disasters received prominent print news media coverage in the United States. Content analyses of selected print news media accounts of these five disasters were conducted. The purported evidence of alleged cause-effect relationships describing and explaining these disasters as 'objective' realities was evaluated in the light of the subjective selection of explanatory factors, themes, frameworks, and value assumptions which underlie the media's analysis and 'construction' of these events as 'natural' disasters. Analysis of the American print news media coverage of these disasters indicated an emphasis upon the dramatic, descriptive, climatological or geological qualities of these events rather than upon causal explanations emphasizing the role of human acts or omissions in the development of these disasters. The print news media 'constructed' these events as 'natural' disasters despite clear evidence of their hybrid, natural-human origins. Language: en
The Reliabilist Theory of Rational Belief

s from the time at which a fact holds. Let/" refer to the state of af fairs that remains when all of the particular times involved in fact / are omitted. If no such times are involved then/* is identical to/. Thus where fx is the fact that the cat is on the mat at noon, New Year's Day, 1984, /,* is the state of affairs of the cat being on the mat. Where/, is the fact that Riley went to sea at noon, New Year's Day, 1984, while the cat was on the mat, /,* is the state of affairs of Riley's going to sea while the cat was on the mat. The needed analysis requires that one of the causes (or sustainers) of S's belief that be a fact (call it f) such that, on most occasions /, if the tem porally abstracted version of /held at /, then the temporally abstracted ver sion of would too: RC2: There is a cause (or sustainer) / of S's belief that p, and at most times t, the following condition holds: /* at f -> p* at t. When
On the general characteristics of 2D optimal obstacle-field guidance solution

This paper presents a computational framework of partitioning a dynamical system's free space in a way such that global optimality can be guaranteed by composing control policies over a local region. Unlike traditional triangulation methods, the partition method in this paper takes into account the topological layout, as well as the vehicle dynamics. With this framework, we show that spatial, dynamic behavior governed by optimality has an underlying structure, which reflect the spatio-dynamic dependency. This structure provides a basis for abstraction which is useful for the type of high level planning and reasoning that is needed for autonomous vehicle guidance. In this paper we focuses on a Dubins' vehicle motion model. Such a model is adequate for aircraft operating at a constant speed. Although restrictive, the insights and conclusions about this kind of vehicle can serve as basis for investigating more general systems.
SmartClick: An enabler for human-centered wireless Web service

Recently wireless Web services have been rapidly growing as a new way of information service. As the wireless Internet access grows, so do e-commerce opportunities through the wireless Web services. Wireless Internet access has inherent limitations since most handheld devices have much less display and means of operations. This imposes a particular problem to the design of mobile information services in terms of information and service navigation. In this paper, a novel approach called SmartClick is presented to achieve user-centered wireless Web services. SmartClick enables users to explicitly express their intentions or preferences with minimal clicks (user interaction). SmartClick with a middleware support provides users a way to get the desired Web contents more efficiently and easily.
Sound scattering by a spherical object near a hard flat bottom

We consider the scattering of plane acoustic waves by spherical objects near a plane hard surface. The angles of incidence are arbitrary and so are the distances of the objects from the hard boundary. We use the method of images. The final result for the sound field consists of four parts: the incident field and its reflection from the boundary, which are shown combined; the scattered field from the sphere, and that scattered by its image. These last two appear coupled since both sphere and image are repeatedly interacting with each other. The entire solution is referred to the center of the real sphere. This can be accomplished in an exact fashion by means of the addition theorems for spherical wave-functions. These theorems are taken from the atomic physics literature, where they are more frequently used. The required coupling coefficients, b/sub mn/, are obtained from the solution of an infinite linear complex system of transcendental equations with coefficients given by series. The system is suitably truncated to obtain numerical predictions for the form-functions by means of the Gauss-Seidel iteration method. Many calculations are displayed exhibiting the distortion that the proximity of the hard boundary causes on the free-space solution. The form-functions are graphed versus ka, for various values of the normalized separation D/spl equiv/d/a of the sphere from its image. They are also plotted versus the angle of observation, for fixed values of /spl Omega/=La and D. These plots are the exact benchmark curves against which the accuracy of approximate solutions, found by other methods, could be assessed. They could also serve to determine the distances above the bottom, beyond which the bottom effect could be neglected. This is an idealized model to predict the distorted sonar cross section of a hard spherical object near a hard flat bottom.
AqBC: a multistrategy approach for constructive induction

In order to obtain potentially interesting patterns and relations from large, distributed, heterogeneous databases, it is essential to employ an intelligent and automated KDD (Knowledge Discovery in Databases) process. One of the most important methodologies is an integration of diverse learning strategies that cooperatively performs a variety of techniques and achieves high quality knowledge. AqBC is a multistrategy knowledge discovery approach that combines supervised inductive learning and unsupervised Bayesian classification. This study investigates creating a more suitable knowledge representation space with the aid of unsupervised Bayesian classification system, AutoClass. AutoClass discovers interesting patterns from databases. Via constructive induction, these patterns modify the knowledge representation space so that the robust inductive learning system, AQ15c, learns useful concept descriptions of a taxonomy. AqBC applied to two different sample problems yields not only simple but also meaningful knowledge due to the systems that implement its parent approaches. AqBC's good performance appears to be due to its integration of reliable unsupervised Bayesian classification, constructive induction and rule induction, and not to the presence of any component alone.
The Forward P/E Ratio and Earnings Growth

Valuation theories predict a negative relation between the earnings-to-price (E/P) ratio and future earnings growth, but prior studies have produced conflicting results. Using a growth measure that incorporates loss firms, this paper shows that the negative relation exists in the long term, but not in the short term. Contrary to theoretical predictions, the results show a U-shaped relation between the forward E/P ratio and earnings risk. Compared with firms in the highest forward E/P portfolio which are inherently financially distressed, firms in the lowest forward E/P portfolio exhibit even higher incidence of loss and larger growth volatility in subsequent years. A supplementary analysis reveals a wide distribution of earnings growth in the lowest forward E/P portfolio: this portfolio includes not only star firms that generate the strongest earnings growth but also firms that report the most negative earnings growth. This paper shows that the forward E/P ratio is a stronger predictor of future growth than the conventionally used trailing E/P ratio.
A context-sensitive representation of word meanings.

This study provides a numerical representation of contextual effects on the meanings of words, constructed from the order judgments of 19 subjects concerning the word “red” in 19 sentences. Subjects judged whether or not the red object mentioned in a sentence was redder than, less red than, or could be equally as red as the red object mentioned in each of the other sentences. These judgments were well described as an interval order. This means that the red ascribed in a sentence can be represented by a real interval with judgments of equally red corresponding to overlapping intervals. Semiorder axioms were not met, indicating that the width of the interval varied from sentence to sentence. Possible ways of incorporating the result into theories of semantic memory were discussed, as well as ways of accounting for the pronounced individual differences which were observed. The research described herein was supported by the National Institute of Education under Contract HEW NIE-G-74-0007.
Workshop - putting more punch in PowerPoint

It's a PowerPoint world out there: every day, around the globe, literally millions of professionals, workers, and students alike are alternately entertained, bored, or downright assaulted by Microsoft's ubiquitous presentation manager. As the reigning gold standard, PowerPoint offers speakers a whole host of seductive special effects and prefabricated designs to make developing a presentation a snap. This, however, is precisely the problem; increasingly, speakers fall prey to the array of flashy accouterments and forget the purpose of presentation graphics: to visually enhance the speaker's message and assist the audience in retaining the information. This workshop will focus on providing information, via a variety of activities, that will enable participants to develop more visually pleasing presentations, which will, in turn, result in an improved experience for the audience, whether it be students or professional colleagues.
A new approach in exciton‐coupled circular dichroism (ECCD)—insertion of an auxiliary stereogenic center

There are cases in which exciton coupling between two chromophores does not occur because the two electric transition moments which should interact are coplanar. This is seen with cyclohexane-1,4-diols (both ee or ea) and a wide variety of 3-hydroxy carotenoids, 3-hydroxyretinoids, etc. A general approach to deal with such cases is to acylate one of the hydroxyl groups with a chiral allenic acid substituted with a suitable chromophore, e.g., CHROM-CH = C = CH-COOH. The allenic bond introduces a 90 degrees twist at the italicized central carbon so that the allenic CHROM now couples with the second chromophore. This concept of introducing an auxiliary allenic center should be of general applicability in other similar cases.
Response of spray drift from aerial applications at a forest edge to atmospheric stability

Abstract A biological pesticide was aerially applied to a hardwood forest – corn field edge in a replicated series of single spray swaths. The drift of small droplets, which remained suspended in the air after each spray swath, was monitored remotely and mapped with the University of Connecticut portable, elastic-backscatter lidar. Plumes of small droplets were tracked which drifted off after every spray swath and dispersed into the atmospheric boundary layer. Plume movement and the rate of near field plume dilution was primarily dependent on the stability of the atmosphere, which implies that concentrations in the air in adjacent areas can be partially controlled by correct timing of the spray operations. The study results support the hypothesis that widespread dispersal of a small amount of pesticide is inevitable, even in well-conducted spraying operations.
Privacy Needs When Visiting a Person With Alzheimer’s Disease: Family and Staff Expectations

Over the past decade, environmental psychologists and architects have combined efforts to create living environments that respond to the needs of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Although they have defined privacy as a significant topic, we know little about the importance of physical privacy for family visitors to long-term care facilities. This exploratory study addressed this topic through in-depth interviews with 22 family and 26 staff members of 15 long-term care facilities. Thematic analysis indicates that families attempt to achieve privacy by personalizing their relative’s living space and by maintaining territorial control over personal objects. Both families and staff members must adapt to behaviors of persons with dementia that do not meet cultural norms. The most popular places for visiting were public and semipublic spaces, even when private areas were available. Implications for researchers, facility designers, and operators are presented.
Seasonal stability of a flexible algal–cnidarian symbiosis in a highly variable temperate environment

We evaluated the seasonal stability of two algal symbiont populations in the temperate intertidal sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima on San Juan Island, Washington, where the relatively thermally tolerant dinoflagellate Symbiodinium muscatinei coexists with the less thermally tolerant chlorophyte Elliptochloris marina. Random collection of anemones along repeatedly sampled transects over four seasons and three shore heights revealed S. muscatinei to be the dominant symbiont, with E. marina mostly limited to anemones in the lower intertidal zone. At the lowest shore height sampled (+0.2 m), the proportion of E. marina was between 40% and 50% of the total symbiont population throughout the year. Symbiont distribution patterns persisted despite considerable seasonal variation in aerial exposure, temperature, irradiance, nutrients, and phytoplankton concentration, as well as a high potential for symbiont shuffling, with mixed-symbiont assemblages occurring in 51% of all anemones sampled. Symbiont density in anemones also changed little despite three- to fourfold-higher division frequencies of both symbionts during July and November. Although the intertidal zonation of these symbionts was stable over an annual period, we predict that their spatial distributions will be responsive to longer-term environmental change, and anticipate that this anemone symbiosis will be a useful and highly tractable barometer for future climate change, with this study serving as a baseline. A diverse array of shallow-water cnidarians, including sea anemones, corals, jellyfish, and hydroids, engage in endosymbioses with phototrophic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) that translocate photosynthetic products to their host. Many of these symbioses exhibit plasticity with respect to both the population density and genetic identity of the dinoflagellate partner, allowing them to exploit a wide range of conditions that vary spatially and temporally. In tropical systems, where cnidarian symbioses are particularly well studied, many hosts show depth-related differences in symbiont density and physiology, and also undergo predictable seasonal fluctuations in symbiont density and physiology that are correlated with environmental conditions (Fitt et al. 2000; Warner et al. 2002). In
The Effective Thermal Conductivity of Various Forms of Urea-Formaldehyde Foam

The thermal conductance of vertical panels was measured using the Guarded Hot Box Method in order to compare various forms of urea-formaldehyde foam used to fill the cavities of the panels. These forms included preshrunk and fitted, foamed in place, and shredded and blown. Age studies were performed on the panels with the urea- formaldehyde which was foamed in place. The conductance increased with time for these panels because of shrinkage and cracking of the foam. The panels with the shredded foam showed an increase of conductance as the density of the material decreased. Preshrunk panels that were smaller than the cavity showed the thermal conductance of the panel is dependent upon the placement of the foam. Polyethylene wrapped, preshrunk foam and shredded and blown foam showed excellent thermal insulation characteristics.
A cross-platform parallel MoM code with ScaLAPACK solver

To make the MoM code more applicable to real world problems, an efficient load-balancing MPI based parallel MoM solver is presented here. An efficient matrix filling scheme is presented to make the parallelization more convenient and efficient. The code has been successfully compiled with Windows and Linux operating systems and run on different Platforms such as DELL 1855 Cluster and HP Itanium 2 Server. Several numerical results have been presented to demonstrate the high parallel efficiency and the portability of the code.
Depressive Symptoms and Life Satisfaction Among Emerging Adults: A Comparison of High School Dropouts and Graduates

Using three waves of data (1998, 2000, 2002) on 1,325 emerging adults, we examined depressive symptoms and life satisfaction among a diverse group of high school dropouts and graduates. Emerging adults who left school without graduating were significantly more depressed and reported lower life satisfaction than graduates at the time of their expected graduation (T1), but these differences were nonsignificant 4 years later (T3). Working within an ecological developmental framework (Bronfenbrenner 1977, 1986), we found that graduation status, household composition, family general and transition specific support, peer support, and adolescent attachment styles protected against adverse mental health consequences at T1. However, only parent and peer support and attachment predicted changes in depressive symptoms and life satisfaction from T1 to T3.
Effect of Trap Design, Chemical Lure, Carbon Dioxide Release Rate, and Source of Carbon Dioxide on Efficacy of Bed Bug Monitors

ABSTRACT Bed bugs, (Cimex lectularius L.), are difficult to find because of their nocturnal and secretive behavior. In recent years, a number of monitors containing carbon dioxide (CO2), chemical lures, heat, or both, to attract bed bugs have been developed for detecting bed bugs. Ineffective trap design, lack of attraction of chemical lures, high cost of the CO2 delivery system, or insufficient CO2 release rates are some factors that limited the wide adoption of these monitors. To develop an affordable and effective monitor, we conducted a series of laboratory and field tests. Specifically, we tested a new pitfall trap design, a chemical lure mixture, different CO2 release rates, and a sugar and yeast mixture as CO2 source. Results show the new pitfall trap design was significantly more effective than Climbup insect interceptor, the most effective passive monitor available in the market for bed bugs. The experimental chemical lure mixture increased Climbup insect interceptor catch by 2.2 times. Results e...
Public Perceptions of Tobacco Biopharming

Agricultural biotechnology has had a significant impacton crop production in the United States and increasinglyin other countries as well. First-generation geneticallymodified (GM) crops improved farming efficiency withtechnologies that focused primarily on herbicide andinsect resistance. More recent applications of agricul-tural biotechnology have included GM field crops withoutput traits that create new markets.
An Investigation of the Surface Properties of (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se $_{\bf 2}$ Thin Films

(Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 alloy absorber layers with various Ga/(Ga+In) and Ag/(Ag+Cu) ratios were deposited using multisource elemental evaporation and analyzed by glancing incidence X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. All films exhibit chalcopyrite reflections in the X-ray diffraction pattern and films with 0.5 ≤ Ga/(Ga+In) ; 0.5 have additional reflections consistent with an ordered defect phase which is limited to the near-surface region of the film. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that all films studied have low (Ag+Cu)/Se and (Ag+Cu)/(Ga+In) ratios near the surface relative to the bulk composition, consistent with an ordered defect compound identified as (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)5Se8. Additionally, the near-surface region of (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se2 films contains a higher Ag/(Ag+Cu) ratio than the bulk and the Ag(In,Ga)Se2 film contains excess Ag near the surface.
Understanding the Challenger Disaster: Organizational Structure and the Design of Reliable Systems

The destruction of the space shuttle Challenger was a tremendous blow to American space policy. To what extent was this loss the result of organizational factors at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration? To discuss this question analytically, we need a theory of organizational reliability and agency behavior. Martin Landau's work on redundancy and administrative performance provides a good starting point for such an effort. Expanding on Landau's work, I formulate a more comprehensive theory of organizational reliability that incorporates both type I and type II errors. These principles are then applied in a study of NASA and its administrative behavior before and after the Challenger accident.
Exploration and evaluation of AR, MPCA and KL anomaly detection techniques to embankment dam piezometer data

In the U.S., the current practice of analyzing the structural integrity of embankment dams relies primarily on manual a posteriori analysis of instrument data by engineers, leaving much room for improvement through the application of advanced data analysis techniques. In this research, different types of anomaly detection techniques are examined in an effort to propose which data analytics are appropriate for various anomaly scenarios as well as piezometer locations. Moreover, both the parametric (Auto Regressive AR and Moving Principal Component Analysis MPCA) and nonparametric (Kullback-Leibler Divergence KL) techniques are applied in order to test if the widely-held assumptions about piezometer data, i.e., linearity between piezometer data and pool levels, as well as normally distributed piezometer data, are necessary in the anomaly detection task. In general, KL performs better than MPCA and AR, and delivers more consistent results throughout the different piezometers and anomaly scenarios. Given that KL is a nonparametric technique, the authors conclude that the prior assumptions about piezometer data do not always provide the best performance for anomaly prediction.
Describing Black-Box Medicine

Black-box medicine is a developing form of personalized medicine that uses opaque computer models based on big data to make predictions and recommendations about health decisions. Black-box medicine has significant promise to advance medicine, but also demands substantial investments. This raises the question of intellectual property incentives for development, especially patents. For patenting black-box medical algorithms, Section 101 subject-matter eligibility is an ongoing question under evolving Supreme Court precedent, but this paper questions how black-box algorithms fare when confronted with a more prosaic hurdle: Section 112. For something which is either too complex to understand or inherently fully opaque, how can a patent applicant adequately describe and enable the claimed technology? This paper concludes that Section 112 presents major -- but not insurmountable -- hurdles for patenting black-box medical algorithms.
Pharmacogenetic Testing: Application in Mental Health Prescribing

BACKGROUND: Despite extensive scholastic and professional training, medication management in psychiatry is often relegated to trial-and-error prescribing. Pharmacogenetic testing (PGT) may expedite identification of medications with maximal efficacy and minimal side effects by recognizing individual genetic variability in drug response. OBJECTIVES: This article outlines the background of PGT, explains drug metabolism, and evaluates the impact of PGT. DESIGN: A review of the literature since 2010 found 42 articles regarding PGT in clinical nursing settings on PubMed and ProQuest. RESULTS: Despite continuing rises in health care costs, new biotechnology has led to a decrease in the cost of genetic sequencing and application of PGT to practice. CONCLUSION: As PGT becomes increasingly prevalent, nurses should be knowledgeable of its purpose, possibilities, and potential limitations to provide accurate and up-to-date patient information.
Time-Resolved Carrier Dynamics in ZnO Epilayers and Nanorods

We have measured the time-resolved differential reflectivity (TRDR) signal of ZnO epilayers and nanorods as a function of temperature and excitation wavelength. Non-exponential decays are observed, and relaxation times depend strongly on excitation wavelength.
Investigating Fatigue in Marine Accident Investigations

Abstract The marine system operates around the clock, by mariners who often live on the vessels they operate, sleeping in what can be a noisy, dynamic, and stressful environment. On occasion, fatigue adversely affects mariner performance and an accident results. Fatigue degrades a person's cognitive skills by, among other effects, slowing reaction time, reducing vigilance, and adversely affecting decision making, all skills necessary for effective navigation and system diagnosis. Research has shown that people need about 8 hours of sleep a day, and receiving less than that can lead to fatigue-degraded performance. Fatigue results from factors that shorten or interrupt sleep, such as working during times when one would otherwise sleep, which can disrupt circadian sleep rhythms. Other causes of fatigue include medical conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, prescribed and over the counter medications, and extended time remaining awake. Accident investigations have linked mariner errors to their fatigue, but investigators have used different measures to determine fatigue and its relationship to accident causation. This paper proposes a systematic method to determine whether fatigue adversely affected mariner performance in an accident. An investigation of a marine accident, in which the operator's fatigue was caused by a medical condition and disrupted circadian rhythms, illustrates how the method can be applied.
Remittance behavior among Salvadoran and Filipino immigrants in Los Angeles.

This study examines the practice of sending money to family members in their home countries (remittance behavior) among Filipinos and Salvadorans living and working in the United States. These subpopulations are among the largest and fastest-growing groups of Asian and Latin American immigrants to the US. Data were obtained from the 1991 Los Angeles Community Survey of 238 Filipinos and 383 Salvadorans concentrated in specific tracts. Among this population 445 families sent remittances in the year preceding the survey. It is hypothesized that the decision to remit and the amount sent are influenced by individual and income characteristics the motivation to migrate personal investments in the US and family obligations in the US and the country of origin. Findings from logistic models indicate that there were no differences between Filipinos and Salvadorans in the decision to remit. There were significant differences in the amount of money sent. After controlling for individual characteristics findings indicate that Salvadorans sent significantly more money in remittances than Filipinos. Findings confirm that earnings effected remittance behavior. Motivations affected the amount of money sent. Greater investments in the US were related to reduced remittances. Family obligations affected remittance behavior. Households with younger or older respondents were more likely to send remittances. Amounts remitted followed an inverted U-shaped pattern that peaked at 38.8 years. Years of education in the home country and in the US and English language skills were unrelated to remittances. Hours worked on the previous job among unemployed immigrants affected the decision to remit and the amount remitted. Among those currently employed the number of hours of work was unrelated to remittances. Age family income having studied English in the US and living alone were stronger explanatory variables for Filipinos remittance behavior. Different factors explained the decision to remit and the amount remitted.
Drop Retention Force as a Function of Resting Time

The force, f, required to slide a drop on a surface is shown to be a growing function of the time, t, that the drop waited resting on the surface prior to the commencement of sliding. In this first report on the resting time effect, we demonstrate the existence of this phenomenon in different systems, which suggests that this phenomenon is general. We show that df/dt is never negative. The shorter the resting times, the higher df/dt is. As the resting time increases, df/dt decreases toward zero (plateau) as t → ∞. The increase in the force, Δf, due to the resting time effect (i.e., f(t → ∞) – f(t → 0)) correlates well with the vertical component of the liquid−vapor surface tension, and we attribute this phenomenon to the corrugation of the surface by the drop due to this unsatisfied normal component of Youngʼs equation.
Radiometric Performance of the Calibration Demonstration System Infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometer

We present the measured radiometric performance of the infrared calibration demonstration system, a laboratory testbed designed to meet the demanding absolute accuracy requirements of future climate benchmark missions.
Bronchiectasis complicated by the presence of Monosporium apiospermum and Aspergillus fumigatus.

Monosporium apiospermum was repeatedly isolated from the sputum and intracavitary exudate of a man with cavitary bronchiectasis of undetermined etiology. Clinical findings suggestive of tuberculosis were present in this and two of four other cases previously reported. Aspergillus fumigatus was also found in the lungs at autopsy. Although the pathogenicity of Aspergillus is well established, the potential of M. apiospermum to produce pulmonary lesions in man remains to be determined.
Manufacture of the active soybean beverage

To study the manufacture of the active soybean beverage. The active soybean juice was produced with high quality soybean as main materials via a serial process of sprout, quassation, lixiviation and filtration. The optimum process conditions of the proportion of materials was determined through orthogonal test: soybean sprouted for 10 d in 12 ℃ and lixiliated for 1.5 h in 55～65 ℃. The active soybean beverage can be obtained by hydrolyzed technology of biological enzyme with character of abundant nutrition.
Analysis on epidemiological characteristics of hand-food-and-mouth disease in Xinji County from 2010 to 2012

Objective To explore the epidemiological features of hand-food-and-mouth disease( HFMD) in Xinji,so as to provide more scientific and rational basis for government decision-making. Methods Epidemic data of HFMD were analyzed in Xinji County from 2010 to 2012. Results A total of 1 631 cases of HFMD were reported in Xinji County from 2010 to 2012,including 9 severe cases and no death case. The average annual rate was 86. 21 /105. The incidence rate of 2010,2011 and 2012 was 101. 51 /105,99. 85 /105 and56. 96 /105,respectively. HFMD cases were reported in 15 towns. The annual incidence rate was 105. 96 /105in male,66. 40 in female( P 0. 01),1 084. 30 /105 in people who were younger than 5 years old and 6. 73in people who were older than 5 years old( P 0. 01). Among the 1 631 patients,those attacked by the disease from May to November accounted for 88. 6% and scattered children accounted for 77. 13%. Conclusions The epidemic of HFMD is in a fall trend in Xinji County from 2010 to 2012.
The production and usage of non-decorated Etruscan roof-tiles, based on a case study at Poggio Colla

of pan and cover tile, we are able to suggest that roof-tiles from Poggio Colla were produced locally and that the industry was well-integrated with ceramic production on the site.3 We hope that these results will serve as a model for the inclusion of roof-tiles in the research design of Italian sites of all periods, and that our broad approach will illuminate the usefulness of even undecorated tile in reconstructing technology, industry and building practices.
Alzheimer's disease: nursing interventions for clients and caretakers

1. Senile dementia Alzheimer's type (SDAT), a progressive, degenerative disorder, affects tissues of the brain, causing a loss of neurons. This process results in brain atrophy, specifically in the frontal and temporal regions where integration of new information and memory retrieval occur. 2. Increasing age is the single most well-established risk factor for the development of SDAT (Brody, 1989). Because increasing age is the primary risk factor for the development of SDAT and because the elder population is increasing, the number of afflicted persons will probably rise (Ham, 1990). 3. The objectives of nursing interventions are to assist the client in remaining as independent as possible; to function at the highest possible cognitive, physical, emotional, and social levels; and to support the family and/or significant others in effectively carrying out their functions and goals.
A Case Study in Communication Strategies used for Pressure Ulcer Prevention in a Nursing Home with High IT Sophistication

Current strategies for improving the care of millions of elderly people living in nursing homes (NH) include the implementation of information technology (IT). Few studies exist about the implementation of NH IT although there is evidence of increasing NH IT sophistication globally. NH IT sophistication includes a measure of the maturity and diversity of IT used to support resident care, clinical support, and administration. The current paper includes a case study of 1 NH known to have high IT sophistication in the Midwestern USA. The NH was purposively selected from 185 NHs taking part in a statewide evaluation of NH IT sophistication in Missouri. This NH reported the highest IT sophistication among 185 NHs. The research aim was to explore communication strategies for evidence based pressure ulcer preventions in NH IT. Focus group and observational data were collected to assess facilitators and barriers to communicating pressure ulcer preventions.
Class Placements and Competing Priorities

Justine Finley, newly appointed principal of Northside Elementary, had been tasked with increasing her school’s grade under the state accountability system and keeping neighborhood families from choosing to enroll in the charter school down the street. The superintendent made these priorities very clear. After spending the first 3 months observing and analyzing data, Justine realized that a new model for placing students in classes could be a lever for increasing achievement scores. What Justine failed to realize was the conflict that the new model would generate among parents and teachers. This case highlights the challenges a new principal encountered when attempting to implement a change in student and teacher placement procedures amid competing priorities.
A re-evaluation of thermal expansion measurements of metallic liquids and glasses from x-ray scattering experiments

Previous studies reported a number of anomalies when estimates of linear thermal expansion coefficients of metallic liquids and glasses from x-ray scattering experiments were compared with direct measurements of volume/length changes with temperature. In most cases, the first peak of the pair correlation function showed a contraction, while the structure factor showed an expansion, but both at rates much different from those expected from the direct volume measurements. In addition, the relationship between atomic volume and the characteristic lengths obtained from the structure factor from scattering experiments was found to have a fractional exponent instead of one equal to three, as expected from the Ehrenfest relation. This has led to the speculation that the atomic packing in liquids and glasses follow a fractal behavior. These issues are revisited in this study using more in-depth analysis of recent higher resolution data and some new ideas suggested in the literature. The main conclusion is that for metallic alloys, at least to a large extent, most of these anomalies arise from complicated interplays of the temperature dependences of the various partial structure factors, which contribute to the total intensities of the scattering peaks.
Constrictive penile band injury: anatomical and reconstructive considerations

AbstractCases of constrictive penile band injury are seen often in the emergency room, and most require only removal of the constriction and conservative management. Occasionally, patients present with long-standing constriction, necrosis of the penile tissue and urethral injury. We report 2 such cases. We believe that a thorough understanding of the penile anatomy, aggressive debridement, skin grafting and temporary urinary diversion are essential for successful management of these severe cases.
Effects of carbonation on the mineral composition of cement kiln dust

EFFECTS OF CARBONATION ON THE MINERAL COMPOSITION OF CEMENT KILN DUST By Cecilia P. Anderson Department of Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences
QSAR of Acute Toxicity of 1,4-Di-Substituted Benzene Derivatives and Relationships with the Acute Toxicity of Corresponding Mono-Substituted Benzene Derivatives

Over one hundred di-substituted benzene derivatives of the general formula 1-R-C6H4-X, where R = CI, OH, NH2, N02, and N(CH3)2, and where X is an aliphatic or aromatic group, including but not limited to X = CONH2, CI, CH2OH, CH3, OCH3, Br, CF3, CN, NO2, C6H5, OC6H5, and N=N=C6H5, were tested for acute toxicity to Photobacterium phosphoreum in the Microtox™ test. For the entire set of compounds, the observed toxicity range is close to five orders of magnitude on a molar basis. Quantitative structure-toxicity computations (QSAR) of the complete data set and the five subsets (as defined by R) show varying degrees of correlation with the octanol/water partition coefficients (log P) with the subset for R = N02 having the lowest (r2 = 0.02; n = 35) and that for r = CI having the highest (r2 = 0.35; n = 41) correlation with log P. It is also found that the observed toxicities are more highly correlated with the acute toxicities of the corresponding mono-substituted benzene derivatives of the same general formula with R = H, both for the entire set (r2 = 0.33; n = 133) and each of the subsets, particularly so for R = CI (r2 = 0.71; n = 35). After elimination of highly toxic compounds, the remaining set of 105 di-substituted benzene derivatives is significantly gorrelated with their log P and the toxicities of mono-substituted benzenes (r2 = 0.71; s = 0.34; n = 105). The results indicate a significant improvement in reliability of toxicity prediction by using the toxicity values of structurally-related compounds together with log P.
On conditionally linear filtering, control, and coding

Presented here are results for stochastic, partially observable (linear-in-unobservable state) systems with non-Gaussian initial conditions. The filtering problem is solved and applied to an optimal control, approximation, coding, and prediction.
ATR Inhibition Is a Promising Radiosensitizing Strategy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by elevated locoregional recurrence risk despite aggressive local therapies. New tumor-specific radiosensitizers are needed. We hypothesized that the ATR inhibitor, VX-970 (now known as M6620), would preferentially radiosensitize TNBC. Noncancerous breast epithelial and TNBC cell lines were investigated in clonogenic survival, cell cycle, and DNA damage signaling and repair assays. In addition, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models generated prospectively as part of a neoadjuvant chemotherapy study from either baseline tumor biopsies or surgical specimens with chemoresistant residual disease were assessed for sensitivity to fractionated radiotherapy, VX-970, or the combination. To explore potential response biomarkers, exome sequencing was assessed for germline and/or somatic alterations in homologous recombination (HR) genes and other alterations associated with ATR inhibitor sensitivity. VX-970 preferentially inhibited ATR-Chk1-CDC25a signaling, abrogated the radiotherapy-induced G2-M checkpoint, delayed resolution of DNA double-strand breaks, and reduced colony formation after radiotherapy in TNBC cells relative to normal-like breast epithelial cells. In vivo, VX-970 did not exhibit significant single-agent activity at the dose administered even in the context of genomic alterations predictive of ATR inhibitor responsiveness, but significantly sensitized TNBC PDXs to radiotherapy. Exome sequencing and functional testing demonstrated that combination therapy was effective in both HR-proficient and -deficient models. PDXs established from patients with chemoresistant TNBC were also highly radiosensitized. In conclusion, VX-970 is a tumor-specific radiosensitizer for TNBC. Patients with residual TNBC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a subset at particularly high risk of relapse, may be ideally suited for this treatment intensification strategy. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(11); 2462-72. ©2018 AACR.
Pretreatment with lower feed moisture and lower extrusion temperatures aids in the increase in the fermentable sugar yields from fine-milled Douglas-fir.

Abstract The impact of independent variables of extrusion on dependent variables of pre-milled Douglas-fir forest residuals was studied to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis for production of fermentable sugar without catalysts. Co-rotating twin screw extruder was operated with three different feedstock moisture contents (30, 40, and 50%) at four different barrel temperatures (25, 50, 100, and 150 °C) as a pretreatment. The specific mechanical energy input ranged from 0.07 and 0.30 kWh/kg and had a very strong positive correlation with torque (r = 0.96, p