cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Copper-CNT Hybrid TSVs: Thermo-Mechanical Stresses and Reliability Analysis

Through silicon vias (TSVs) play a critical role in today’s microelectronic technology as they enable fabrication of three-dimensional integrated circuits. Traditionally, copper has been used to fill TSVs. However, copper is prone to electro-migration and as the size of TSVs become smaller, copper resistance increases significantly, thereby reducing its potential for TSV material at nanoscales. A proposed hybrid structure is presented here in which Carbon Nanotube (CNT) bundles are grown vertically inside TSVs and encased with copper. The CNT bundles assists with increasing the strength of the hybrid structure and is likely to enhance the reliability of the package. Thermo-mechanical stress analysis and reliability evaluations is conducted to determine the effect of CNT bundles on stress distribution in the package and their impact on reliability of other critical components such as solder bumps that are used to join the silicon layers. The finite element analysis shows that addition of CNT material to the structure, even in small volume ratios tend to redistribute the stress and refocus it to inside the CNT material rather than interfaces. Interface stresses in low strength material typically cause delamination and failure in the package. Redistribution of stress is likely to enhance the reliability of the TSVs. Additional reliability analysis of the solder joints, shows that CNT additions enhances the number of cycles to failure four times. It is hypothesized that addition of CNTs decreases the local CTE mismatch between the silicon layers and assists in reducing the stress in solder bumps. This hypothesis is proven using finite element simulations.
Disaster Memories and Other Thoughts on the Fukushima Nuclear Reactors, The Military Industrial Complex, the Ainu, and National Sovereignty

It is the irony of ironies that the only country on Earth ever attacked by the nuclear bomb is now facing the peril of massive radioactive contamination from another nuclear crisis. The country bombed by both the Enola Gay and Bockscar, the country that experienced deadly "black rain" and massive human annihilation at the end of WWII, is now confronted not only by the outcome of the natural catastrophes caused by earthquakes and tsunami waves, but also the man-made disaster of massive radiation leaks from nuclear reactors in Fukushima. As of today, nearly 30,000 people are reported dead or missing due to the destruction caused by the earthquake and tidal waves. Most of these deaths and structural damages occurred in the Prefecture of Miyagi, the prefecture being Japan's geopolitical jurisdiction equivalent to statehood in the United States. On the other hand, the nuclear disaster in the nuclear plant in Fukushima, south of Miyagi, has yet to kill anyone. Nonetheless, the massive radiation leaks will threaten the lives of tens of millions of people in the northern and central region of Japan for many years to come.
Development of a multi-grid FDTD code for three-dimensional simulation of large microwave sintering experiments

The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) code available at the University of Utah has been used to simulate sintering of ceramics in single and multimode cavities, and many useful results have been reported in literature. More detailed and accurate results, specifically around and including the ceramic sample, are often desired to help evaluate the adequacy of the heating procedure. In electrically large multimode cavities, however, computer memory requirements limit the number of the mathematical cells, and the desired resolution is impractical to achieve due to limited computer resources. Therefore, an FDTD algorithm which incorporates multiple-grid regions with variable-grid sizes is required to adequately perform the desired simulations. In this paper the authors describe the development of a three-dimensional multi-grid FDTD code to help focus a large number of cells around the desired region. Test geometries were solved using a uniform-grid and the developed multi-grid code to help validate the results from the developed code. Results from these comparisons, as well as the results of comparisons between the developed FDTD code and other available variable-grid codes are presented. In addition, results from the simulation of realistic microwave sintering experiments showed improved resolution in critical sites inside the three-dimensional sintering cavity. With the validationmore » of the FDTD code, simulations were performed for electrically large, multimode, microwave sintering cavities to fully demonstrate the advantages of the developed multi-grid FDTD code.« less
Simulation of Combination of Snow and Earthquake Hazards

Snow load is an important load in seismic design, especially for those sites where both seismic and snow load are significant. In ASCE 7-05, the snow load factor is determined using the Turkstra’s rule, which tends to be unconservative for those sites. In this paper, the Filtered Poisson Process (FPP) is used to simulate snow load for Stampede Pass, WA, and the reliability index is found to be lower than the present code level.
A Review on the Development Status of Philosophy of Science and Technology

Philosophy of science and technology(natural dialectic),as a discipline with Chinese characteristics,constitutes an important part of Marxist philosophy.Yet,there are controversies over its disciplinary nature,system formation and future trends of development in the academia.If philosophy of science and technology is viewed as an abbreviated term for philosophy of science and philosophy of technology,it is a discipline group,as philosophy of science and philosophy of technology are independent subjects themselves.Philosophy of science is a mature discipline,as its traditional issues have been addressed by the academia and predictions have been made concerning its future trends,whereas philosophy of technology,as a newly emerging subject,has displayed great vitality,with its disciplinary norms in the making.
Research of Fault-tolerance Technique of Integrated Avionics Core Processor System

A future avionics will be a highly integrated, modularized system, running on its platform called Integrated Core Processor System (ICPS), which is real time distributed computing system integrated with data processing, signal processing and graphic processing. In order to meet the reliability requirement, fault tolerance techniques are generally used in designing the ICPS. This paper describes the hardware and software structure of the IPCS system, and presents the fault-tolerance management strategies and an example of the process of the fault monitoring, fault processing and system reconfiguring.
Erythropoietic agents as neurotherapeutic agents: What barriers exist?

Erythropoietin is the primary physiological regulator of erythropoiesis, and it exerts its effect by binding to cell surface receptors. It has recently been shown that both erythropoietin and its receptor are found in the human cerebral cortex, and that, in vitro, the cytokine is synthesized by astrocytes and neurons, has neuroprotective activity, and is up-regulated following hypoxic stimuli. In animal models, exogenous recombinant human erythropoietin has been reported to be beneficial in treating experimental global and focal cerebral ischemia and reducing nervous system inflammation
Principles of computed tomography

(1976). Principles of computed tomography. Postgraduate Medicine: Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 105-109.
Transformations in self-understanding in surgeons whose treatment efforts were not successful.

A project designed to study patients’ reactions to surgery that despite surgeons’ best efforts was not successful found transformations in self-understanding of the surgeons if they continued to se...
Bispecific Antibodies Against HIV

Synergistic bispecific antibodies against HIV exhibit extraordinary potency and breadth of neutralization as promising candidates for treatment and prevention.
NEST MICROCLIMATE, WATER-VAPOR CONDUCTANCE, AND WATER LOSS IN HERON AND TERN EGGS

Rates of water loss (/lHo) were measured in eggs of seven species of tree- nesting Ciconiiformes and three species of ground-nesting Charadriiformes during natural incubation. Measurements of egg temperature, conductance of the egg shell to water vapor, and nest and ambient humidity allow one to calculate the difference in water-vapor pressure (Ap) between egg and nest and between nest and ambient air. Ap between egg and nest was significantly lower in ground-nesting species (23 torr) than in tree-nesting species (31 torr). We suggest that low Ap in ground-nesting species was due to relatively high humidity (ca. 27 torr) in nests built on the ground compared to the humidity in loose stick nests of tree-nesting species (ca. 14 torr). Water-vapor conductance of eggs from more humid nests is relatively higher than that of eggs from less humid nests (107% and 78% of predicted values, respectively), resulting in similar fractional losses in mass for the whole incubation period in both groups of birds. Mn2o was not always constant throughout incubation. We suggest that changes in Mno may be due to changes in ambient humidity and/or egg tem- perature. Received 29 December 1980, resubmitted 5 January 1982, accepted 5 July 1982.
Functional Morphology of the Forelimb of the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus): Comparative Perspectives on the Myology of Dasypodidae

The nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, is a member of the family Dasypodidae, which contains all extant species of armadillos and represents the most diverse group of xenarthran mammals by their speciation, form, and range of scratch-digging ability. This study aims to identify muscle traits that reflect specialization for fossorial habit by observing forelimb structure in D. novemcinctus and comparing it among armadillos using available myological data. A number of informative traits were observed in D. novemcinctus and among Dasypodidae, including the absence of m. rhomboideus profundus, the variable presence of a m. articularis humeri and m. coracobrachialis, two heads of m. triceps brachii with scapular origin, and a lack of muscle mass devoted to antebrachial supination. Muscle mass and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform content were also quantified from our forelimb dissections. New osteological indices are additionally calculated and reported for D. novemcinctus. Collectively, the findings emphasize muscle mass and power output for limb retraction and specialization of the distal limb for sustained purchase of soil by strong pronation and carpal/digital flexion. Moreover, the myological traits assessed here provide a valuable resource for interpretation of muscle architecture specializations among digging mammals and future reassessment of armadillo phylogeny.
Total Perineal Prostatectomy in 398 Patients with Cancer of the Prostate

Summary A series of 398 total perineal prostatectomies for cancer of the prostate is presented and analyzed. All patients were at least followed for five years, 303 for 10–15 and 218 for over 15 years. This series is different from others because 105 patients over age 70 and 123 patients with tumorextension through the prostatic capsule were included. The rates of survival for the three groups were 5–10 years 71.8% 10–15 years 38.6% over 15 years 21.6%. The large number of patients makes it possible to compare survival in five year age-groups to the life expectancy of the American male of the same age. This method is used to study the dependence of survival of our patients with prostatic carcinoma on age, tumor extension and histological grade. Both, age and tumor extension significantly influence the time of survival. In the younger patients the tumor killed 53.8 % or 7 of 13, whereas the overall mortality from recurrent or metastatic carcinoma was only 12.8 % or 53 of 398 patients. The data on grading are presently incomplete and do not allow final conclusions. Considering all data presented, there is no doubt, that in the cases of prostatic cancer analyzed in this study, life expectancy is markedly decreased in all age-groups in spite of total prostatectomy. This tumor is regardless of age, stage or grade by no means a harmless disease.
The Fiduciary Duties of Corporate Directors to "Phantom" Stockholders

Companies seeking to attract or retain key employees often implement "phantom" stock plans. These plans confer on selected employees the financial benefits of stock ownership without granting them an equity interest in the company or requiring them to make a corresponding capital investment.' Under phantom stock plans, companies credit selected employees with a specified number of "shares" of company stock, and then contractually promise the employees that they will receive the value of those shares at a future date.2 Consequently, employees with phantom stock accumulate wealth through the continuing success of the company, and employers are able to encourage employees to remain with the firm.3 The increased use of phantom stock plans has given rise to questions concerning the nature of the relationship between the company managers who implement the plans and the employees who receive the phantom stock. In general, corporate directors must behave appropriately toward the persons to whom they owe fiduciary duties.4 But as Justice Frankfurter said, "to say that a man is a fiduciary only begins analysis; it gives direction to fur-
The Beleaguered Muse

The Gypsies Metamorphosed was the last real triumph of Jonson’s career. In the course of the 1620s and early 1630s he would receive the adulation of his literary ‘sons’ in ‘the Tribe of Ben’, but in general the years from his fiftieth birthday in June 1622 to his death in 1637 were filled with difficulties. At court his position was threatened first by the ageing King’s hyper-sensitivity to public criticism and then by the change in cultural styles following the accession of Charles and Henrietta Maria. Though he continued writing into the mid-1630s, still showing flashes of his old inventiveness, satiric wit and lyric grace, the literary methods that produced his great middle plays were no longer effective. His ongoing dispute with Inigo Jones, now securely established as one of Charles’ chief artistic advisors, lost him masque commissions and contributed to his eclipse. Never one to take rejection gracefully, Jonson responded to these artistic slights with agressive scorn or fantasies of retribution, straining old friendships and inviting new quarrels with his critics. His artistic difficulties were compounded by such personal crises as fire, illness and mounting debts. The themes of his later works — the superiority of spiritual to physical love, the opposition between a corrupt peace and honour in war, the nature of true valour and friendship, and Stoic resolution in the face of death and misfortune — reflect both his adjustment to the new attitudes of the Caroline court and his efforts to resolve long-standing inner conflicts aggravated by his declining circumstances.
Preface to Vol. 11

This volume and Volume 12 focus primarily on presenting peer reviewed scholarly articles developed from the selected proceedings of the Third International Conference on Hate Studies. Themed “The Pursuit of Justice: Understanding Hatred, Confronting Intolerance, Eliminating Inequality,” the conference was co-organized and hosted by the Gonzaga Institute for Hate Studies, the Gonzaga School of Law, and the Washington State Task Force on Race and the Criminal Justice System. Presenters and attendees from two dozen countries worldwide came to Spokane, Washington for four days in April 2013 in order to concentrate on how fear and ignorance of the “other” manifest in hatred, intolerance, and inequality, and thus affect the pursuit of justice for all.
Should Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Be Used for the Treatment of Postoperative Pain Following Ambulatory Surgery

Following arthroscopic shoulder surgery at a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery center (ASC), a patient with a history of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) complained to the anesthesiologist that he was feeling mild postoperative pain. Postoperative pain is a common complaint following shoulder procedures as the joint is heavily innervated and highly vascularized. The patient requested pain relief; he also expressed a desire to continue his recovery at home as originally planned.
“My History, Finally Invented”: Nightwood and Its Publics

Djuna Barnes’s 1937 novel Nightwood has long been a mainstay of GLBTQ, lesbian, and/or queer canons, syllabi, and reading lists. This article argues that canons, syllabi, and reading lists promise readers the experience of “feeling public.” Drawing upon magazine and newspaper reviews, scholarly journal articles, memoirs, and reviews from the literary social networking site Goodreads , this article constructs a reception history of Nightwood that demonstrates that the book has been incorporated by modernist literary publics and lesbian publics into those publics’ own histories and into their members’ everyday worldmaking practices. This article compares historical and contemporary reading practices to argue that queer texts and reading practices make GLBTQ readers feel public, even in private. Queer novels performed important worldmaking work in the early 20th century, and continue to do so. Framed by affect studies, queer studies, and reception studies, the case study of Nightwood ’s history demonstrates that categories like “queer literature” shape affective reading practices, and vice versa.
Navigation-guided transsylvian approach and microsurgical resection of a deep left temporal low-grade arteriovenous malformation.

This video demonstrates stereotactic-guided resection of a ruptured diffuse left temporal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in an adolescent male who presented with headache and speech difficulties. The diffuse nidus of the AVM, 25 mm in size, was located in the posterior superior temporal gyrus, with drainage into the sylvian veins (Spetzler-Martin Grade II). The AVM was located stereotactically, and resection was performed through a small corticectomy. The clot cavity was evacuated. Feeding branches to the AVM were identified during careful dissection, and parent M1 and M2 branches were preserved. The patient recovered well, with no residual speech deficit. Postoperative angiogram demonstrated complete AVM removal.The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/Sttc86H8jCw.
Cord Structure Complications in Inguinal Hernia Surgery

Inguinal hernia surgery remains the most common elective general surgical procedure performed in the United States. It is a relatively safe operation, with worldwide morbidity averaging 6%, mortality 0.3%, and a recurrence rate in the range of less than 1–10%. Complications of inguinal herniorrhaphy can occur both intraoperatively as well as during the postoperative period. This chapter will focus on intraoperative cord structure complications in both open and laparoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy. The focus of this chapter will be on male patients due to the relative inconsequences of cord injuries in female patients.
Influence of Language and Culture in the Primary Care of Spanish-Speaking Latino Adults with Poorly Controlled Diabetes: A Qualitative Study.

Background: We examined the role of language and culture in the interactions between Spanish-speaking Latino patients with poorly controlled diabetes – a fast-growing population in the United States - and their primary care providers. Methods: We conducted four focus groups with 36 non-US born Spanish-speaking patients with elevated HbA1c. Participants were insured health plan members with either English-speaking (2 groups) or Spanish-speaking (2 groups) primary care providers. Moderated discussions focused on visit preparation, communication during visit, and role of other care team members. Key themes derived from these discussions were then linked to corresponding Latino cultural constructs. Results: Patients had a mean age of 57.9 (±11.2) years and last measured HbA1c was 8.6% (1.5%). Two communication-related themes (reluctance to switch providers and use of intermediaries) and two visit-related themes (provider-driven visit agendas and problem-based visits) emerged from our analyses. These themes reflected the cultural constructs of confianza (trust), familismo (family), respeto (deference), and simpatia (harmonious relationship). Trust in the patient-provider relationship led many participants to remain with English-speaking providers who treated them well. Patients with either language concordant and discordant providers reported reliance on family or other intermediaries to close communication gaps. Deference to physician expertise and authority led to visit expectations that it is the doctor’s job to know what to ask and that visits were intended to address specific, often symptom-driven problems. Conclusions: Spanish-speaking Latino patients’ cultural expectations play an important role in framing their primary care interactions. Recognizing culturally influenced visit expectations is an important step toward improving patient-provider communication. Ethn Dis. 2017;27(4):379- 386; doi:10.18865/ed.27.4.379.
Reply to: "Protective effects of heme oxygenase 1 during ischemia-reperfusion injury: Hepatocytes or non parenchymal cells?"

Author(s): Nakamura, Kojiro; Zhang, Min; Kageyama, Shoichi; Ke, Bibo; Araujo, Jesus A; Kupiec-Weglinski, Jerzy W
Nondaily Smokers' Changes in Cigarette Consumption With Very Low-Nicotine-Content Cigarettes: A Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial.

Importance The US Food and Drug Administration is considering limiting cigarettes to very low nicotine levels. Cigarette consumption of nondaily intermittent smokers (ITS), who compose one-third of US adult smokers, could feasibly increase or could be unaffected if their smoking is not motivated by nicotine seeking. Objective To compare cigarette consumption in ITS receiving very low-nicotine-content cigarettes (VLNCCs) or identical normal-nicotine-content cigarettes (NNCCs). Design, Setting, and Participants This randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted from June 2015 to July 2017 at a single US site. Volunteer ITS not planning to quit were recruited via media. Overall, 297 individuals enrolled, and 238 were randomized. Analyses were intent-to-treat. Interventions After a 2-week baseline of smoking their own brand of cigarettes provided gratis, ITS were randomized to VLNCCs or NNCCs for 10 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures The number of cigarettes per day (CPD) was assessed by real-time reporting, timeline follow-back reports, and cigarette butt counts. The primary outcome was change in CPD from baseline to weeks 9 to 10 of intervention, adjusting for baseline CPD. Results The mean (SD) age of the 238 randomized participants was 37.9 (13.8) years. Of 238 participants, 108 (45%) were men. At baseline, the mean (SD) CPD was 3.1 (2.9). In intent-to-treat analyses using multiple imputation to address missing data, the VLNCC group had a mean decrease of 1.6 CPD (95% CI, 1.1-2.0; 51% of baseline) vs 0.05 decrease with NNCCs (95% CI, −0.5 to 0.4; 2% of baseline). Treatment group differences were not materially moderated by sex, race/ethnicity, or history of daily smoking. Cheating with conventional cigarettes, inferred from cotinine assays, was more common in the VLNCC group (OR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.54-5.66), but sensitivity analyses showed significant VLNCC effects among the compliant participants as well. In longitudinal analysis of CPD over time with random intercept and slope, the VLNCC and NNCC groups differed significantly in both linear (−0.15; 95% CI, −0.22 to −0.08;P Conclusions and Relevance Switching to VLNCCs caused substantial smoking reduction among ITS but did not significantly increase abstinence. Response to a VLNCC intervention suggests that nicotine-seeking motivates ITS’ smoking. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT02228824
Influence of GnRH supplementation at CIDR removal on estrus expression and interval to estrus in beef cattle.

Abstract Previous research has indicated that multiple small doses of GnRH following CIDR removal increased circulating concentrations of estradiol. Therefore, our objective was to determine if a single small dose of GnRH (5 μg or 10 μg) at CIDR removal would impact expression of estrus and/or interval to estrus. Beef cows and heifers (n = 1620; n = 1057 cows, n = 563 heifers) were synchronized using the 7-day CO-Synch + CIDR protocol, and randomly assigned to one of three treatments (0, 5, or 10 μg of a GnRH analog at CIDR removal). Animals were inseminated following detection in estrus. Interval to estrus was calculated for each animal that exhibited estrus (INTERVAL 1). Animals that did not exhibit estrus were administered 100 μg of GnRH at the time of AI and their interval to estrus was designated at 120 h (INTERVAL 2). There was a treatment by age interaction (P = 0.05) on INTERVAL 1. Heifers treated with 5 μg of GnRH tended to have a shorter interval to estrus (P = 0.07; 47 ± 1.4 h) compared to 0 μg (50 ± 1.5 h) and did have a shorter interval compared to 10 μg (P 0.34). When animals that did not exhibit estrus by 120 h were included in the analysis there was no treatment by age interaction (P = 0.49). This is likely due to the fact that treatment (P 0.30). In summary, 5 μg of GnRH at CIDR removal tended to decrease the interval to estrus and increased expression of estrus among heifers but not cows, and 10 μg of GnRH at CIDR removal did not improve estrus expression and lengthened the interval to estrus in comparison to the control.
Nutrient digestibility and performance of pigs fed sorghums varying in tannin concentration.

Four sorghums, ranging widely in tannin content, and yellow corn were evaluated in two 5 x 5 Latin square digestion trials and a growth trial. All grains were grown in the same field under similar conditions. The sorgums and their tannin contents (milligrams of catechin/100 mg of dry matter, as determined by a modified vanillin-HCl method) were: Ga615, 3.40; NK300, 3.17; TAM680, .83, and G766-W, .88. Diets were supplemented with casein to provide .70 and .60% lysine in digestion trials 1 and 2, respectively. In trial 1, conducted with noncannulated, 25-kg pigs, digestibilities of dry matter, gross energy and N averaged for the low tannin sorghums (TAM680 and G766-W) were higher (P greater than .01) than the corresponding digestibilities averaged for the high tannin sorghums (Ga615 and NK300). N balance data indicated that utilization of absorbed N was not reduced in pigs fed the high tannin sorghums. Corn and the low tannin sorghums had similar digestibilities. In trial 2, conducted with 50-kg pigs fitted with T-cannulas at the terminal ileum, digestibilities of dry matter, gross energy, N and all amino acids again averaged higher (P greater than .01) for the low tannin sorghums than for the high tannin sorghums, whether measured at the end of the small intestine or over the total digestive tract. The one exception was methionine digestibilities at the terminal ileum, which did not differ between the high and low tannin sorghums. Among the amino acids, digestibilities of glycine, proline and histidine appeared to be the most depressed in the high tannin sorghums, as compared to the low tannin sorghums. Digestibilities of most nutrients were higher for NK300 than Ga615, suggesting a difference in type of tannin, or other compound, between grains. Corn and the low tannin sorghums, averaged together, had similar digestibilities for most nutrients. In the growth trial, 10 pigs, individually fed form 20 to 94 kg, received grain-soybean meal diets based on each grain except NK300. Gains were not affected by diet, but feed consumption was 9% higher (P greater than.05) and feed efficiency 10% (P greater than .01) poorer for pigs fed Ga615 than for those fed low tannin sorghums. Performance was similar (P greater than .10) for animals fed the low tannin sorghums and those fed corn.
Interaction of environment and ABA and GA treatments on the maize anther culture response

Treatments designed to influence abscisic acid (ABA) or gibberellin (GA) concentrations were applied to developing tassels of maize (Zea mays L.) plants in different environments or to anthers in culture to determine the effect on formation of embryo-like structures (ELS). Production of ELS was significantly affected in certain environments when ABA, GA3, ancymidol, or fluridone solutions were pipetted into whorls of field-grown plants approximately 3 days before tassel harvest. In 1996 anthers from 10 μM ancymidol-treated plants were most responsive, producing 35 ELS/100 anthers and 50 μM GA3-treated plants were least responsive, producing 12 ELS/100 anthers. In 1997 under hotter, drier conditions, anthers from 50 μM GA3-treated plants were most responsive, producing 20 ELS/100 anthers and those from 50 μM ABA-treated plants were least responsive, producing 2.4 ELS/100 anthers. Anthers from growth chamber plants were significantly more responsive when grown in a 16-h than a 12-h photoperiod. With the 16-h photoperiod the response was significantly greater with a 250 μM ABA whorl treatment. With the 12-h photoperiod there was no significant effect from whorl treatments. Modification of the culture medium with added ABA, GA3, ancymidol, or fluridone was generally ineffective, except in 1997 when the response was significantly higher with 1 μM ABA added to the culture medium. The results suggest that the maize anther culture response may be influenced by environmental conditions that interact with ABA and GA treatments to donor plants during tassel development.
Achievement Differences between Large and Small Schools in Texas

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there exists a relationship between student achievement in Texas, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test, and the size of the high school at different socioeconomic levels. This study compared five size categories of Texas high schools to determine which size high school had the highest percentage of eleventh grade students passing all four sections (reading, writing, math, and science) of the TAKS test. Data were examined for statistical significance using an ANOVA and a post hoc Scheffe test. The findings indicate that smaller rural schools experience higher percentages of students passing all four parts of the eleventh grade TAKS test in Texas than the larger urban and suburban schools where 25 % or more of the students are living in low socioeconomic situations.
Developments in Generic Entity Resolution.

Entity resolution (ER) is the problem of identifying which records in a database refer to the same entity. Although ER is a well-known problem, the rapid increase of data has made ER a challenging problem in many application areas ranging from resolving shopping items to counter-terrorism. The SERF project at Stanford focuses on providing scalable and accurate ER techniques that can be used across applications. We introduce generic ER and explain the recent advances made in our project.
Collecting qualitative data through mobile applications: A multiple case study report

Qualitative research is important within the field of social work because it is adept at gathering rich descriptions of social problems. Unfortunately, traditional qualitative data collection metho...
The Black Revolution on Campus. Martha Biondi

The fight for equal access to education is a well documented aspect of the long civil rights movement. In The Black Revolution on Campus, Martha Biondi explores the American contradiction of a raci...
Nonlinearities for one-dimensional propagation in the vocal tract

The possibility that nonlinearities can have a significant effect during sound propagation in the vocal tract is discussed. One-dimensional propagation is considered here, with only a mention of nonlinear instability of the glottal jet. A review of previous work suggests that a significant amount of energy exchange can take place between the harmonics of the voice due to nonlinear interaction. Acknowledging the existence of mechanisms for the nonlinear exchange of energy in the vocal tract in one-dimensional propagation does not alter the source–filter picture radically: the shape of the vocal tract still determines the resonance frequencies. The practical effect of these nonlinearities is to raise the question of what aspects of the speech spectrum should be attributed to the source and what to the filter.
Quality Assurance in Higher Education: The Role of Students

In this paper, we propose and discuss a conceptual framework, based on knowledge management and selective literature review, for enhancing the contribution of students in the Institutional Quality Assurance processes (IQA). The framework is related to the design of a mechanism for IQA, which ensures the improvement of the assessment and uses various methods, indicators, and criteria of auditing. The mechanism is supported by an integrated system for the evaluation of the learning practice, and it also includes a subsystem for evaluation based on Social Networking, a subsystem of learning analytics, and a subsystem for increasing the commitment to the IQA.
Role of Immunotherapy in Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancer

Immunotherapy and tumor microenvironment have been at the forefront of cancer research over the past several decades. Here, we will review the role of immunotherapy in advanced gastroesophageal cancers including targeted antibodies, immunomodulating agents, vaccines, oncolytic virus therapy, and adoptive immunotherapy, and discuss the future direction for immunotherapy in this population. Targeted antibodies are already standard-of-care. An anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody is currently FDA approved for second-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic ESCC, as well as beyond second-line treatment of advanced G/GEJ cancers, and recent data suggests it may be considered in first-line treatment of advanced G/GEJ cancers. Combination therapies such as immunotherapy plus chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, vaccines, oncolytic viral therapy, and adoptive immunotherapy in varying combinations are currently under active investigation. Several trials are ongoing and are hoped to reach more efficacious and individualized treatment options in advanced gastroesophageal cancer, where novel treatment options are desperately needed.
Sport Concussion Assessment Tool Symptom Inventory: Healthy and Acute Postconcussion Symptom Factor Structures.

CONTEXT Previous researchers have examined factor structures for common concussion symptom inventories. However, they failed to discriminate between the acute (<72 hours) and subacute (3 days-3 months) periods after concussion. The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) is an acute assessment that, when compared with other concussion symptom inventories, includes or excludes symptoms that may result in different symptom factors. OBJECTIVE The primary purpose was to investigate the symptom factor structure of the 22-item SCAT symptom inventory in healthy, uninjured and acutely concussed high school and collegiate athletes. The secondary purpose was to document the frequency of the unique SCAT symptom inventory items. DESIGN Case series. SETTING High school and college. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS A total of 1334 healthy, uninjured and 200 acutely concussed high school and collegiate athletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Healthy, uninjured participants completed the SCAT symptom inventory at a single assessment. Participants in the acutely concussed sample completed the SCAT symptom inventory within 72 hours after concussion. Two separate exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) using a principal component analysis and varimax extraction method were conducted. RESULTS A 3-factor solution accounted for 48.1% of the total variance for the healthy, uninjured sample: cognitive-fatigue (eg, feeling "in a fog" and "don't feel right"), migraine (eg, neck pain and headache), and affective (eg, more emotional and sadness) symptom factors. A 3-factor solution accounted for 55.0% of the variance for the acutely concussed sample: migraine-fatigue (eg, headache and "pressure in the head"), affective (eg, sadness and more emotional), and cognitive-ocular (eg, difficulty remembering and balance problems) symptom factors. CONCLUSIONS The inclusion of unique SCAT symptom inventory items did not alter the symptom factor structure for the healthy, uninjured sample. For the acutely concussed sample, all but 1 unique SCAT symptom inventory item (neck pain) loaded onto a factor.
Protein Kinase Structure & Function: cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase

Protein phosphorylation is a major mechanism for regulation in eukaryotic cells, and the protein kinases represent a large and very diverse family of enzymes. Nearly all major metabolic pathways are regulated at some step by phosphorylation. In addition, protein kinases play critical roles in mitogenesis, in cell cycle events, and in many types of oncogenesis. One of the first protein kinases to be discovered was cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) (Walsh DA, et al., 1968). In the intervening decades, the family has grown to well over 100. These enzymes are complex and differ in terms of their size, subunit structure, subcellular localization, and mechanism of activation. cAPK, however, remains as one of the simplest. Furthermore, despite the diversity of the kinases, all share a conserved catalytic core that is included within the free catalytic (C) subunit of cAPK (Hanks SK, et al., 1988). Thus, the C-subunit can serve as a framework for the entire family (Figure 1).
A Potential Role for Acrolein in Neutrophil-Mediated Chronic Inflammation

Neutrophils (PMNs) are key mediators of inflammatory processes throughout the body. In this study, we investigated the role of acrolein, a highly reactive aldehyde that is ubiquitously present in the environment and produced endogenously at sites of inflammation, in mediating PMN-mediated degradation of collagen facilitating proline-glycine-proline (PGP) production. We treated peripheral blood neutrophils with acrolein and analyzed cell supernatants and lysates for matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and prolyl endopeptidase (PE), assessed their ability to break down collagen and release PGP, and assayed for the presence of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) and its ability to degrade PGP. Acrolein treatment induced elevated production and functionality of collagen-degrading enzymes and generation of PGP fragments. Meanwhile, LTA4H levels and triaminopeptidase activity declined with increasing concentrations of acrolein thereby sparing PGP from enzymatic destruction. These findings suggest that acrolein exacerbates the acute inflammatory response mediated by neutrophils and sets the stage for chronic pulmonary and systemic inflammation.
Surveying customer requirements: dealing with internal customers

It is pointed out that customer surveys concerning documentation usually focus on the end user. However, the needs of customers within an organization, such as development teams, marketing groups, and customer training, must also be incorporated into the document design. Surveying the needs of internal customers and measuring levels of satisfaction provide additional tools for improving the documentation design cycle. >
Distributed data bases: A summary of research

The overall objective for distributed data bases is the sharing of data among several distinct but inter-connected computing facilities through an integrating mechanism. A review of the literature indicates that little progress has been made in this area due to the large number of technological problems involved. Some researchers have obtained analytical/theoretical results in the area of physical data allocation under the restrictive assumptions of static and known access patterns and independence between programs and data. The remaining unsolved technological and operational problems include measurement and evaluation techniques, maintenance of multiple image files, and security/privacy. In the next five to ten years significant benefits would accrue if data translation techniques, an integrated data base control system, and the integrated data base schema and physically distributed data issues were investigated.
Support for Restorative Justice in a Sample of U.S. University Students

Theories of restorative justice suggest that the practice works best when offenders are enmeshed in multiple interdependencies or attachments to others and belong to a culture that facilitates communitarianism instead of individualism. Restorative justice principles and practices are thus believed to be incongruent with the individualistic culture and legal system of the United States, especially compared with that of nations like Australia and Japan. Using a nonprobability convenience sample of students enrolled in a large public university in the United States, our study examines attitudes toward restorative justice as a fair and just process for reintegrating offenders and meeting the needs of victims. Results indicate that our sample holds less punitive attitudes than citizens in either Australia or Japan. Our findings are discussed in light of recent policy shifts in the United States that suggest a concerted move toward decarceration following the 2008 recession.
Specific Fragmentation of DNA of Adenovirus Serotypes 3, 5, 7, and 12, and Adeno-Simian Virus 40 Hybrid Virus Ad2+ND1 by Restriction Endonuclease R· EcoRI

The products of complete digestion of duplex DNA of each of seven human adenoviruses with restriction endonuclease R. EcoRI ranged from two fragments for adenovirus 7 DNA (Ad7) to six fragments for Ad12 and Ad2 DNA. Viral serotypes from the same subgroups appeared to have related cleavage sites; Ad3 DNA and Ad7 (cl E46-LL) DNA were each cleaved into three fragments, and Ad7 (cl 19) DNA lacked one of the cleavage sites present in Ad3 and Ad7 (cl E46-LL) DNA. One of the cleavage sites in Ad2 DNA was deleted in the DNA' of adeno-SV40 hybrid virus Ad2(+)ND1, and three of the cleavage sites in Ad2 DNA were missing in Ad5 DNA. Thus, Ad2(+)ND1 DNA was cleaved into five and Ad5 DNA into three fragments. Each fragment represented a unique segment of viral DNA since each fragment was obtained in equimolar amounts and since the sum of the molecular weights of the fragments equaled the molecular weight of the homologous intact adenovirus DNA.
THE ORIGIN OF QBRST IN INTEGRABLE MODELS

We present a Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky construction of the BRST charges which have been observed recently in the geometrical approach to the study of integrable models.
Optimistic similarity-based real-time concurrency control

Serializability is unnecessarily strict for real-time systems because most transactions in such systems occur periodically and changes among data values over a few consecutive periods are often insignificant. Hence, data values produced within a short interval can be treated as "similar" and interchangeable. This notion of similarity allows higher concurrency than serializability. The author discusses a similarity-based optimistic real-time concurrency control protocol. The protocol can outperform the similarity stack protocol (SSP) and does not rely on prior knowledge of worst-case execution time (WCET) and data requirements of transactions. Moreover, when similarity is not applicable, the protocol can be reduced to the ordinary optimistic protocol and accept serializable histories.
Who Does Critical Pedagogy Think You Are? Investigating How Teachers Are Produced in Critical Pedagogy Scholarship to Inform Teacher Education.

In this post-structural feminist analysis, I review recent literature focusing on critical pedagogy to analyse the ways teachers are discursively produced within the sampled literature to ask: who does critical pedagogy think you are? Additionally, I extend earlier post-structural feminist critiques of critical pedagogy and underlying assumptions about power and subjectivity. In this sample of articles, teachers were more likely to be positioned as unable to engage in critical pedagogy than they were to be positioned as able to engage critical pedagogy. Given these findings, I argue that critical pedagogues reconsider how teachers are discursively produced in research articles and insist on a more nuanced understanding of teacher education students.
Measurement of daughter cell accumulation during lymphocyte proliferation in vivo

We describe a method to characterize the effects that immunological adjuvants have on in vivo lymphocyte proliferation at the level of daughter cell accumulation. We used standard 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-labeling techniques to follow T cells through multiple rounds of division in experimentally treated mice and measured both the fold-increase in cell number and average number of divisions undergone by each cell. These data were then incorporated into a calculation to determine the average number of daughter cells that accumulated from each round of mitosis, termed the daughter cell accumulation index. In vivo proliferation of T cells that had been stimulated by antigen in the absence of adjuvant was associated with an index value of 1.2, far below the theoretical maximum of 2.0. Low index values indicate poor daughter cell accumulation during proliferation, either because the newly produced cells died or persisted without dividing again. Inclusion of the natural adjuvant lipopolysaccharide (LPS) led to average accumulation of 1.75 daughter cells per cell cycle and an exponential increase in peak clonal expansion. Adjuvant-induced increases in average daughter cell accumulation appeared to account for more of the enhancement in clonal expansion than did adjuvant-induced increases in the number of cell divisions undergone by each cell. Therefore measurement of changes in daughter cell accumulation can be important to understanding how adjuvants influence the yield of proliferating lymphocytes. Measurement of average daughter cell accumulation is likely to be helpful in any cellular context in which it is useful to characterize strictly mitogenic versus accumulative effects.
The Wnt antagonists Frzb-1 and Crescent locally regulate basement membrane dissolution in the developing primary mouth

The primary mouth forms from ectoderm and endoderm at the extreme anterior of the embryo, a conserved mesoderm-free region. In Xenopus , a very early step in primary mouth formation is loss of the basement membrane between the ectoderm and endoderm. In an unbiased microarray screen, we defined genes encoding the sFRPs Frzb-1 and Crescent as transiently and locally expressed in the primary mouth anlage. Using antisense oligonucleotides and `face transplants', we show that frzb-1 and crescent expression is specifically required in the primary mouth region at the time this organ begins to form. Several assays indicate that Frzb-1 and Crescent modulate primary mouth formation by suppressing Wnt signaling, which is likely to be mediated by β-catenin. First, a similar phenotype (no primary mouth) is seen after loss of Frzb-1/Crescent function to that seen after temporally and spatially restricted overexpression of Wnt-8. Second, overexpression of either Frzb-1 or Dkk-1 results in an enlarged primary mouth anlage. Third, overexpression of Dkk-1 can restore a primary mouth to embryos in which Frzb-1/Crescent expression has been inhibited. We show that Frzb-1/Crescent function locally promotes basement membrane dissolution in the primary mouth primordium. Consistently, Frzb-1 overexpression decreases RNA levels of the essential basement membrane genes fibronectin and laminin , whereas Wnt-8 overexpression increases the levels of these RNAs. These data are the first to connect Wnt signaling and basement membrane integrity during primary mouth development, and suggest a general paradigm for the regulation of basement membrane remodeling.