cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differences in Language Performance among High-, Average-, and Low-Anxious College Foreign Language Learners

ing motivation (22; 24; 25; 44; 47). In special education many of these at-risk FL learners are identified as having language learning disabilities (LLD), and this identification sometimes occurs only after a student has experienced repeated failures in FL courses in college (20; 35; 48). A number of explanations have been offered to account for why students have difficulties with FL as it is typically taught in school settings. Intelligence, for the most part, has been ruled out as having much significance in the determination of FL learning potential (4; 26;
Electron Capture Dissociation Studies of the Fragmentation Patterns of Doubly Protonated and Mixed Protonated-Sodiated Peptoids

The fragmentation patterns of a group of doubly protonated ([P + 2H]2+) and mixed protonated-sodiated ([P + H + Na]2+) peptide-mimicking oligomers, known as peptoids, have been studied using electron capturing dissociation (ECD) tandem mass spectrometry techniques. For all the peptoids studied, the primary backbone fragmentation occurred at the N-Cα bonds. The N-terminal fragment ions, the C-ions (protonated) and the C′-ions (sodiated) were observed universally for all the peptoids regardless of the types of charge carrier. The C-terminal ions varied depending on the type of charge carrier. The doubly protonated peptoids with at least one basic residue located at a position other than the N-terminus fragmented by producing the Z•-series of ions. In addition, most doubly protonated peptoids also produced the Y-series of ions with notable abundances. The mixed protonated-sodiated peptoids fragmented by yielding the Z•′-series of ions in addition to the C′-series. Chelation between the sodium cation and the amide groups of the peptoid chain might be an important factor that could stabilize both the N-terminal and the C-terminal fragment ions. Regardless of the types of the charge carrier, one notable fragmentation for all the peptoids was the elimination of a benzylic radical from the odd-electron positive ions of the protonated peptoids ([P + 2H]•+) and the sodiated peptoids ([P + H + Na]•+). The study showed potential utility of using the ECD technique for sequencing of peptoid libraries generated by combinatorial chemistry.
Advanced Microfabrication Techniques for Millimetre Band Cavities

microfabrication recipe involving Deep Reactive Ion Etching, Chemical Mechanical Polishing, and Silicon Direct Bonding is proposed as a way to fabricate high precision cavities for millimetre band devices. The effect of fabrication variances on device performance is predicted.
Reactions of methylene and ether bridges

The reactions of model compounds containing methylene and ether bridges were examined, in the temperature range 350–400 °C. Aromatic displacement reactions, in which atomic hydrogen displaced the bridges, and homolysis via a keto-enol intermediate were the dominant modes of bridge decomposition. The aromatic displacement reactions of methylene-bridge compounds occurred with activation energies of ≈10 kcal mol^(−1) and with A factors of 10^(10.5–12) Is^(−1) m^(−1). The A factors vary with the size of the rings and the substituents on the rings connected by the methylene bridges. The activation energy is relatively independent of these effects. When phenolic substituents are present, methylene bridges can unimolecularly decompose via a keto-enol tautomerism, and the rate of product formation is solvent-dependent. Reactions for ether bridge decomposition were more complex and the rate parameters encompassed a much larger range of values.
Antibacterial Activity of N-Pentylpantothenamide Is Due to Inhibition of Coenzyme A Synthesis

Growth inhibition by the pantothenate analog N-pentylpantothenamide (N5-Pan) has been attributed to the accumulation of acyl carrier protein carrying a prosthetic group modified by incorporation of N5-Pan. This was attributed to an inability of the AcpH acyl carrier protein phosphodiesterase to cleave the N5-Pan-modified prosthetic group from the protein moiety. We report that AcpH readily removes the N5-Pan-modified prosthetic group both in vivo and in vitro and show that N5-Pan blocks coenzyme A synthesis.
Emergent features and graphical elements: designing more effective configural displays

When performing tasks in complex, dynamic domains individuals must consider information regarding both high-level constraints (relationships among several variables, performance goals) and low-level data (the values of individual variables). Previous research has revealed mixed results concerning the effectiveness of configural displays in achieving these dual design goals. Two empirical studies were conducted to investigate these issues using a laboratory analogue of a complex, dynamic task modeled on a real-world domain. Performance with a configural display, which highlighted the low-level data, was compared with performance with a bar graph display. For the extraction of information about high-level constraints in a memory probe task, the configural display significantly increased accuracy with no cost in latency. For low-level data there were no differences in accuracy across the two display conditions, but there was a significant cost in latency with the configural display. However, this cost was de...
Decentralized Control Framework and Stability Analysis for Networked Control Systems

The combination of decentralized control and networked control where control loops are closed through a network is called decentralized networked control system (DNCS). This paper introduces a general framework that converts a generic decentralized control configuration of non-networked systems to the general setup of networked control systems (NCS). Two design methods from the literature of decentralized control for nonnetworked systems were chosen as a base for the design of a controller for the networked systems, the first being an observer-based decentralized control, while the second is the well-known Luenberger combined observer‐controller. The main idea of our design is to formulate the DNCS in the general form and then map the resulting system to the general form of the NCS. First, a method for designing decentralized observer-based controller is discussed. Second, an implementation using a network is analyzed for the two designs. Third, two methods to analyze the stability of the DNCS are also introduced. Fourth, perturbation bounds for stability of the DNCS have been derived. Finally, examples and simulation results are shown and discussed. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4028789]
IL-3 Enhances Both Presentation of Exogenous Particulate Antigen in Association with Class I Major Histocompatibility Antigen and Generation of Primary Tumor-Specific Cytolytic T Lymphocytes

Recent studies have reported that APC can present particulate exogenous Ag in the context of class I MHC to CD8+ CTL, and our laboratory demonstrated that IL-3 could enhance CTL generation to exogenous Ag. In this paper, we wished to determine whether presentation of particulate Ag could be enhanced by IL-3. A T cell hybridoma, B3Z86/90.14 (B3Z) restricted to Ova/Kb, was used as an indicator for presentation of particulate Ag with class I MHC. When activated, this hybridoma expresses lacZ, allowing a simple colorimetric measurement of Ag-specific T cell stimulation. We demonstrated that bone marrow cells stimulated by IL-3 in vivo and in vitro exhibited significantly increased presentation of exogenous OVA linked to beads. Lysate from OVA-transfected line 1 murine lung adenocarcinoma cells (line 1/OVA) was also presented by IL-3-stimulated bone marrow cells, suggesting that these APC can process tumor fragments or debris. Studies using TAP1/2-deficient mice and Ag presentation inhibitors indicate that this exogenous Ag presentation is mediated via the conventional class I MHC pathway. Adoptive transfer of IL-3-stimulated bone marrow cells pulsed with lysate from line 1/OVA tumor cells into naive recipient mice led to the generation of a potent CTL response. These observations indicate that use of such cells may provide a new avenue for development of tumor vaccines.
Initial validation of an instrument to identify barriers to self-management for persons with co-morbidities.

Objective: To develop and initially validate a questionnaire designed to assess barriers to self-management perceived by persons with multiple chronic medical conditions. We hypothesized that persons who reported increased barriers to self-management would also report lower general health status and a greater disease burden.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done of Health Maintenance Organization members aged 65 years or older with varying numbers of chronic medical conditions. On the basis of a previous qualitative investigation, we have identified 13 domains representing potential barriers to self-management. We developed questions to assess each of these domains and, for each, calculated coefficients alpha and assessed correlation of that domain with self-reported general health status and disease burden.Results: Respondents reported an average of 5.9 chronic conditions. Eight domains demonstrated acceptable internal consistency in this population. Nine of 13 domains correlated significantly in the...
Weighted Proximity Best-Joins for Information Retrieval

We consider the problem of efficiently computing weighted proximity best-joins over multiple lists, with applications in information retrieval and extraction. We are given a multi-term query, and for each query term, a list of all its matches with scores, sorted by locations. The problem is to find the overall best matchset, consisting of one match from each list, such that the combined score according to a scoring function is maximized. We study three types of functions that consider both individual match scores and proximity of match locations in scoring a matchset. We present algorithms that exploit the properties of the scoring functions in order to achieve time complexities linear in the size of the match lists. Experiments show that these algorithms greatly outperform the naive algorithm based on taking the cross product of all match lists. Finally, we extend our algorithms for an alternative problem definition applicable to information extraction, where we need to find all good matchsets in a document.
Courting discovery: Managing transition to the virtual library

Since the mid'1980s, a primary objective of the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Libraries has been to build a state‐of‐the‐art electronic library. This early development was known as the Mercury Project. A new effort is underway at the CMU Libraries to move beyond Mercury to a new virtual library infrastructure. The virtual library will become reality when users can access digitized information as easily as they can access television. A distributed computing environment is already in place at CMU; this distributed architecture allows the CMU Libraries to engage in the improvement of productivity for the campus community by making access to information more efficient. A primary focus has been to be a pioneer in creating and providing services not readily available from vendors.
Optimizing the die probe process using Taguchi techniques

Standard Taguchi methods such as orthogonal experimental design, loss function, and response graphs are used to examine a typical CMOS IG die probe test setup. Particular emphasis was placed on probe needles and contact resistance. Parameters investigated include the probe needle type, test current levels, probe map, probe tip force (or overtravel), and final wafer surface processing. The experiment provided insight into several of the factors affecting probe test resistance, particularly the effects of current and wafer processing on needle resistance. From the results an optimized test setup was established within existing production constraints that minimized probe needle resistance and increased die-per-wafer yield. >
High-performance fully digital switched reluctance motor controller for vehicle propulsion

A high-performance fully digital controller has been designed for the control of a switched reluctance (SR) motor built for vehicle propulsion. The SR machine is specifically designed and built to have high density and low noise. The controller is designed to maximize the machine efficiency, the peak overload capability, and to minimize torque ripple at low speed. Lookup tables are stored in a digital-signal-processor-based controller to calculate the control parameters online. Three interpolations, between torque command, motor speed, and battery voltage, are performed to obtain the control parameters. Difficulties associated with the interpolation scheme are addressed. A high-bandwidth fully digital proportional plus integral current regulator has been designed for the control of the phase current. Advantages as well as the difficulties with the operation of the SR machine and its control have been addressed. A complete characterization of the controller for the entire torque-speed plane has been made through extensive dyno testing. Simulation and dyno test results have been presented to demonstrate the performance of this controller.
A polysilicon contacted subcollector BJT for a three-dimensional BiCMOS process

A polysilicon contacted subcollector (PCS) bipolar junction transistor (BJT) was fabricated using selective epitaxial growth (SEG) of silicon to form the active region. The fabrication is the first step in the development of a novel 3-D BiCMOS process. To study the efficacy of the polysilicon collector contact, three types of BJTs were fabricated and their collector resistances were compared. These were the PCS BJT, a BJT fabricated in SEG silicon grown from a shallow trench incorporating a shallow collector contact with a buried layer, and a BJT fabricated in the silicon substrate with a shallow collector contact but no buried layer. The PCS BJT exhibited the smallest collector resistance as well as excellent device characteristics, demonstrating its viability for a 3-D BiCMOS process. >
How will smart growth land-use policies affect travel? A theoretical discussion on the importance of residential sorting:

Do policies to encourage compact, mixed use, pedestrian-friendly land-use patterns reduce driving? Not necessarily. Understanding how the built environment affects travel patterns is complex, not l...
'Literature as Law': The History of the Insanity Plea and a Fictional Application Within the Law & Literature Canon

The article presents: (1) a history of the law & literature canon; (2) a substantive analysis and review of the insanity plea from its "Old English" origins through its development in the United States, in general and New York state, in particular -- including relevant quantitative studies of the usage of the plea and, (3) an application of the insanity plea within the law & literature canon. The article takes a novel approach to the law & literature canon by reviewing a piece of literature as though it were the facts of a criminal murder trial. The phrase "literature as law" has been coined by the author to describe this analytical process. The article culminates in a presentation of relevant law in the fictitious murder trial of the protagonist from the literary novel reviewed which is situated in New York state. The purpose of the article is to illustrate the dichotomy between the actuality of the insanity plea and criminal proceedings in law and their fictional application to literature.
Can You Show Me How To . . .? Reflections of a New Law Professor and Part-Time Technology Consultant on the Role of New Law Teachers as Catalysts for Change

This paper, a contribution to the "New Law Teachers as Catalysts for Change" panel at the 2008 AALS Annual Meeting, discusses an important aspect of the role new law teachers play. New faculty members are uniquely positioned to introduce innovative approaches to using technology to promote or enhance legal education. After discussing the particular characteristics that make new law teachers great "technological change agents," the papers suggests steps law schools can take to promote them in this role.
Business Transactions with Clients

Attorneys find themselves entering into business transactions in general and contracts in particular with clients. Such transactions are subject to special rules as the result of the fiduciary nature of the attorney-client relationship and the supposed dominant powers of persuasion of attorneys. As one court has stated, Attorneys wear different hats when they perform legal services on behalf of their clients and when they conduct business with them. As to the latter, the law presumes the hat they wear is a black one. The constraints on business transactions with clients take two forms. First, the Rules of Professional Conduct contain specific requirements for any such transaction. Second, the law of contracts supplements the professional conduct standards by applying a presumption of undue influence to any contract between attorney and client other than the initial fee agreement.
Strategy on Super Hybrid Japonica Rice Breeding

The research status and the achievements in recent ten years of Liaoning japonica hybrid rice were reviewed.Based on the breeding practice,the theory of the japonica hybrid rice crossing and the breeding strategy of the parent according to the breeding objectives of high yield,good quality and wide adaptability were proposed.The problems in rice breeding were analyzed and the tacking methods were also put forward,and the further research direction was stated.
Sleep Deprivation and Cognitive Performance

Insufficient sleep is a hallmark of our modern busy society, but “burning the candle at both ends” does not come without a cost. The present chapter provides a selective overview of the major effects of sleep deprivation on cognition, including its effects on alertness and vigilance, sensory perception, emotion, learning and memory, and executive functioning. Established research suggests that, without sufficient sleep, simple reaction time is slowed, attentional lapses become longer and more frequent, and in general, behavior becomes increasingly inconsistent and unstable. There are notable individual differences in the ability to resist sleep loss, for which biological or psychological markers have yet to be unequivocally identified. Sleep deprivation can impair some sensory-perceptual processes, particularly visual processing. In addition, sleep loss worsens mood, lowers frustration tolerance, and biases the perception and expression of emotion toward negative affective states. Sleep deprivation also affects memory by reducing encoding when it precedes learning and impairs consolidation of memory traces when it occurs after learning. Some, but not all, aspects of higher order executive functions are impaired by sleep deprivation, but the data in this regard remain inconclusive. Further research will be necessary to disentangle the extent to which deficits in higher order cognitive functions are due to primary executive system dysfunctions versus impairments of more elementary processes such as alertness, attention, and cerebral interconnectivity.
Glomerular size selectivity during protein overload in the rat

Differential glomerular permeability to macromolecules as a function of their size (size permselectivity) is altered in experimental models of proteinuric renal disease. Size permselectivity during protein overload proteinuria was examined using urinary clearances of neutral dextrans in anesthetized Wistar-Furth rats. The animals were studied 3-4 h after the last of six twice-a-day intraperitoneal injections of either bovine serum albumin (BSA) or ovalbumin (OA) or of vehicle alone (controls). Glomerular filtration rates did not differ significantly among the three groups. OA-treated (n = 4) and control (n = 5) rats had virtually identical fractional dextran clearances over almost the entire molecular size range from 18 to 58 A Stokes-Einstein radius. In contrast, BSA-treated rats (n = 5) had elevated fractional clearances for medium-sized dextrans with the increases reaching statistical significance at radii of 40 A (+22.7% vs. control) and 44 A (+20.4%). Fractional clearances for BSA-treated rats returned to control values for larger dextrans. These findings demonstrate a significant size permselectivity defect in BSA overload, although not in OA overload.
Nonprotein Derivatives of Amino Acids

Abstract: Tyrosine is used to synthesize melanin, the catecholamines, and the thyroid hormones. Tryptophan gives rise to serotonin, melatonin, and niacin. Glutathione, derived from glutamate, glycine and cysteine, is an abundant sulfurcontaining compound in cells that helps prevent oxidative stress. Heme is a porphyrin derived from glycine and succinyl-CoA. Carnitine is derived from lysine and methionine, while creatine is derived from glycine, methionine and arginine. Nitric oxide, a vasodilator, is derived from arginine. Histidine is decarboxylated to histamine in many cell types. Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Lysine, like leucine, is ketogenic, but not glucogenic. Aspartate is an important component of the malate and dicarboxylic acid shuttles. Serine is important in both phospholipid and glycolipid metabolism.
Effectiveness of social stimuli in attracting Laysan Albatross to new potential nesting sites

Etude de l'attirance conspecifique dans les mecanismes de choix du site de nidification et utilisation possible pour encourager la nidification des especes menacees sur des sites surs
Large Scale Influences on Summertime Extreme Precipitation in the Northeastern United States.

AbstractObservations indicate that over the last few decades there has been a statistically significant increase in precipitation in the northeastern United States and that this can be attributed to an increase in precipitation associated with extreme precipitation events. Here a state-of-the-art atmospheric reanalysis is used to examine such events in detail. Daily extreme precipitation events defined at the 75th and 95th percentile from gridded gauge observations are identified for a selected region within the Northeast. Atmospheric variables from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), are then composited during these events to illustrate the time evolution of associated synoptic structures, with a focus on vertically integrated water vapor fluxes, sea level pressure, and 500-hPa heights. Anomalies of these fields move into the region from the northwest, with stronger anomalies present in the 95th percentile case. Although previous studies show tropical...
The pharmacodynamics and toxicology of steroids and related compounds.

Publisher Summary The steroid hormones are cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene derivatives. Because hormones by definition function at a target site removed from the site of origin, transport mechanisms for and their different affinities for natural or synthetic steroids contribute to the physiologic response. The origin of the natural steroid and the fate of it and its synthetic analogs are governed by endogenous enzyme systems. The role of the steroid at the receptor site, whether it is physical, resulting from secondary valence effects, or by chemical reactivity, is considered. This chapter discusses the synthetics or natural products that do not have the exact steroid carbon-ring skeleton if they produce physiologic effects akin to those of natural steroids by virtue of required spatial configurations and similar active functional groups. Measurement of steroids in early research relied upon the biologic assay, which remains a final arbiter when different methodological approaches yield different reported values.
Content and Temporal Analysis of Communications to Predict Task Cohesion in Software Development Global Teams

This dissertation proposal describes a study of interaction-based measures and their ability to predict cohesion within global software development projects. Messages were collected from six software development projects that involved students from different countries. The similarities and quantities of such interactions will be computed and analyzed. The tested measures will be analyzed at individual and group level. Similarly, content features based on communication categories, found in virtual learning teams, will be used to improve the identification of task cohesion level. Finally, temporal interaction similarity measures will be calculated to assess its prediction capabilities in a global setting.
SPRY1 Is a Negative Regulator of Long-Term In Vivo Engraftment and Ex Vivo Expansion of Primitive Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are functionally defined by their capacity to home to the bone marrow microenvironment, proliferate and differentiate to restore normal hematopoiesis in a myeloablated recipient; however, the molecular determinants of these processes are not well understood. By comparing the gene expression profiles of highly purified human HSC-enriched and HSC-depleted cell populations, and subsequently validating the hematopoietic function of a subset of these differentially expressed genes using zebrafish ( Danio rerio ), we previously identified human Sprouty 1 ( SPRY1 ), an evolutionarily conserved antagonist of RTK signaling, as a potential regulator of mammalian HSC development and/or cell-fate decisions. To directly assess the role of SPRY1 in mammalian HSC and hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) function, we constructed a dual-promoter lentiviral vector to co-express SPRY1 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) (SPRY1-LV) and a control lentiviral vector to express GFP alone (GFP-LV) in the CD34+ fraction of human umbilical cord blood (UCB). While the enforced expression of SPRY1 in CD34+ UCB cells had no effect on the frequency or morphology of colonies generated in short-term in vitro colony-forming cell (CFC) assays (SPRY1-LV = 27.6 ± 12.3% and GFP-LV = 28.4 ± 20.0%; n = 3), it profoundly inhibited the capacity of UCB CD34+ cells to engraft in the bone marrow NOD-SCID mice in vivo. The estimated frequency of week 11 SCID-repopulating cells (SRC) (± 1 standard error) for SPRY1-LV (n = 13 mice) and GFP-LV (n = 15 mice) cells was 1 in 12,678 cells (6,167 – 26,064) and 1 in 3,412 cells (2,272 – 5,124), respectively, as determined using limiting dilution conditions and Poisson statistics. Furthermore, in 14 day cultures designed for the ex vivo expansion and/or maintenance of primitive hematopoietic cells, ectopic expression of SPRY1 in CD34+ UCB cells dramatically inhibited the expansion of total nucleated cells (SPRY1-LV = 37.9 ± 10.1 fold; GFP-LV = 71.1 ± 5.8 fold; n = 3; p<0.05) and CFCs (SPRY1-LV = 5.7 ± 1.2 fold; GFP-LV = 20.8 ± 14.9 fold; n = 3), although it had no effect on expansion of CD34+CD38− cells. We are currently investigating potential mechanisms for the observed affects of SPRY1 on primitive hematopoietic cells, paying particular attention to the possible effects of SPRY1 expression on “early-acting” hematopoietic cytokines and growth factors that activate RTKs - including FGF1, FGF2, VEGF, SCF, FLT3L, and ANGPT1. In conclusion, enforced expression of SPRY1 negatively regulates primitive hematopoietic cell engraftment in vivo and expansion in vitro , thereby presenting the first example of a role for a Sprouty family member, SPRY1 , in primitive human hematopoietic cell function. Moreover, this data further validates the use of model organisms, such as zebrafish, for evaluating the functional roles of transcripts identified in large-scale gene expression profiling experiments in mice and humans.
FMRI activity during associative encoding is correlated with cardiorespiratory fitness and source memory performance in older adults.

Older adults (OA), relative to young adults (YA), exhibit age-related alterations in functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) activity during associative encoding, which contributes to deficits in source memory. Yet, there are remarkable individual differences in brain health and memory performance among OA. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is one individual difference factor that may attenuate brain aging, and thereby contribute to enhanced source memory in OA. To examine this possibility, 26 OA and 31 YA completed a treadmill-based exercise test to evaluate CRF (peak VO2) and fMRI to examine brain activation during a face-name associative encoding task. Our results indicated that in OA, peak VO2 was positively associated with fMRI activity during associative encoding in multiple regions including bilateral prefrontal cortex, medial frontal cortex, bilateral thalamus and left hippocampus. Next, a conjunction analysis was conducted to assess whether CRF influenced age-related differences in fMRI activation. We classified OA as high or low CRF and compared their activation to YA. High fit OA (HFOA) showed fMRI activation more similar to YA than low fit OA (LFOA) (i.e., reduced age-related differences) in multiple regions including thalamus, posterior and prefrontal cortex. Conversely, in other regions, primarily in prefrontal cortex, HFOA, but not LFOA, demonstrated greater activation than YA (i.e., increased age-related differences). Further, fMRI activity in these brain regions was positively associated with source memory among OA, with a mediation model demonstrating that associative encoding activation in medial frontal cortex indirectly influenced the relationship between peak VO2 and subsequent source memory performance. These results indicate that CRF may contribute to neuroplasticity among OA, reducing age-related differences in some brain regions, consistent with the brain maintenance hypothesis, but accentuating age-differences in other regions, consistent with the brain compensation hypothesis.
Modelling Pesticide Treatment Effects on Lygus hesperus in Cotton Fields

We continue our efforts on modeling of the population dynamics of herbivorous insects in order to develop and implement effective pest control protocols. In the context of inverse problems, we explore the dynamic effects of pesticide treatments on Lygus hesperus, a common pest of cotton in the western United States. Fitting models to field data, we consider model selection for an appropriate mathematical model and corresponding statistical models, and use techniques to compare models. We address the question of whether data, as it is currently collected, can support time-dependent (as opposed to constant) parameter estimates.
Providing Meaningful Feedback for Autograding of Programming Assignments

Autograding systems are increasingly being deployed to meet the challenge of teaching programming at scale. We propose a methodology for extending autograders to provide meaningful feedback for incorrect programs. Our methodology starts with the instructor identifying the concepts and skills important to each programming assignment, designing the assignment, and designing a comprehensive test suite. Tests are then applied to code submissions to learn classes of common errors and produce classifiers to automatically categorize errors in future submissions. The instructor maps the errors to concepts and skills and writes hints to help students find their misconceptions and mistakes. We have applied the methodology to two assignments from our Introduction to Computer Science course. We used submissions from one semester of the class to build classifiers and write hints for observed common errors. We manually validated the automatic error categorization and potential usefulness of the hints using submissions from a second semester. We found that the hints given for erroneous submissions should be helpful for 96% or more of the cases. Based on these promising results, we have deployed our hints and are currently collecting submissions and feedback from students and instructors.
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Motivational Intervention Combined with Text Messaging for Alcohol and Sex Risk Reduction with Emergency Department Patients: A Pilot Trial.

Background: Interventions aimed at reducing co-occurring heavy drinking and risky sexual behavior among Emergency Department (ED) patients require feasibility and acceptability to optimally engage ...
Precooling of Citrus Fruits

To introduce the subject of precooling it would probably be well to define precooling. As used in most cases precooling means the rapid cooling during or as soon after processing as possible. This is done in order to remove not only the field heat but to reduce the fruit temperature in order to reduce respiration. In addition to previous reasons, precooling will lower the temperature of fruit loaded into cars, consequently reducing the refrigeration load on the car. The end effect of precooling is to provide the customer with better fruit and as a consequence to increase sales.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
Complete Dynamics and Synchronization

This chapter presents a Ying–Yang theory for nonlinear discrete dynamical systems with consideration of positive and negative iterations of discrete iterative maps. In existing analysis, the solutions relative to “Yang” in nonlinear dynamical systems are extensively investigated. However, the solutions pertaining to “Ying” in nonlinear dynamical systems are presented. A set of concepts on “Ying” and “Yang” in discrete dynamical systems are introduced. Based on the Ying–Yang theory, the complete dynamics of discrete dynamical systems can be discussed. A discrete dynamical system with the Henon map is investigated as an example. The companion and synchronization of discrete dynamical systems will be introduced, and the corresponding conditions are developed. The synchronization dynamics of Duffing and Henon maps will be discussed.
Non-invasive bladder volume sensing for neurogenic bladder dysfunction management

Many patients who suffer from spinal cord injuries (SCI) also suffer from neurogenic bladder dysfunction, and lack the sensation and control of their bladder. In order to alleviate the build up of bladder pressure from urine production and promote good renal health, it is recommended to perform clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) every 2 to 4 hours throughout the day. However, since urine production is not constant, sometimes the bladder will fill with urine to capacity before the recommended CIC time causing the patient to leak, adding unnecessary embarrassment. As such, incontinence is the primary concern of many SCI patients. Sadly, there are no practical solutions available on the market that addresses this concern. In this work, we investigate using near-infrared spectroscopy to develop a wearable and non-invasive bladder volume sensing system to provide timely alerts to SCI patients based on their current bladder volume. We showcase the feasibility of such a system using an optical phantom that mimics the bladder and by performing ex vivo measurements on a pig bladder and intestines.
Waiting to burn: Spanish-Maghribi relations and the making of a new migrant class

ABSTRACTIt is impossible to think of modern Spanish-Maghribi relations without thinking of the complicated histories of migration that have shaped both nations. ‘Hrig,’ the Moroccan Arabic term for...
Development of a Coupled Regional Climate Simulation Model for the Lake Victoria Basin

A three dimensional dynamical model for Lake Victoria based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) model has been developed. In this formulation the standard version of the POM model is modified by replacing the open boundaries with a closed coastline and adopting the bathymetry of Lake Victoria. The lake model has 9 equal vertical sigma levels and the horizontal resolution is 20 km. The model’s upper boundary conditions are based on momentum, sensible heat and radiative energy fluxes derived from double-nested simulations of the NCAR regional climate model (RegCM2) or idealized surface boundary forcing. The idealized simulations are 360-day model simulations to investigate, (i) the sensitivity of the lake’s circulation on variations in the shear and direction of the idealized upper boundary wind stress forcing, (ii) the response to abrupt change in the direction of surface wind stress forcing to assess the memory of the lake, and (iii) the sensitivity of the lake’s circulation on its vertical temperature stratification. The RegCM2 model output is used for constructing the upper boundary conditions of the lake model for the October-November-December seasonal “short-rains” of eastern Africa. In these experiments we apply selective and systematic suppression of radiation, heat and momentum fluxes contributions to the upper boundary forcing to determine their relative importance. The results show that the bathymetry and geometry of the lake play a fundamental role in determining the climatology of Lake Victoria. The regions of upwelling or downwelling are determined by wind stress and nearshore bathymetry. The momentum memory of Lake Victoria is about two weeks long. There exists Kelvin wave like disturbances in the thermocline that are trapped along the coast and propagate clockwise around Lake Victoria with periodicity of about 30 days. The oscillations entirely disappear in the case of the isothermal conditions. The lake surface circulation is characterized by anti-clockwise circular motion in response to the predominantly easterly surface winds. The three-dimensional model produces a surface temperature pattern indicative of horizontal lake water mixing characterized by a horizontal spiral pattern in the temperature field. This is associated with the spreading of a pool of warm water across the northern section of the lake. This pattern is not present in the one-dimensional model. Comparison of the POM model simulation results with the one dimensional thermal diffusion lake model, used in the NCAR RegCM2 regional climate model, indicates that the former produces more realistic results.
Evidence for Altered Spinal Canal Compliance and Cerebral Venous Drainage in Untreated Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), or pseudotumor cerebri, is a debilitating neurological disorder characterized by elevated CSF pressure of unknown cause. IIH manifests as severe headaches, and visual impairments. Most typically, IIH prevails in overweight females of childbearing age and its incidence is rising in parallel with the obesity epidemic. The most accepted theory for the cause of IIH is reduced absorption of CSF due to elevated intracranial venous pressure. A comprehensive MRI study, which includes structural and physiological imaging, was applied to characterize morphological and physiological differences between a homogeneous cohort of female IIH patients and an age- and BMI-similar control group to further elucidate the underlying pathophysiology. A novel analysis of MRI measurements of blood and CSF flow to and from the cranial and spinal canal compartments employing lumped parameters modeling of the cranio-spinal biomechanics provided, for the first time, evidence for the involvement of the spinal canal compartment. The CSF space in the spinal canal is less confined by bony structures compared with the cranial CSF, thereby providing most of the craniospinal compliance. This study demonstrates that the contribution of spinal canal compliance in IIH is significantly reduced.
Unique Challenges of Hepatitis C in Infants, Children, and Adolescents

ABSTRACT Purpose Hepatitis C, a chronic disease with deadly consequences, is no longer predominantly a disease of older people. Methods A limited search was conducted of the relevant literature on 2 topics: (1) the impact of hepatitis C on infants exposed by vertical transmission; and (2) the impact of hepatitis C infection on infected children and adolescents. The findings were supplemented by the first-hand experience of the authors. Findings Young people, including women of childbearing age, infants, children, and adolescents, are being especially affected by hepatitis C infection secondary to the intravenous drug use and opioid epidemic. Unfortunately, estimates of disease in young populations are all misleading because universal screening has not been implemented. Implications Lack of implementation of policies for screening and therapy on most affected populations will be responsible for perpetuation of this infection. In the era of highly effective therapy and a regimen that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for children, this outcome is unacceptable.
Identifying Connectional Silence in Palliative Care Consultations: A Tandem Machine-Learning and Human Coding Method

Abstract Background: Systematic measurement of conversational features in the natural clinical setting is essential to better understand, disseminate, and incentivize high quality serious illness c...
Design of Stand-Alone PV System to Provide Electricity for a House in Adrar, Algeria

This paper presents a design of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system to generate electricity in a house in Adrar, 1 year recorded solar radiation is used for the design of PV solar energy system. The proposed system takes into account the meteorological data of the site of Adrar and the needs of electric charge of the house; in 2015 annual average solar energy resource available is 6.45 KWh/m2/day and energy which are consumed by electrical house loads in a course of 1 year is 2575.07 kWh. The paper provides a general understanding of a photovoltaic system to electrify individual housing in rural areas and how can be practically applied solar energy to power the house.
MRI Features Associated with TERT Promoter Mutation Status in Glioblastoma.

Background and purpose Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations are associated with worse prognosis in glioblastoma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether TERT mutation status was associated with specific morphologic and quantitative imaging features. Methods Twenty-nine patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2-wildtype glioblastoma (13 TERT-wildtype, 16 TERT-mutated), who underwent preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were included in this retrospective study. Qualitative imaging phenotypes were evaluated using the Visually Accessible Rembrandt Images (VASARIs) feature set. Histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR perfusion values were performed on enhancing tumor volumes-of-interest, and differences between TERT-wildtype and TERT-mutated tumors were assessed. Results VASARI analysis demonstrated that the majority of morphologic features were not significantly different between TERT-wildtype and TERT-mutated tumors, although a higher proportion of TERT-wildtype tumors featured nonenhancing tumor crossing midline (P = .014). TERT-mutated tumors demonstrated lower median rate constant kep (.38 vs. .76, P = .03) and lower median volume transfer coefficient Ktrans (.13 vs. .31, P = .02). There was no significant difference in median plasma volume vp (P = .92) or ADC values (P = .66) between the two groups. We further found a significant interaction between median kep and Ktrans and TERT status, respectively, suggesting greater risk of death with increasing blood-brain barrier dysfunction in TERT-mutated but not in TERT-wildtype tumors. Conclusion Our study demonstrates evidence of altered permeability metrics associated with TERT mutation in glioblastoma, laying the foundation for future prospective studies assessing implications for therapeutic management and clinical outcomes.
The Food Network’s Heartland Kitchens: Cooking up neoconservative comfort in the United States:

Since 2010, the Food Network has introduced a series of female-hosted, daytime shows that emphasise conservative regions of the United States and glamorise traditional gender roles. I discuss the s...
Artificial Neural Network for Prediction of Total Nitrogen and Phosphorus in US Lakes

AbstractModeling is an important aspect of water quality management because it saves material and labor costs. The nonlinearity of water quality variables due to the complex chemical and physical p...
Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief 2.0 (ICSG 2.0): Validation of a revised measure of spiritual distress in bereavement.

Spirituality has long served as a source of solace for many grievers following a loss. For other mourners, whose bereavement experience has been significantly challenged by struggles in their relat...
Day of Ascent Dosing of Acetazolamide for Prevention of Acute Mountain Sickness

Abstract Background: Acetazolamide is the most common medication used for prevention of acute mountain sickness (AMS), usually administered the day or night before ascent. The objective of this stu...
Designing nonvolatile integrated photonics with low-loss optical phase change materials

The development of low-loss optical phase change materials (O-PCMs) promises to enable a plethora of nonvolatile integrated photonic applications. However, the relatively large optical constants change between different states of calls for a set of new design rationales. Here we report a non-perturbative design that enables low-loss device operation beyond the traditional figure-of-merit limit. The basic design rationale is to engineer the light propagation path through the OPCMs when it is in the low-loss amorphous state, and divert light away from the lossy crystalline state leveraging the large mode modification induced by the O-PCM phase transition. Following this approach, we demonstrate broadband photonic switches with significantly enhanced performances compared to current state-of-the-art.
Clonal hematopoiesis in hematological disorders: Three different scenarios

Clonality studies can establish the single-cell origin of tumors and thus differentiate clonal malignant and premalignant processes from reactive polyclonal processes. Detection of clonal cells may be based on direct tracking of cell lineage-specific sequences or disease-specific somatic mutations identifying the clonal population. Historically, clonal hematopoiesis was defined using the principle of X-chromosome inactivation based on observation that in circulating clonal cells, only one of the active chromosomes was expressed. In myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) virtually all circulating erythrocytes, platelets, and granulocytes are products of single mutated stem cells that preferentially differentiate into the myeloid rather than lymphoid lineage. Thus, clonal differentiated myeloid cells co-exist in circulation with polyclonal long-lived T lymphocytes that originated before the MPN-initiating somatic clonal event. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) starts in a differentiating B cell, but other lymphoid lineages and myeloid cells remain polyclonal. Normal T and B cells co-exist with the CLL clone, but are diluted by the massively expanded CLL population, which outnumbers the residual normal cells. Clonal hematopoiesis of undetermined potential (CHIP) has been identified by whole-genome sequencing of healthy individuals. These clones contain a specific somatic mutation previously considered to be disease defining but are detected in only a small proportion of circulating leukocytes, and there is no obvious suppression of normal hematopoietic stem cells. However, more studies are needed to properly define these clones, their persistence or disappearance, and their relative propensity for transforming into leukemias, myeloproliferative neoplasms, or other clonal hematological malignancies.