cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating the take of migrating adult chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) caused by confined underwater rock blasting

Abstract This paper describes a methodology for estimating the take of upstream migrating adult chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) caused by confined underwater rock blasting. Because these fish are listed under the Endangered Species Act, it is unlawful to take (i.e., harm, capture, collect, injure, kill, etc.) them without a federal permit. In the permit for an underwater blasting project to deepen a 2 km section of the Columbia River navigation channel linking Portland, Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean, regulators defined take as the mortality of adult chum salmon due to underwater blasting. They required monitoring to estimate take to track compliance with the permit. Conventional predictive models of fish mortality from underwater blasting depend on data about the explosive charges; however, such data for this project were not available for proprietary reasons. Therefore, an innovative approach had to be conceived. The dose-exposure-response methodology we developed provided an unobtrusive, science-based methodology for monitoring and near real-time reporting of adult chum salmon take. We applied the methodology for 99 blasting events from November 1, 2009, through February 5, 2010, in the lower Columbia River (rkm 139–141). The mean absolute peak pressure in underwater sound generated by blast events was 151,685 Pa (22 psi) at a range of 42.7 m. The estimated cumulative take for the project was 0.126 adult chum salmon, far below the 10-fish mortality limit regulators set for the project. We propose that this dose-exposure-response methodology be considered wherever underwater blasting has the potential to have an adverse effect on important fish species.
When Should the Electrophysiologist Be Involved in Managing Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices and Ventricular Arrhythmias

The successful management of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in people with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) is often complex. The need for and the role of defibrillator therapy is continually evolving in this group. VAs occur frequently and significantly impact the clinical course of patients with LVADs. The management of VAs begins prior to LVAD implantation and typically involves appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator use and programming after the fact. Surgical ablation during LVAD implantation and supplementary catheter ablation performed as needed are attractive options for the management of VAs in this population. The performance of catheter ablation is generally safe and feasible after LVAD implantation with a team approach.
Global skin friction measurements and interpretation

Abstract From a unified perspective, this review describes global skin friction diagnostics based on surface flow visualizations. The foundations of the developed image-based methods are relations between skin friction and other measurable surface quantities (e.g. oil-film thickness, temperature, scalar density and pressure), which are derived from the relevant governing equations in fluid mechanics. Interestingly, these relations can be re-cast into a generic form of the optical flow equation in the image plane, and therefore skin friction fields can be extracted from surface visualization images by using a variational method as an optical flow problem. Global skin friction diagnostics in typical experiments are described, including experimental setups, image processing, and topological interpretation of extracted skin friction fields.
Understanding Health Management for Adults With Autism

Date Presented 04/06/19 Adults with autism experience significant health disparities, including higher rates of chronic disease, less access to health services, and younger mortality rates. In this research project, we used qualitative methods to interview adults with autism, their caregivers, and their healthcare providers to develop an understanding of why these health disparities occur and to guide future intervention work. Primary Author and Speaker: Jaclyn Schwartz Contributing Authors: Jeanette Alam, Elena Cotayo, Sofia Espinosa, Dominique Grossman, Patricia Herdocia, Veronica Hernandez, Berline Lherisson, Karen Lopez, Jennifer Mejia, Cati Rodriguez, Melissa Rodriguez, Jessica Torres
Intensive Survey About Road Traffic Signs Preprocessing, Detection and Recognition

Driving is a complex task that needs drivers’ attention, cognition, and perception. Many vehicle accidents happened because of driver-related critical reasons, such as failure to notice a stop sign, weather conditions, or personal distractions. Nowadays, technology becomes part of our daily routine in which it is involved in driving aspects either partially (like driving assistance systems) or fully (like self-driving vehicles). In both cases, having Traffic Sign Detection and Recognition TSDR systems is essential. This survey paper, intensively reviews studies proposed in this field considering the three main phases of any TSDR system: preprocessing, detection, and recognition. It also spots the light on the common public datasets and the issues and challenges that TSDR systems may face. Finally, some insight regarding the future work that could be done to improve the field is provided.
A Convolutional Neural Network Feature Detection Approach to Autonomous Quadrotor Indoor Navigation

Object detection, extended to recognize and localize indoor structural features, is used to enable a quadrotor drone to autonomously navigate through indoor environments. The video stream from a monocular front-facing camera on-board a quadrotor drone is fed to an off-board system that runs a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) object detection algorithm to identify specific features such as dead-ends, doors, and intersections in hallways. Using pixel-scale dimensions of the bounding boxes around the recognized objects, the distance to intersections, dead-ends and doorways can be estimated accurately using a Support Vector Regression (SVR) model to generate flight control commands for consistent real-time autonomous navigation at flight speeds approaching 2 m/s.
Climate resilient production practices: Extent of adoption and barriers faced by rice farmers in Telangana state of India

Improving farm level adoption of climate resilient rice production practices is essential to enable farm families to improve their household food security. The present study was undertaken to analyze the farmers’ awareness, adoption and barriers to adoption of selected climate resilient rice production practices. Primary data were collected from 120 farmers from six villages based on random sampling in Nalgonda district of Telangana State, India. Visual questionnaire (photo elicitation) was used to assess farmers’ awareness and adoption of selected climate-resilient practices viz., System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), Green Manuring, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), Leaf Color Chart (LCC), drought tolerant rice varieties and crop diversification. The findings of the study indicated that 50 percent of the farmers were aware of SRI practice but none of them were adopting it, similarly, 20 per cent of the farmers were aware of integrated nutrient management but only less than two percent had adopted the practice. A very low percentage of farmers were aware of the use of LCC (13.5%), drought tolerant paddy varieties (8.2%) with equally low adoption of these practices. Shortage of labor to adopt SRI, non-availability of drum seeder, small farm size, non-availability of seeds of green manure crops, formation of soil cracks in SRI, non-availability of LCC and drought resistant paddy varieties were the foremost barriers reported by farmers. The physical barriers reported by farmers need to be addressed to enhance adoption of climate resilient rice production practices. Similarly, training programs are to be organized to enhance the adoption of knowledge and skill intensive practices like SRI, DSR and LCC to overcome the non-physical barriers for adoption of climate resilient rice production practices. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25174/2249-4065/2019/94868
Reactive Circuit Transient Response

The circuit analysis techniques that we have presented thus far work very well when only resistors are present in the circuit.
Analysis methods for characterizing energy saving opportunities from home automation devices using smart meter data

Abstract Many utility companies have installed Smart Meters (SMs) for residential and commercial buildings in the U.S., which are the part of the Smart Grid (SG) that integrates the electricity grid with communication networks. Along with the growing interest in SMs, the development of the wireless technologies and smart phones has accelerated the applications of Home Automation Devices (HADs) that can also communicate with SMs, Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), and smart phones. However, there are few if any previous studies that analyze the potential energy saving opportunities for homeowners from HADs using interval data recorded by SMs. Therefore, this paper presents five new pre-screening analysis methods that use interval energy consumption data to better characterize building energy use for the residential customers who want energy savings from the use of HADs before they are installed. This paper is part of a larger study that analyzed and measured energy savings from the use of HADs with smart meter data.
From Constitutional Pyramid to Constitutional Pluralism: The Transformation of the European Constitutional Imaginary in Context

This paper explores the recent history of the European constitutional imaginary. It argues that the constitutional imaginary that solidified during the early decades of European integration has been deeply challenged in the 1990s, with the emergence of a body of thought known as ‘constitutional pluralism’. In order to do so, the paper first reconstructs the original constitutional imaginary of the EEC. It then analyses the socio-historical context of the emergence of constitutional pluralism, on the one hand, and clarifies how these ideas contributed to redefining the European constitutional imaginary, on the other. The paper was written as part of a workshop organized in the framework of the Project IMAGINE, which has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 803163).
A Dynamic, Ring-Forming Bactofilin Critical for Maintaining Cell Size in the Obligate Intracellular Bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.

Bactofilins are polymer-forming cytoskeletal proteins that are widely conserved in bacteria. Members of this protein family have diverse functional roles such as orienting subcellular molecular processes, establishing cell polarity, and aiding in cell shape maintenance. Using sequence alignment to the conserved bactofilin domain, we identified a bactofilin ortholog, BacACT, in the obligate intracellular pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis. Chlamydia species are obligate intracellular bacteria that undergo a developmental cycle alternating between infectious nondividing elementary bodies (EBs) and noninfectious dividing reticulate bodies (RBs). As Chlamydia divides by a polarized division process, we hypothesized that BacACT may function to establish polarity in these unique bacteria. Utilizing a combination of fusion constructs and high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we determined that BacACT forms dynamic, membrane-associated filament- and ring-like structures in Chlamydia's replicative RB form. Contrary to our hypothesis, these structures are distinct from the microbe's cell division machinery and do not colocalize with septal peptidoglycan or MreB, the major organizer of the bacterium's division complex. Bacterial two-hybrid assays demonstrated BacACT interacts homotypically but does not directly interact with proteins involved in cell division or peptidoglycan biosynthesis. To investigate the function of BacACT in chlamydial development, we constructed a conditional knockdown strain using a newly developed CRISPR interference system. We observed that reducing bacACT expression significantly increased chlamydial cell size. Normal RB morphology was restored when an additional copy of bacACT was expressed in trans during knockdown. These data reveal a novel function for chlamydial bactofilin in maintaining cell size in this obligate intracellular bacterium.
The (Hour)glass Half-Full: Modified Silicone Hourglass Stents for the Treatment of Central Airway Obstruction

Central airway obstruction often presents with airway narrowing of differing internal diameters. Conventional straight stents do not fit these airways well and are prone to migration. We present a series of cases where hourglass-shaped silicone stents were customized intra-operatively to fit airway obstructions of both malignant and non-malignant etiologies and to improve patient performance status. Modified hourglass stents are a versatile tool to manage inoperable airway obstruction with unique anatomical characteristics.
Sixth Nerve Palsy

Sixth nerve palsy is the most frequent isolated ocular motor nerve palsy, and causes can range from self-limiting to life threatening. The management of these cases, including neuroimaging and further diagnostic testing, can be tailored according to the history, presentation, and clinical course. Specifically, the age of the patient; medical history including the presence of microvascular risk factors, known cancer (past or present), or recent trauma; timing of onset and progression of symptoms; and presence of other neurologic signs or symptoms should be considered when determining the need for neuroimaging. When neuroimaging is deemed appropriate, MRI of the brain and orbits with gadolinium should be performed, with inclusion of high-resolution skull base imaging for better visualization of the cranial nerves whenever possible. Further evaluation with serum and cerebrospinal fluid laboratory testing may be needed in some cases.
Influence of Age on Blood Pressure Variability and Baroreceptor Sensitivity in Response to Acute Exercise

Aging and depressed spontaneous baroreceptor sensitivity (sBRS) and blood pressure variability (BPV) have been linked to negative cardiovascular outcomes. Understanding the interaction between agin...
Satisfied with Physics

Satisfiability problems are logical reasoning problems that play an important role in the search for more efficient ways of solving large-scale computational problems. In their Perspective, Gomes and Selman highlight the report by MA©zard et al ., who borrow a method from statistical physics to characterize the search space that contains the solutions to such problems. The new approach also helps to find solutions in cases where conventional search methods fail.
Role of trail pheromone in foraging and processionary behavior of pine processionary caterpillars Thaumetopoea pityocampa

Although caterpillars of Thaumetopoea pityocampa may mark their pathways with silk, this study shows that the material is essential to neither the elicitation nor maintenance of trail-following or processionary behavior. Trail following is dependent upon a pheromone the caterpillars deposit by brushing the ventral surfaces of the tips of their abdomens against the substrate. Earlier instars are strongly bound to their trail system; in the laboratory, caterpillars followed circular trails continuously for as long as 12 hr before breaking away from them. The trail pheromone is long-lived and soluble in nonpolar solvents, but its volatilization or degradation allows the caterpillars to distinguish new from aged trails. In contrast to trail following, processionary behavior, the head-to-tail, single-file movement of the caterpillars is dependent on neither silk nor the trail pheromone. Stimuli associated with setae found on the tip of the abdomen of the precedent caterpillar serve to hold processions together, and such stimuli take priority over those associated with either the trail pheromone or silk. Although the caterpillars discern trail strength and choose stronger over weaker trails, the trail marking system of the processionary caterpillar appears less sophisticated than those of other, previously studied species of social caterpillars, and colonies are relatively inefficient in abandoning exhausted feeding sites in favor of new food finds. In laboratory studies, females were more likely to lead processions than males, and leaders, regardless of gender, expended more energy in locomotion than followers.
The Motorola software engineering benchmark program: Organization, directions, and results

In mid-1991, teams of Motorola's senior executives, software engineering technologists, and researchers chartered to provide the future software management and technology directions in Motorola, joined forces to develop and execute a benchmark program for software engineering. The author has managed this program since its inception. The goal of the program is to determine and continuously monitor best practices throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. Nearly two years later, this program has identified a set of best practices, collected and analyzed software quality improvement trends, and evaluated software engineering competency in over twenty leading companies worldwide. This paper discusses the benchmarking program, placing emphasis on program organization, directions, and results as well as program impact on Motorola. The paper includes a summary of insights gained and current program directions. >
A Dynamic Approach to Timed Behaviour

In classical applied mathematics time is treated as an independent variable. The equations which govern the behaviour of a system enable one to determine, in principle, what happens at a given time. This approach has led to powerful techniques for calculating numerical quantities of interest in engineering. The temporal behaviour of reactive systems, however, is difficult to treat from this viewpoint and it has been customary to rely on logical rather than dynamic methods. In this paper we describe the theory of min-max functions, [6, 11, 15], which permits a dynamic approach to the time behaviour of a restricted class of reactive systems. Our main result is a proof of the Duality Conjecture for min-max functions of dimension 2.
General population norms for the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Kidney Symptom Index (FKSI).

BACKGROUND: Metastatic renal cell cancer is associated with poor long-term survival and has no cure. Traditional clinical endpoints are best supplemented by patient-reported outcomes designed to assess symptoms and function. Normative data was obtained on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Kidney Symptom Index (NFKSI) to aid in score interpretation and planning of future trials. METHODS: General population data were obtained from 2000 respondents, who completed the 19-item NFKSI-19, as well the SF-36 (Short Form 36-item instrument) and the PROMIS-29 (29-item Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System), both general health status measures. Basic demographic and self-reported comorbidity data were also collected. RESULTS: The sample was 50% female, 85.7% caucasian, with an equal distribution across age bands from 18 years to 75 years and older. Most respondents (62.8%) had more than a high school education and reported an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of normal activity without symptoms (63.4%). Score distributions on the NFKSI-19, its subscales, and individual items are summarized. CONCLUSIONS: The NFKSI-19 and its subscales now have scores for the general US population, allowing comparability to generic questionnaires such as the SF-36 and PROMIS-29. These data can be used to guide treatment expectations and plan future comparative effectiveness research using the scales. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Maternal beliefs and practices about storage of human milk

The majority of human milk (HM)-feeding mothers in the US express their milk. Expressed HM may be fed directly to the infant or stored for some time. Storage guidelines vary depending on location (countertop, refrigerator, freezer pack or freezer) and guideline source (governmental agency, pump manufacturer or parenting website). HM storage was a theme that emerged in our analysis of qualitative interviews about HM expression conducted with a diverse sample of 41 mothers of children aged ~1-3 years old. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified via iterative open and closed coding using Atlas.ti. Subjects had inconsistent beliefs about how long HM could be stored in different locations and many were concerned about HM “expiring” over time. Some felt their HM smelled or tasted bad and attributed this to excess lipase in their milk. Many subjects implemented complex milk rotation strategies, feeding some mixture of fresh, refrigerated, and frozen HM to try to use up HM nearing a perceived expir...
Kinky hair disease: Report of a case

A confirmed case of kinky hair disease is described. Findings include a defect in copper metabolism, peculiar facies, retrognathia, skeletal open-bite, generalized gingival enlargement, and skeletal radiographic abnormalities.
Huxley: From Devil's Disciple to Evolution's High Priest

Huxley: From Devil's Disciple to Evolution's High Priest. Adrian Desmond. Reading. MA: Addison-Wesley. 1997.820 pp.
Comparison of rates of neuronal development and survival in human and rat cerebral cortical cell cultures

A problem that has not been addressed directly at the cellular and molecular levels concerns the basic mechanisms governing rates of development and aging in the nervous system. We have begun to examine this problem by employing parallel cell cultures of cerebral cortical neurons taken from rat and man, two species with markedly different developmental periods and life spans. Cortical cultures were established from rat and human fetuses and were maintained under identical conditions. Long-term neuronal survival in human cortical cultures was strikingly greater than in rat cortical cultures, and axonal outgrowth was significantly slower in the human neurons. These differences were consistently observed in a variety of culture media. Exchanges of culture medium between cultures of the two species did not alter the differences in neuronal survival and axon outgrowth suggesting that the differences between human and rat neurons were probably not due to factors released into the culture medium. Furthermore, the differences were not related to developmental stage at the time of culture initiation since similar results were obtained in cultures established from fetuses of different gestational ages. These initial data indicate that differences in the developmental time courses and life spans of human and rat cerebral cortex are reflected at the level of the individual neuron, and provide a system in which to explore the mechanisms responsible for these differences.
On the approximate solution of flow and heat transfer through non-circular conduits with uniform wall temperature and heat generation

Abstract The analytical solution for flow and heat transfer through conduits with heat sources in the fluid stream is studied. The flow is assumed to have a steady uniform velocity profile defined as slug flow. A variety of conduits of different cross-sectional shapes is analyzed in a unified manner by mapping the cross section of the duct onto a unit circle and then transforming the governing equations. The transformed equations are solved using a weighted residuals approach. Solutions for the dimensionless mixing temperatures and Nusselt numbers are obtained for conduits of different cross-sectional shapes (square, hexagon, circle, corrugated, cardioid). In the case of a square duct the results are in excellent agreement with the exact values. The method is applicable to conduits of arbitrary shape and it may prove useful to design engineers since conduits of complicated boundary shape are commonly used in aerospace vehicles, nuclear reactors, etc.
Spectroscopic characterization of fluorescein- and tetramethylrhodamine-labeled oligonucleotides and their complexes with a DNA template

We measured absorption and emission spectra, fluorescence quantum yield, anisotropy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), and melting temperature to characterize fluorescein- and tetramethylrhodamine (TMR)-labeled oligonucleotides in solution and when hybridized to a common DNA template. Upon hybridization to the template, both the absorption and emission spectra of TMR-labeled duplexes exhibited a shift with respect to those of labeled oligonucleotides, depending on the location of the TMR on the oligonucleotide. Measurements of quantum yield, anisotropy, and melting temperature indicated that TMR interacted with nucleotides within the duplexes in the order (T1>T5>T11, T16) that the oligonucleotide with TMR labeled at the 5' end (T1) is stronger than that labeled at position 5 from the 5' end (T5), which is also stronger than those labeled at the positions, 11 and 16, from the 5' end (T11, T16). In the case of the duplex formed between T1 and the template, fluorescence quenching was observed, which is attributed to the interaction between the dye molecule and guanosines located at the single-stranded portion of the template. A two-state model was suggested to describe the conformational states of TMR in the duplex. The melting temperatures of the four FRET complexes show the same pattern as those of TMR-labeled duplexes. We infer that the interactions between TMR and guanosine persist in the FRET complexes. This interaction may bring the donor and the acceptor molecules closely together, which could cause interaction between the two dye molecules shown in absorbance measurements of the FRET complexes.
The destructiveness of perfectionism: Implications for the treatment of depression.

Reports in the public media indicate that intense perfectionism and severe self-criticism played a role in the suicide of three remarkably talented individuals. The role of perfectionism in these suicides is consistent with recent extensive investigations of aspects of perfectionism as well as further analyses of the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (TDCRP), indicating that intense perfectionism interfered significantly with therapeutic response in the various brief treatments for depression. Self-critical individuals, however, made substantial improvement in long-term intensive treatment. These findings suggest the value of considering psychopathology, especially depression, from a psychological rather than a symptomatic perspective; that different patients may be differentially responsive to various types of therapy; and that more extensive therapy may be necessary for many highly perfectionistic, self-critical patients.
Biodemographic Analyses of Longitudinal Data on Aging, Health, and Longevity: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Biodemography became one of the most innovative and fastest growing areas in demography. This progress is fueled by the growing variability and amount of relevant data available for analyses as well as by methodological developments allowing for addressing new research questions using new approaches that can better utilize the potential of these data. In this review paper, we summarize recent methodological advances in biodemography and their diverse practical applications. Three major topics are covered: (1) computational approaches to reconstruction of age patterns of incidence of geriatric diseases and other characteristics such as recovery rates at the population level using Medicare claims data; (2) methodological advances in genetic and genomic biodemography and applications to research on genetic determinants of longevity and health; and (3) biodemographic models for joint analyses of time-to-event data and longitudinal measurements of biomarkers collected in longitudinal studies on aging. We discuss how such data and methodology can be used in a comprehensive prediction model for joint analyses of incomplete datasets that take into account the wide spectrum of factors affecting health and mortality transitions including genetic factors and hidden mechanisms of aging-related changes in physiological variables in their dynamic connection with health and survival.
Raman Difference Spectroscopy And The Energetics Of Enzymatic Catalysis

Typically, there are specific molecular interactions between a substrate and enzyme, which occur during enzymatic catalysis, that must be sufficient to not only reduce the transition state barrier appropriate for the reaction but also define a particular (usually small) set of chemical reactions. Both the origins and strengths of these interactions are fundamental issues in understanding how enzymes work. While more structural information is increasingly available from X-ray crystallographic studies, the extent of these interactions and the electronic character of the substrate and nearby protein groups within the active site generally must be simply surmised from the structural data and kinetic studies. Rarely are these molecular properties directly measured. We have approached this problem by determining the vibrational spectra of bound substrates using Raman spectroscopy. The observed vibrational frequencies are a measure of force constants between particular atoms, and these constants can be related in turn to bond orders and electronic distributions between these atoms.
Online Matching with Stochastic Rewards

The online matching problem has received significant attention in recent years because of its connections to allocation problems in Internet advertising, crowd-sourcing, etc. In these real-world applications, the typical goal is not to maximize the number of allocations, rather it is to maximize the number of successful allocations, where success of an allocation is governed by a stochastic process which follows the allocation. To address such applications, we propose and study the online matching problem with stochastic rewards (called the Online Stochastic Matching problem) in this paper. Our problem also has close connections to the existing literature on stochastic packing problems, in fact, our work initiates the study of online stochastic packing problems. We give a deterministic algorithm for the Online Stochastic Matching problem whose competitive ratio converges to (approximately) 0.567 for uniform and vanishing probabilities. We also give a randomized algorithm which outperforms the deterministic algorithm for higher probabilities. Finally, we complement our algorithms by giving an upper bound on the competitive ratio of any algorithm for this problem. This result shows that the best achievable competitive ratio for the Online Stochastic Matching problem is provably worse than that for the (non-stochastic) online matching problem.
Gastrointestinal ulceration following burns

Abstract 1. 1. A case of gastrointestinal ulceration following burns is reported. 2. 2. No history of any gastrointestinal disturbance prior to the occurrence of the accident could be obtained. Emesis of bright red blood occurred on the fourth and sixth days after the burn. The patient was treated for ulcer thereafter by diet and neutralizing powders. 3. 3. During convalescence, fluoroscopic examination by means of a barium meal yielded evidence of a duodenal deformity, but the films did not confirm this impression. These studies were repeated recently, three years after initial hematemesis, and evidence of both duodenal and gastric ulceration was demonstrated fluoroscopically. The films taken immediately thereafter recorded only the duodenal findings. 4. 4. The discussion includes some points of historical interest, a consideration of the incidence and some aspects of the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal ulceration following burns.
Strategic Leadership and Skill Usage by Academic Presidents

The literature has emphasized the significance of conceptual skills as strategic leaders engage in strategic planning. This paper has identified that academic presidents of large to moderate public four-year collegiate institutions rank interpersonal skills beyond conceptual skills while fulfilling their presidential duties that primarily involves the strategic management of the institution.
On clustering with chernoff-type faces

Chernoff (1973) introduced a new procedure for representing multidimensional data by using cartoon-like faces drawn by a pen plotter, while Turner and Tidmore (1977) introduced asyrimetric Chernoff-type faces which can be generated on a line printer. The use of such faces for clustering multivariate data is a well known technique. However, there have been few attempts, to evaluate this graphical procedure in a systematic fashion. This paper reports results obtained in a comparison of the 1ine printer faces clustering method with several nongraphical hierarchical clustering algorithms, including single , compete , and average linkage and Ward's minimum variance method..
A review of the development of a vehicle for localized and controlled drug delivery for implantable biosensors.

A major obstacle to the development of implantable biosensors is the foreign body response (FBR) that results from tissue trauma during implantation and the continuous presence of the implant in the body. The in vivo stability and functionality of biosensors are compromised by damage to sensor components and decreased analyte transport to the sensor. This paper summarizes research undertaken by our group since 2001 to control the FBR toward implanted sensors. Localized and sustained delivery of the anti-inflammatory drug, dexamethasone, and the angiogenic growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), was utilized to inhibit inflammation as well as fibrosis and provide a stable tissue–device interface without producing systemic adverse effects. The drug-loaded polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) microspheres were embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel composite to fabricate a drug-eluting, permeable external coating for implantable devices. The composites were fabricated using the freeze–thaw cycle method and had mechanical properties similar to soft body tissue. Dexamethasone-loaded microsphere/hydrogel composites were able to provide anti-inflammatory protection, preventing the FBR. Moreover, concurrent release of dexamethasone with VEGF induced neoangiogenesis in addition to providing anti-inflammatory protection. Sustained release of dexamethasone is required for the entire sensor lifetime, as a delayed inflammatory response developed after depletion of the drug from the composites. These studies have shown the potential of PLGA microsphere/PVA hydrogel-based composites as drug-eluting external coatings for implantable biosensors.
Rotaviruses code for two types of glycoprotein precursors.

Rotaviruses are nonenveloped viruses that code for two glycoproteins: a structural glycoprotein (VP7) and a nonstructural glycoprotein (NS29). The precursor to VP7 (37K) was shown to contain a 1.5K cleavable signal sequence. The 37K precursor was authentically processed (signal sequence cleaved and the polypeptide “core” glycosylated) when synthesized in a cell-free system supplemented with dog pancreatic microsomes. Similar experiments were performed with the nonstructural glycoprotein precursor (20K); however, the 20K precursor contained an integral (noncleavable) signal sequence. Both precursors were inserted into membranes cotranslationally and both glycosylated products underwent post-translational oligosaccharide processing. The results suggest a morphogenetic scheme for the simian rotavirus SA11.
Analysis of power-flow equation

Abstract The qualitative properties of the power-flow equation for a transmission network are studied in terms of global and local aspects, as well as stability. Global aspects include estimates of the number of solutions and topological properties of the stable region. Local aspects are examined through bifurcations of the flow equation. Examples are given to counter some intuitive conjectures, and other conjectures are made.
Three Cheers—Psychological, Theoretical, Empirical—for Loss Aversion

Abstract This note emphasizes the special role of prospect theory in drawing psychophysical considerations into theories of decision making with respect to risk. An example of such a consideration is the dependence of outcome value on a reference point and the increased sensitivity of loss relative to gain (i.e., loss aversion). Loss aversion can explain the St. Petersburg paradox without requiring concave utility, it has the correct psychological foundation, it is theoretically useful, and it is a parsimonious principle that can explain many puzzles. A few open questions are whether loss aversion is a stable feature of preference, whether it is an expression of fear, and what are its properties.
Incorporating Risk in Production Analysis

Risk is the farmer's perennial problem. Unfortunately, agricultural economists have made little progress in analyzing or measuring production risk in ways that provide useful information for farm management. Therefore, it is fair to say that the social returns to existing research on production risk are probably low. It is from this perspective that I will discuss incorporating risk in production analysis. My purpose is not to survey the literature or to catalog all the ways risk concepts have been incorporated in production models. Rather, I intend to evaluate critically some of the basic concepts and approaches in the literature, and to indicate the directions I believe research must take to arrive at a paradigm for incorporating risk in production analysis that could yield higher social returns. In my view the conventional conceptual framework used for risk analysis has not led agricultural economists to ask the most important questions about the effects risk has on agricultural decision making. The extension of the static neoclassical production model to incorporate price and production uncertainty has led agricultural economists to rationalize observed behavior in terms of the Arrow-Pratt risk aversion concept. This approach has led in turn to qualitative comparative static theorems which are appealing to theorists but have little relation to the decision problems farmers face. To increase the relevance of their models and methods, I believe agricultural economists need to understand specifically how risk affects agricultural production. This in turn will suggest how risk affects agricultural decision making and why farmers are or should be concerned with it. My analysis of these issues leads me to discount the hypothesis that risk matters primarily because of the psychic disutility it causes. Rather, I hypothesize that risk matters primarily because production is a dynamic phenomenon and, therefore, production and price uncertainty affect expected productivity and expected income. I hypothesize that these firstorder effects are why farmers are and should be concerned with risk. The analysis of dynamic, uncertain models shows that farmers' optimal decisions are affected by risk, whether they are "risk neutral" or "risk averse." This suggests that dynamic, risk-neutral models may be more useful than conventional static, risk-averse models for understanding the role production risk plays in farm management.
Effects of pH on The Flavor Volatiles of Poultry Meat during Cooking

Abstract The breast and thigh meat of broiler carcasses were hand deboned, blended and cooked at natural pH and at pH values of 2.4, 4.0, 7.0, 9.0 and 10.0. The sulfur-containing volatiles and the carbonyl volatiles produced upon cooking were collected as their lead derivatives and their 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones accordingly. Cooking broiler meat at neutral pH resulted the least effectiveness in the production of sulfur-containing volatiles as compared to other tested samples. On the contrary, cooking at neutral pH yielded the greatest amounts of carbonyls. Increasing pH values of poultry meat beyond 7.0 before cooking increased the yield of sulfur-containing volatiles greatly and decreased the carbonyls. The increase in sulfur volatiles and decrease in carbonyls was less pronounced in acid region than in alkaline region.
Optically multiplexed imaging with superposition space tracking

We describe a novel method to track targets in a large field of view. This method simultaneously images multiple, encoded sub-fields of view onto a common focal plane. Sub-field encoding enables target tracking by creating a unique connection between target characteristics in superposition space and the target's true position in real space. This is accomplished without reconstructing a conventional image of the large field of view. Potential encoding schemes include spatial shift, rotation, and magnification. We briefly discuss each of these encoding schemes, but the main emphasis of the paper and all examples are based on one-dimensional spatial shift encoding. Simulation results are included to show the efficacy of the proposed sub-field encoding scheme.
Transient positively and negatively buoyant turbulent round jets

The transient character of the jet issuing from an upward nozzle centered at the bottom of a vertical cylindrical tank into bulk liquid of a different density was measured using flow visualization and PIV for varying densimetric Froude numbers by varying the jet Reynolds numbers and the ratios of fluid densities. Positively buoyant jets penetrate to the free surface, driven by both momentum and buoyancy in the upward direction. The lighter jet fluid stratifies in a layer above the bulk liquid. Upon starting, a negatively buoyant jet has three stages. First the jet penetrates to its maximum height in the tank. Then the jet penetration decreases due to the downward backflow of heavier fluid surrounding the jet, which reduces the jet’s upward momentum. Finally the jet penetration height fluctuates around a mean value about 70% the maximum height of penetration. For small negative Froude numbers, the flow is fountain-like. The downward flow turns radially outward as it reaches the bottom of the tank and eventually an annular recirculation zone forms at the bottom of the tank with vortical motion opposite the vorticity of the jet. For large negative Froude numbers, the spreading of the jet extends far enough so the annular downward flow is along the walls of the tank resulting in a large annular recirculation zone. The penetration depth, h, and time, t, scale with buoyancy flux, F, and the jet momentum flux, M, as hM -3/4∣F∣1/2 and t∣F∣/M to collapse the transient jet penetration height data onto a single curve over a wide range of Froude numbers for either positively or negatively buoyant jets.
Emerging disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis.

The past two decades have seen tremendous expansion in therapeutic options for multiple sclerosis (MS). While the growing armamentarium of therapies provides physicians and patients an array of available options, it also brings in its wake the challenging responsibility of choosing the optimal therapy for an individual patient. In a newly diagnosed patient with relapsing disease, the current practice is to start one of the interferons (interferon-beta) or glatiramer acetate. With increasing experience and if there are no new safety concerns, use of fingolimod as a first-line agent in relapsing-remitting MS could expand. BG-12 appears to have a safety and efficacy profile that would make it a first-line agent, while tolerability would need to be considered. Teriflunomide is another oral agent that is under review by the US Food and Drug Administration and, apart from the pregnancy concerns, seems a potential first-line choice as well. For patients with high disease activity at onset or those refractory to current first-line agents, natalizumab and fingolimod are the two options considered most often at present. With the potential availability of alemtuzumab in the near future, that will provide an additional option considered highly efficacious. Its efficacy would have to be weighed carefully against its safety profile. Advances in genetics and biomarkers may allow the development of personalized medicine, and thus, the determination of the “best therapy” for an individual patient. Risk stratification strategies such as serum JC virus antibody status and pre-determination an individual’s risk of autoimmune disease on alemtuzumab may facilitate early initiation of optimal therapies. Treatments for MS have come a long way and the future looks even more promising and will provide us with better and greater options in treating patients, meaning we can hope to see even less of an impact of the disease in the lives of patients with MS.
Effects of six chemical deicers on larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica).

Widespread and intensive application of road deicers, primarily road salt (NaCl), in North America threatens water quality and the health of freshwater ecosystems. Intensive use of NaCl can be harmful to sensitive members of freshwater ecosystems such as amphibians. Detection of negative effects of NaCl application has prompted the search for alternative chemical deicers with lower environmental impacts. We conducted a series of 96-h acute toxicity tests to determine the negative sensitivity of larval wood frogs (Rana [Lithobates] sylvatica) to six deicing chemicals: urea (CH4N2O), sodium chloride (NaCl), magnesium chloride (MgCl2), potassium acetate (CH3COOK), calcium chloride (CaCl2), and calcium magnesium acetate (C8H12CaMgO8). Acetates are sometimes touted as environmentally friendly alternatives to NaCl but have not been examined in enough detail to warrant this designation. When exposed to a range of environmentally realistic concentrations of these chemicals, larvae were least sensitive (i.e., had the lowest mortality rate) to CH4N2O, NaCl, and MgCl2 and most sensitive to acetates (C8H12CaMgO8, CH3COOK) and CaCl2. Our observed median lethal concentration estimates (LC5096-h) for NaCl were over two times higher than values presented in previous studies, which suggests variability in tolerance among R. sylvatica populations. The deicers varied greatly in their toxicity, and further research is warranted to examine the differential effects of this suite of deicers on other species. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011; 30:1637–1641. © 2011 SETAC
Transcatheter Splenic Artery Occlusion for Treatment of Splenic Artery Steal Syndrome After Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

Purpose: To review some aspects of the problem of splenic artery steal syndrome as cause of ischemia in transplanted livers and treatment by selective splenic artery occlusion. Materials and Methods: Eleven liver transplant patients from a group of 350 patients, nine men and two women, ranging in age from 40 years to 61 years (mean 52 years), presented with biochemical evidences of liver ischemia and failure, ranging from one to 60 days following orthotopic liver transplantation. Diagnosis of splenic artery steal syndrome was suspected by elevated enzymes, Doppler ultrasound and confirmed by celiac angiogram. Patients with confirmed hepatic artery thrombosis before angiography were excluded from the study. Embolization with Gianturco coils was performed. Results: All patients were treated by splenic artery embolization with Gianturco coils. The 11 patients improved clinically within 24 hours of the procedure with significant change in the biochemical and clinical parameters. Followup ranged from one month to two years. One of the 11 patient initially improved, but developed hepatic artery thrombosis within 24 hours of the embolic treatment, requiring surgical repair. Conclusion: Splenic artery steal syndrome following liver transplantation surgery can be diagnosed by celiac angiography, and effectively treated by splenic artery embolization with coils. Embolization is one of the treatments available, it is minimally invasive, and leads to immediate clinical improvement. Hepatic artery thrombosis is a possible complication of the procedure.