cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cross-Cultural Relevance of Systemic Family Therapy and Globally Responsive Cross-Cultural Training: An Indian Case Study

Family therapy theories, as conceptualized in the Western cultural context, have been making their way to Eastern countries with the onset of globalization. In this chapter, I explore the cultural relevance of systemic family therapy theories and techniques to cross-cultural social contexts. I use the Indian cultural context as a case example and report the results of an evaluation of a family therapy training session conducted in India. The participant responses indicated that systemic theories were culturally relevant. However, some key cultural barriers were identified, for example, families not accessing mental health services due to stigma, perceptions about who can do family therapy, language barriers pertaining to literal and conceptual translation of concepts between English and the native languages, and the importance of retaining individual therapy as a treatment modality due to issues of power and hierarchy in families. Using the framework of glocalization, I argue for the need for knowledge flow to be bidirectional, with the receiving cultures being actively engaged and reciprocal in the process of knowledge transfer. Implications of the findings include the need for more trainings and supervised clinical work opportunities by indigenous trainers and the need to publish culturally adapted family therapy textbooks.
Stereoselective Synthesis of Pyrans from Epoxyalkenes: Dual Catalysis with Palladium and Brønsted Acid

We describe regio- and stereoselective cycloisomerizations of alcohols tethered to epoxyalkenes, to construct alkene-substituted pyrans. These transformations are best catalyzed by Pd(PPh3)4 in the presence of phosphite ligands, and with diphenylphosphinic acid as an essential Bronsted acid cocatalyst for activation of the epoxyalkene.
Atrial Fibrillation: Aggressive Treatment in the Postoperative Cardiothoracic Surgery Patient

Atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs in approximately 35% of patients following cardiac surgery and 10–30% of patients following thoracic surgery, depending on the patient’s underlying risk factors for AF and the type of surgery. Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is associated with numerous detrimental sequelae, including an increased risk of stroke, cardiac arrest, respiratory and renal failure, and all-cause mortality. Pre- and postoperative prophylaxis and treatment of POAF are centered around the use of beta blockers, amiodarone, and/or nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, with direct current (DC) cardioversion used as necessary in high-risk patients who develop POAF. Numerous other medications and modalities, such as biatrial pacing, have been used for POAF prophylaxis and treatment with limited success.
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for T-Cell Lymphomas in the Modern Era: A Single Center Experience

Introduction T-cell lymphomas are heterogenous group of neoplasms associated with generally unfavorable outcomes. High dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant (SCT) consolidation is a standard approach in first remission while allogeneic SCT (alloSCT) is recommended in the relapsed/refractory setting. Data on outcomes after alloSCT are limited, particularly in the era of brentuximab. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from patients (pts) with T-cell lymphomas who underwent alloSCT in our institution from 11/2010–6/2018. Patient and disease characteristics were summarized using median and range for continuous data, and frequency and percentage for categorical data. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from the day of receipt of transplant. Survival probabilities were expressed by 95% confidence limits (CI). Results Thirty-three pts received alloSCT. Median age at transplant was 57 years (range [R], 22-73). T-cell lymphoma types included: cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, n = 12; NK-T cell, n = 4; peripheral T-cell lymphoma subtypes, n = 9; angioimmunoblastic T lymphoma, n = 6; T-cell rich B-cell, n = 2. Median lines of therapy prior to alloSCT were 4 (R, 2-13), including six with prior autologous SCT. Sixteen pts were transplanted in CR1, five in CR2, and three in CR3. Pentostatin/TBI was the most common pretransplant conditioning regimen (n = 23) followed by haplo regimen of Flu/TBI/Cy (n = 4). Donor transplant sources were MRD (16), MUD (8); Haplo (4), MMUD (5). Median days to neutrophil and platelet engraftment were 12 (R, 10-19) and 13 (R, 10-30), respectively. Cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute and chronic GVHD were 24.2% and 45.4%, respectively. One-year PFS and OS probabilities were 69.5% (95% CI, 54.7- 88.4) and 87.1% (95% CI, 54.7-88.4), respectively. With a median follow up of 53 months (R, 2-97), 25 (75%) are alive and 24 are disease free. Four died from transplant related mortality (TRM) and 3 from relapse. The median time to relapse was 3.9 months [R, 2.2-12.5]). The cumulative incidence of GVHD was higher among patients who were relapse-free (71% vs 22% in relapsed pts, p=0.02). Seven of the 9 who relapsed were treated with brentuximab vedotin; of these 4 responded, including two patients who had haplo transplants. Conclusions Results from our study suggest that alloSCT in T-cell lymphomas with reduced intensity regimens are associated with overall favorable outcomes. Treatment of post-transplant relapse with brentuximab is feasible and should be explored further in long-term prospective studies.
Implementing Greenhouse Gas Emisisons Caps: A Case Study of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Our almost forty-year experiment with landmark federal environmental statutes demonstrates unequivocally that implementing grand and noble environmental goals is an arduous and difficult experience. California is now embarking on a similar project: implementing the country's most ambitious greenhouse gas emissions limitations, including rolling back the state's emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The state's leadership on climate change legislation deserves significant praise. But the hard work in actually achieving emissions limits is just beginning. This essay includes a case study of the country's largest municipally owned utility - the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) - and describes the challenges the utility will face in holding its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The case study is particularly useful to anticipate challenges utilities across the country will face if the federal government also mandates greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The DWP's energy mix, with its heavy reliance on coal, looks quite similar to the energy mix of the country as a whole (and quite different from the rest of California's electricity market). The challenges are daunting. They include shifting rapidly to renewable energy sources in the face of labor pressures to have DWP own its own sources; building miles of transmission lines to bring the renewable energy to DWP's customer base; repowering natural gas facilities while attempting to comply with stringent Clean Water Act requirements; and eliminating the utility's reliance on coal over the next two decades. These efforts will raise complex environmental and other value clashes, pitting those concerned about jobs, water pollution, species protection, and aesthetic harms against a utility admirably committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Whether and how we resolve these clashes remains an open and contested question.
How Labor Unions Increase Political Knowledge: Evidence from the United States

Labor unions have long been important political actors, mobilizing voters, shaping their members’ attitudes, and influencing representation and economic inequality. However, little is known regarding unions’ influence on political knowledge. In this paper, I argue that unions increase their members’ political knowledge through two mechanisms: direct information provision and workplace discussion of politics. I use data from recent national election surveys and a matching technique, showing that union members, particularly those with less formal education, who face higher costs in seeking out political information, are significantly more politically knowledgeable than their non-union counterparts and better informed about where political parties and candidates stand on the issues. I conclude by discussing unions’ capacity to reduce knowledge gaps and foster a more politically informed electorate.
Pump-Probe Laser Ultrasonics: Characterization of Material Microstructure

In condensed-matter physics, an ultrasonic wave is defined as a collective oscillation of atoms that compose a crystalline lattice. In this sense, ultrasonic waves are a natural choice for studying lattice imperfections, such as dislocations, point defects, grain boundaries, and nanometer-sized cracks. Many of the concepts discussed in this article are represented graphically in Figure 1.
Bats are unusually insensitive to brief low-frequency tones

Bats use brief calls for echolocation, suggesting that they might be more sensitive to brief sounds than non-echolocating mammals. To investigate this possibility, absolute thresholds for brief tones were determined for four species of bats: The Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and the Greater spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus hastatus), both of which use frequency-modulated calls, the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), an echolocator that uses tongue-clicks rather than laryngeal calls, and the Dog-faced fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis), a non-echolocating species. Norway rats and a human were tested for comparison using the same acoustic stimuli. Contrary to expectations, the echolocating bats were not superior to non-echolocating mammals in detecting brief tones in the frequency range of their echolocation calls. Instead, all four species of bats were remarkably less sensitive than non-bats to brief sounds of 10 kHz and below. This implies that temporal summation in the mammalian auditory system can show large species differences, and that the detection of brief sound is likely influenced by the selective pressures on each species as well as by the physical integration of energy in the auditory system. Such species differences in function are expected to be reflected in the physiology of their auditory systems.
A content validity evaluation of the PEDI-CAT Speedy Mobility domain.

Objective: To evaluate the content validity of the PEDI-CAT Speedy Mobility domain through analysis of item and content area exposure, score range and scoring precision.Methods: Retrospective analy...
Investigating Patterns of Study Persistence on Self-Assessment Platform of Programming Problem-Solving

A student's short-term study behavior may not necessary infer his/her long-term behavior. It is very common to see a student changes study strategy throughout a semester and adapts to learning condition. For example, a student may work very hard before the first exam but gradually reducing the effort due to several possible reasons, e.g., being overwhelmed by various course work or discouraged by increasing complexity in the subject. Consistency or differences of one student's behavior is more likely to be discovered by multiple granularity of learning analytics. In this study, we investigate students' study persistence on a self-assessment platform and explore how such a behavioral pattern is related to the performance in exams. A probabilistic mixture model trained by response streams of log data is applied to cluster students' behavior into persistence patterns, which are further categorized into "micro" (short-term) and "macro" (long-term) patterns according to the span of time being modeled. We found four types of micro persistence patterns and several macro patterns in the analysis and analyzed their relations with exam performances. The result suggests that the consistency of persistence patterns can be an important factor driving student's overall performance in the semester, and students achieving higher exam scores show relatively persistent behavior compared to students receiving lower scores.
Open Space, Transformative Education, and the Pursuit of Flourishing:

This reflective essay advances a model of transformative education based on the collaborative experiences of a professor and three students who sought greater opportunities for flourishing through ...
Examining Mothers’ Childhood Maltreatment History, Parental Reflective Functioning, and the Long-Term Effects of the Minding the Baby® Home Visiting Intervention:

Research is needed to better understand how childhood maltreatment history affects parental reflective capacities, and whether early childhood interventions help mitigate these effects. We examined associations between childhood maltreatment and current parenting (parental reflective functioning, parenting behaviors) among mothers who participated in a follow-up study (N = 97) of the Minding the Baby® (MTB) randomized control trial. MTB is a home visiting program that aims to help mothers understand their child's mental states (feelings, intentions, needs) by promoting parental reflective functioning. Mothers retrospectively reported childhood maltreatment using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Endorsing a higher number of childhood maltreatment subtypes was associated with less supportive/engaged parenting and higher pre-mentalizing modes, or difficulty with appropriately reflecting on the child's mental states. These relationships were not moderated by participation in the MTB intervention. However, exploratory analyses of individual maltreatment subtypes revealed that participation in MTB may mitigate the harmful effects of childhood emotional abuse on pre-mentalizing modes, specifically. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms through which early childhood interventions may prevent intergenerational cycles of maltreatment.
Steroids and Asthma

It is impossible to read about asthma in the 1990s without being informed that it is an inflammatory disease and that all but the mildest cases require anti-inflammatory therapy for optimal management.1 Bronchoalveolar lavage studies document the influx of inflammatory cells and the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines in bronchial washings of patients with chronic asthma.2 Biopsy specimens confirm an inflammatory cell accumulation and the destructive change to the epithelium that one would expect from this insult.3 The pathophysiology of asthma would seem to justify the use of corticosteroids for its management. A single dose of prednisone can be shown to decrease inflammatory leukotrienes while there is a concomitant increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 second.4
Hybrid manufactured dynamometer for cutting force measurement

Abstract This paper describes a two-step (additive + subtractive) hybrid manufacturing approach for a laser powder bed fusion 316L stainless steel constrained-motion cutting force dynamometer (PBF CMD). The purpose of the research is to produce a near-net shape metallic dynamometer via additive manufacturing (AM) with post-processing by machining and wire-EDM to achieve the desired surface finish and performance. A cutting force comparison is presented with a commercially-available dynamometer.
The Illiquidity Fog

This paper develops a theory of how heterogeneity in bank capital choices due to differences in beliefs about the likelihood of a future crisis state leads to partially frozen credit markets in a crisis — some banks have continued access to funding liquidity but others do not, creating an “illiquidity fog”. Interbank trading in legacy assets allows some frozen banks to sell assets to obtain funding. Consequently, there is a reallocation of access to market funding from low-capital banks to high-capital banks. There are strategic complementarities in the capital choices of high-capital and low-capital banks, leading to a “capital structure contagion”.
What do students think about their own writing? Insights for teaching new college writers

Students face multiple challenges when transitioning from high school to college writing, with new content, audiences, genres, and task expectations. Psychometric researchers have shown that self-efficacy, competency, and affective factors can help or hinder students during this transition, but little previous research examines what students themselves say about their writing and writing experiences. This study analyses the content of 248 essays from first-year composition writers who discussed their writing identities, processes, products, and journeys. Our findings show differences between writers who view themselves positively and negatively. Instructors can use this information to design meaningful prompts, utilize process writing activities, and engage students in meaningful reflection.
Pulsed Field Gradient Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Diffusion Analysis in Battery Research

Pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR) is a widely used method for determining the diffusion coefficient of ions and molecules both in the bulk and when confined (e.g., within p...
Eventually perfect failure detectors using ADD channels

We present a novel implementation of the eventually perfect failure detector (⋄P) from the original hierarchy of Chandra-Toueg oracles. Previous implementations of ⋄P have assumed models of partial synchrony where point-to-point message delay is bounded and/or communication is reliable. We show how to implement this important oracle under even weaker assumptions using Average Delayed/Dropped (ADD) channels. Briefly, all messages sent on an ADD channel are privileged or non-privileged. All non-privileged messages can be arbitrarily delayed or even dropped. For each run, however, there exists an unknown window size w, and two unknown upper-bounds d and r, where d bounds the average delay of the last w privileged messages, and r bounds the ratio of non-privileged messages to privileged messages per window.
Short Term Neonatal Starvation Altered Cholera Toxin Binding in Rabbits

Acute neonatal malnutrition alters lumenal glycoproteins as demonstrated by altered lectin binding. To determine the effect of a 72-h fast on lumenal glycolipids, specifically the monosialoganglioside GM1, we quantitated cholera toxin (CT) binding and adenylate cyclase activity. The calculated number of specific sites for CT binding to microvillus membrane (MVM) from newborn rabbits fasted for 72 h was decreased in MVM from proximal small bowel (7 +/- 0.8 x 10(8)/micrograms protein) compared to 72-h control neonatal rabbits (18 +/- 3.3 x 10(8) micrograms protein). In distal small bowel there was no difference in the calculated receptor sites/micrograms MVM protein between fasted (8 +/- 1.7 x 10(8)) and fed (11 +/- 4 x 10(8)) groups. MVM prepared from proximal small bowel of fed animals bound significantly more CT than MVM prepared from distal small bowel of fed animals. The affinity for CT was the same in all MVM preparations. Neuraminidase treatment of MVM resulted in increased CT binding in fed and fasted rabbit proximal and distal MVM preparations, but the greatest increase occurred in MVM prepared from proximal small bowel from fasted animals. There was no difference in adenylate cyclase activity in fed, fasted, and proximal or distal small bowel crude membrane preparations. Refeeding (120 h) resulted in normalization of CT binding in MVM from proximal small bowel of fasted animals. We conclude a 72-h fast in neonatal rabbits resulted in decreased regional CT binding in MVM prepared from proximal small bowel of fasted animals, but no change in adenylate cyclase activity. Refeeding reverses CT binding abnormalities.
Who is going to make the wise choice

Inspired by the American Board of Internal Medicine's Choosing Wisely® campaign, a group of housestaff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center created the Vanderbilt Choosing Wisely Steering Committee (VCWSC) to explore ways to apply the campaign's principles of high value care to daily practice. In this article, we propose that housestaff leadership is key in the implementation of high value care initiatives at academic health centers (AHCs). We then describe the formation and activities of the VCWSC in the hope that our success will inspire residents at other AHCs to create similar initiatives.
Modes of Ammonia Transport Across the Gill Epithelium of the Marine Teleost Fish Opsanus Beta

The modes of ammonia transport across the gill epithelium of the marine teleost Opsanus beta were investigated using an isolated, perfused head preparation. During perfusion for approximately 2h there was no macro- or microscopic damage to the exterior surface of the gill filaments or lamellae, no swelling of lamellae, the structural leak was only 0.3%, the afferent perfusion pressure was constant, and the transepithelial electrical potential (TEP) approximated that measured in vivo . The rate of ammonia efflux was similar to that measured in vivo , was constant for at least 80 min, and approached zero when the perfusate was nominally ammonia-free. Addition of ouabain or bumetanide to the perfusate indicated that basolateral Na+/NH4+ exchange, but not Na+/NH4+/2Cl− cotransport, was important in transbranchial ammonia transport. No evidence was found for apical Na+/NH4+ exchange. Specific increases in perfusate NH3 were nearly 100 times as effective as increases in NH4+ concentrations in stimulating ammonia efflux. Alteration of TEPs could not account for any of these effects. Calculated relative permeabilities to NH3 and NH4+ indicate that the toadfish gill s relatively permeable to NH4+ compared to the shark gill and other ‘tight’ epithelia, consistent with the general conclusion that marine teleost gills are relatively cation-‘leaky’. Computation of the relative roles of the three delimited pathways for ammonia efflux indicate that 22% is via basolateral Na+/NH4+ exchange, 57% via non-ionic diffusion of NH3 and 21% via ionic diffusion of NH4+. Comparison with other published data suggests that the relative roles of non-ionic and ionic diffusion of ammonia across epithelia may be correlated with relative ionic permeabilities.
Recent advances in efficient long-life, eye-safe solid state and CO2 lasers for laser radar applications

The key problems in the development of eye-safe solid-state lasers are discussed, taking into account the energy transfer mechanisms between the complicated energy level manifolds of the Tm, Ho, Er ion dopants in hosts with decreasing crystal fields such as YAG or YLF. Optimization of energy transfer for efficient lasing through choice of dopant concentration, power density, crystal field and temperature is addressed. The tailoring of energy transfer times to provide efficient energy extraction for short pulses used in DIAL and Doppler lidar is considered. Recent advances in Pt/SnO2 oxide catalysts and other noble metal/metal oxide combinations for CO2 lasers are discussed. Emphasis is given to the dramatic effects of small quantities of H2O vapor for increasing the activity and lifetime of Pt/SnO2 catalysts and to increased lifetime operation with rare isotope (C-12)(O-18)2 lasing mixtures.
Energy Efficient Hadoop Using Mirrored Data Block Replication Policy

MapReduce scheme has became the state of the art in parallel processing of vast amount of data in distributed systems. Hadoop, as a popular open-source implementation of this technique, makes use of data block replication mechanism to provide a reliable and fault-tolerant design. To maintain data availability, Hadoop takes into account the possibilities of node and rack failures. Hence, it stores multiple copies of each data block to ensure availability and reliability. The current data block placement policy is to randomly distribute the replicas on all servers, satisfying some constraints such as preventing storage of two replicas of a data block on a single node. Our study proposes an efficient placement policy for data block replicas, which can reduce the consumed energy in data centers. The proposed policy is built upon the covering subset (CovSet) method. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is confirmed through simulations. Also, our experiments show that the proposed method becomes more effective whenever the average number of data blocks per server increases, which corresponds to the actual conditions in practice.
JSummarizer: An automatic generator of natural language summaries for Java classes

JSummarizer is an Eclipse plug-in for automatically generating natural language summaries of Java classes. The summary is based on the stereotype of the class, which implicitly encodes the design intent of the class and is automatically inferred by JSummarizer. The tool uses a set of predefined heuristics to determine what information will be reflected in the summary, and it uses natural language processing and generation techniques to form the summary. The generated summaries can be used to re-document the code and to help developers to easier understand large and complex classes.
Analytical approximation to the queuing model: (HE3/HE3/1):(GD/∞/∞) for maintainability

Abstract A queuing model, (HE 3 /HE 3 /1):(GD/∞/∞), justified from a machine maintenance problem is investigated. This model defines both the inter-arrival times and service times as the hyperexponential distributions with three branches. This non-Poisson queing model is considered as an alternate queuing system consisting of three separate stages, each of which is a Poisson queue. Therefore, the conventional analytical approach to a Poisson queuing model can be applied. Accomplishments of this study include constructing the flow rate diagram, setting up the state balance equations for acquiring queuing statistics, and employing the Gauss-Siedel numerical approach to obtain an analytical solution.
Electrical transport properties of III-nitrides

Abstract Excellent n-type GaN layers have been grown by all of the major epitaxial techniques: MBE, MOCVD, and HVPE. In this work, we analyze the band conduction in such samples by temperature-dependent Hall-effect measurement and theory, and determine quantitative information on donor and acceptor concentrations, as well as donor activation energies. In HVPE layers it is necessary to take account of a degenerate n-type layer at the GaN/sapphire interface in order to correctly analyze the bulk material. We also investigate hopping conduction, which occurs at low temperatures in conductive material, and at both low and high temperatures in semi-insulating material. Finally, we show by analysis of electron-irradiation data that both the N vacancy and the N interstitial are electrically active, demonstrating donor and acceptor character, respectively.
FINITE-ELEMENT SIMULATION OF A HEATED THIN FLUID LAYER

This investigation deals with finite-element modeling and numerical approximation of thermocapillary effects in long-wavelength evolution of inclined heated thin liquid layers. We consider several aspects, including model development, scaling and perturbation analysis, variational formulations, finite-element approximation, and application studies. A linear stability analysis of the thermocapillary problem for the layer at small inclination angle is also developed, and its implications are explored numerically over the related parameter space.
Democracy, political instability and tropical deforestation

Abstract The alarming rate of depletion of tropical forests and the economic, social, and environmental implications are serious issues facing the world. Very prominent among the myriad factors at play is the political environment within these tropical countries. This study therefore investigates to what extent the rate of tropical deforestation is exacerbated by the democratic/non-democratic nature of the governments in power. We construct a democracy index variable for fifty-five countries across the four regions of the tropical world. The average annual deforestation from 1981–1985, is compared to the democracy index variable. We find a strong negative correlation between the level of democracy and the rate of tropical forest exploitation. The global policy implications of this finding are outlined.
Software infrastructure for the Keck II telescope

Many diverse software systems are in use on the Keck I telescope. This is mostly because software standards were low-level (e.g., choice of programming language, computer or operating system) and did not specify use of a particular software environment. Selection of directory structures, messaging systems, tasking environments and support packages was largely left up to individual development groups, although there were some successful instances of group collaborations. For the Keck II telescope, a common set of standards and tools has been agreed on, and the provision and maintenance of these tools is regarded as a group effort. These standards and tools are known as the Keck II Software Infrastructure and include EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System), the successful Keck I concept of making all system control available via keyword/value pairs, the Tcl command language, standard logging and error reporting, and common programing standards. This paper discusses some of the successes and failures of the Keck I approach and describes how the Keck II system is evolving from the Keck I system. Some examples of the use of EPICS for telescope control are given, and EPICS as a vehicle for future collaboration is considered.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Purification and Properties of NADH-Dependent 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MetF) from Escherichia coli

A K-12 strain of Escherichia coli that overproduces methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MetF) has been constructed, and the enzyme has been purified to apparent homogeneity. A plasmid specifying MetF with six histidine residues added to the C terminus has been used to purify histidine-tagged MetF to homogeneity in a single step by affinity chromatography on nickel-agarose, yielding a preparation with specific activity comparable to that of the unmodified enzyme. The native protein comprises four identical 33-kDa subunits, each of which contains a molecule of noncovalently bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). No additional cofactors or metals have been detected. The purified enzyme catalyzes the reduction of methylenetetrahydrofolate to methyltetrahydrofolate, using NADH as the reductant. Kinetic parameters have been determined at 15°C and pH 7.2 in a stopped-flow spectrophotometer; the Km for NADH is 13 μM, the Km for CH2-H4folate is 0.8 μM, and the turnover number under Vmax conditions estimated for the reaction is 1,800 mol of NADH oxidized min−1 (mol of enzyme-bound FAD)−1. NADPH also serves as a reductant, but exhibits a much higher Km. MetF also catalyzes the oxidation of methyltetrahydrofolate to methylenetetrahydrofolate in the presence of menadione, which serves as an electron acceptor. The properties of MetF from E. coli differ from those of the ferredoxin-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase isolated from the homoacetogen Clostridium formicoaceticum and more closely resemble those of the NADH-dependent enzyme from Peptostreptococcus productus and the NADPH-dependent enzymes from eukaryotes.
WE‐E‐134‐01: Preliminary Application of a Multitaper Generalized Spectrum Approach to Quantify Scatterer Nonrandomness in Breast Lesions

Purpose: The generalized spectrum (GS) has been used to quantify nonrandomness of scattering sources and to characterize breast and liver tissues. In this work, we implement a multitaper GS approach creating parametric images of GS features that describe the degree of nonrandom structure in breast lesions. Methods: This IRB‐approved, HIPAA compliant study recruited subjects who were scheduled for core biopsy of a suspicious breast mass. Subjects were scanned with a Siemens Acuson S2000 using a linear array transducer at 15MHz. Radiofrequency (RF) echo data were obtained in radial (parallel to breast lactiferous ducts) and antiradial planes. Cases (n=34) were selected based on the availability of biopsy results and a lesion size of at least 3mm in both planes. The multitaper GS was obtained by computing the correlation matrix of the Fourier transform of RF signal segments tapered by Prolate Spheroidal Sequences. Nonrandomness was quantified by parameterizing the collapsed average of the GS. A region of interest (ROI) within each lesion and each plane was defined,and the mean and standard deviation of the nonrandomness within it were computed. Results: Cases were grouped into: fibroadenoma (n=12, median diameter (MD)=7.6mm),other benign(n=11, MD=8.2mm), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (n=5, MD=6.3mm), and other malignant(n=6, MD=6.9mm). The IDC nonrandomness inter‐case median of the mean and standard deviation was 64% and 59% of the values from other lesions, and the fractional difference in the standard deviation of the nonrandomness between the radial and antiradial views for the IDC cases was 59% smaller than the values for other lesions. Conclusion: Preliminary results indicate that the spatial distribution of scatterers within IDCs is more homogeneously random compared to other lesions. However, inter‐case variability was comparable to the median values. Future work will expand the population and use beam steered acquisitions to test for anisotropy in these features. This work was supported, in part, by NIH (grants R01CA111289, R21HD061896, R21HD063031, and R01HD072077) and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico (Reg. 206414).
Statistical Significance of Ranking Paradoxes

When nonparametric statistical tests are used to rank-order a list of alternatives, Simpson-like paradoxes arise, in which the individual parts give rise to a common decision, but the aggregate of those parts gives rise to a different decision. Haunsperger (2003) and Bargagliotti (2009) showed that the Kruskal-Wallis (Kruskal and Wallis, 1952), Mann-Whitney (Mann and Whitney, 1947), and Bhapkar's V (Bhapkar, 1961) nonparametric statistical tests are subject to these types of paradoxes. We further investigate these ranking paradoxes by showing that when they occur, the differences in rankings are not statistically significant.
Evidence for the Presence of Protochlorophyllase in Etiolated Wheat Seedlings

The biosynthetic pathway to chlorophyll a (chl a) is now quite complete in terms of porphyrin intermediates (3, 8). The biosynthetic pathway to protochlorophyll a (Pchl a) is undoubtedly identical with that of chl a to the protochlorophyllide a (Pchlide a) step, however, the sequence of steps from Pchlide a to Pchl a still remains unknown (1, 9). The production of Pchl a by etiolated plants (devoid of chl a and b) can be explained most simply as an oxidation of chl a (9) or a phytylation of Pchlide a (1,9) by an esterase enzyme (e.g. protochlorophyllase). As the formation of chlorophyllide a (chlide a) requires light, the former pathway seems unlikely in etiolated plants, and the latter becomes the simplest hypothesis, namely, that an esterase catalyzes the formation of Pchl a from Pchlide a.
The Cultural Context of Infant Caregiving

(1997). The Cultural Context of Infant Caregiving. Childhood Education: Vol. 74, No. 1, pp. 2-8.
X-ray photoemission spectroscopy excitation distribution in simple metals: An expansion approach

A simple type of expansion is presented for the x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) excitation distribution of the Mahan-Nozi\`eres\char22{}de Dominicis x-ray model. No assumption about any special form of the potential is used. The exact threshold behavior for the XPS spectrum is correctly given by the lowest-order term in the expansion. The results are compared with exact numerical solutions in case of a contact potential. The agreement is good for one of the approximations presented.
DEVELOPMENT OF ICONIC AND SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION

Si~mmary.-85 children were administered a conservation proportion task in which they were to judge the relative fullness of a series of glasses in order to determine functioning at the symbolic level of representation. The results indicate that: (a) as age increases (7 to 9 yr.) the number of children functioning at the symbolic level increases, (b) a majority of 9-yr.-old children did not function at the symbolic level and, (c) the percentage of contradictory errors decreased as age increased. The recent interest of psychologists in cognitive functioning and development has given rise to a large body of theoretical propositions with a relatively limited basis of supporting empirical data. Bruner (1964) has suggested a number of theoretical constructs which, when abstracted, emerge as a theory of the process of cognitive development. One concept basic to this theory is that cognitive growth is a function of a shift from the use of enactive to iconic representation and from iconic to symbolic representation, each succeeding level being a manifestation of growth in cognitive ability. Bruner (1964, pp. 7-9) reports the results of an experiment "designed to explore the border between iconic and symbolic representation." Using 5-, 6and 7-yr.-old Ss, he found that, although there was an increase in the use of symbolic representation with age, the 7-yr.-old Ss were basically representing on the border between iconic and symbolic. The purpose of the present study was to determine the age at which a majority of children use symbolic representation in reference co a specific problem. METHOD St;b jects Ss were 85 children, 7, 8, and 9 yr. old, from the second, third, and fourth grades of the University School, Indiana University. The data were collected on a group basis within the classroom and took about 15 min. per class.
Human retroviruses after 20 years: a perspective from the past and prospects for their future control

Among viruses the human retroviruses may be of special interest to immunologists, because they target cells of the immune system, particularly mature CD4+ T cells, impair their function and cause them to grow abnormally (human T-cell leukemia virus, HTLV) or to die (human immunodeficiency virus, HIV). Human retroviruses cause disease ranging from neurological disorders and leukemias (HTLV-1) to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency virus) (HIV) and promote development of several types of malignancies (HIV). They share many common features, but their contrasts are greater, especially the far greater replication and variation of HIV associated with its greater genomic complexity. Both have evolved striking redundancy for mechanisms which promote their survival. Thus, HTLV has redundant mechanisms for promoting growth of provirus containing T cells needed for virus continuity, because it is chiefly through its cellular DNA provirus that HTLV replicates and not through production of virions. Conversely, HIV has redundancy in its mechanisms for promoting virion replication and escape from the host immune system. It is via these redundant mechanisms that they produce disease: leukemias from mechanisms promoting T-cell proliferation (HTLV-1) and AIDS from mechanisms promoting virus replication and T-cell death (HIV). The practical challenges for the future are clear. For HTLV-1, education and control of breastfeeding. For HIV, the formidable tasks now ahead in part demand new kinds of talent, talents that will foster greater insights into the development of therapy for the developing countries, new forms of less toxic therapies for all infected persons, a continued and expanded commitment to education, and a persistent 'never say die' commitment to the development of a truly preventive vaccine with all the scientific and nonscientific challenges that these objectives face.
Transcendental Eigenvalue Problem and Its Applications

The algebraic eigenvalue problem is frequently encountered when analyzing the behavior of a multi-degree-of-freedom dynamic system. The characteristic equation associated with the algebraic eigenvalue problem is a polynomial that defines the eigenvalues by its roots. Dynamics and stability of distributed parameter systems are characterized by transcendental eigenvalue problems, with transcendental characteristic equations. By the use of finite element or finite difference methods, the transcendental eigenvalue problem is transformed to an algebraic problem. Because the behavior of a finite dimensional polynomial is fundamentally different from a transcendental function, such an approach may involve an inaccurate solution, which is attributed to a discretization error. The main idea is to replace the continuous system with variable physical parameters by a continuous system with piecewise uniform properties. The matching conditions between the various parts of the continuous model are expressed as a transcendental eigenvalue problem, which is then solved by the Newton's eigenvalue iteration method. Some classical problems in structural dynamics and stability are solved to demonstrate the method and its application.
Pain Acceptance, Hope, and Optimism: Relationships to Pain and Adjustment in Patients With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

There is growing interest in the role that positive aspects of psychological adjustment, such as pain acceptance, hope, and optimism, may play in explaining adjustment in persons suffering from persistent pain. This study conducted in obese patients with persistent musculoskeletal pain (N = 89) examined the degree to which pain acceptance and hope explained pain intensity, pain unpleas- antness, psychological distress, and pain-related disability, after controlling for the effects of opti- mism. In correlational analyses, pain acceptance and optimism were associated with psychological distress and pain disability with hope being related to only psychological distress. Pain acceptance, optimism, and hope were not significantly associated with pain. Hierarchical linear regression (HLR) analyses found that pain acceptance remained a significant predictor of psychological distress and pain disability after controlling for optimism, demographic, and medical variables. HLR analyses found that hope was not a significant predictor of psychological distress after controlling for opti- mism, pain acceptance, and demographic and medical variables. The results of this study are impor- tant because they indicate that pain acceptance, hope, and optimism are all related to pain adjustment. They also highlight the importance of controlling for optimism when examining the effects of pain acceptance and hope on pain adjustment. Perspective: In a sample of obese patients with persistent musculoskeletal pain, pain acceptance was a significant predictor of psychological distress and pain disability even after controlling for op- timism, demographic, and medical variables. These results add to the growing literature on the im- portance of pain acceptance in understanding adjustment to persistent pain. a 2011 by the American Pain Society
Molecular shuttles based on motor proteins: active transport in synthetic environments

Active transport in cells, utilizing molecular motors like kinesin and myosin, provides the inspiration for the integration of active transport into synthetic devices. Hybrid devices, employing motor proteins in a synthetic environment, are the first prototypes of molecular shuttles. Here the basic characteristics of motor proteins are discussed from an engineering point of view, and the experiments aimed at incorporating motor proteins, such as myosins and kinesins, into devices are reviewed. The key problems for the construction of a molecular shuttle are: guiding the direction of motion, controlling the speed, and loading and unloading of cargo. Various techniques, relying on surface topography and chemistry as well as flow fields and electric fields, have been developed to guide the movement of molecular shuttles on surfaces. The control of ATP concentration, acting as a fuel supply, can serve as a means to control the speed of movement. The loading process requires the coupling of cargo to the shuttle, ideally by a strong and specific link. Applications of molecular shuttles can be envisioned, e.g. in the field of nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS), where scaling laws favor active transport over fluid flow, and in the bottom-up assembly of novel materials.
Analysis of blowoff dynamics from flames with stratified fueling

Abstract In some compact combustors with bluff body flame stabilization, fuel injection may be too closely coupled to permit uniform mixing. This stratification in the fuel profile can be asymmetric about the bluff body, and the flame equivalence ratio may differ across the recirculation zone. An experimental study of asymmetric fueling about a bluff body is reported in this paper with a focus on the impact of stratification on flame blowoff. In order to understand the blowoff dynamics of turbulent flames with stratified fueling, high speed chemiluminescence imaging was performed for five levels of fuel stratification through blowoff. Physical probe measurements of the local equivalence ratios were used to characterize the stratification. It was found that for overall fuel lean flames (averaged across the bluff body), fuel stratification increases the flame stability such that the overall equivalence ratio at blowoff is decreased for increased stratification. It was also found that the stronger (richer) shear layer determines the flame dynamics near blowoff. The leaner branch of the flame extinguishes earlier and the richer branch is shown to pilot the overall flame and therefore be responsible for the increase in flame stability at larger gradients. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) was applied to the high speed chemiluminescence images of the flames and used to quantitatively track the flame front dynamics through blowoff. All flames were found to exhibit Benard–von Karman vortex shedding just prior to blowoff. The POD time constants demonstrate that a strong fuel gradient decreases the time it takes for the flame to shift from its mean fully burning shape to blowoff and decreases the dwell time of the flame in the recirculation zone following local extinction. These time scales indicate a faster blowoff process with fuel stratification.
Disorder-immune confinement of light in photonic-crystal cavities

We demonstrate by finite-difference time-domain simulations in 2D and 3D that optical cavities in realistic finite photonic crystals have lifetimes and modal volumes that are essentially insensitive to disorder (of various types, including surface disorder and randomized positions), even with unphysically large disorder. A lifetime Q=108 is demonstrated in a 3D single-mode cavity with a half-wavelength mode diameter using only eight vertical periods of a disordered crystal.
Feedforward Hebbian learning with nonlinear output units: a Lyapunov approach

Abstract A Lyapunov function is constructed for the unsupervised learning equations of a large class of neural networks. These networks have a single layer of adjustable connections; units in the output layer are recurrently connected with fixed symmetric weights. The constructed function is similar in form to that derived by Cohen-Grossberg and Hopfield. Two theorems are proved regarding the location of stable equilibria in the limit of high gain transfer functions. The analysis is applied to the soft competitive learning networks of Amari and Takeuchi.