cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
When can we introspect accurately about mental processes

Some theorists have suggested that the cognitive processes determining a person’s perforance in a given task are unconscious, making introspection a poor research tool for studying these processes. Others have argued that the relevant processes usually are consciously conrolled and can be detailed by asking the person to introspect. Here, a synthesis of these two positions, a dual-factor approach, is proposed. Some of the processes involved in achieving a cognitive goal, such as learning a new concept, are viewed as unconscious and automatic; howver, other processes are intentionally allocated conscious attention, in certain tasks, to accomlish othe goal. To illustrate this dual-factor position, evidence is presented in support of the view that when concept learning occurs solely by automatic frequency processing, introspective reports are inaccurate, but when the nature of the task prompts intentional hypothesis testing, introspective reports are accurate, revealing clues that subjects engage in a conscious hypothesisesting strategy.
Analysis of flow-through porous electrode cell with homogeneous chemical reactions: application to bromide oxidation in brine solutions

Electrochemical generation of elemental bromine from bromide-containing brine solutions using a flow-through porous electrode system was modelled and studied. Bromine yield was undermined by the homogeneous reactions taking place in the liquid phase which converted bromine back to bromide as well as other undesirable compounds. The effects of these reactions were characterized and accounted for in a mathematical description of a flow-through porous electrode system. The resulting model was used to analyse and estimate the effects of these reactions on the cell size and the current efficiency. Experimental data obtained support the model predictions.
Studies using releasing factors in Klinefelter's Syndrome: The responses of LH and FSH to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and of prolactin and TSH to thyrotropin-releasing hormone before and after testosterone

Abstract (1) During an investigation of their pituitary function, the TSH prolactin (PRL) and gonadotropin, (LH, FSH) response to TRH was measured in four patients with documented euthyroid Klinefelter's syndrome. (2) In all four patients, the serum testosterone was low, the gonadotropins were elevated and thyroid antibodies undetectable. (3) The identical study was repeated after each patient had received intramuscular testosterone cypionate 200 mg bi-weekly for three doses. This raised the serum testosterone at least four-fold. (4) Basal TSH was normal in all four patients but its response to TRH was blunted (mean peak TSH 9.6 μU/ml), compared with normal controls (mean peak TSH 18 μU/ml). Following testosterone this response to TRH was further suppressed to a mean peak of 3.4 μU/ml TSH. (5) Basal PRL levels were also normal and the mean peak response to TRH, 28 ng/ml. When repeated after testosterone, TRH produced a mean peak PRL of 58 ng/ml. (6) LH and FSH, both elevated basally, did not change with TRH administration, but both were stimulated by LHRH 100 μg i.v., LH briskly, FSH more variably. (7) FSH was suppressed sharply but LH only partially with testosterone therapy. (8) Our studies indicate that the TSH response to TRH in Klinefelter's syndrome is blunted and further suppressed with short term testosterone replacement. The PRL response to TRH under these same circumstances, however, is enhanced. Previous reports of abnormal LH feedback control are confirmed. (9) Klinefelter's syndrome is associated with subtle abnormalities in hypothalamic pituitary regulation not expected in typical primary hypogonadism.
Describing the response surface in exploratory two-drug chemotherapy experiments.

Abstract A simple graphic display is developed for exploratory two-drug cancer chemotherapy experiments, in order to convey a characterization of combined drug behavior when the response surface is essentially smooth. The method merges statistics and geometry in an efficient, flexible scheme which lends itself to ready computer programming and plotting.
Precipitate Foam Flotation of Copper, Nickel, Cobalt, and Manganese with LIX Reagents

Abstract The precipitate flotation of copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, zinc, and cadmium with LIX65 and LIX63 (hydroxyoxime compounds) and carrier surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and TX100 was investigated. The effects of pH and possibly interfering ions (sulfate, phosphate, EDTA) were studied. LIX65 was found to give good results with copper, nickel, cobalt, and manganese; LIX63 was less satisfactory.
Crude oil identification with electrothermal vaporization-multiple wavelength absorption spectrometry

Abstract A spectrometric technique utilizing electrothermal vaporization (graphite furnace) and gas phase-multiple wavelength absorption with photodiode array detection is used to characterize crude oil.
Handwritten and Typewritten Text Identification and Recognition Using Hidden Markov Models

We present a system for identification and recognition of handwritten and typewritten text from document images using hidden Markov models (HMMs) in this paper. Our text type identification uses OCR decoding to generate word boundaries followed by word-level handwritten/typewritten identification using HMMs. We show that the contextual constraints from the HMM significantly improves the identification performance over the conventional Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based method. Type identification is then used to estimate the frame sample rates and frame width of feature sequences for HMM OCR system for each type independently. This type-dependent approach to computing the frame sample rate and frame width shows significant improvement in OCR accuracy over type-independent approaches.
Topological Physics of Little Higgs Bosons

Topological interactions will generally occur in composite Higgs or Little Higgs theories, extra-dimensional gauge theories in which A5 plays the role of a Higgs boson, and among the pNGB's of technicolor. This phenomena arises from the chiral and anomaly structure of the underlying UV completion theory, and/or through chiral delocalization in higher dimensions. These effects are described by a full Wess-Zumino-Witten term involving gauge fields and pNGB's. We give a general discussion of these interactions, some of which may have novel signatures at future colliders, such as the LHC and ILC.
Vagal afferent neurons projecting to the stomach and small intestine exhibit multiple N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit phenotypes

Previous reports suggest that NMDA receptors participate in control of food intake via vagal afferent neurons that innervate the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract. While messenger RNA coding for the NR1 NMDA receptor subunit is present in a majority of vagal afferent neurons of nodose ganglia (NG), immunoreactivity for other NMDA receptor subunits (NR2B, NR2C and NR2D) are expressed in more limited subpopulations of vagal afferents. To determine whether vagal afferent neurons that project to the stomach or duodenum exhibit distinct NMDA receptor subunit phenotypes, we examined immunoreactivity (IR) for NMDA receptor NR1, NR2B, NR2C and NR2D subunits in NG neurons that were labeled by injections of the retrograde tracer Fast Blue (FB) into the wall of the stomach or duodenum. FB injections into the fundus or corpus of the stomach labeled comparable numbers of neurons in both the left and right NG, while proximal duodenal injections labeled only neurons of left NG. NR1-IR expression was observed in most neurons innervating the upper GI tract (fundus, 97%; corpus, 95%; duodenum, 98%). Likewise, most neurons that innervated the upper GI tract expressed NR2B-IR (fundus, 98%; corpus, 85%; duodenum, 81%). NR2C-IR was observed in only 52%, 46% and 32% of FB-positive neurons projecting to the fundus, corpus or duodenum respectively, while NR2D-IR occurred in an even more restricted FB-labeled subpopulation (fundus, 13%; corpus, 26%; and duodenum, 18%). Our observations indicate that different subpopulations of vagal afferents express distinct NMDA receptor subunit phenotypes. However, the neuronal distribution of NMDA receptor subunits is not correlated with innervation of either the stomach or duodenum.
On bias in autobiographical recall : retrospective adjustments following disconfirmed expectations

Abstract The hypothesis that people recall their behaviors and expectations in ways that increase their consistency with subsequent outcomes was tested. In a first study and a replication, Canadian students reported their preparations and expectations for an exam in an undergraduate course. Weeks later, after they had received their grades, they were unexpectedly asked to recall as accurately as possible their earlier reports. In Study 1, those whose actual grades were worse than anticipated recalled working less and expecting less satisfaction relative to their initial reports. Students whose actual grades were better than anticipated recalled expecting higher satisfaction relative to their initial reports. Similar results were obtained in Study 2. As over 90% of the students in the two studies did not receive their expected grades, these findings support the view that autobiographical recall may be generally reconstructive and potentially biased.
Optimum complexity neural networks for anomaly detection task

In this paper we study the performance of compressed data for classification and anomaly detection. We use networks of various complexities for our purpose, guided by the data itself rather than one uniform-complexity network for the entire data set.
Diagnosis and Nonoperative Management of Lumbar Disk Herniation

Lumbar disk herniation is a common cause of low back pain in the United States. Diagnosis of lumbar disk herniation in a person complaining of low back pain depends on an understanding of anatomy and pathophysiology as well as the ability to synthesize various elements of the history and physical examination. Imaging studies should then be used to confirm and clarify the diagnosis, but it is important to acknowledge that they cannot replace the clinical picture because the high rate of asymptomatic disk herniations can be misleading. The proper nonsurgical treatment of herniated nucleus pulposus revolves around controlling symptoms to strengthen patients and restore their function, and it may involve any combination of analgesic medications, physical therapy, therapeutic modalities, and corticosteroid injections. This article aims to clarify current aspects in the diagnosis and nonoperative management of lumbar disk herniation.
Using O(n) ProxmapSort and O(1) ProxmapSearch to motivate CS2 students, Part II

Presenting "cool" algorithms to CS2 students helps convince them that the study of data structures and algorithms is worthwhile. An algorithm is perceived as cool if it is easy to understand, very fast on large data sets, uses memory judiciously and has a straightforward, short proof --- or at least a convincing proof sketch --- using accessible mathematics. To illustrate, we discuss two related and relatively unknown algorithms: ProxmapSort, previously discussed in Part I of this paper, and ProxmapSearch, discussed here.
Elephantiasis nostras verrucosa: An institutional analysis of 21 cases

Background Previous reports regarding elephantiasis nostras verrucosa (ENV) have been typically limited to 3 or fewer patients. Objectives We sought to statistically ascertain what demographic features and clinical variables are associated with ENV. Methods A retrospective chart review of 21 patients with ENV from 2006 to 2008 was performed and statistically analyzed. Results All 21 patients were obese (morbid obesity in 91%) with a mean body mass index of 55.8. The average maximal calf circumference was 63.7 cm. Concurrent chronic venous insufficiency was identified in 15 patients (71%). ENV was predominantly bilateral (86%) and typically involved the calves (81%). Proximal cutaneous involvement (thighs 19%/abdomen 9.5%) was less common. Eighteen (86%) related a history of lower extremity cellulitis/lymphangitis and/or manifested soft-tissue infection upon presentation. Multisegmental ENV was statistically more likely in setting of a higher body mass index ( P = .02), larger calf circumference ( P = .01), multiple lymphedema risk factors ( P = .05), ulcerations ( P P P = .02). Ulcerations and nodules were significantly prone to occur concomitantly ( P = .05). Nodules appeared more likely to exist in the presence of a higher body mass index ( P = .06) and multiple lymphedema risk factors ( P = .06). Limitations The statistical conclusions were potentially inhibited by the relatively small cohort. The study was retrospective. Conclusions Our data confirm the association among obesity, soft-tissue infection, and ENV. Chronic venous insufficiency may be an underappreciated risk factor in the genesis of ENV.
Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factors and Risk of Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy have been shown to reduce the severity and duration of neutropenia as well as the risk of febrile neutropenia, documented infection, and infection-related mortality while enabling an increase in delivered chemotherapy dose intensity [1, 2]. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the myeloid growth factors have been reported for both adults and children consistently demonstrating the impact of these agents on neutropenia and its complications [3–5]. Clinical practice guidelines have been put forward by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and other professional organizations for the use of these agents [6–8].
Vaccines Based on Novel Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors Elicit Aberrant CD8+ T-Cell Responses in Mice

We recently discovered an expanded family of adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) that show promise as improved gene therapy vectors. In this study we evaluated the potential of vectors based on several of these novel AAVs as vaccine carriers for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Gag. Studies with mice indicated that vectors based on AAV type 7 (AAV7), AAV8, and AAV9 demonstrate improved immunogenicity in terms of Gag CD8(+) T-cell and Gag antibody responses. The quality of these antigen-specific responses was evaluated in detail for AAV2/8 vectors and compared to results with an adenovirus vector expressing Gag (AdC7). AAV2/8 produced a vibrant CD8(+) T-cell effector response characterized by coexpression of gamma interferon and tumor necrosis factor alpha as well as in vivo cytolytic activity. No CD8(+) T-cell response generated by any of the AAVs was effectively boosted with AdC7, a result consistent with the finding of a relative lack of cells expressing interleukin-2 (IL-2) or a central memory phenotype at 3 months after the prime. The primary response to an AdC7 vaccine differed from that generated by AAVs in that the peak effector response evolved into populations of Gag-specific T cells expressing high levels of cytokines, including IL-2, and with effector memory and central memory phenotypes. A number of mechanisms could be considered to explain the aberrant activation of CD8(+) T cells by AAV, including insufficient inflammatory responses, CD4 help, and/or chronic antigen expression and T-cell exhaustion. Interestingly, the B-cell response to AAV-encoded Gag was quite vibrant and easily boosted with AdC7.
Comparison of electrotopological state indexes with molecular orbital parameters : inhibition of MAO by hydrazides

QSAR models for inhibition of monoamine oxidase (MAO) by aryloxyacetohydrazide derivatives were developed for a series of MO parameters computed with the AM1 Hamiltonian. These models were compared to those based on the recently developed electrotopological state index for. skeletal atoms. The structure interpretation is the same for both types of models: the NH group adjacent to the carbonyl group together with the carbon atom, gamma to the NH group, in the hydrocarbon substituent, account for more than 90% of the computed activity. However, the model based on E-state indexes (r2 = 0.9012) is significantly superior to the one based on MO parameters (r2 = 0.7985); the standard deviation for the MO based model (s = 0.27) is 50% larger than that from the E-state based model (r = 0.19). Several points of comparison between the models are presented. This study supports the idea that the electrotopological state is a useful representation of molecular structure information.
Self-selection bias in longitudinal estimation of wage gaps

Cross-sectional regression analyses of wage gaps may be biased by omission of unobserved worker characteristics. Recent studies therefore have used longitudinal data to ‘difference out’ the effects of such variables. This paper, however. shows that self-selection of job changers may cause longitudinal estimation of wage gaps to be inconsistent.
Computer architecture and implementation of vision-based real-time lane sensing

Lane sensing is the detection of lane boundaries from a video image of the roadway and the determination of the vehicle's position and orientation with respect to the lane. The detection of lane boundaries involves the digital processing of a roadway image to bring out points comprising the lane edge and a search of the processed images to find those points. Lane sensing supports several other functions, including collision warning, collision avoidance, driving performance monitoring and lane control. This paper describes the implementation of the two algorithms developed to achieve lane sensing in real-time on board a vehicle. This required developing the computer architecture, electronics and software to perform the processing steps in the algorithms. Attention was given to multitasking, multiprocessing and interprocess communication. In particular, use of the VME bus provides an open architecture and the disc-based real-time operating system provides multitasking and a flexible environment. The lane sensing system was installed in a vehicle and the real-time implementation was demonstrated on a test track and limited access highways. >
FRACTIONATION OF MAMMALIAN LIVER CELLS BY DIFFERENTIAL CENTRIFUGATION I. PROBLEMS, METHODS, AND PREPARATION OF EXTRACT

1. Materials and technical procedures involved in the preparation of liver suspensions have been described and discussed. 2. Liver extracts prepared by the present method appear to contain almost exclusively elements of cytoplasmic origin and can be considered to represent, on a large scale, the cytoplasm of liver cells.
A Devastated Foreign Landscape Depicted in Luxor Temple

A relief of Ramesses II located on the exterior western wall of the Processional Colonnade Hall of Luxor Temple portrays a devastated landscape surrounding an unnamed town. Analysis of the vegetation represented in this relief may indicate the general location of the unnamed town and is of interest to our understanding of Egyptian military interaction with the area—possibly indicating the time of year the town was destroyed. DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v01i3_phelps
2,2‐Bis(trifluoromethyl)‐2‐hydroxyacetic Acid

[662-22-6] C4H2F6O3 (MW 212.05) InChI = 1S/C4H2F6O3/c5-3(6,7)2(13,1(11)12)4(8,9)10/h13H,(H,11,12) InChIKey = CMQUGOHGJUTDGZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N (reagent used for introducing OC(CF3) 2CO2 into a wide array of substituents) Physical Data: mp 82–85 °C; bp 153–156 °C. Solubility: soluble in MeCN, ether. Purification: by distillation. Preparative Methods: the reagent 2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2-hydroxyacetic acid (BTHA) could be synthesized in 39% yield by heating perfluoroisobutylene oxide with silica gel in aqueous acetone for 12 h at 100 °C in a sealed tube (eq 1).1 (1) Alternatively, it can also be prepared by first reacting (CF3)2CO with HCN in the presence of piperidine to generate the cyanohydrin, (CF3)2C(OH)CN, followed by rigorous treatment with H2SO4 to deliver BTHA in 62% yield (eq 2).2 A similar procedure where KCN and hexafluoroacetone react in anhydrous THF and ethyl ether followed by refluxing with H2SO4 to give the reagent in 60% yield is also reported.3 (2)
Fatal human herpesvirus 6-associated encephalitis in two boys with underlying POLG mitochondrial disorders

BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus 6 is a significant cause of the febrile illness roseola infantum in young children. Infection with human herpesvirus 6 typically causes a self-limited febrile illness but occasionally is associated with central nervous system manifestations, including febrile seizures and encephalitis. Host factors associated with severe manifestations of human herpesvirus 6eassociated neurological disease remain poorly characterized. CASE REPORTS: We report two previously healthy young boys with human herpesvirus 6eassociated encephalitis who developed a progressive, and ultimately fatal, encephalopathy with refractory movement disorder concurrent with acquisition of acute human herpesvirus 6 infection. Both children were treated with the antiviral ganciclovir without improvement of their neurological symptoms, although quantitative human herpesvirus 6 polymerase chain reaction of cerebrospinal fluid and/or blood confirmed a decline in viral load with treatment. The clinical course in both cases was most consistent with Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome, given the intractable seizures, developmental regression, and, ultimately, death due to liver and renal failure. In support of this, postmortem analysis identified both children to be compound heterozygous for mutations in the mitochondrial polymerase g gene, POLG. CONCLUSIONS: POLG mutations are associated with Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome; however, no prior studies have examined the role of acute human herpesvirus 6 infection in these patients presenting with severe neurological disease. It is possible the POLG mutation phenotype was unmasked and/or exacerbated by human herpesvirus 6 infection in these two patients, potentially contributing to a more rapid clinical deterioration. This report provides new insight into a previously unrecognized association between POLG mutations and poor neurological outcome after human herpesvirus 6 infection.
Influence of herbicides on growth and sclerotia production in Rhizoctonia solani

Abstract This study was conducted to determine the effects of three commonly applied soybean (Glycine max) herbicides (glyphosate, imazethapyr, and pendimethalin) on the mycelial growth, sclerotial production, and viability of Rhizoctonia solani isolates [anastomosis groups AG-1, AG-2-2, and AG-4] under controlled conditions. Pendimethalin significantly reduced mycelial growth of all three R. solani isolates investigated, whereas effects of the herbicides imazethapyr and glyphosate were not significant. Sclerotial production was affected differently by the three herbicides. Isolates AG-1 and AG-2-2 produced sclerotia both in vitro and in vivo, whereas isolate AG-4 did not produce sclerotia in vitro. In vitro AG-1 isolate showed a decrease, and AG-2-2 isolate showed an increase in sclerotial production in the presence of herbicide. In contrast, both AG-1 and AG-2-2 isolates showed reduction in sclerotial production in vivo compared to AG-4 isolate, which showed an increase in sclerotial production in the p...
Ultra-low noise mechanically cooled germanium detector

Abstract Low capacitance, large volume, high purity germanium (HPGe) radiation detectors have been successfully employed in low-background physics experiments. However, some physical processes may not be detectable with existing detectors whose energy thresholds are limited by electronic noise. In this paper, methods are presented which can lower the electronic noise of these detectors. Through ultra-low vibration mechanical cooling and wire bonding of a CMOS charge sensitive preamplifier to a sub-pF p-type point contact HPGe detector, we demonstrate electronic noise levels below 40 eV-FWHM.
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT RE-EXAMINED

Academically, public procurement has been a neglected area of study even though governmental entities and public procurement practitioners have diligently worked to improve public procurement practices. This article will identify common elements of public procurement knowledge through a brief analysis of the literature and will provide a summary of government efforts to improve public procurement practices. In addition, this article will comprehensively re-examine public procurement by using a systems approach as a method of inquiry. Finally, implications of the proposed public procurement system regarding future research and study will be discussed.
Synthesis and Abstraction of Constraint Models for Hierarchical Resource Allocation Problems

Many resource allocation problems are hard to solve even with state-of-the-art constraint optimisation software upon reaching a certain scale. Our approach to deal with this increasing complexity is to employ a hierarchical âregio-centralâ mechanism. It requires two techniques: (1) the synthesis of several models of agents providing a certain resource into a centrally and efficiently solvable optimisation problem and (2) the creation of an abstracted version of this centralised model that reduces its complexity when passing it on to higher layers. We present algorithms to create such synthesised and abstracted models in a fully automated way and demonstrate empirically that the obtained solutions are comparable to central solutions but scale better in an example taken from energy management.
The Sociology of Animal Crime: An Examination of Incidents and Arrests in Chicago

ABSTRACTThis study seeks to sociologically examine the patterns of animal crime in one large American city. Using Chicago Police Department animal crimes data, this research analyzes the types of crimes perpetrated, characteristics related to animal crime, and patterns of arrest. Findings indicate that a majority of animal crime was classified as abuse/neglect. High animal crime areas had higher rates of crime, more socioeconomic hardship, and more African-American residents. Compared to abuse/neglect, animal fighting was more likely to occur in community areas with more socioeconomic hardship, and animal crimes were more likely to result in arrest when they occurred in areas with more hardship.
Detecting Network Attacks Based on Behavioral Commonalities

Due to the great increase in the amount of attacks that occur in computer networks, there is an increasing dependence on network intrusion detection systems which monitor and analyze the network data to detect attacks. In recent years, machine learning methods have been used to build predictive models for network intrusion detection. These methods are able to automatically extract patterns from the network data to build detection models. Defining proper features, which help models to better discriminate between normal and attack data, is a critical task. While network attacks vary widely, they share some commonalities. Many attacks, by their nature, are repetitive and exhibit behaviors different from normal traffic. Among these commonalities are self-similarity between attack packets, periodicity and repetition characteristics seen in the attack traffic. In this paper, we study the common behaviors between two different attack types, called RUDY and DNS Amplification attacks, in order to propose new featu...
Society for Human Resource Management Membership as an Open Educational Resource: Enhancing Student Learning through Professional Association Memberships

Open Educational Resources are emerging as a trend in higher education to not only alleviate the stress associated with the high cost of textbooks, but also enhance the overall learning experience for students entering a competitive global marketplace. Within the discipline of management, human resources, and other business domains, adopting professional association memberships as OERs can be a useful in developing the knowledge and skills needed to succeed not only in the classroom, but also in the workplace. This paper discusses the use of a professional association membership with the Society for Human Resource Management as an OER in undergraduate and graduate human resource management courses in a Midwest University. An overview of OERs and SHRM will be provided, as well as discussion on the findings and practical implications of a student survey gleaning students’ perspectives on the use of SHRM as an OER in human resource management courses. Limitations, lessons learned, and opportunities for practical application in human resource management education and other business-related courses will also be discussed.
Automated tissue classification of pediatric brains from magnetic resonance images using age-specific atlases

The goal of this project was to develop two age appropriate atlases (neonatal and one year old) that account for the rapid growth and maturational changes that occur during early development. Tissue maps from this age group were initially created by manually correcting the resulting tissue maps after applying an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm and an adult atlas to pediatric subjects. The EM algorithm classified each voxel into one of ten possible tissue types including several subcortical structures. This was followed by a novel level set segmentation designed to improve differentiation between distal cortical gray matter and white matter. To minimize the req uired manual corrections, the adult atlas was registered to the pediatric scans using high -dimensional, symmetric image normalization (SyN) registration. The subject images were then mapped to an age specific atlas space, again using SyN registration, and the resulting transformation applied to the manually corrected tissue maps. The individual maps were averaged in the age specific atlas space and blurred to generate the age appropriate anatomical priors. The resulting anatomical priors were then used by the EM algorithm to re-segment the initial training set as well as an independent testing set. The results from the adult and age-specific anatomical priors were compared to the manually corrected results. The age appropriate atlas provided superior results as compared to the adult atlas. The image analysis pipeline used in this work was built using the open source software package BRAINSTools.
A microbiological assay for vitamin B12 using Lactobacillus leichmannii.

SummaryA microbiological assay for vitamin B12 using Lactobacillus leichmannii (ATCC 4797) has been developed. The assay medium contains crystalline amino acids as the nitrogen source and adsorbed tomato juice filtrate as a source of unidentified growth factors. A high level of cysteine and ferrous sulfate are present in the medium to keep it in the necessary reduced state. Data are given to show the degree of precision and reproducibility to be expected from the assay.
Use of Composted Dairy Cattle Solid Biomass, Poultry Litter and Municipal Biosolids as Greenhouse Growth Media

Studies were conducted to evaluate use of composted dairy cattle solid biomass, poultry litter, and municipal biosolids as partial or complete peat moss substitutes in greenhouse growth media. Using in-vessel techniques, four poultry litter composts were prepared using litter at 12.5 and 25% with hay or sawdust (v/v). Biosolids were composted with 50% sawdust (v/v) and dairy cattle solid biomass was composted alone. Each of the above six composts were blended with 0 or 50% peat moss and further mixed with 25% perlite and 25% vermiculite to prepare a total of 12 compost-based growth media. Peat moss blended with 25% perlite and 25% vermiculite served as the control. ‘Bonanza Yellow’ dwarf marigold (Tagetes patula) were grown in 25 by 50 cm flats containing 36 cells. Media containing poultry litter cocomposted with hay had low C/N ratios, high porosity and low water-holding capacity, and produced poor quality plants with high mortality rates. Biosolids and poultry litter cocomposted with sawdust produced th...
A Comprehensive Framework for Assessing Passenger Rail Services: A Case Study of the Hoosier State Line

The development of a nationwide commuter and high-speed rail (HSR) network has been suggested as a promising and “greener” passenger transport solution with the potential to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, given efficient planning that will ensure sufficient ridership and sustainable investment. It is anticipated that passenger rail growth will bring regional economic benefits as well as promote energy independence, transportation safety, and livable communities with improved accessibility and inter-connectivity.Much research has been conducted to identify the benefits and costs associated with the operation, maintenance, and improvement of passenger rail services. However, previous studies supporting investment in passenger rail have generally considered one evaluation factor at a time. Additionally, studies suggesting that investment in passenger rail is not cost-effective give more weight to quantifiable benefits and current conditions, and rarely consider changes in public preferences influenced by policies and fostered conditions to encourage mode shifts. Thus, the literature lacks a comprehensive approach that would evaluate investments in passenger rail, accounting for quantifiable and other benefits, in light of environmental, resilience and sustainability, economic, demand, and feasibility factors.Using a case study of the Hoosier State line, this study illustrates a systems approach for comprehensively assessing passenger rail services in the United States in terms of the system’s existing opportunities and future directions. The Hoosier State line operates four days per week between Indianapolis, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois with four intermediate stops. As of October 1, 2013, the State of Indiana, local communities, and Amtrak reached an agreement to support the Hoosier State line for the next fiscal year (2013–2014).Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Kin investment in wage-labor economies : Effects on child and marriage market outcomes.

Various human groups, from food foragers to inner-city urban Americans, have used widespread sharing of resources through kin networks as a means of buffering themselves against fluctuations in resource availability in their environments. This paper addresses the effects of progressive incorporation into a wage-labor economy on the benefits of traditional kin networks for two social classes in urban South India. Predictions regarding the effects of kin network wealth, education, and size on child and spouse characteristics and methods of financing marriages are tested using various regression techniques. Despite the rapid growth of participation in a wage-labor economy, it is found that kin network characteristics still have an important impact on investment behavior among families in Bangalore in both social classes. Network wealth is found to have a positive effect on child and spouse characteristics, and large networks are found to act as significant drains on family resources. However, the results for education are broadly consistent with an interpretation of increasing family autonomy as parents’ education has a far stronger influence on child and spouse characteristics across categories than network education does. Finally, professional-class parents are found to prefer financing marriages using formal mechanisms such as savings and bank loans while working-class parents preferentially finance marriages using credit from relatives and friends.
Quantification of lung recruitment by respiratory mechanics and CT imaging: what are the clinical implications?

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by increased elastance of the lung and respiratory system (1). Depending on the precipitating factor, pulmonary vs. extrapulmonary, the distribution of pathologic findings and altered respiratory mechanics in the lung is heterogeneous (2). Portions of the lung can be collapsed and/or fluid-filled while others are well-aerated. In order to facilitate gas exchange, recruitment maneuvers are sometimes employed in patients with ARDS (3). These can be performed with a constant high pressure inspiratory hold for 30–40 seconds (4,5) or via stepwise recruitment by increasing the positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) (6), typically followed by application of PEEP at a higher level than the previous baseline to maintain aeration of the recruited lung units (7). Recruitment maneuvers have been proposed as useful tools in managing patients with ARDS in order to add previously non-participatory lung units to gas exchange as well as to assess disease severity. The potential effectiveness of recruitment maneuvers in incorporating previously collapsed lung units into gas exchange or in improving the distension of previously poorly aerated pulmonary units differs from patient to patient consequent to the variability in etiology of the lung injury and the heterogeneity of lung parenchyma (8).
A clinic compare of Doppler tissue imaging and omnidirectional M mode echocardiography on the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function

Objective:To investigate the differences on asses the left ventricular diastolic function by tissue Doppler image and omnidirectional M mode Echocardiography.Method:This study included 29 patients who underwent left-sided cardiac catheterization with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction divided into three groups: relaxation delaying (group A, 11 cases); pseudonormal filling(group B, 12 cases); restrictively filling (group C, 6 cases),and 15 normal control subjects were studied with tissue Doppler image and omnidirectional M mode echocardiography. Tissue Doppler image data including Ea and Aa were acquire from mitral annular on apical four-chamber left ventricular two-chamber and apical three-chamber and the Ea/Aa ratio was calculated. The maximum systolic velocities (VS) and early-diastolic velocities (VD) of 6 regional left ventricular segments at short-axis sections of papillary muscle level were measured by omnidirectional M mode echocardiography, and the VD/VS ratio was calculated.Result:the specificity was 96.7% and 94.4% by two moths,respectively. the sensitivity was 71.2%, 90.3% and 97.7% by tissue Doppler image in each group,respectively. Taking VD/VS≤1.0 to diagnose diastolic function, the sensitivity was 56.1%, 65.3% and 96.5% by omnidirectional M mode echocardiography in each group, respectively.Conclusion:The two methods can be regarded as valuable methods for estimating left ventricular diastolic function. DTI is sensitive in comparison with omnidirectional M mode Echocardiography.
Parity-time symmetry breaking in two-dimensional photonic crystals: Square lattice

We consider theoretically materials whose electromagnetic properties possess parity-time $(\mathcal{PT})$ symmetry and are periodic in two dimensions. When designed for optical frequencies such structures are commonly known as two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals. With the addition of $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry the optical modes of 2D photonic crystals exhibit thresholdless spontaneous $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry breaking near the Brillouin zone boundary, which is analogous to what has previously been studied in $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric structures with one-dimensional periodicity. Consistent with previous work, we find that spontaneous $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry breaking occurs at band crossings in the photonic dispersion diagram. Due to the extra spatial degree of freedom in 2D periodic systems, their band structures contain more band crossings and higher-order degeneracies than their one-dimensional counterparts. This work provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of spontaneous $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry breaking at these points in the band structure. We find that, as in the case of one-dimensional structures, photonic band gaps exist at $k=0$. We also find that at points of degeneracy with order higher than 2, bands merge pairwise to form broken-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry supermodes. If the degeneracy order is even, this means multiple pairs of bands can form distinct (nondegenerate) broken-symmetry supermodes. If the order of degeneracy is odd, at least one of the bands will have protected $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry. At other points of degeneracy, we find that the $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry of the modes may be protected and we provide a spatial mode symmetry argument to explain this behavior. Finally, we identify a point at which two broken-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry supermodes become degenerate, creating a point of fourfold degeneracy in the broken-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry regime.
On the authentication of devices in the Internet of things

Reaping the benefits of the Internet of things (IoT) system is contingent upon developing IoT-specific security and privacy solutions. Conventional security solutions fail to meet the IoT security requirements due to the computationally limited and portable nature of IoT objects. In this paper, an object authentication framework is proposed to exploit device-specific information, called fingerprints, to authenticate objects in the IoT. The proposed framework is shown to effectively track the effects of physical environment on objects' fingerprints via a transfer learning tool to differentiate between security attacks and normal change in fingerprints. Simulation results show that the proposed framework improves the authentication accuracy.
Constructing Families: Gay Male and Lesbian Foster Families

This chapter uses demographic data to examine the family structure of gay males and lesbians and their biological and non- biological children. First, I explore the background and data limitations. Next, I use National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) ASCI 2006–2010 data, merged with NSFG open access files, to explore the following research questions. First: how are individuals identified as heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual across behavior, attraction, and orientation? Second: what are the demographic characteristics of these individuals? Third: are there children, including foster children, in the households of gay and lesbian individuals? Fourth: do gay males and lesbians report a different presence of children and foster children than heterosexuals?
Particle physics: The search for no neutrinos.

Scientists have seen no sign of an elusive nuclear decay that could help to explain why the Universe is dominated by matter, rather than antimatter. An upgraded experiment continues the search with unprecedented sensitivity. See Letter p.47 The nature of neutrinos is one of the most puzzling aspects of particle physics. Most extensions of the Standard Model assume neutrinos to be their own antiparticles, known as Majorana fermions, in which case a very rare, and as yet undetected, radioactive decay called neutrinoless double-β decay should exist. To find a rare decay or to put more stringent limits on its existence, it is crucial to suppress background events. Here, the GERDA Collaboration reports a search for neutrinoless double-β decay in 35.6 kilograms of germanium-76. Via a clever vetoing system, the team make their search essentially background-free—a long-awaited accomplishment in the field. They determine a lower limit on the half-life of this decay of 5.3 × 1025 years. Their background suppression techniques should enable a background-free search up to a half-life sensitivity of around 1027 years in the near future.
Using India Ink as a Sensor for Oximetry: Evidence of its Safety as a Medical Device.

Clinical EPR spectroscopy is emerging as an important modality, with the potential to be used in standard clinical practice to determine the extent of hypoxia in tissues and whether hypoxic tissues respond to breathing enriched oxygen during therapy. Oximetry can provide important information useful for prognosis and to improve patient outcomes. EPR oximetry has many potential advantages over other ways to measure oxygen in tissues, including directly measuring oxygen in tissues and being particularly sensitive to low oxygen, repeatable, and non-invasive after an initial injection of the EPR-sensing material is placed in the tumor. The most immediately available oxygen sensor is India ink, where two classes of carbon (carbon black and charcoal) have been identified as having acceptable paramagnetic properties for oximetry. While India ink has a long history of safe use in tattoos, a systematic research search regarding its safety for marking tissues for medical uses and an examination of the evidence that differentiates between ink based on charcoal or carbon black has not been conducted. Methods. Using systematic literature search techniques, we searched the PubMed and Food and Drug Administration databases, finding ~1000 publications reporting on adverse events associated with India/carbon based inks. The detailed review of outcomes was based on studies involving >16 patients, where the ink was identifiable as carbon black or charcoal. Results. Fifty-six studies met these criteria. There were few reports of complications other than transient and usually mild discomfort and bleeding at injection, and there was no difference in charcoal vs. carbon black India ink. Conclusions. India ink was generally well tolerated by patients and physicians reported that it was easy to use in practice and used few resources. The risk is low enough to justify its use as an oxygen sensor in clinical practice.
Surface repair of porous and damaged alumina bodies using carboxylate-alumoxane nanoparticles

Aqueous solutions of acetate-functionalized alumina nanoparticles (A-alumoxane), with an average particle size of 28 nm, have been used as alumina precursors for the surface infiltration and repair of porous and/or damaged alumina surfaces. SEM and AFM measurements indicate that treatment with a 1 wt% solution results in a reduction of surface roughness from >0.6 μm to ≈100 nm for surface pores in the 100 nm to 1 μm range. The use of 6 wt% solutions gives better infiltration repair for 50 μm features, but surface cracking is observed. The surface hardness of the porous alumina substrate is increased upon infiltration. No spallation of the surface infiltration layer is observed after indentation measurements and grain dislodgment is overcome.
People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths to Rhythms: Hip-Hop’s Continuation of the Enduring Tradition of African and African American Rhetorical Forms and Tropes*

AbstractHip-hop is an African folk art birthed in America. Whether one simply observes the tonal language that puffs the breath of life into the lyric prose of rap music, the poly-rhythms of the ‘boom-bap’ rhythmic phrasings that became a fixture of New York rap music in the late 1980s, the winding syncopation from the pounding ‘808’ drums that are a staple of many Southern rap anthems, the routine manner in which rappers incorporate antiphony in live performances, or the improvisational nature of true free-styling, hip-hop is innately an African folk art within the American context. This article explores the dynamics of hip-hop’s continuation of centuries-old African and African American rhetorical forms and tropes.
The Wielding Influence of Political Networks: Representation in Majority-Latino Districts

Latino-majority congressional districts are far more likely to elect Latino representatives to Congress than majority-white districts. However, not all majority-Latino districts do so. This paper addresses this question and it investigates how the level of influence of political parties and interest groups in majority-Latino districts substantially shape Latino representation to the U.S. House of Representatives. I rely on five case studies and a dataset of candidates to open congressional races with a Latino population plurality from 2004-2014. The evidence indicates that groups and political networks are critical for Latino/a candidate recruitment, the organization of resources in a congressional district, the deployment of campaign resources on behalf of certain candidates and the eventual success of Latino candidates. The findings suggest that Latino descriptive and substantive representation are shaped by the wielding influence of political parties and interest groups.