cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Psychotherapy Supervisor Training

Supervisors and residents spend a significant amount of time and effort in psychotherapy supervision, yet receive little or no training in how to supervise. No specific requirements for supervision training exist in psychiatry or social work programs. Accredited graduate programs in professional psychology are required to expose students to supervision. The field of psychoanalysis has some requirements for being a supervisor, but not any specific training for supervisors. In contrast, the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy (AAMFT) requires extensive training for its supervisors, which is described. The authors explore the reasons for the absence of requirements in psychiatry. Regardless of the number of requirements, all disciplines show a striking paucity of empirically-based research in supervision training. Authors discuss the deleterious consequences of the lack of both research and supervisory training requirements and propose critical elements for supervision training and research.
Bridging the gap between classical and contemporary vocal technique: implications for the choral rehearsal

AbstractWithin the traditional choral canon, choral teachers are expected to teach authentic performance practice that incorporates changes in vocal production among varying genres and style period...
The Two Faces of Scientific Argumentation: Applications to Global Climate Change

Argument plays a central role in science. One side of scientific argumentation is descriptive and explanatory, debating competing theories about reality. A second side is prescriptive, involving socio-scientific debates about how humans should adapt to or change the world around them. In this chapter, we argue that it is important to engage science students in both types of discourse. Socio-scientific discussions are often more meaningful and engaging to students; however, such discussions need to be informed by basic science. In this chapter, we first describe an analytic framework, Walton’s dialogue theory, involving both (a) argument schemes (which specify various types of argument) and (b) critical questions for evaluating the schemes. We then explore the two faces of scientific argumentation through an analysis of a seventh-grade discussion on global climate change and how critical questions were used to stimulate the discussion. Finally, we explain how various argument schemes guided our development of an educational computer game (“Losing the Lake”) to promote awareness of environmental sustainability. The importance of taking a broad (multisided) view of scientific argumentation is described.
Control Engineering and Systems Biology

Engineers use feedback, both positive and negative, to perform a wide array of signaling functions. Biological systems are also faced with many of the same requirements In this tutorial we examine examples from different cellular signaling systems to show how biology also uses feedback paths to perform many of the same tasks.
Review: In adults with normal cognition or MCI, drugs do not prevent or delay cognitive decline

Source Citation Fink HA, Jutkowitz E, McCarten JR, et al. Pharmacologic interventions to prevent cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and clinical Alzheimer-type dementia: a systematic rev...
Theatre, Globalization and the Cold War ed. by Christopher B. Balme and Berenika Szymanski-Düll (review)

Abstract : Theatre, Globalization and the Cold War dismantles familiar dichotomies in Cold War theatre history from a transnational perspective. Highlighting an impressive array of international archives, the anthology provides strong materials for researchers and instructors interested in the role of theatre within the global political economy post-1945, and it is particularly valuable for Central/East European theatre studies.
IMPACT AND POSSIBILITIES OF THE USE OF SLUDGE AND SLUDGE COMPOST IN AGRICULTURE1

Sewage sludge is predominantly organic matter and thus is a potential soil resource. The potential use of sewage sludge or sludge compost on agricultural land may depend on the level of contamination of the sludge by pathogens, heavy metals and other compounds. Sludges derived from residential or non-industrial effluent are usually low in concentrations of heavy metals and thus should not affect plant growth adversely or increase the metal content in plant tissues. Sludges from industrial sources often contain high levels of Zn, Cd, Ni, and Pb which can be toxic to crops or through root uptake reach sufficiently high levels in plant tissues to affect humans or animals. Proper soil and crop management can further reduce plant uptake of undesirable elements. Uptake of cadmium by corn was lower from compost-treated soil than where sludge was applied. The application of sewage sludge or sludge compost to agricultural soils can improve soil physical and chemical properties. Applications at rates which improve the soil physical conditions will also provide adequate levels of nitrogen and phosphorus for plant growth.
The Molecular Biology of RNA Tumor Viruses

RNA tumor viruses are useful tools for the study of oncogenesis because they rapidly induce tumors in animals and efficiently transform cells in culture. These viruses are distinguished by certain morphological features (Bernhard, 1960; Sarker et al., 1971a), an exceptionally large single-stranded RNA genome (about 30,000 nucleotides, Duesberg, 1970) and an RNA-directed DNA polymerase which transcribes the viral genome into single- and double-stranded DNA (Baltimore, 1970; Temin and Mizutani, 1970; Temin and Baltimore, 1972). This transcription, the mechanism by which it occurs, the fate of its products in the infected cell, and the role of the products in both the viral life cycle and virus-induced transformation of the host cell are the principal subjects of our discussion.
Expected Transaction Costs and Incentives for Water Market Development

California provides the opportunity to analyze both the potential social gains from water transfers and the institutional constraints, including transaction costs, that can limit water market performance. Common law principles, constitutional provisions, State and Federal statutes, court decisions, water agency policy and contracts all govern how water is developed, allocated and used (xcState of California, 1995). This complex institutional setting creates a heterogeneous system of water-use rights resulting in uncertainty regarding the precise legal entitlements conferred with use rights. State and Federal law and policy governing water transfers and liability for any related economic and environmental impacts have been clarified over the past ten years to facilitate water market development. Despite these clarifications, uncertainty regarding use rights, transfer procedures, and transaction costs remains. As a consequence, water markets are yet to develop as anticipated. Drawing on recent experience, this chapter explores both the potential for social gains-from-trade in water-use rights and the institutional barriers constraining such trade, particularly focusing on the impact of heterogeneous water-use rights and transaction costs.
A new component in the a-wave of the human cone electroretinogram

The human cone electroretinogram (ERG) to a full field flash has been examined on a rod saturating background (17,000 photopic trolands). With strong stimuli, a negative wavelet appears in the falling phase of the a-wave. This response has a latency of 10–12 milliseconds, about 6–8 milliseconds after the start of the a-wave and just before the rising phase of the corneal positive b-wave begins. We suggest that it may represent a hyperpolarizing response of second order retinal neurons.
An Improved Electrical Hygrometer and Its Applications

The electric hygrometer consists of an aluminum tube coated with polystyrene and wound with a bifilar winding of bare palladium wire. The unit is then coated with a thin film of polyvinyl acetate with an amount of lithium chloride in it depending upon the humidity range to be covered. The electrical resistance of the film between the two coils is a function of humidity. If appreciable temperature changes are involved, a correction is applied. The thin aluminium tube enables the unit to quickly assume the temperature of the air as it must if measuring relative humidity. The palladium wire prevents an increase in resistance caused by a film which forms on the surface of other types of wires. The polystyrene forms an excellent water-resistant surface of high electrical resistance for the wire and water sensitive film, which prevents a hysteresis effect caused by the absorption of water by glass and other materials originally used as bases. The polyvinyl acetate forms a porous binder for the lithium chloride ...
Identifying functional targets from transcription factor binding data using SNP perturbation

Transcription factors (TFs) play a key role in transcriptional regulation by binding to DNA to initiate the transcription of target genes. Techniques such as ChIP-seq and DNase-seq provide a genome-wide map of TF binding sites but do not offer direct evidence that those bindings affect gene expression. Thus, these assays are often followed by TF perturbation experiments to determine functional binding that leads to changes in target gene expression. However, such perturbation experiments are costly and time-consuming, and have a well-known limitation that they cannot distinguish between direct and indirect targets. In this study, we propose to use the naturally occurring perturbation of gene expression by genetic variation captured in population SNP and expression data to determine functional targets from TF binding data. We introduce a computational methodology based on probabilistic graphical models for isolating the perturbation effect of each individual SNP, given a large number of SNPs across genomes perturbing the expression of all genes simultaneously. Our computational approach constructs a gene regulatory network over TFs, their functional targets, and further downstream genes, while at the same time identifying the SNPs perturbing this network. Compared to experimental perturbation, our approach has advantages of identifying direct and indirect targets, and leveraging existing data collected for expression quantitative trait locus mapping, a popular approach for studying the genetic architecture of expression. We apply our approach to determine functional targets from the TF binding data for a lymphoblastoid cell line from the ENCODE Project, using SNP and expression data from the HapMap3 and 1000 Genomes Project samples. Our results show that from TF binding data, functional target genes can be determined by SNP perturbation of various aspects that impact transcriptional regulation, such as TF concentration and TF-DNA binding affinity.
Temps, prédiction et avenir dans la divination rétrospective : une étude de cas en Zambie

Les conceptions actuelles du temps dans l’etude de la divination en Afrique nous contraignent a choisir entre les techniques prophetiques et les techniques retrospectives. Confrontes au fait que la divination prophetique est peu frequente en Afrique subsaharienne, nous nous tournons vers la divination que l’on appelle retrospective. Et cependant, ces methodes africaines qualifiees de retrospectives sont orientees vers l’avenir. En se basant sur ses recherches sur les paniers de divination au nord-ouest de la Zambie, ainsi que sur les travaux de Bourdieu, Gell, Guyer et Zeitlyn, Silva demontre que l’orientation vers l’avenir des paniers de divination s’inscrit dans les dynamiques internes a chaque seance. La divination par panier recouvre l’integralite de la trajectoire allant du diagnostic au pronostic. En outre, les devins tiennent chaque seance a l’intersection de deux etats temporels qui se croisent et orientent le parcours des participants : le voyage divinatoire a travers le temps et l’espace, et les signes materiels que contiennent les paniers. Cela permet au passe d’etre interprete retrospectivement, a la lumiere des preoccupations du present, et a l’avenir d’etre expose comme un prolongement du present. En se concentrant sur la temporalite du present-en-cours-de-realisation, un long present qui s’etend du passe recent au futur proche, les methodes de divination retrospective peuvent apporter une aide au consultant en plus de contribuer a l’etude du temps et de l’avenir.
Examining Class Separation Contribution by Observed Indicators in Latent Class Models: A Multiple Testing Procedure

A multiple testing procedure for examining the contribution of latent class indicators to class separation in finite mixture models is discussed. The method permits testing whether an observed indi...
Response to Elizabeth Lindau

It is a strange experience to read “‘Total Trash’: Analysis and Post-Punk Music” at a distance after all these years. When I originally wrote this article, I was a wide-eyed master’s student at the State University of New York at Stony Brook who had just discovered popular music studies
Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

The material presented in the previous chapters suggests that the life course paradigm could be employed to study consumers over the course of their lives. Nearly every form of consumer behavior that entails stability and change or development over time and is influenced by previous life experiences and future expectations can be studied within the life course framework. Thus, consumer behaviors that are time- and context-dependent may be viewed as duration-dependent events where the onset or development, stability, and change in cognitions and overt behaviors can be considered with respect to the length of time a consumer has been in a particular state and has been embedded within certain contexts.
What Happens to the Data Collected When Libraries Use Undercover Agents

Mystery shoppers deceive front-line personnel into believing that they are real customers. They provide their observations in a natural setting and relate evidence useful for planning, staff development, and organizational accountability. Given the coverage of mystery shopping in the literature for more than a decade, this study explores which of those public libraries currently use such shopping.
Minimax rate of convergence for an estimator of the functional component in a semiparametric multivariate partially linear model

Abstract A multivariate semiparametric partial linear model for both fixed and random design cases is considered. Earlier, in Brown et al. (2014), the model has been analyzed using a difference sequence approach. In particular, the functional component has been estimated using a multivariate Nadaraya–Watson kernel smoother of the residuals of the linear fit. Moreover, this functional component estimator has been shown to be rate optimal if the Lipschitz smoothness index exceeds half the dimensionality of the functional component domain. In the current manuscript, we take this research further and show that, for both fixed and random designs, the rate achieved is the minimax rate under both risk at a point and the L 2 risk. The result is achieved by proving lower bounds on both pointwise risk and the L 2 risk of possible estimators of the functional component.
How to run an academic lab based on a basketball strategy.

It is a huge honor to receive the WICB Junior Award for Excellence in Research. In this essay, I first describe what we have discovered in my lab so far. Then, I summarize the strategies that helpe...
Pelvic multi-organ segmentation on cone-beam CT for prostate adaptive radiotherapy

Background and purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a deep learning-based approach to simultaneously segment five pelvic organs including prostate, bladder, rectum, left and right femoral heads on cone-beam CT (CBCT), as required elements for prostate adaptive radiotherapy planning. Materials and methods We propose to utilize both CBCT and CBCT-based synthetic MRI (sMRI) for the segmentation of soft tissue and bony structures, as they provide complementary information for pelvic organ segmentation. CBCT images have superior bony structure contrast and sMRIs have superior soft tissue contrast. Prior to segmentation, sMRI was generated using a cycle-consistent adversarial networks (CycleGAN), which was trained using paired CBCT-MR images. To combine the advantages of both CBCT and sMRI, we developed a cross-modality attention pyramid network with late feature fusion. Our method processes CBCT and sMRI inputs separately to extract CBCT-specific and sMRI-specific features prior to combining them in a late-fusion network for final segmentation. The network was trained and tested using 100 patients' datasets, with each dataset including the CBCT and manual physician contours. For comparison, we trained another two networks with different network inputs and architectures. The segmentation results were compared to manual contours for evaluations. Results For the proposed method, dice similarity coefficients and mean surface distances between the segmentation results and the ground truth were 0.96 ± 0.03, 0.65 ± 0.67 mm; 0.91 ± 0.08, 0.93 ± 0.96 mm; 0.93 ± 0.04, 0.72 ± 0.61 mm; 0.95 ± 0.05, 1.05 ± 1.40 mm; and 0.95 ± 0.05, 1.08 ± 1.48 mm for bladder, prostate, rectum, left and right femoral heads, respectively. As compared to the other two competing methods, our method has shown superior performance in terms of the segmentation accuracy. Conclusion We developed a deep learning-based segmentation method to rapidly and accurately segment five pelvic organs simultaneously from daily CBCTs. The proposed method could be used in the clinic to support rapid target and organs-at-risk contouring for prostate adaptive radiation therapy.
Incels online reframing sexual violence

This small-scale study brings attention to the way the news media cover the enabling role of computer technology and social media in coalescing online communities focused on the hatred of women and...
Framework modification of microporous silicates via gas‐phase treatment with ZrCl4

The boron forms of the zeolite Beta (B‐Beta) and SSZ‐33 (B‐SSZ‐33) are treated with vapors of ZrCl4 in an attempt to substitute the framework boron for zirconium. The resulting materials Zr‐Beta and Zr‐SSZ‐33 are characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), solid state NMR, FTIR, pyridine adsorption and Raman spectroscopies. In the case of zeolite Beta, Zr substitutes the B present in the framework nearly in a one‐to‐one basis. No evidence is found in support of the tetrahedral Zr fully incorporated into the zeolite framework; Zr is only partially grafted to the zeolite framework giving rise to silanol groups adjacent to the Zr atom. No evidence of extra‐framework zirconia is observed. For SSZ‐33, the amount of zirconium incorporated is significantly less than the amount of boron present in the parent zeolite. Due to the size of ZrCl4, a multidimensional 12‐ring pore system is required for our procedure of Zr incorporation to be effective. Zr‐Beta is an acid catalyst superior in activity to B‐Beta for the isomerization of 1‐butene.
Acute Distal Radioulnar Joint Instability

Abstract Untreated laxity or instability of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) have been shown to result in inferior outcomes. A physical exam should always be performed after fixation of a distal radius fracture. If DRUJ laxity is discovered intraoperatively, then splinting in the position of stability (supination or pronation) for 4 weeks has been shown to produce a stable joint with equivalent outcome to operative techniques. K wire pinning of the forearm can be considered if the splint is unable to hold the reduction. Operative fixation of the ulna styloid or the TFCC can be considered if early motion is desired, as outcome studies have only shown superior range of motion in the short term.
Phenomenology as Methodology for Narrating Gender Perceptions on “Linguistic Violence” as Domestic Violence

Reality may be deemed as a subjective construct especially if one considers the role of context as a means of situating and defining experiences. The lived experiences of an individual must be at the core of the interpretation and understanding of social phenomena. Whether interpreted as being negative or positive, even within the study of linguistics, credence must be given to the significance of context in shaping meaning within the ambits of communication (Nouraldeen 2015).
Comparative Legal Systems: Juries and Triers of Fact in Various Contexts

A jury is a body convened under oath to decide questions of fact, applications of law and at times sentencing issues during trial. Panels may be composed entirely of lay persons, or mixed panels of professional judges and lay jurors or assessors. Lay participation in trials is considered a symbol of democracy and popular sovereignty as well as a bulwark against abuses of governmental power and may also be viewed as a guarantor of community norms and values in the assessment of wrongful conduct by community members (Lanni 1775; Daly and Pattenden 680).
Variational Actor-Critic Algorithms.

We introduce a class of variational actor-critic algorithms based on a variational formulation over both the value function and the policy. The objective function of the variational formulation consists of two parts: one for maximizing the value function and the other for minimizing the Bellman residual. Besides the vanilla gradient descent with both the value function and the policy updates, we propose two variants, the clipping method and the flipping method, in order to speed up the convergence. We also prove that, when the prefactor of the Bellman residual is sufficiently large, the fixed point of the algorithm is close to the optimal policy.
Some remarks on small values of $$\tau (n)$$ τ ( n )

A natural variant of Lehmer’s conjecture that the Ramanujan $$\tau $$ -function never vanishes asks whether, for any given integer $$\alpha $$ , there exist any $$n \in \mathbb {Z}^+$$ such that $$\tau (n) = \alpha $$ . A series of recent papers excludes many integers as possible values of the $$\tau $$ -function using the theory of primitive divisors of Lucas numbers, computations of integer points on curves, and congruences for $$\tau (n)$$ . We synthesize these results and methods to prove that if $$0< \left| \alpha \right| < 100$$ and $$\alpha \notin T := \{2^k, -24,-48, -70,-90, 92, -96\}$$ , then $$\tau (n) \ne \alpha $$ for all $$n > 1$$ . Moreover, if $$\alpha \in T$$ and $$\tau (n) = \alpha $$ , then n is square-free with prescribed prime factorization. Finally, we show that a strong form of the Atkin-Serre conjecture implies that $$\left| \tau (n) \right| > 100$$ for all $$n > 2$$ .
Engaging Accounting Students: How To Teach Principles Of Accounting In Creative And Exciting Ways

Many students in secondary and post-secondary institutions generally have a difficult time grasping the concepts of accounting. This article contends that it is not the subject matter that is dry, but rather the methods in which faculty have traditionally presented accounting fundamentals and principles. Departing from standard lectures and textbook assignments can result in a higher level of student engagement through hands-on activities. Presenting accounting principles in student-centered and computer-based learning environments can demonstrate the practicality and necessity of the subject, particularly as a foundation for many career options. This article explores various pedagogical approaches that veteran accounting instructors have successfully used to make accounting attractive and enlightening for students, including blended learning, activity-based modules, games, mentorships, and Internet research and computer simulations. These methods provide opportunities for students to learn with real-life accounting situations. Finally, this article contends that blended learning can meaningfully improve both test scores and knowledge levels of students by discussing the positive empirical results from a recent community college’s decision to implement a student-centered pilot program.
A study of learning environments associated with computer courses: can we teach them better?

This study analyzes survey results of more than 850 students enrolled in college computer courses. The survey included questions about various components of a computer course including the percent of time spent on specific computer activities, preference of type of assignments, confidence, preference for individual versus group work, importance of an in-class lab session, use of open labs, accessibility to a non-lab computer, and any gender differences observed. The study revealed significant preferences among all students for type of work and type of assignment. Individual (vs. group) work was preferred, and an assignment which relates to another field (i.e. application to business, education, agriculture, science, etc.) was preferred over games and mathematical programs. Gender differences in the type of preferred assignment were found. Males preferred games more than females did. Significant gender differences in how students spend their time on the computer were also discovered.
Una transición en edades avanzadas: cambios en los arreglos residenciales de adultos mayores en siete ciudades latinoamericanas

This article presents a preliminary, descriptive view of the changes in residential arrange­ments of the population ages 60 and over in seven Latin American cities. It explores the intensity of the change, the reasons behind it, the initial family and the physical change of dwelling. The data used in this study are drawn from the surveys on Health, Well-being and Ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean (Sabe) taken in the main urban zones of seven Latin American urban zones. The article begins with a comparative analysis of countries with data without standardizing them and subsequently presents logit-multinomial models that control for explanatory or confusing variables (age, index of artifacts). The main results show that the population of advanced age changes its residential arrangements in significant proportions in the seven Latin American cities considered here. Senior citizens’ sex and age are determining differentials in the scope of mobility, since older adults and women are the most likely to change their family structure. The changes in family structure undergone by senior citizens combine stages in the course of the lives of individuals and families: foremost among these are when their offspring leave home to form unions and the transition to widowhood. Senior citizens living with their children and without their spouses change their family arrangements more frequently. Changing one’s residential arrangements does not necessarily lead to a physical change of dwelling, meaning that it is not always the senior citizen who moves in with others (whether relatives or non-relatives). Given that the cities selected reflect different stages in the demographic transition, controlling for demographic variables was expected to reduce the differences between countries, which did not in fact happen. This proven that certain cultural and institutional inequalities may be influencing these dissimilarities.
Does Federal Executive Branch Experience Explain Why Some Republican Supreme Court Justices "Evolve" and Others Don't?

Why do some Republican Supreme Court Justices evolve over time, becoming more liberal than they were - or at least more liberal than they were generally thought likely to be - when they were appointed, while others prove to be every bit as conservative as expected? Although idiosyncratic factors undoubtedly play some role, for every Republican nominee since President Nixon took office, federal executive branch service has been a reliable predictor. Nominees without it have proved moderate or liberal, while those with it have been steadfastly conservative. This Essay demonstrates the correlation for all twelve Republican appointees during this period and hypothesizes a selection effect: important legal positions in Republican Administrations during this period went to, and were sought by, committed conservatives. By contrast, during this same period Republican Presidents named Washington outsiders when, for a variety of reasons, ideological purity was subordinated to other concerns, such as avoiding a confirmation fight. These observations suggest that Senators should pay attention to what Presidents apparently already know: federal executive branch experience strongly predicts a potential Justice's future voting pattern.
Raising the bar for the evidence in evidence-based guidelines.

Ostacher MJ. Raising the bar for the evidence in evidence-based guidelines. Bipolar Disord 2013: 15: 50–53. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Balanced Coloring for Parallel Computing Applications

Graph colouring is used to identify subsets of independent tasks in parallel scientific computing applications. Traditional colouring heuristics aim to reduce the number of colours used as that number also corresponds to the number of parallel steps in the application. However, if the color classes produced have a skew in their sizes, utilization of hardware resources becomes inefficient, especially for the smaller color classes. Equitable colouring is a theoretical formulation of colouring that guarantees a perfect balance among color classes, and its practical relaxation is referred to as balanced colouring. In this paper, we revisit the problem of balanced colouring in the context of parallel computing. The goal is to achieve a balanced colouring of an input graph without increasing the number of colours that an algorithm oblivious to balance would have used. We propose and study multiple heuristics that aim to achieve such a balanced colouring, present parallelization approaches for multi-core and manicure architectures, and cross-evaluate their effectiveness with respect to the quality of balance achieved and performance. Furthermore, we study the impact of the proposed balanced colouring heuristics on a concrete application - viz. parallel community detection, which is an example of an irregular application. The thorough treatment of balanced colouring presented in this paper from algorithms to application is expected to serve as a valuable resource to parallel application developers who seek to improve parallel performance of their applications using colouring.
Survey techniques to measure and explain corruption

Reinikka and Svensson demonstrate that, with appropriate survey methods and interview techniques, it is possible to collect quantitative micro-level data on corruption. Public expenditure tracking surveys, service provider surveys, and enterprise surveys are highlighted with several applications. While often broader in scope, these surveys permit measurement of corruption at the level of individual agents, such as schools, health clinics, or firms. They also permit the study of mechanisms responsible for corruption, including leakage of funds and bribery, as data on corruption can be combined with other data collected in these surveys.
The Petrography and composition of phlogopite micas from the Blue Ball Kimberlite, Arkansas: A record of chemical evolution during crystallization

The Blue Ball kimberlite, Scott County, Arkansas, contains between 23 and 36 modal % phlogopite. Phlogopite is present as phenocrysts, a groundmass phase, and as coronas around serpentinized olivine phenocrysts. Intermediate and reverse pleochroism, seen in phenocryst cores and the majority of groundmass phlogopites, can be correlated with the mineral chemistry. Reverse pleochroism, exhibited by phenocryst rims, rare groundmass grains, and phlogopites forming coronas around olivine, is generally accompanied by an increase in total Fe (as FeO) and a decrease in Al2 O3. Analyses of those phlogopites whoch exhibit reverse pleochroism have high cation totals, indicative of the presence of Fe3+. We suggest that these pleochroic schemes are a function of Fe3+ in the tetrahedral site, which is expressed in terms of ΔT = [8 - (Si + Al)]. All Blue Ball phlogopites have positive values for ΔT, but reverse pleochroism is found only when ΔT > 0.6, indicative of increased Fe3+ in the residual magma. It is concluded that phlogopite was on the liquidus throughout practically all of the kimberlite crystallization, because of the wide range in phlogopite compositions and the general decrease in Ba from micas exhibiting intermediate to reverse pleochroism. Variations of MG #, Ti, Ba, Si, and Al within the phlogopites have been used to trace the crystallization of other phases present in the kimberlite, namely olivine and spinel (chromite and titanomagnetite). Olivine was an early crystallizing phase, causing a decrease in MG # and Si, and an increase in Ti and Al in the phlogopites, a reflection of residual magma composition. Minor chromite also crystallized at this time, but was not of sufficient quantity to override the effect of olivine fractionation on the residual magma. Widespread Titano-magnetite crystallization occurred as olivine fractionation ceased, causing an increase in MG # and Si, and a decrease in Ti and Al. By examining these chemical variations with ΔT, the evolution of the Blue Ball kimberlite has been determined.
Emerging Role of Melatonin and Melatonin Receptor Agonists in Sleep and Delirium in Intensive Care Unit Patients

Delirium, an acute state of mental confusion, can lead to many adverse sequelae in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Although the etiology of ICU delirium is often multifactorial, and at times not fully understood, sleep deprivation is considered to be a major contributing factor to its development. It has been postulated that administration of exogenous melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists such as ramelteon may prevent delirium by promoting nocturnal sleep in ICU patients. The purpose of this review is to summarize the pharmacology of melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists and investigate their potential roles in sleep promotion and delirium prevention in ICU patients. Although few studies evaluating the impact of melatonergic agents on sleep and delirium in the ICU have been completed, some data suggest their potential positive effects on sleep and delirium. However, large-scale randomized controlled trials are warranted to determine the optimal role of melatonergic agents in the prevention of ICU delirium.
Coastal Jet Adjustment near Point Conception, California, with Opposing Wind in the Bight

AbstractTypical spring and summer conditions offshore of California consist of strong northerly low-level wind contained within the cool, well-mixed marine boundary layer (MBL) that is separated from the warm and dry free troposphere by a sharp temperature inversion. This system is often represented by two layers constrained by a lateral boundary. Aircraft measurements near Point Conception, California, on 3 June 2012 during the Precision Atmospheric MBL Experiment (PreAMBLE) captured small-scale features associated with northerly flow approaching the point with the added complexity of encountering opposing wind in the Santa Barbara Channel. An extremely sharp cloud edge extends south-southwest of Point Conception and the flight strategy consisted of a spoke pattern to map the features across the cloud edge. Lidar and in situ measurements reveal a nearly vertical jump in the MBL from 500 to 100 m close to the coast and a sharp edge at least 70 km away from the coast. In this case, it is hypothesized that ...
Attenuation of Cyclic Nucleotide–Mediated Smooth Muscle Relaxation in Blacks as a Cause of Racial Differences in Vasodilator Function

Background —Vasodilator reactivity is attenuated in normotensive blacks, and this may contribute to their enhanced susceptibility to hypertension and its complications. However, the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon are unknown. We therefore studied nitric oxide (NO)–dependent and –independent vasorelaxation in healthy blacks and whites to investigate the nature of racial differences in vasodilator function. Methods and Results —Forearm flow responses to intra-arterial infusion of increasing doses of acetylcholine (a vasodilator that stimulates endothelial release of NO), sodium nitroprusside (an exogenous NO donor), and isoproterenol (a β-adrenergic agonist whose vasodilator effect stems from the combination of direct smooth muscle stimulation and endothelial NO release) were studied in 18 normotensive whites and 18 blacks by use of strain-gauge plethysmography. A blunted vasodilator response to acetylcholine (7.2±1.1 versus 14.4±1.8 mL · min−1 · dL−1; P <0.001) and sodium nitroprusside (8.2±1.1 versus 12.1±1.3 mL · min−1 · dL−1; P <0.001) was observed in blacks compared with whites, suggesting decreased cGMP-mediated smooth muscle relaxation. The vasodilator effect of isoproterenol was lower in blacks than in whites both before (10.9±1.7 versus 14.9±1.5 mL · min−1 · dL−1; P =0.006) and after N G-monomethyl-l-arginine (6.1±1.2 versus 10.1±0.8 mL · min−1 · dL−1; P <0.001), implying that cAMP-dependent vasodilator response to isoproterenol is diminished in blacks. No significant difference was observed in the hyperemic response to forearm ischemia. Conclusions —Compared with whites, healthy blacks have reduced vasodilation in response to NO-dependent and -independent stimuli. This difference seems to be related to an attenuation in cyclic nucleotide–mediated vascular smooth muscle relaxation and may play a role in the increased prevalence of hypertension and its complications in blacks.
Sociology and the Graduate Program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The Department of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst offers a unique graduate program. The program is demanding but collegial, with faculty and students working together to produce mutually authored articles, monographs, and books. Many students concentrate their doctoral dissertations on applied topics, that is, social policy and evaluation research. These students are trained in theory and methods of sociology; their graduate training is the same as all other students in the program. Graduates have been well placed in the academy and in other occupational sectors.
Diagnosis of covert hepatic encephalopathy without specialized tests

Background & Aims Covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) impairs quality of life (QOL) and can be difficult to diagnose. Patient-administered methods that do not require specialized tests or equipment might increase rates of detection. We performed a longitudinal study to determine whether demographic data and responses to a validated QOL questionnaire, the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), can identify patients with CHE. Methods Patients with cirrhosis without prior overt HE were recruited from outpatient liver clinics at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, from August 2008 through February 2012. We performed cognitive tests on 170 patients (mean age, 55 y; mean model for end-stage liver disease score, 9; 50% with hepatitis C–associated and 11% with alcohol-associated cirrhosis). Patients also were given the SIP questionnaire (136 questions on 12 QOL topics, requiring a yes or no answer) at enrollment, at 6 months, and at 12 months. The proportion of patients that responded "yes" to each question was compared between those with and without CHE. Patient variables (noncognitive), demographics (age, education, sex, alcoholic etiology), and SIP questions that produced different responses between groups were analyzed by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses. Results Based on cognitive test results, 93 patients (55%) had CHE when the study began. They had a higher proportion of "yes" responses to 54 questions on the SIP questionnaire, across all categories. We developed a formula to identify patients with CHE based on age, sex, and responses to 4 SIP questions (a SIP CHE score). Baseline SIP CHE scores greater than 0 identified patients with CHE with 80% sensitivity and 79% specificity. Of the 98 patients who returned for the 6-month evaluation, 50% had CHE (the SIP CHE identified these patients with 88% sensitivity). Of the 50 patients who returned for the 12-month evaluation, 32% had CHE (the SIP CHE score identified these patients with 81% sensitivity). Conclusions We developed a system to identify patients with CHE based on age, sex, and responses to 4 SIP questions; this formula identified patients with CHE with more than 80% sensitivity over a 12-month period after the initial enrollment. Patient-administered CHE screening strategies that do not include specialized tests could increase the detection of CHE and improve therapy.
The DAQ system for CLEO III

Abstract In 1998 the CLEO detector collecting data at the CESR storage ring will be upgraded. A new Data Acquisition system will be installed during the upgrade to record triggers up to 1000 Hz with a mean data size of 25 KBytes per event. In this largely improved system, we will exploit the new CBLT VME transfer mode (defined by VIPA) to readout crates with about 15 9U digitization cards. Secondly, we decided to design and build a FASTBUS-VME interface card with the dimension of a FASTBUS card, and a 2-slot VME backplane inside. With this interface, all hardware and software will be homogeneous at this point of the DAQ data pipeline. It will also perform additional sparsification and channel tagging “on the fly”. This new system will be monitored and controlled by a networked system of CPUs. To achieve a dynamical and simple connection method between the various processes we chose the CORBA standard communication method. The port to PowerPC based VME boards was done in close collaboration with Visigenic Corp.
Resource Utilization in Liver Transplantation: Effects of Patient Characteristics and Clinical Practice

ContextLiver transplantation is among the most costly of medical services, yet few studies have addressed the relationship between the resources utilized for this procedure and specific patient characteristics and clinical practices.ObjectiveTo assess the association of pretransplant patient characteristics and clinical practices with hospital resource utilization.DesignProspective cohort of patients who received liver transplants between January 1991 and July 1994.SettingUniversity of California, San Francisco; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn; and the University of Nebraska, Omaha.PatientsSeven hundred eleven patients who received single-organ liver transplants, were at least 16 years old, and had nonfulminant liver disease.Main Outcome MeasureStandardized resource utilization derived from a database created by matching all services to a single price list.ResultsHigher adjusted resource utilization was associated with donor age of 60 years or older (28% [$53,813] greater mean resource utilization; P=.005); recipient age of 60 years or older (17% [$32,795]; P=.01); alcoholic liver disease (26% [$49,596]; P=.002); Child-Pugh class C (41% [$67,658]; P<.001); care from the intensive care unit at time of transplant (42% [$77,833]; P<.001); death in the hospital (35% [$67,076]; P<.001); and having multiple liver transplants during the index hospitalization (154% increase [$474,740 vs $186,726 for 1 transplant]; P<.001). Adjusted length of stay and resource utilization also differed significantly among transplant centers.ConclusionsClinical, economic, and ethical dilemmas in liver transplantation are highlighted by these findings. Recipients who were older, had alcoholic liver disease, or were severely ill were the most expensive to treat; this suggests that organ allocation criteria may affect transplant costs. Clinical practices and resource utilization varied considerably among transplant centers; methods to reduce variation in practice patterns, such as clinical guidelines, might lower costs while maintaining quality of care.
Intersubgeneric hybridization between Glycine max and G. tomentella: production of F1, amphidiploid, BC1, BC2, BC3, and fertile soybean plants

This paper describes methods for unlocking genetic treasure from wild perennial Glycine species of Australia for soybean improvement. The genetic resources of the ca. 26 species of the genus Glycine subgenus Glycine have not been exploited to broaden the genetic base of soybean (Glycine max; 2n = 40). The objectives of this study were to develop methods for producing F1, amphidiploid, BC1, BC2, BC3, and fertile soybean plants from crosses of soybean and the genus Glycine subgenus Glycine species, in order to utilize the subgenus Glycine germplasm in soybean breeding. Soybean cultivars were hybridized with six accessions of 78-chromosome G. tomentella as well as one accession each of 40-chromosome G. tomentella, G. argyrea and G. latifolia. They were chosen because they exhibit resistance to soybean rust. We were successful in producing fertile soybean from soybean cv. ‘Dwight’ and 78-chromosome G. tomentella accession PI 441001, while other hybrids were discontinued either at F1 or amphidiploid stage. The F1 seeds aborted prior to reaching maturity, so developing seeds from 19 to 21 day old pods were cultured aseptically in various media formulations. Seed maturation and multiple embryo generation media were developed. F1 plants with shoots and roots (2n = 59) were transplanted to pots in greenhouse. Amphidiploid (2n = 118) plants were backcrossed to ‘Dwight’. BC1 (2n = 79) plants were propagated through in vitro and 43 mature BC2F1 seeds were harvested. Fifteen surviving BC2F1 plants were morphologically distinct, sterile, and had chromosome numbers ranging 2n = 56–59. Chromosome numbers of the BC3F1 plants ranged 2n = 40–49. Derived fertile soybeans were first planted in the field in 2008 and are being evaluated for yield, resistance to pathogens and pests and tolerance to salt through material transfer agreement.
Interleukin-2 Therapy of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma—Predictors of Response

For the past 15 years, immunoreactive cytokines have been the mainstay of treatment for metastatic renal cancer. High-dose bolus interleukin-2 (IL-2) was granted US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1992 based on its ability to produce durable complete responses (CRs) in a small number of patients. Unfortunately, the toxicity, expense, and restricted accessibility of high-dose IL-2 make it a poor standard therapy. Regimens involving lower doses of IL-2 either alone or in combination with interferon (IFN) have generally produced fewer tumor regressions and these regressions were of less overall quality. Recent efforts have focused on trying to identify factors predictive of response to IL-2 therapy so that this treatment can be limited to those most likely to benefit. This year, investigators will launch a clinical trial designed to prospectively determine if patients who are more likely to respond to high-dose IL-2 can be identified prior to starting therapy.
The Low-Pressure Rheology of Ultra-Thin Lubricant Films and Its Influence on Sliding Contact

Lubricant rheology governs the friction in any lubricated contact. In hydrodynamic lubrication, the genesis of friction is well-understood. However, when asperity contacts occur, the situation becomes more complex. In this «mixed» lubrication regime, it is known that lubricants can deviate dramatically from Newtonian behavior, but the source of this effect has not been identified. In particular, the question arises as to whether the non-Newtonian behavior of the lubricant is due to the extreme thinness of the film or to the very large shear rates to which it is subjected. In the current work, we analyze friction force measurements in the magnetic slider/disk interface to help resolve this question - Marque des 851 caracteres!! - ----------------------------------