cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Struggle for Hegemony

In "The New Labor History and the Powers of Historical Pessimism," Leon Fink makes an important contribution to scholarship about American political culture by addressing recent debates over the Gramscian categories of domination, resistance, and hegemony. He presents hegemony as something to be struggled for, rather than as something imposed on inert masses. Fink demonstrates that dominant ideology is contested terrain, involving concessions to aggrieved populations as well as control over them. Finally, Fink insists that power is wielded within the context of historical blocs temporary and unstable alliances built on combinations of ideology and self-interest that can be both created and destroyed through political struggle. It is perhaps a measure of the inescapable irony of our time that Antonio Gramsci's ideas have gained popularity among scholars largely as a means of explaining the futility of efforts to change past and present capitalist societies. Above all else, Gramsci was a revolutionary strategist, an individual who instructed others to temper their "pessimism of the intellect" with an "optimism of the will." He knew about defeat and domination from personal experience and systematic study, yet Gramsci still championed a political and ideological struggle for hegemony. He called for "a war of position," in which aggrieved populations seek to undermine the legitimacy of dominant ideology, rather than just a "war of maneuver" aimed at seizing state power. To counter the hegemony of ruling historical blocs, Gramsci sought to fashion oppositional coalitions capable of struggling for a world without expolitation and hierarchy. He described traditional intellectuals as "experts in legitimation," but called for the development of "organic intellectuals" able to give voice to the repressed needs and aspirations of oppressed groups., Yet the Gramsci who appears in much contemporary scholarship is less a strategist
Analysis of 2-years follow-up of curative effect of hysteroscopic treatment for recurrent endometrial polyps

Objective To investigate clinical efficacy of hysteroscopic treatment for recurrent endometrial polyps and its recurrence by 2-years follow-up.Methods 200 cases of patients with recurrent endometrial polyps in our hospital were randomly divided into the experiment group and the control group.Experiment group was treated with hysteroscopic endometrial polyps electrosurgical excision,while control group was treated with endoscopic positioning simple curettage.Menses amounts,surgery condition,recurrence after operation of 2-years and pregnancy of infertile women were analyzed.Results The operative time,blood loss and length of hospital stay between two groups were not significantly different(P 0.05).Before treatment menses amounts between the two groups had no significant difference(P 0.05),but after treatment menses amounts of the experiment group was significantly less than that of the control group(P 0.05).2-years recurrence rate of the experiment group was significantly lower than that of the control group(P 0.05).After treatment of 2 years,the pregnancy rate of infertility patients in the experiment group was higher than that of the control group(P 0.05).Conclusion Application of hysteroscopic endometrial polyps electrosurgical excision in the treatment of patients with recurrent endometrial can reduce its recurrence rate and improve its efficacy.
Human synexin (annexin VII) polymorphisms: tissue specificity and expression in Escherichia coli.

A. LEE BURNS,* KARIN MAGENDZO,* MEERA SRIVASTAVA,t EDUARDO ROJAS,* CLAUD0 PARRA,* MILTON DE LA FUENTE,* CONSTANCE CULTRARO,* ANAT SHIRVAN,* TIKVA VOGEL.* JUDY HELDMAN,* HUNG CAOHUY.* DONATELLA TOMBACCINI* and HARVEY B. POLLARD* * Luhorutoty of Cell Bioloby utid Geiietits, Nutiotiul ltistitiite of1)iuhete.s utid Digestive utid Kidtiey Diseuses, Nutionul 1ti.stitute.s of lleulth. Bethesdu, M D 20892, U.S.A. utid t Curdioretiul Ilivisioti, Food utid Dnig Adrnitiistrutioti, Bethesdu, M I ) 2(uI92, U.S.A.
The ICSD-3 and DSM-5 guidelines for diagnosing narcolepsy: clinical relevance and practicality

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disease manifesting as difficulty with maintaining continuous wake and sleep. Clinical presentation varies but requires excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) occur...
Wastewater treatment aeration process optimization: A data mining approach

Being water quality oriented, large-scale industries such as wastewater treatment plants tend to overlook potential savings in energy consumption. Wastewater treatment process includes energy intensive equipment such as pumps and blowers to move and treat wastewater. Presently, a data-driven approach has been applied for aeration process modeling and optimization of one large scale wastewater in Midwest. More specifically, aeration process optimization is carried out with an aim to minimize energy usage without sacrificing water quality. Models developed by data mining algorithms are useful in developing a clear and concise relationship among input and output variables. Results indicate that a great deal of saving in energy can be made while keeping the water quality within limit. Limitation of the work is also discussed.
Counselling Toward Career Adaptability

In this chapter, I first introduce the need for individuals to possess and develop career adaptability based on the new work paradigm. Within this new paradigm, I posit that stress may be prevalent due to the constant need for individuals to update skills and increase a personal competitive edge to remain employable. Next, I review briefly, the connection between career development and mental health and introduce stress coping as a construct that may help bridge the need to develop career adaptability in career clients. Subsequently, I support this view with a review of the research literature concerning career adaptability including research linking the construct to personality, optimism, proactive behaviors, and positive attitudes.
Results of a phase II trial with iodine 131-labeled murine antitenascin monoclonal antibody 81C6 (m81C6) via surgically created resection cavities in the treatment of patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors

5238 Adequate quality and quantity of genomic DNA is a bottleneck in genetic analysis of clinical tumor samples. In brain tumor patients, most often only tiny amounts of tissue are available from stereotactic needle biopsies. The yield of genomic template from these specimens by common methods of DNA isolation does frequently not allow high-throughput genetic analysis in these patients, which however may be important for treatment stratification in targeted therapy. Much effort has been invested in developing methods for whole genome amplification (WGA). Substantial variation in the extent of amplification occurring between different markers, incomplete coverage, and inadequate average DNA size has limited the use of existing WGA methods, making them particularly unsuitable for diagnostic testing. Most recently, a novel technique for WGA has been described, termed multiple displacement amplification (MDA), which provides a highly uniform representation across the human genome. MDA employs the Phi29 DNA polymerase and random primers to generate high-molecular weight DNA. The utility of MDA-based WGA has been shown for plasmid and bacteriophage DNA as well as whole blood, buccal swabs, buffy coats, and cultured cell lines. Here we have extended the use of MDA to the WGA of fresh-frozen (FF) as well as formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded (FP) clinical solid brain tumor samples. Genomic DNA was isolated from snap-frozen glioblastoma specimens and corresponding archival formalin-fixed/ paraffin-embedded specimens and varying amounts of genomic DNA were subjected to overnight MDA. We demonstrate that MDA of nanograms of input template DNA generated microgram amounts of high-fidelity output DNA. Three nanograms of FF and FP input DNA resulted in 1610 ± 96-fold and 1591 ± 72-fold WGA, respectively, demonstrating that the yield of genomic DNA is comparable for the same amounts of input DNA from FF and FP samples. When the DNA input was increased, amplification efficiency as measured by the fold-change of input to output DNA decreased steadily, suggesting saturation of either the enzyme or the primers. Fifty nanograms of DNA input generated only 110 ± 1-fold and 81 ± 7-fold amplification of DNA template from FF and FP tissue, respectively. Our results suggest that MDA-based WGA may be an invaluable tool for DNA probe preparation for genotyping and DNA sequencing analysis from limited patient DNA sources such as fresh-frozen stereotactic biopsy material of brain tumors as well as archival formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded, and laser microdissected brain tumor tissues. We will further report on the suitability of MDA-based WGA in quantitative assessment of genome-wide gene dosages, utilizing comparative genomic hybridization via 42,000-element cDNA microarrays (array-CGH) and real-time PCR.
SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF A NEW GROUP OF BROAD-SPECTRUM PYRETHROID INSECTICIDES

Abstract Commercial interest in pyrethroid insecticides has exploded in recent years with the discovery and development of light-stable compounds which are persistent enough to control a variety of insect pests of agricultural crops. The major application of the photostable pyrethroids has been for the control of Lepidopterous pests in cotton. However, the commercially available compounds such as permethrin and fenvalerate have failed to provide adequate control of a number of serious non-Lepidopterous insects. We wish to report on the discovery of a new group of broad-spectrum pyrethroids which have demonstrated excellent potential as foliar insecticides against insects of the orders Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera and Orthoptera, along with significant acaricidal activity. Use rates for the most active members of the series are approximately one-half to one-fourth those of permethrin. The new group of pyrethroids resulted from an intense synthesis effort in the laboratories of the Agricultural Chemical Group of FMC Corporation. Both the acid and alcohol portions of the molecules are new from a commercial standpoint. Structure activity relationships of the alcohol portion have been optimized for broad-spectrum activity. Synthesis routes to the new pyrethroids will be discussed in detail together with relevant biological activity for the compounds of greatest commercial interest.
Adapting to Change: The CFAR Problem in Advanced Hyperspectral Detection

Newer, realistic models of targets and backgrounds used in hyperspectral detection do not always lend themselves to a CFAR (constant false alarm rate) formulation. Several advanced techniques are considered here. It is found that incorporating a particular empirically validated method of target evolution permits an exact CFAR version of a large class of advanced detectors based on elliptically contoured distributions. Other validated detectors are considered, for which no closed form normalization exists to convert them to CFAR form. For these a geometrical approach to achieving approximate CFAR performance is described and analyzed.
Characterization of hexagonal boron nitride layers on nickel surfaces by low-energy electron microscopy

Abstract The thickness and interfacial geometry of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) films grown by chemical vapor deposition on polycrystalline nickel foils is studied using low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM). The reflectivity of the electrons, measured over an energy range of 0–20 eV, reveals distinct minima and maxima. The measured data is compared with simulations based on a first-principles description of the electronic structure of the material. From this comparison, the number of hBN layers and the separation between the lowest hBN layer and the nickel surface is deduced. The coupling of interlayer states of the hBN to both image-potential and Shockley-type surface states of the nickel is discussed, and the dependence of the reflectivity spectra on the surface orientation of nickel grains is examined.
Potent Immunomodulatory Effects of Lenalidomide on Effector T Cells and Treg Improve the Effectiveness of a Therapeutic Lymphoma Vaccine

Abstract Abstract 108 Lenalidomide is an effective therapeutic agent with direct inhibitory effects on malignant B- and plasma cells and immunomodulatory effects on the tumor microenvironment. The dual functions of Lenalidomide make it an appealing candidate for combination with other novel agents for lymphoma and myeloma therapy. In this study, we investigated the immune stimulatory effects of Lenalidomide on the potency of a model lymphoma vaccine (MCP3-sFv). Therapeutic vaccines based on the idiotype of the clonal Ig receptor on malignant B cells have been shown previously to elicit specific immunity in human patients, and a recent controlled Phase III trial of an idiotype protein vaccine demonstrated prolongation of disease free survival in follicular lymphoma patients (J Clin Oncol. 10;29(20):2787–94 2011). In prophylactic experiments, the groups of 10 BALB/c mice immunized with a novel fusion DNA idiotype vaccine (MCP3-sFv, Science. 1;298(5595):1025–9 2002) were then treated with Lenalidomide at various doses (5–50 mg/kg) or saline as control i.p. for 35 consecutive days. This combination strategy protected mice from a lethal syngeneic A20 murine lymphoma, resulting in significantly improved survival comparing with vaccine or Lenalidomide alone or saline. Furthermore, more than 70% of surviving mice treated with the combination were resistant to tumor re-challenge suggesting memory antitumor immunity. Mechanistically, protection required effector cellular immunity, as tumor protection was abrogated by treatment of depleting antibody against CD8+ T cells, either alone or together with CD4 depleting antibody in vivo. Lenalidomide showed little impact on humoral immunity, with serum anti-idiotype antibody levels in the combination group similar to the vaccine alone group. In addition to adaptive immune system, we also examined the effect of Lenalidomide on other immune cells including NK cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and regulatory T cells (Treg). Interestingly, Lenalidomide treatment did not affect the number of these immune cell populations in non-tumor bearing mice; but in tumor-bearing mice, Lenalidomide-induced tumor regression was associated with reduced numbers of immune suppressive cells (MDSC/Treg) and rescue of circulating NK cells. This finding suggests a role of Lenalidomide in ameliorating tumor-induced immune suppression. This hypothesis was supported by the demonstration that the combination of Lenalidomide and vaccine (vaccine given starting on day 8) produced significantly improve survival, compared with controls receiving vaccine or Lenalidomide alone (log rank p Disclosures: Kwak: Biovest International, Antigenics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Biovest International: ; Antigenics, Xeme Biopharma: Equity Ownership.
Does N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Adequately Explain Near-Death Experiences?

Abstract: Some NDE researchers have suggested that because some users of psychedelic drugs have experiences purportedly similar to near-death experiences (NDEs), neural receptors and neurotransmitters affected by a particular drug may underlie out-of-body experiences and NDEs. One of the most recent psychedelic candidates that allegedly causes NDE-like experiences is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a natural substance that the body produces in small amounts. If DMT experiences are phenomenologically similar to NDEs, then it is possible that the human body in extremis may produce larger amounts of DMT that reach psychedelic experience-causing levels in the blood. In this paper, I explore the issue of whether DMT might play a causal role in the production of NDEs. The first section summarizes basic information of about NDEs, focusing on their phenomenological aspects. The second scetion classifies theories of NDEs to place the DMT theory in some context of the history of the debate over the cause of NDEs. The following section discusses DMT's chemical composition, physical effects, and psychological effects. The final section explores whether NDE and DMT experiences have a sufficient degree of phenomenological similarity to justify a causal role for DMT in the production of NDEs and concludes that such similarity is lacking.
The Triumph of Letters: Rewriting Cicero in ad Fam. 15

Readings of Cicero's ad Fam. 15 commonly focus on Cicero's bid for a supplicatio in 51 b.c.e., which supplies this book of letters with one of its most dominant refrains. Yet this emphasis sits oddly with the book's position within the letter collection as a whole. This article argues that whoever organized the books of the ad Fam. into sequence has invested the idea of the supplicatio, and of Cicero's aspiration for a triumph, with a new metaphorical significance that it would not have had at the time of the letters’ writing. My reading attempts to locate this retrospective significance and to trace the portrait of Cicero that emerges from it.
Marketplace commodification of risk communication: Consequences for risk bearers and implications for public relations

Abstract Society’s attempt to understand and communicate about risk is perhaps the world’s oldest topic − the rationale for human existence and survival (Douglas, 1992). This paper takes critical stock of public relations scholarship and practices in the daunting complex that has become known as the infrastructural approach to risk communication. This approach blends critical judgment of the community structures where risk is discussed and the discourse in which it is analyzed as the foundation for risk governance needed for fully functioning societies. The critical lens of hegemony and postmodernism reveals how an increasing amount of risk communication scholarship and practice has evolved into a new professional, industrial, and societal hegemony that often marginalizes risk bearers and risk arbiters as a nuisance in an otherwise modern and elitist approach to risk control through which risk communication becomes a “priced commodity.” Such commodification can empower organizations to take further risks because of the perceived confidence that its robust risk management programs and risk communication teams, including public relations, can control the dialogue and thereby help protect it from business continuity failure. The great challenge is whether risk communication and management ultimately favors the interests of elites over, and even to the marginalization and subjugation of, the interests of risk bearers and arbiters, ignoring the experiences of inequalities over the life span.
Atrial Metastasis of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Rare Presentation

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an aggressive and lethal tumor that has a high frequency of metastatic spread to unpredictable sites. One quarter of patients have either distant metastases or significant local-regional disease with atypical symptoms on presentation. We present a 41-year-old patient with symptoms of right heart failure and was found to have metastatic renal cell carcinoma with enhancing tumor from left renal vein up to right atrium.
Putting Matters in Perspective

In a broad outline, the foregoing ten chapters are a partial vindication of Fodor and Pylyshyn’s brand of Classicism. Classicism explains some of the systematic relations in thought, where rival theories, such as Connectionism and Functional Combinatorialism do not. Thus, we have some defeasible reason to believe in Classicism, rather than it rivals. While this leaves us in essentially the same position as did Fodor and Pylyshyn’s critique, this does not mean that no progress has been made in the present study. This final chapter can now briefly spell out just exactly what progress has been made here. In addition, we can review some of most significant challenges that remain in coming to fully understand and evaluate the significance of the productivity and systematicity arguments.
Delayed duplicate detection: extended abstract

Best-first search is limited by the memory needed to store nodes in order to detect duplicates. Disks can greatly expand the amount of storage available, but randomly accessing a disk is impractical. Rather than checking newly-generated nodes as soon as they are generated, we append them to a disk file, then sort the file, and finally scan the sorted file in one pass to detect and remove duplicate nodes. This also speeds up such searches that fit entirely in memory, by improving cache performance. We implement this idea for breadth-first search, performing the first complete searches of the 2×7 sliding-tile puzzle, and the 18-disk, 4-peg Towers of Hanoi puzzle.
Solution of Premixed and Counterflow Diffusion Flame Problems by Adaptive Boundary Value Methods

Combustion models that simulate pollutant formation and study chemically controlled extinction limits in flames often combine detailed chemical kinetics with complicated transport phenomena. Two of the simplest models in which these processes are studied are the premixed laminar flame and the counterflow diffusion flame. In both cases the flow is essentially one-dimensional and the governing equations can be reduced to a set of coupled nonlinear two-point boundary value problems with separated boundary conditions.
Robust Sparse Coding and Compressed Sensing with the Difference Map

In compressed sensing, we wish to reconstruct a sparse signal x from observed data y. In sparse coding, on the other hand, we wish to find a representation of an observed signal y as a sparse linear combination, with coefficients x, of elements from an overcomplete dictionary. While many algorithms are competitive at both problems when x is very sparse, it can be challenging to recover x when it is less sparse. We present the Difference Map, which excels at sparse recovery when sparseness is lower. The Difference Map out-performs the state of the art with reconstruction from random measurements and natural image reconstruction via sparse coding.
General anesthesia / sedation requirement influences the way MRI brain scans are ordered in a tertiary pediatric hospital.

BACKGROUND MRI guidelines have been created to help clinicians order scans appropriately. Some scans in children are carried out under general anesthesia (GA) / sedation. PURPOSE To evaluate if the requirement for GA/sedation influences the way MRI brain scans are ordered. STUDY TYPE Retrospective. POPULATION Children with MRI brain scans in 2015 to 2017. FIELD STRENGTH 3T, 1.5T. ASSESSMENT Institutional Review Board approval for waiver of consent was obtained. Clinical MRI brain reports for children were classified into whether they conformed to the American College of Radiology (ACR) 2013 guidelines by research assistants under supervision of a pediatric radiologist. Scans were sorted into those with normal brains or abnormality. STATISTICAL TEST The statistical difference between groups was assessed using t-test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables with IBM SPSS 19. RESULTS Of the total 1893 MRI scans, 431 were performed under GA and six under sedation. Of the 431 cases performed under GA/sedation, 383 (87.6%) were ordered according to guidelines. Of the 1456 cases that did not require GA/sedation, 710 (48.8%) conformed to guidelines. The percentage of scans ordered according to guidelines was 38.8% higher in those who had scans performed under GA/sedation (P < 0.001). MRI scans were normal in 635 (58.0%) out of the 1093 cases ordered according to guidelines and normal in 638 (79.8%) out of the 800 cases that did not follow guidelines. Scans not ordered according to guidelines had higher proportion of normal scans (21.8%) compared with those ordered according to guidelines (P < 0.001). DATA CONCLUSION Higher adherence to imaging guidelines is seen in younger patients who were exposed to the risks of GA/sedation for the MRI. Scans not adhering to guidelines had a higher percentage of having no brain abnormality detected. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 6 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:e250-e255.
New Inquiries into the Socioeconomic Status of Pilipino Americans in California

(1986). New Inquiries into the Socioeconomic Status of Pilipino Americans in California. Amerasia Journal: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 1-21.
Four new species of the subterranean amphipod genus Stygobromus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) from shallow groundwater habitats on the Coastal Plain and eastern margin of the Piedmont in Maryland and Virginia, USA

Four new species of the subterranean amphipod genus Stygobromus are described from groundwater habitats in Maryland and Virginia. All four of the species occur in Maryland, and one of them also occurs in Virginia.Three of these species are found in groundwater seeps or seepage springs in the Piedmont of northeastern Maryland, whereas the fourth occurs in similar habitats on the Coastal Plain of southern Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay and on the opposite side of the Potomac River in seeps on theCoastal Plain in southeastern Virginia. Descriptions of the new species bring the total number of described species in the genus to 139, all but five of which are recorded from North America. Recognition of the four new species suggests that species diversity in Stygobromus is greater in shallow groundwater habitats east of the Appalachian cave and karst region than originally believed.
Cardiometabolic risk reduction after metabolic surgery.

Purpose of review Metabolic surgery provides the largest and most durable weight loss in persons with obesity. There is abundant randomized evidence to show its superiority over medical treatment alone in achieving improved glycemic control. Recent findings Recent trials have also demonstrated a significant reduction in cardiovascular risk factor burden, whereas data from observational studies suggest an ability to reduce overt cardiovascular events and mortality. Summary In this review, we briefly describe the surgical procedures involved and their indications. We further provide a summary of the effects of metabolic surgery on weight loss, glycemic control, and clinical outcomes.
Deficits of white matter axial diffusivity in bipolar disorder relative to major depressive disorder: No relationship to cerebral perfusion or body mass index.

Objective To compare white matter integrity (WMI) in bipolar disorder (BD) relative to healthy volunteers (HVs) and major depressive disorder (MDD). To determine the relationship of bipolar-specific differences in WMI to cerebral perfusion, body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure as indices of cardiovascular function. Methods Thirty-two participants with BD, 44 with MDD, and 41 HV were recruited. All BD and MDD participants were in a major depressive episode, and all but 12 BD participants were medication-free. 64-direction diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) sequences were obtained. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) on four DTI indices were employed to distinguish patterns of DTI in BD relative to HV and MDD groups. BMI, blood pressure, and medical histories were also obtained for the BD participants. Results A cluster of lower axial diffusivity (AD) was found in BD participants in comparison to the HVs in the left posterior thalamic radiation, superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, fronto-occipital fasciculus, and internal capsule. Mean AD in the significant cluster was not associated with cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the region as measured by ASL, and was not associated with BMI or blood pressure. A cluster of lower AD was also found in the BD group when compared to MDD that had spatial overlap with the HV comparison. Conclusions The results indicate a deficit of AD in BD when compared to MDD and HV groups. No association between AD values and either cerebral perfusion, BMI, or blood pressure was found in BD.
The Role of the Organic Solvent Polarity in Isolating Uranyl Peroxide Capsule Fragments.

Uranyl peroxide capsules are a fascinating class of polyoxometalates (POMs), discovered only in the 21st century. Understanding the reactivity between peroxide, alkali cations, and uranyl in alkali...
Federal Advisory Committees & the Internal Separation of Powers

Advisory committees are a common feature in the administrative state. Almost forty thousand experts from outside of government serve on over one thousand committees across the executive branch, providing agencies with informed “second opinions” to complement their in-house experts in the civil service. Yet the role of these committees in the administrative state remains understudied. This Article considers advisory committees as a key arrow in the quiver for agency heads in their intra-agency rivalry with civil servants. Specifically, we argue that advisory committees enable agency heads to draw expertise from beyond the administrative state, reducing agency heads’ reliance on civil servants with political preferences that may differ markedly from their own. We label our theory of advisory committees’ purpose and function the Agency-Head Independence Account. and contrast it with, inter alia, the Enacting Congress Account, which views advisory committees as serving the interest of the Congress that established the committee, and the Agency Reputation Account, which holds that agencies utilize committees for blame-diffusion and reputation-protection. To test these competing theories, we gather data on the political orientations of over 1,200 members of ten advisory committees across three presidential administrations. We find that these committees lean left during Democratic administrations and right during Republican ones. Expanding our analysis to all advisory committees in cabinet departments over a 21-year span, we find that agencies are more likely to utilize advisory committees as the preferences of civil servants and their political principals diverge. Taken together, these results support the Agency-Head Independence Account. Advisory committees empower agency heads to identify likeminded experts and subsidize the cost of their work. As a result, agency heads may utilize advisory committees to obtain advice from ideological sympathetic experts, thereby bypassing expert-but-potentially-oppositional civil servants. We conclude by considering the implications of our findings for the expertise-representativeness tradeoff inherent in delegations of authority and for the intra-agency separation of powers among agency heads, civil servants, and other actors.
Analysis on serology of brucellosis in high exposure population in Yanqing County of Beijing in 2006

Objective To understand current status of brucellosis infection in both human and animal in Yanqing County to get solid scientific basis for controlling the disease and to prevent the spread of epidemic.Methods Cluster sampling method was used in this survey in stock raisers and ELISA and SAT were performed to inspect serologic antibody of Brucella.At the same time an epidemic investigation was carried out,including the basic personal situation,occupational history,vaccination history,clinical symptom,and so on.Resutls In a total of 216 cow raisers whose blood Was detected,27 cases showed positive in titer test of Brucella antibody with a ratio of 12.50%.However,all the antibody carriers did not have any clinical symptoms.In all 2185 cows that were collected for antibody test,1488 cases had positive serological antibody with a ratio of 68.10%.And all the positive COWS also did not have any clinical symptoms.Conclusions The subclinical infection of brucellosis is rather high in Yanqing County's stock raisers.It is self-protection of the stock raisers,epidemic knowledge propaganda,serological surveillance in human and animal,immunize of healthy cows,and eliminate of diseased cows that are urgent in order to keep the public in health. Key words: Brucellosis; Serology; Surveillance
English learners’ science-literacy practice through explicit writing instruction in invention-based learning

Abstract This study explores how three English learners, also referred as L2 learners, improve in science literacy in an invention-based learning (IBL) project. IBL, a project-based learning invention, asks students to respond to problems by inventing. Through the lens of sociocultural theory, our multiple case studies examined how middle school L2 learners demonstrate scientific concepts and science literacy by inventing a lunchbox that keeps food cool. We collected participant interviews, observations, and field notes, and we analyzed these inductively. We also analyzed participants’ writing samples based on Garcia, Chiappetta and Fillman's science-literacy framework. Students demonstrated comprehension of scientific concepts and processes, ability to use scientific thinking skills, and capability to apply knowledge to real-life experiences. As a result, although L2 learners experienced some struggles during the writing process, students’ language skills and conceptual learning developed. In addition, students perceived writing as an essential skill for learning science.
Konnyaku jelly: A quick preparation and cost effective ultrasound-guided IV phantom model.

Clinicians commonly place ultrasound-guided intravenous catheters in peripheral veins for the diagnostic and therapeutic treatments of patients. This procedural skill requires practice and static p...
Neurobiology: Resetting the axon's batteries.

Summary Neuronal injury can cause mitochondrial damage, leading to reduced energy production, decreased Ca2+ storage capacity, and increased reactive oxygen species. A new study reveals a mechanism to trigger the axonal transport of previously anchored mitochondria and promote neuroprotection and axon regeneration by replacing damaged with functional mitochondria.
Difficulties in psychosocial functioning due to current depressive symptoms: What can C-Reactive protein tell us?

Abstract Background Multiple empirical studies and meta-analyses have examined how inflammation may be associated with various aspects of major depression, with older adults being particularly at risk for the effects of inflammation-related depression. Despite this wide area of research, no study has examined how depression-related inflammation impacts psychosocial functioning. Methods Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, years 2007–2008, were utilized to examine whether adults over the age of 40 experienced difficulty in their work, taking care of things at home, or getting along with other people due to current depressive symptoms through a logistic regression analysis. We selected C-reactive protein (CRP), a common marker of immune system activation, as our primary predictor of interest while controlling for relevant covariates. Results Greater CRP was positively associated with a greater risk for individuals experiencing difficulties in psychosocial functioning due to depressive symptoms. While current number and severity of depressive symptoms was also found to be significant in the model, comparison of effect sizes identified that CRP appears to be a more relevant marker for experiencing difficulty than a number of relevant biopsychosocial covariates. Conclusion Inflammation as measured by CRP may be a helpful tool in understanding how depressive symptoms are associated with an individual's ability to successfully navigate their social environment. Results here demonstrate the emerging utility of CRP in helping to assess the risk for negative outcomes in those experiencing depressive symptoms, especially as it pertains to older adults.
Clinical Competency Committees in Plastic Surgery Residency.

Background Clinical competency committees (CCCs) are now an Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirement for plastic surgery training programs. They serve to monitor resident progress and make formal recommendations to program directors on promotion, remediation, and dismissal, based on resident progress toward the curricular milestones. Methods Here, we present an overview on building, conducting, and improving a CCC, reviewing the literature available regarding best practices regarding this novel assessment system, with attention to the particular requirements for plastic surgery training. Results We present the results of the Duke University CAQCC as a case study in the efficacy of a well-executed group in terms of improved resident outcomes, particularly regarding In-service Examination scores as an objective measure. Conclusions Rather than simply serving as a necessary ACGME dictum, the CCC has the opportunity to demonstrably improve resident education. This article is valuable for department leaders, program directors, faculty, and residents toward understanding the purpose and design of their CCC.
A general prognostic tracking algorithm for predictive maintenance

Prognostic health management (PHIM) is a technology that uses objective measurements of condition and failure hazard to adaptively optimize a combination of availability, reliability, and total cost of ownership of a particular asset. Prognostic utility for the signature features are determined by transitional failure experiments. Such experiments provide evidence for the failure alert threshold and of the likely advance warning one can expect by tracking the feature(s) continuously. Kalman filters are used to track changes in features like vibration levels, mode frequencies, or other waveform signature features. This information is then functionally associated with load conditions using fuzzy logic and expert human knowledge of the physics and the underlying mechanical systems. Herein is the greatest challenge to engineering. However, it is straightforward to track the progress of relevant features over time using techniques such as Kalman filtering. Using the predicted states, one can then estimate the future failure hazard, probability of survival, and remaining useful life in an automated and objective methodology.
Embedding one-port network into two-port networks through the use of auxiliary S-parameters for characterization of cascading network gain

In this paper, a method for embedding a one-port network into a two-port network through a predefined auxiliary 2/spl times/2 S-matrix is described. The purpose of doing such is to provide a better way to characterize and measure the loss or gain of a cascading network to the original one-port network. One prominent example to which this method can be applied is the characterization of matching network loss for antenna design. The concept of transducer power gain is utilized for deriving such a method in this paper.
Acoustically Heated Chromospheres in M Dwarfs

Schrijver has suggested that in the most inactive cool stars (“basal flux stars”), chromospheres are heated by acoustic waves. We have explored this proposal for M dwarfs by computing ab initio models of the chromosphere. Acoustic energy is deposited according to a modified weak shock theory. Radiative transfer in continuum and two strong lines is used to evaluate energy losses from photosphere and chromosphere. We find that acoustically heated chromospheres successfully reproduce the observed fluxes of Mg II and Ly-α in basal M dwarfs.
HEALTH SERVICES FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN—MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE STATES . . .

The report by Smith and Lindsay in this issue encompasses with admirable conciseness and useful critique their recent examination of health services for handicapped children in Europe. Although it seems appropriate that we consider for application in this country those arrangements and techniques found helpful in countries abroad with health problems similar to our own, there are some realistic and limiting differences. The outstanding dissimilarity is the degree of national commitment to services for handicapped children. Whether based on self-interest alone-or compassion-a sense of national obligation at least equal to that in the European countries is a prerequisite to any broad advancement in services for handicapped children in this country.
Kinematics of fault creep

Fault slip and strain during fault-creep episodes are continuously recorded by a dense network of creepmeters deployed along several major traces of the San Andreas fault system in central California. These data are analysed on the basis of theoretical faulting models to delineate the kinematics of the fault-creep process. The results indicate that fault creep is a failure propagation phenomenon, kinematically similar to seismic faulting, but with very low characteristic rates. The speed of creep propagation is not constant and is of the order of 10 km/day or less. The maximum slip velocity usually ranges from 0.1 to 10 p.m/s. Both of these are five or more orders of magnitude smaller than the corresponding rates of seismic faulting. The slowness in particle motion can account for the ineffectiveness of the creep process in exciting observable seismic waves. However, the tectonic strain released by a creep event may be sizable. The largest event recorded so far has a rupture length of 6 km and a maximum offset of 9 mm, comparable to similar parameters of a shallow earthquake of magnitude 4.7.
Sterile Soil from Antarctica - Organic Analysis

Soils from the dry-valley region of Antarctica can be sterile by the usual microbiological criteria and yet contain significant amounts of organic carbon. Examination of one such soil shows that the organic material is finely divided anthracite coal. These findings have significant implications for the biological exploration of Mars.
Separation of partition noise from generation‐recombination noise in a three‐terminal quantum well infrared photodetector

In this letter, we present results from our systematic study of the low frequency noise in an infrared hot‐electron transistor. By measuring the correlation between emitter and collector noise currents, we are able to separate the partition noise and the generation‐recombination (g‐r) noise present in this three terminal device. Through the whole current range of more than two decades, the collector current noise SIc is always much larger than the cross‐spectrum density between emitter and collector currents SIeIc. We thus conclude that SIc comes mostly from the filtering process.
X-box-binding proteins positively and negatively regulate transcription of the HLA-DRA gene through interaction with discrete upstream W and V elements.

Abstract Previous reports have identified that the class II box, consisting of the positive regulatory X and Y boxes, is important for expression of all class II major histocompatibility genes. In this paper, we identify additional sequences upstream from the class II box that regulate constitutive transcription of a human class II gene, HLA-DRA, in the B-lymphoblastoid cell line Raji. Using 5' promoter deletions, substitution mutants, and nuclease S1 protection assays, we mapped a positive element, called W, between -135 and -117 base pairs and a negative element, called V, from -193 to -179 base pairs. Sequence comparisons revealed that W and V share homology with the HLA-DRA X box situated downstream. Gel-mobility-shift assays confirmed that the Raji nuclear proteins that bound to W and V elements were competed with by an HLA-DRA X-box oligonucleotide. These results suggest that X-box-binding proteins mediate both positive and negative effects on transcription by means of interaction with multiple elements (W, V, and X) within the same HLA-DRA gene.
WebCT Dialogues on Particle Theory of Matter: Presumptive Reasoning Schemes

Analysis of how science discourse takes place among students can provide us with in-depth information on the effectiveness of a chosen instructional approach and how well students understand scientific ideas. In our study, the unit on the particle theory of matter was taught with a constructivist conceptual change inquiry approach to a group of middle years' students. The students' dialogues on the particle theory of matter, which took place on a web discussion board, were analyzed and then classified into types of dialogues. By studying the frequency of the types of dialogues based on the nature and circumstance of teaching and learning, we were able to develop 3 general categories (experiential, referential, provisional) of dialogues that can occur in science learning.
Female age‐specific reproductive rates, birth seasonality, and infant mortality of ring‐tailed Lemurs on St. Catherines Island: 17‐year reproductive history of a free‐ranging colony

To compare reproductive parameters of a managed population of free-ranging provisioned ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) to wild L. catta populations, we analyzed birth and mortality records collected over the 17-year history of the St. Catherines Island ring-tailed lemur colony. The majority of births in this colony (approximately 80%) occurred in March, which indicates that most females at this site conceived during the first estrus cycle of the breeding season, as do wild ring-tailed lemur females (Sauther [1991] Am J Phys Anthropol 84:463–77). Females in this provisioned colony reach the age at first parturition (primiparous age) earlier (at 2 years) than do wild ring-tailed lemurs, which typically begin to reproduce at 3 years of age (Sussman [1991] Am J Primatol 84:43–58; Koyama et al. [2001] Primates 42:1–14; Gould et al. [2003] Am J Phys Anthropol 120:182–94). Female fecundity is lowest at 2 years of age (34%), but increases to 67–100% for females age 3 and older. Survival analyses showed that infant survivorship for very young (2–3 years) and very old females (>10 years) are similar, and are lower than that for reproductively prime-aged females (4–9 years), although this trend is not statistically significant (χ2=3.18, df=2, n=125, P=0.203). There was a large amount of variability in infant survival rates among the oldest females, and a few older females (ages 13 and 14) still had high infant survival rates despite their old age. When compared to wild populations, provisioning in this island colony generally caused a decrease in the female primiparous age, a decrease in infant mortality, and an increase in multiple-offspring births (twins or triplets). Zoo Biol 0:1–15, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Double-interval harmonic mode-locking technique for diverse waveform generation

Higher-order harmonic repetition rate generation in quantum dot mode-locked lasers (QDMLLs) was realized using a double interval technique. Using this approach, a wider operation range and improved mode-locking performance was demonstrated for generating the 6th harmonic of the fundamental repetition rate. Without changing the layout of the device, mode-locking at a repetition rate of 60 GHz, which corresponds to the 10th harmonic of the fundamental frequency of the QDMLL, was achieved which cannot be realized utilizing the single absorber technique.
A class of bilinear models in stochastic programming with applications

A class of bilinear models of the form max f(x) where f(x) = min g(x, c) is a scalar function of vectors x and c is analysed here in the framework of stochastic linear programming. It is shown that such a class of models has wide applicability in economic systems, e.g., portfolio models, market strategies and economy-wide input-output models. It is further shown that such a class may lead to a random eigenvalue problem which is non-linear in some cases.