cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MRI of islet cell tumors of the pancreas.

OBJECTIVE. CT is the most widely used imaging technique for the diagnosis of islet cell tumors, but MRI may be better for detecting small lesions and metastases because of its optimal contrast resolution and ability to easily perform dynamic imaging. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to highlight the MRI features of these tumors and underscore potential pitfalls.CONCLUSION. Although classically considered well-defined, arterially enhancing lesions that are bright on T2-weighted sequences, pancreatic islet cell tumors have quite a broad spectrum of appearances. MRI is well suited for detecting and characterizing pancreatic islet cell tumors as well as their local effects and metastases.
Malignant abdominal mesothelioma: defining the role of surgery.

Objective Determine the role of surgery for patients with malignant abdominal mesotheliomas (MAMs). Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (1973–2005) was queried. Results Overall, 10,589 cases of malignant mesotheliomas were identified. Of these, 9,211 cases were thoracic (TM) and 1,112 cases were MAM (10.5%). Patients with TM presented with more localized disease than those patients with MAM (P < 0.001). MAM more often affected younger patients (63 years vs. 71 years) (P < 0.001). The annual incidence of MAM was approximately 1.00 case per 100,000 in 2005. Overall median survival for MAM patients was 8 months, with a significant difference between women and men (13 months vs. 6 months, respectively) (P < 0.001). Patients who successfully underwent surgical resection had a considerably longer median survival (20 months vs. 4 months, P < 0.001) as well as a significantly higher 5-year survival (28% vs. 12%, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified that a poorly differentiated tumor grade, failure to undertake surgical resection, advanced age, and male gender were all independent predictors of poorer outcome. Conclusion Surgical extirpation of MAM may be associated with significantly improved survival. All patients with MAM should be evaluated for potential surgical resection. J. Surg. Oncol. 2009;99:51–57. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Falling cylinder viscometer for non‐Newtonian fluids

It is shown how previous analyses of the falling cylinder viscometer for Newtonian fluids can be extended to non-Newtonian fluids. Specific relations are given for the velocity of descent for several simple non-Newtonian viscosity functions. A differentiation procedure is presented whereby the non-Newtonian viscosity for a fluid can be deduced from velocity of fall measurements. In the course of the development, some useful approximate expressions for axial non-Newtonian flow in annuli are developed. Finally, a comparison of the Ellis and power law models is made by an analysis of the axial annular flow data of Frederickson and of McEachern.
Developmental learning impairments in a rodent model of nodular heterotopia

Developmental malformations of neocortex—including microgyria, ectopias, and periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH)—have been associated with language learning impairments in humans. Studies also show that developmental language impairments are frequently associated with deficits in processing rapid acoustic stimuli, and rodent models have linked cortical developmental disruption (microgyria, ectopia) with rapid auditory processing deficits. We sought to extend this neurodevelopmental model to evaluate the effects of embryonic (E) day 15 exposure to the anti-mitotic teratogen methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) on auditory processing and maze learning in rats. Extensive cortical anomalies were confirmed in MAM-treated rats post mortem. These included evidence of laminar disruption, PNH, and hippocampal dysplasia. Juvenile auditory testing (P21–42) revealed comparable silent gap detection performance for MAM-treated and control subjects, indicating normal hearing and basic auditory temporal processing in MAM subjects. Juvenile testing on a more complex two-tone oddball task, however, revealed a significant impairment in MAM-treated as compared to control subjects. Post hoc analysis also revealed a significant effect of PNH severity for MAM subjects, with more severe disruption associated with greater processing impairments. In adulthood (P60–100), only MAM subjects with the most severe PNH condition showed deficits in oddball two-tone processing as compared to controls. However, when presented with a more complex and novel FM sweep detection task, all MAM subjects showed significant processing deficits as compared to controls. Moreover, post hoc analysis revealed a significant effect of PNH severity on FM sweep processing. Water Maze testing results also showed a significant impairment for spatial but not non-spatial learning in MAM rats as compared to controls. Results lend further support to the notions that: (1) generalized cortical developmental disruption (stemming from injury, genetic or teratogenic insults) leads to auditory processing deficits, which in turn have been suggested to play a causal role in language impairment; (2) severity of cortical disruption is related to the severity of processing impairments; (3) juvenile auditory processing deficits appear to ameliorate with maturation, but can still be elicited in adulthood using increasingly complex acoustic stimuli; and (4) malformations induced with MAM are also associated with generalized spatial learning deficits. These cumulative findings contribute to our understanding of the behavioral consequences of cortical developmental pathology, which may in turn elucidate mechanisms contributing to developmental language learning impairment in humans.
Galilei was wrong: Angular nonradial effects of radial gravity depend on density of matter

Although in mathematical sense the actual meaning of Galilei’s experiments conducted at leaning tower of Pisa is that he failed to detect any measurable impact of composition of matter on gravitating bodies, the obvious failure is mistakenly interpreted as experimental confirmation of lack of the impact instead. Galilei did not really perform internal validity checks of his experiments, because he did not ensure that he actually measured what he was supposed to measure. However, a modern experiment devised to test the impact of large mass on gravitational phenomena has revealed presence of (formerly unanticipated) extraneous frequency decrease in rays coming from Taurus A, when they passed close to our Sun (i.e. near occultation). The experiment has effectively confirmed that density of matter of the mass source of locally dominant gravitational field (which was our Sun’s field) affects gravitational interactions happening on equipotential surfaces surrounding gravity center of the field. Also very similar experiment involving radio waves, which too exhibited (formerly unexpected) frequency decrease when they traveled along practically equipotential surface of Earth, has reaffirmed that conclusion. Hence contrary to Galilei, effects of nonradial (i.e. tangential and/or binormal) components of radial gravitational force fields depend (inversely) on (equipotential exposure to) the, assumed as practically constant and uniformly distributed, density of matter of the mass source of the local field.
Evidence that a Recent Increase in Maize Genome Size was Caused by the Massive Amplification of Intergene Retrotransposons

Abstract Estimates of the size and copy number of the retrotransposons in a 240 kb region flanking theadh1gene of maize suggest that 33–62% of the maize genome is composed of the high copy-number retrotransposons found in this region. An additional 16% of the maize genome is estimated to be composed of middle and low copy-number retrotransposons. The sorghum genome, which is more than three-fold smaller than the maize genome, does not have any detected copies of the maize retrotransposons in a region orthologous to that of maizeadh1. Thus, it appears that retrotransposons have increased the size of the maize genome two- to five-fold since the divergence of maize and sorghum from a common ancestor about 16 million years ago.
Flow Splitting with Fate Sharing in a Next Generation Transport Services Architecture

The challenges of optimizing end-to-end performance over diverse Internet paths has driven widespread adoption of in-path optimizers, which can destructively interfere with TCP's end-to-end semantics and with each other, and are incompatible with end-to-end IPsec. We identify the architectural cause of these conflicts and resolve them in Tng, an experimental next-generation transport services architecture, by factoring congestion control from end-to-end semantic functions. Through a technique we call "queue sharing", Tng enables in-path devices to interpose on, split, and optimize congestion controlled flows without affecting or seeing the end-to-end content riding these flows. Simulations show that Tng's decoupling cleanly addresses several common performance problems, such as communication over lossy wireless links and reduction of buffering-induced latency on residential links. A working prototype and several incremental deployment paths suggest Tng's practicality.
Distance optimization based coverage control algorithm in mobile sensor network

Coverage control is a basic research problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This paper proposes a distance optimization based coverage control algorithm, which utilizes ant colony algorithm to place sensor nodes to an appropriate position and optimize the moving path of mobile sensor nodes. The proposed algorithm not only guarantees the biggest coverage of wireless sensor networks, but also reduces node moving distance, which saves sensor node energy and prolongs the entire network lifetime. Simulation results prove its validity.
A simple strategy for opening an unknown door

Many robotic applications involve interactions with a simple mechanism, such as opening a door or turning a crank. Implementing such tasks using standard controllers may require precise knowledge of the kinematics or result in prohibitively large internal forces. We propose a simple method that learns the shape of the mechanism while in motion and generates little internal forces, in essence following the path of least resistance. The discussion is illustrated experimentally.
Minority Serving College and University Cost Efficiencies

Problem statement: Higher education minority enrollment growth has fa r outstripped white non-minority growth in the United States. Min ority serving colleges and universities have disproportionately attended to that growth and will continue to play a critical role in providing mino rity educational opportunities in a knowledge based and globally diverse economy. However, they will face new and challenging budgetary and managerial reforms induced by the global financial crisis. As a resu lt, they will be pressured to operate in the future wit h greater cost efficiency. Approach: Panel data pertaining to minority serving colleges and univers ities was used along with stochastic frontier analy sis to provide cost inefficiency estimates over a four year academic period. Specification of an inefficiency component contained time varying insti tutional characteristics and influences, including a public Vs. private ownership control. Results: Minority College and university mean inefficiency was estimated to be approximately 1.24, indicating a 24 % operation above the frontier cost. The study found that institutions achieved inefficiency reduc tions or efficiency gains in 2008-09 compared to 2005-06. The findings suggested that private instit utions operated at greater inefficiencies relative to their publicly owned counterparts. However, the pri vate sector laid claim to the most efficient institution, but also the most inefficient one. Whi le the public minority serving colleges showed inefficiency deterioration over time, the findings point to private institution efficiency gains. Conclusion/Recommendations: A literature survey indicated that the study could be the first attempt at providing empirical estimates and subsequent ins ights into the operating cost efficiencies or inefficiencies of minority serving colleges and uni versities. The cost inefficiency findings suggested that these institutions did compare favorably in th eir managerial skills. However, as additional academic years of observations become available, th ey should be employed to determine the sustainability of the efficiency levels and gains u ncovered in the present study.
Use of Fixed-Location, Split-Beam Sonar to Describe Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Adult Fall Chum Salmon Migration in the Chandalar River, Alaska

Abstract Fixed-location, split-beam hydroacoustics was used to describe temporal and spatial patterns of upstream-swimming fall chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta in the Chandalar River, a tributary of the Yukon River, Alaska. Split-beam techniques allow for three-dimensional tracking of fish targets as they pass through the sonar beam. Elliptical-beam transducers were deployed from opposite river banks to optimize acoustic coverage and were aimed perpendicular to the current. Sonar systems were operated continuously from August 8 through September 22, 1996. Acoustic data on positional information of 204,153 upstream-traveling chum salmon were collected. Diel patterns in hourly passage rates differed between banks. On the left bank, chum salmon passage was highest during nighttime hours. On the right bank, fish did not show any consistent trend in diel passage rates. Chum salmon were generally shore oriented and swam near the river bottom. During daylight hours, fish were further offshore and closer to the bot...
Language translation for file paths

Forensic examiners are frequently confronted with content in languages that they do not understand, and they could benefit from machine translation into their native language. But automated translation of file paths is a difficult problem because of the minimal context for translation and the frequent mixing of multiple languages within a path. This work developed a prototype implementation of a file-path translator that first identifies the language for each directory segment of a path, and then translates to English those that are not already English nor artificial words. Brown's LA-Strings utility for language identification was tried, but its performance was found inadequate on short strings and it was supplemented with clues from dictionary lookup, Unicode character distributions for languages, country of origin, and language-related keywords. To provide better data for language inference, words used in each directory over a large corpus were aggregated for analysis. The resulting directory-language probabilities were combined with those for each path segment from dictionary lookup and character-type distributions to infer the segment's most likely language. Tests were done on a corpus of 50.1 million file paths looking for 35 different languages. Tests showed 90.4% accuracy on identifying languages of directories and 93.7% accuracy on identifying languages of directory/file segments of file paths, even after excluding 44.4% of the paths as obviously English or untranslatable. Two of seven proposed language clues were shown to impair directory-language identification. Experiments also compared three translation methods: the Systran translation tool, Google Translate, and word-for-word substitution using dictionaries. Google Translate usually performed the best, but all still made errors with European languages and a significant number of errors with Arabic and Chinese.
Saccharification and Fermentation of Waste Sweet Potato for Bioethanol Production

We have investigated the relative performance of the two enzymes, α-amylase and amyloglucosidase, and two microbial strains, Zymomonas mobilis AX101 and 8b, for saccharification and fermentation of sweet potato. Modified Michaelis–Menten and Monod-type mathematical models were developed and verified with experimental results for saccharification using amyloglucosidase and fermentation using Z. mobilis 8b, respectively. The results showed that 91.5% of the starch and sucrose were converted to glucose and fructose using amyloglucosidase at pH 3.5 and 55C. The Z. mobilis 8b was able to convert more than 90% of the total sugars into ethanol within 18 h with 87.2% of the theoretical yield and 49.07 g/L final concentration of ethanol. A mass balance and cost analysis show that commercial production of ethanol from sweet potato is limited by the feedstock cost. Practical Applications This study shows that sweet potatoes that are unmarketable, small in size, bruised, cut or damaged otherwise from the harvesting process, supplied by a local farmer in the Central Texas area, can be used to produce bioethanol. Normally, farmers do not collect the damaged sweet potatoes because there is no demand for those in the market. This is supported by the fact that 20% of the total sweet potatoes cultivated are left in the ground due to damage while harvesting with plows. If collected and used for ethanol production, local farms can earn additional revenue.
EXTENT: a portable programming environment for designing and implementing high-performance block recursive algorithms

EXTENT is an EXpert system for TENsor product formula Translation. In this paper we present a programming environment for automatic generation of parallel/vector programs from tensor product formulas. A tensor (Kronecker) product based programming methodology is used for designing high performance programs on various architectures. In this programming methodology, block recursive algorithms such as the fast Fourier transform and Strassen's matrix multiplication algorithm are expressed as tensor product formulas involving tensor product and other matrix operations. A tensor product formula can be systematically translated to parallel and/or vector code for various parallel architectures. A prototype system which generates programs for the Cray Y-MP, Cray TSD, and Intel Paragon has been developed. Performance results for some generated programs are presented.
Two components of calcium-activated potassium current in rat adrenal chromaffin cells

1. The activation of calcium (Ca2+)-dependent potassium (K+) currents in dissociated rat adrenal chromaffin cells was investigated using the dialysed cell recording technique. 2. Ca(2+)-dependent K+ current was the major component of outward current at command potentials from -30 mV to about +50 mV. 3. Two components of Ca(2+)-dependent outward current could be distinguished based on the voltage dependence of activation, the properties of tail currents following repolarization, and pharmacological properties. 4. One Ca(2+)-dependent current was similar to an after-hyperpolarization current (often termed IAHP) observed in other cell types. This current was largely blocked by 200 nM-apamin or 200 microM-curare, was associated with slow Ca(2+)-dependent tail current, and exhibited little dependence on voltage. In cells with cytosolic Ca2+ buffered to 500 nM-1 microM, curare-sensitive current accounted for most of the membrane current at potentials negative to about -40 mV. 5. A second component of Ca(2+)-activated K+ current exhibited voltage-dependent activation, was completely blocked by 1 mM-TEA, and turned off rapidly following repolarization. An unusual aspect of the TEA-sensitive currents was that they appeared to inactivate under conditions of constant cytosolic Ca2+. 6. A novel observation during these experiments was a slow hump of outward current which appears to result from a non-monotonic elevation in cytosolic Ca2+ during prolonged voltage jumps.
DNA binding by the Arabidopsis CBF1 transcription factor requires the PKKP/RAGRxKFxETRHP signature sequence.

Abstract The CBF/DREB1 transcriptional activators are key regulators of plant freezing tolerance. They are members of the AP2/ERF multi-gene family, which in Arabidopsis comprises about 145 members. Common to these proteins is the AP2/ERF DNA-binding domain, a 60-amino-acid fold composed of a three-stranded β-sheet followed by a C-terminal α-helix. A feature that distinguishes the CBF proteins from the other AP2/ERF proteins is the presence of “signature sequences,” PKKP/RAGRxKFxETRHP (abbreviated PKKPAGR) and DSAWR, which are located immediately upstream and downstream, respectively, of the AP2/ERF DNA-binding domain. The signature sequences are highly conserved in CBF proteins from diverse plant species suggesting that they have an important functional role. Here we show that the PKKPAGR sequence of AtCBF1 is essential for its transcriptional activity. Deletion of the sequence or mutations within it greatly impaired the ability of CBF1 to induce expression of its target genes. This impairment was not due to the mutations eliminating CBF1 localization to the nucleus or preventing protein accumulation. Rather, we show that this loss of function was due to the mutations greatly impairing the ability of the CBF1 protein to bind to its DNA recognition sequence, the CRT/DRE element. These results establish that the ability of the CBF proteins to bind to the CRT/DRE element requires amino acids that extend beyond the AP2/ERF DNA-binding domain and raise the possibility that the PKKPAGR sequence contributes to determining the DNA-binding specificity of the CBF proteins.
MTBF warranty/guarantee for multiple user avionics

A MTBF (mean time between failures) warranty/guarantee situation is modeled for an avionics unit installed on different platforms and subjected to varying levels of operational stress. The demand for warranty repairs is approached by structuring submodels and solving these submodels using linked spreadsheets. The spares guarantee is modeled using the MTBF parameter and the expected number of units installed in the various platforms. The spreadsheets contain the essence of the mathematical models/calculations and are a form of self-documentation. >
Interaction Effects Based on Class Level in an Explanatory Model of College Student Dropout Syndrome

A conceptual model of the factors affecting dropout syndrome (a combination of intent to leave, discussing leaving, and actual attrition) was developed emphasizing academic, social, and personal outcomes of the selection or socialization of students at an institution. The model was estimated using path analysis, and the intervening variables (college grades, institutional fit, and institutional commitment) were found to be important predictors of dropout syndrome. The variables in the model accounted for 27 to 47% of the variance in the criterion. Findings indicate that a student’s peers are more important agents of socialization than are informal faculty contacts, that students may play a more active role in their socialization than previously thought, and that college grades seem more the product of selection than socialization.
How Competency-Based Education Can Fulfill the Promise of Educational Technology

Even with today’s sophisticated technologies, we usually are still exporting the classroom as if that is the ideal learning environment. Learning science has advanced a great deal in the past several centuries since the lecture became the most common form of ‘teaching’ at colleges and universities. There is a lot we know about how people learn, yet very few faculty members are learning experts. There is good evidence that adaptive or personalized learning environments help more students be successful, but these are hard to implement in traditional settings. The use of a competency-based education model can facilitate the use of these new learning environments to benefit students.
Superconductivity Analogies, Ferroelectricity and Flow Defects in Liquid Crystals

Liquid crystal phases present a large variety of physical phenomena often leading to interesting applications. Here we address issues involving nematic and smectic phases, from the point of view of modeling and analysis. These include superconductivity analogies of the phase transition from nematic to smectic A*, ferro-electricity of the smectic C* and flow defects in some special regimes. Molecular chirality plays an important role in such behaviors.
Consulting in Sri Lanka

So you want to be an anthropological business consultant as well as a professional anthropologist? You want to double your salary, travel business class, and work with the movers and shakers, some of whom are first rate intellectuals who would have been professors if academic salaries were higher? You want the challenge of having your students (that is, your clients) mark you instead of the reverse? You want the thrill of seeing your work make a difference in the world instead of being buried in academic journals? You want a counterpoint between insider consulting knowledge which is typically unpublishable because it is the confidential property of the client, and research knowledge which you gather with other companies, following up on leads from your consulting knowledge? Fine. Then work up to it.
Insecticides Evaluated in Field Tests Against Cotton Insects in Central Texas, 1970

In field tests conducted for control of cotton insects, Bay 93820 (isopropyl salicylate O -ester with O -methyl phosphoramidothioate), Shell SD-17250 (N-[(methylcarbamoyl) oxyl thioacetimidic acid ester with 3-mercaptopropionilrile), Ciba C-8514 (N N -(4-chloro-o-tolyl)- N,N -dimethyl formamidine) Velsicol VSC-506 (O-(4-hromo-2,5-dichlorophen) O-methyl phenylphosphonothioate), a preparation (termed HD-I) of the g-endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis var. alesti Berliner, monocrotophos, and toxaphene plus DDT plus methyl parathion all gave fair to good control of Heliothis spp.: VCS-506, C-8514, HD-l, and monocrotophos were the most effective in preventing buildup of cabbage loopers, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner); and Bay 93820, SD-17250, VCS-506, C-8514 and monocrotophos prevented a buildup of carmine spider mites, Telranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval).
Galloping Piezoelectric Energy Harvester with Bio-inspired Square Bluff Body

A galloping piezoelectric energy harvester (GPEH) is composed of a beam with surface bonded piezoelectric layers and a tip bluff body which is susceptible to aeroelastic instability in the presence of axial wind flow. Tubercles on flipper of the hump back whale, have been used for passive control and have proven better aerodynamic performance, i.e., higher L/D ratio and delay of stall. In this paper, a biology inspired wavy leading edge on a square cross-section bluff body was introduced to the GPEH. We expect to fundamentally understand the effect of this bio-inspired bluff body on the GPEH performance. Comprehensive design, analysis, prototype development, and wind tunnel test were conducted in order to characterize its performance. It was shown that the waviness on the leading edge can be used to passively control the GPEH galloping velocity. Voltage and Limit Cycle Oscillation (LCO) amplitude of GPEH decrease with increasing wave steepness and decreasing wavelength due to reduced lift and drag. Also, velocity for initiation of galloping increases with decreasing wavelength. Hitherto, this critical velocity depended on system mechanical damping and shape of bluff body cross-section. Furthermore, analytical prediction of system transient response and effects of the coefficients of vertical aerodynamic force are presented. In summary, a GPEH with a bio-inspired square bluff body was developed and characterized. Compared to the baseline GPEH with square bluff body, there is no obvious gain in terms of harvested energy. However, the wavy leading edge concept on the square bluff body was demonstrated as a passive control scheme to tune galloping velocity, which provides a new method to measure air speed by simply using an array of such GPEHs.
Analysis of Growth and Common Diseases Status Among Students in Yantian District,Shenzhen City

Objective To study the growth and common diseases situation of Yantian District students.Methods A total of 7,208 students received physical examination according to “Chinese Students' Health Condition Monitoring Handbooks” and “Prevention and Cure Technical Specification of Student Common Diseases” and the data were statistically analyzed.Results The superior rate of student group was higher than the inferior rate of student group in height and weight.The prevalence of poor eyesight was the highest in the three common diseases and followed by caries and trachoma.Conclusion The growth and development situation of Yantian District students is relatively acceptable,but malnutrition and obesity still exist.The incidences of poor visual acuity and caries are serious,it is urgent to strengthen health education on visual acuity protection and oral health in primary and middle school students.
Effect and Mechanism of Resveratrol on Insulin Sensitivity in Insulin-resistant KKAy Mice

Objective:To investigate the effect of resveratrol on insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant KKAy mice and to probe the mechanism.Methods:A total of 36 7-week-old KKAy mice were randomly divided into 3 groups,which were fed standard AIN93G diet or standard AIN93G diet with resveratrol at contents of 2 g/kg and 4 g/kg diet.Totally 12 C57BL/6J mice were used as the control.The 12 h fasting levels of blood glucose and serum insulin and glucose and insulin tolerance at 0,6 weeks and 12 weeks of drug intervention were determined to evaluate the effect of resveratrol.The expression of silent information regulator(sirt-1) and phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1(IRS-1) in liver were examined by western blotting.Results:Resveratrol significantly improved insulin sensitivity of KKAy mice,ameliorated glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance,and enhanced the expression level of sirt-1 and phosphorylation of IRS-1 in liver.Conclusion:Resveratol may ameliorate insulin resistance and glucose tolerance disorder of mice due to its promotion effect on the expression of sirt-1 in liver and activation effect on the proteins related to insulin signaling.
Emerging markets firms' catch-up strategy in new product development: cases from Chinese companies

To catch up with their counterparts in global competition, emerging market firms (EMFs) need to build their innovative capabilities for new product development (NPD). Drawing on internationalisation and knowledge management perspectives, we extend Mathews' (2006) 'linkage-leverage-learning' (LLL) framework and present an exploratory analysis of how Chinese firms as an example of EMFs overcome their resource disadvantages and exploit internationalisation opportunities in facilitating their NPD. We suggest that to enhance their NPD, Chinese firms first need to exploit external resources through linking with domestic governments and industrial clusters. Second, Chinese firms should learn from their foreign subsidiaries and hire heterogeneous R&D personnel to facilitate their NPD. Third, top management team members acting as product champions can help Chinese firms leverage their valuable resources in support of their NPD activities. This article contributes to the extant literature by identifying key drivers that facilitate the NPD of Chinese firms.
Mississippian (Chesterian) bivalves from the Pennsylvanian stratotype area in West Virginia and Virginia

Diverse bivalve faunules in the Upper Mississippian (Chesterian) Bluestone and Hinton Formations in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia contain 49 species representing 29 genera. Of these, six new species are proposed: Ptychopteria pusilla, Streblochondria mutata, Streblopteria girtyi, Ectogrammysia inaffecta, E. prolata, and Cardiomorpha obovata. The Hinton and Bluestone Formations fall into Mamet's Foraminiferal Zones 18 and 19, respectively.
The Racial Invariance Thesis and Neighborhood Crime: Beyond the Black–White Divide

Social scientists have long known that crime is higher in minority versus White neighborhoods. Predominant accounts of this pattern invoke a racial invariance thesis, which posits that (1) accounti...
Stem cells with a view: a look inside a retinal ciliopathy.

Ciliopathies are a group of severe developmental disorders that are clinically and genetically heterogeneous. They occur due to the dysfunction of cilia, which are microtubule-based extensions of the plasma membrane. The ciliary membrane acts as a hub for transmembrane receptors and specific lipids and proteins that assist in the detection and downstream signaling of extrinsic cues. They carry out diverse signaling cascades, such as sonic hedgehog signaling and sensory perceptions, including olfaction, chemosensation and photoreception (1,2). Not surprisingly, ciliary dysfunction results in severe developmental and systemic disorders, including Meckel-Gruber Syndrome, Joubert Syndrome, Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, and Senior-Loken Syndrome (1).
Interpersonal Psychotherapy of Depression

Interpersonal psychotherapy of depression (IPT) has been developed over the past 20 years, initially in the New Haven-Boston Collaborative Depression Research Project by Gerald Klerman, Myrna Weissman, and colleagues. It has been described in detail in a training manual and subsequently in a textbook (Klerman et al., 1984). I have summarized the development and application of IPT, including illustrative case examples, in the Handbook of the Brief Psychotherapies (Cornes, 1990).
Outcomes and Value in Spine Surgery

Health care costs are on an unsustainable upward trajectory and spine disorders are one of the most costly disease states worldwide. Value-based care is being implemented across all medical specialties. However, the true meaning of value and how to accurately and precisely measure value poses a significant challenge. The keys to identifying and optimizing value in spine care lies at the individual patient level. Analyzing drivers of cost from all perspectives and identifying patient factors, surgeon factors, and others that lead to increased cost and cost variation is critical to make improvements in value. Equally important, is the ability to accurately measure patient outcomes. Innovative methods are being developed for measuring patient outcomes and developing evidence to guide clinical decision-making. It can no longer be acceptable to only look at population based outcomes when evaluating the value of a spine intervention, rather the factors that drive variation in outcomes in the outliers must be identified and modified. Understanding what drives cost in spine surgery, the ability to accurately measure outcomes following spine intervention, and identifying factors that drive variation in cost and outcomes is critical to improving the value of health care. These concepts are essential in order to strive toward individualized care, which will not only lead to improved benefit to the patient, but also benefit to the surgeon, the hospital, the payer, and society as a whole.
Nuclear Abolition or Nuclear Umbrella? Choices and Contradictions in US Proposals

This chapter discusses military strategy in a world beyond deterrence, analysing the choices and contradictions in US proposals about nuclear abolition and its commitments to extended deterrence. In the analysis, strong emphasis is placed on the normative context for nuclear disarmament, which would greatly benefit from an explicit and unqualified condemnation of those weapons by world’s leaders. To that end, popular mobilization is deemed as a prerequisite for such significant change.
Strategic Planning for IS Security: Designing Objectives

Management of information systems (IS) security in organizations has been hampered by the apparent lack of inclusion of organizational security objectives in the traditional strategic planning process. In order to improve IS security strategic planning, we argue that there should be a renewed emphasis on security planning objectives. In this paper we present two sets of objectives – fundamental and means. We then define an evaluation mechanism for assessing the security posture of a firm. Based on case work in healthcare, we illustrate the usefulness of the security evaluation method for designing enterprise security.
Neuropeptide Y infusion improves hemodynamics and survival in rat endotoxic shock

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a sympathetic and platelet-derived vasoconstrictor, acts both directly and by potentiating adrenergic responsiveness and therefore may be beneficial in endotoxic shock, where suppressed vascular responsiveness to adrenergic agents is a key factor. This was studied in anesthetized rats. First, infusion of a nonhypotensive dose of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) markedly suppressed the pressor response to increasing doses of norepinephrine (NE), angiotensin II, and vasopressin but did not suppress the response to NPY. Second, in rats rendered hypotensive by intravenous LPS, continuous NE infusion (0.1-1.0 microgram.kg-1 x min-1 started 5 min after LPS for 1 h) did not alter hemodynamics. In contrast, 5 nmol.kg-1 x min-1 of NPY (equipotent to 0.1 microgram.kg-1 x min-1 of NE in normal rats) increased mean arterial pressure (MAP, from 64 to 114% of baseline), total peripheral resistance index (TPRI, from 64 to 154% of baseline), and left ventricular stroke work index (from 36 to 73% of baseline), without changing cardiac index (CI). Third, in a similar experimental protocol, pretreatment of the hypotensive rats with phentolamine blocked the pressor effect of NE infusion, but only partially attenuated the response to NPY. Finally, addition of low-dose NPY to NE infusion improved survival following a lethal dose of LPS compared with treatment with NE alone (P < 0.01). Thus, unlike other vasoconstrictors tested, NPY-mediated vasoconstriction is preserved during endotoxemia. The beneficial effect of NPY is mediated by increased TPRI without reduction in CI; both NPY receptor-mediated vasoconstriction and potentiation of adrenergic responsiveness may be involved.
An Overview of Organic Agriculture in the United States

Organic agriculture has a rapidly growing consumer demand in the United States, and a rapidly developing support infrastructure, making it a premier technology in the efforts of many public and private organizations that advocate more sustainable farming practices. In October 2002, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented national organic standards on organic production and handling, following more than a decade of development, and over 90 state and private organizations have now been accredited by USDA to certify organic farmers, ranchers, distributors, processors and manufacturers. Although organic grain crop acreage is still under 0.5 percent of the U.S. total, the share is much higher for the fruit, vegetable, and dairy sectors. As the U.S. organic farm sector expands, university-based research and technical assistance and other State and federal support for organic farmers are also beginning to emerge.
Learning non-linearly separable Boolean functions with linear threshold unit trees and Madaline-style networks

This paper investigates an algorithm for the construction of decisions trees comprised of linear threshold umts and also presents a novel algorithm for the learning of nonlinearly separable boolean functions using Madaline style networks which are isomorphic .to decision trees. The construction of such networks is discussed, and theIr performance in learning is compared with standard Back-Propagation on a sample problem in which many irrelevant attributes are introduced. Littlestone's Winnow algorithm is also explored within this architecture as a means of learning in the presence of many Irrelevant attributes. The learning ability of this Madaline-style architecture on non-optimal (larger than necessary) networks is also explored.
Education in Post-conflict Environments: Pathways to Sustainable Peace

Can formal and nonformal education processes act as a catalyst for sustainable peace? In this chapter, I explore the various roles that education, in its widest sense, can play in helping progress toward sustainable peace in conflict-affected nations. Recognizing that education, particularly adult education, is one of the main tenets of any peace-building process, I suggest how educational policy and practice could be and has been shaped to integrate key peace-building and reconciliation principles. I discuss the various approaches to education as a means to peace in conflict-affected countries and then suggest ways in which these approaches might contribute to the ongoing process of peace and nation building in Timor Leste, which has recently experienced another bout of destabilizing violence.
Multi-document text summarization using topic model and fuzzy logic

The automation of the process of summarizing documents plays a major rule in many applications. Automatic Text Summarization has been focused on retaining the essential information without affecting the document quality. This paper proposes a new multi-document summarization method that combines topic model and fuzzy logic model. The proposed method extracts some relevant topic words from source documents. The extracted words are used as elements of fuzzy sets. Meanwhile, each sentence on the source document is used to generate a fuzzy relevance rule that measures the importance of each sentence. A fuzzy inference system is used to generate the final summarization. Our summarization results are evaluated against some well-known summary systems and performed well in divergences and similarities.
Cost-effectiveness of screening for common cancers

Consideration of cost-effectiveness has guided public and insurers' decisions about preventive services for almost 20 years. Legislative decisions on coverage of specific cancer screening tests under Medicare and Medicaid have traditionally followed studies of their cost-effectiveness. This paper reviews the principles of cost-effectiveness analysis in health care. Cost-effectiveness analysis is a stylized form of investment analysis, where the returns on the investment are measured in improvements in health rather than in dollars and consider society as a whole as the relevant investor. Cost-effectiveness studies of screening for two common cancers, cervical and colorectal, illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of cost-effectiveness analysis. Dependence on models of the disease process, which may be sketchy, and uncertainty about costs and benefits of screening are inherent in the methodology. Although economic evaluations of both cervical and colorectal cancer screening have found them to be relatively cost-effective compared with doing nothing, such studies have not resolved the uncertainty about the best screening strategy for either disease. With cervical cancer, new evidence about the relationship between human papilloma virus and high-grade neoplasia suggests the need for new models of the disease process that can support additional cost-effectiveness analyses. Colorectal cancer screening models must be validated against new information from recent randomized clinical trials. Despite uncertainty and contradictions in existing studies of screening for both diseases, investment models force clinicians and decision-makers to consider all important consequences for health care costs and outcomes.
A Questioning Voice: Instructors and Basic Writers Interact.

Ten years have passed since Mina Shaughnessy explained in Errors and Expectations that the real job of the writing teacher is not to correct students' mistakes but to see the "intelligence" of them and to "harness that intelligence in the service of learning" (11). Since then, we have come a good distance in our thinking-or at least in our theorizing. We know that the intelligence behind students' errors represents a struggle to express equally intelligent meaning, and that complex thoughts are easily derailed by lapses in the academic code. As Nancy Sommers says, many of us formerly "read with our preconceptions and preoccupations, expecting to find errors," and, therefore, "misread our students' texts" (154). By only correcting errors, many of us reinforced the notion that rightness is all, and we helped reticent writers become blocked writers; nothing could be written right, so nothing was written. The prose that overcorrected students managed to squeeze out, they protected; they believed that change meant correction, and many corrections meant many errors. In recent years, writing programs nationwide have begun to meet the challenge of convincing inexperienced writers that writing is revising, and that revising is more than the correction of an error-riddled essay. Today we hope to free students from the fear of error, while we still foster a respect for good, clear prose. We now encourage students to rethink their own work independently-within bounds of convention that must be taught and learned. Teaching is not looking for errors, but it is not overlooking them either. We have to sense when to allow error "in the
Abnormal Prefrontal Development in Pediatric Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Longitudinal Structural and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Abstract Background Prior studies of pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have reported cross-sectional and age-related structural and functional brain abnormalities in networks associated with cognitive, affective, and self-referential processing. However, no reported studies have comprehensively examined longitudinal gray matter development and its intrinsic functional correlates in pediatric PTSD. Methods Twenty-seven youths with PTSD and 21 nontraumatized typically developing (TD) youths were assessed at baseline and 1-year follow-up. At each visit, youths underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Regions with volumetric abnormalities in whole-brain structural analyses were identified and used as seeds in exploratory intrinsic connectivity analyses. Results Youths with PTSD exhibited sustained reductions in gray matter volume (GMV) in right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and bilateral ventrolateral PFC. Group-by-time analyses revealed aberrant longitudinal development in dorsolateral PFC, where typically developing youths exhibited normative decreases in GMV between baseline and follow-up, and youths with PTSD showed increases in GMV. Using these regions as seeds, patients with PTSD exhibited atypical longitudinal decreases in intrinsic PFC–amygdala and PFC–hippocampus connectivity, in contrast to increases in typically developing youths. Specifically, youths with PTSD showed decreasing ventromedial PFC–amygdala connectivity as well as decreasing ventrolateral PFC–hippocampus connectivity over time. Notably, volumetric abnormalities in ventromedial PFC and ventrolateral PFC were predictive of symptom severity. Conclusions These findings represent novel longitudinal volumetric and connectivity changes in pediatric PTSD. Atypical prefrontal GMV and prefrontal-amygdala/hippocampus development may underlie persistence of PTSD in youths and could serve as future therapeutic targets.
MORE ON S-MEASURES

In their important (but often overlooked) paper [1]. C. Ward Henson and Frank Wallenberg introduced the notion of S-measurability. and showed that S-measurable functions are “approximately standard” (in a sense made precise in the next section).
Ethics of Pain Management and Research

Medical ethics are based upon the four pillars: Autonomy, Beneficence, Justice and Non-maleficence. These pillars guide physician decision making when a moral dilemma arises. Ethical applications in pain research revolve around sound design, informed consent, population selection and alternative pain treatment availability.