cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The room impulse response in time, frequency, and space: Mapping spatial energy using spherical array beamforming techniques

The auditory perception of rooms is a multi-dimensional problem. Our hearing system interprets time, frequency, and spatial information from arriving room reflections, but traditionally, only the time and frequency domains are considered in room acoustic metric and objective sound field analyses. This work aims to develop spatial visualizations of the energy in a room impulse response (RIR). With a spherical microphone array, a room’s energy can be mapped in full three-dimensions. First, beamforming techniques are used to generate a set of directional RIRs from the spherical microphone array measurement. This set of directional RIRs is analogous to using a microphone with a directional beam pattern response, oriented individually at all points around a sphere. Then, these directional or beam RIRs are time windowed and band-pass filtered to create spatial energy maps of the room. Comparisons between a plane-wave beam pattern and a Dolph-Chebyshev beam pattern will be demonstrated in the context of RIR beamforming. As well, different strategies for normalizing peak energy amplitudes to either the direct sound or a spherical spreading condition will be compared. With these considerations, final results of these spatial energy visualizations and directional RIR animations will be demonstrated. [Work supported by NSF Award 1302741.]
Analyzing social and communication network structures of social bots and humans

Recently, several journalistic accounts have suggested that Twitter is becoming a bellwether for mis- and disinformation due to the pervasiveness of bots. These bots are either automated or semi-automated. Understanding the intent and usage of these bots has piqued the scientific curiosity among researchers. To that effect, in this study, we analyze the role of bots in two distinct categories of real-world events, i.e., natural disasters and sports. We collected over 1.2 million tweets that were generated by nearly 800,000 users for Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, and Mexico Earthquake. We corroborate our analysis by examining bots that engaged with the 2018 Winter Olympics. We collected over 1.4 million tweets generated by nearly 700,000 users based on the hashtags #Olympics2018 and #PyeongChang2018. We examined the social and communication network of bots and humans for the aforementioned events. Our results show distinctive patterns in the network structures of bots when compared with that of humans. Content analysis of the tweets further revealed that bots used hashtags more uniformly than humans, across all the events.
A Proposal for Improving Argument Before the United States Supreme Court

With rare exceptions, the U.S. Supreme Court allots thirty minutes to each side for oral arguments. A review of transcripts and recordings of oral arguments confirms that the Court poses questions and makes comments with remarkable frequency. When students and lay people listen to the recordings, they may remark on the constant interruptions and view the Justices as rude interrogators. With the many questions that the Justices have and the limited time available, the advocates have little opportunity to present their arguments fully. The Justices may interrupt counsel with questions concerning the law or the relevant facts of a case. They may wish to pose hypotheticals. They may wish to present direct or indirect arguments in hopes of swaying a fellow member of the bench. With respect to these questions and hypotheticals, the Justices are asking counsel to think on their feet and may catch counsel unprepared to give a full and accurate response. This Article offers a simple solution for reducing the overload of questions at oral argument. Justices, individually or collectively, could pose written questions on facts and law to the litigants' counsel before oral argument and expect written responses.The submitted questions might inquire about the facts of the case, about the litigant's interpretation of the relevant law, about the response that the litigant would make to a hypothetical scenario, or about the precise holding that the litigant wishes the Court to propound. The responses should allow for more thought-out answers than oral argument can produce and might both reduce the number of questions that the Justices ask during oral argument and improve the quality of the answers.The Article places this proposal in historical context by examining how Supreme Court rules on presenting argument have developed - shifting the emphasis from oral argument to written argument. After explaining the value of oral argument and the ways in the which courts have tried to deal with the brevity of oral arguments, the Article illustrates the value of the proposal by closely analyzing the oral argument in Kelo v. City of New London.
Stealing Passwords by Observing Hands Movement

The use of mobile phones in public places opens up the possibilities of remote side channel attacks on these devices. We present a video-based side channel attack to decipher passwords on mobile devices. Our method uses short video clips ranging from 5 to 10 s each, which can be taken unobtrusively from a distance and do not require the keyboard or the screen of the phone to be visible. By relating the spatiotemporal movements of the user’s hand during typing and an anchor point on any visible part of the phone, we predict the typed password with high accuracy. The results on a dataset of 375 short videos of password entry process on a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone show an exponential reduction in the search space compared to a random guess. For each key-press corresponding to a character in the passwords, our method was able to reduce the search space to an average of 2–3 keys compared to ~30 keys if one has to guess the key randomly. Thus, this paper reaffirms threats to smartphone users’ conventional login in public places and highlights the threats in scenarios such as hiding the screen that otherwise gives the impression of being safe to the users.
Application of Additive Groves ensemble with multiple counts feature evaluation to KDD Cup'09 small data set

This paper describes a field trial for a recently developed ensemble called Additive Groves on KDD Cup'09 competition. Additive Groves were applied to three tasks provided at the competition using the "small" data set. On one of the three tasks, appetency, we achieved the best result among participants who similarly worked with the small dataset only. Postcompetition analysis showed that less successfull result on another task, churn, was partially due to insufficient preprocessing of nominal attributes. Code for Additive Groves is publicly available as a part of TreeExtra package. Another part of this package provides an important preprocessing technique also used for this competition entry, feature evaluation through bagging with multiple counts.
Capacity Building to Sustainably Use Biodiversity in Dryland Regions of Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean are well known as the site of great biodiversity, but the focus of attention is most of ten on the admittedly important world heritage of the tropical and mountain rainforests and wetlands of the region. This paper directs attention to the globally significant biodiversity of the arid and semiarid parts of the region. The area includes some of the driest deserts in the world in Chile and large areas of semiarid subtropical conditions, some of which are influenced by the proximity to, and the influence of, the Andean mountain chain. The paper reviews the current funding priorities in the region, attempts in a general way to identify biodiversity conservation needs in terms of networks and institutions and addresses the most effective processes to build on and expand the already sound capacity in the region.
Artificial intelligence for precision education in radiology

In the era of personalized medicine, the emphasis of health care is shifting from populations to individuals. Artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of learning without explicit instruction and has emerging applications in medicine, particularly radiology. Whereas much attention has focused on teaching radiology trainees about AI, here our goal is to instead focus on how AI might be developed to better teach radiology trainees. While the idea of using AI to improve education is not new, the application of AI to medical and radiological education remains very limited. Based on the current educational foundation, we highlight an AI-integrated framework to augment radiology education and provide use case examples informed by our own institution's practice. The coming age of "AI-augmented radiology" may enable not only "precision medicine" but also what we describe as "precision medical education," where instruction is tailored to individual trainees based on their learning styles and needs.
A Robust Non-Clairvoyant Dynamic Mechanism for Contextual Auctions

Dynamic mechanisms offer powerful techniques to improve on both revenue and efficiency by linking sequential auctions using state information, but these techniques rely on exact distributional information of the buyers’ valuations (present and future), which limits their use in learning settings. In this paper, we consider the problem of contextual auctions where the seller gradually learns a model of the buyer's valuation as a function of the context (e.g., item features) and seeks a pricing policy that optimizes revenue. Building on the concept of a bank account mechanism---a special class of dynamic mechanisms that is known to be revenue-optimal---we develop a non-clairvoyant dynamic mechanism that is robust to both estimation errors in the buyer's value distribution and strategic behavior on the part of the buyer. We then tailor its structure to achieve a policy with provably low regret against a constant approximation of the optimal dynamic mechanism in contextual auctions. Our result substantially improves on previous results that only provide revenue guarantees against static benchmarks.
Centralized Versus Decentralized Structures in Appalachia

The term ‘knowledge is power’ came to prominence as formal knowledge began to be linked with political clout and the people who created, transmitted and applied this knowledge became the formal agents of it. With growth in the magnitude and complexity of formal knowledge came the development of professional disciplines. These disciplines became institutions with political, socio-economic and cultural identities of their own as well as the driving forces, which provided education to its members within other, larger institutional settings. Institutions began to address the increasing number of areas of human life to which their particular brand of knowledge could be applied and with this shift in a tendency toward rule by public debate and participation in decision making toward a rule by the new ‘knowledge brokers’ (intellectuals) came the inevitable move away from egalitarianism toward a more intellectual monocracy [1].
The Impact of an Independence Curriculum on Self-Determination and Function in Middle School Autistic Students

A growing number of autistic students enter the school system, many with the capabilities of doing grade-level work. For these students, there seems to be a lack of focus on executive functioning, ...
Improving the future of honey bee breeding programs by employing recent scientific advances

A recent abundance of studies investigating causes of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses has led to enhanced recommendations in management practices with particular emphasis on breeding for resistant bee stocks. Here we review the latest advances in research which could improve the future of breeding programs. We discuss diversity in colonies particularly in breeding programs, giving special emphasis to recent improvement in cryopreservation of honey bee germplasm. We also review factors that affect the health and reproductive quality of queens and drones. We briefly discuss how techniques developed by scientists are finding more regular usage with breeders in the assessment of reproductive caste health and quality and in determining best management practices for breeding programs.
Longitudinal anatomic, functional, and molecular characterization of Pick disease phenotypes

Objective To characterize longitudinal MRI and PET abnormalities in autopsy confirmed Pick9s disease (PiD) and determine how patterns of neurodegeneration differ with respect to clinical syndrome. Methods Seventeen patients with PiD were identified who had antemortem MRI (8 with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia [bvFTD-PiD], 6 with non-fluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia [naPPA-PiD], one with semantic primary progressive aphasia, one with unclassified primary progressive aphasia, and one with corticobasal syndrome). Thirteen patients had serial MRI for a total of 56 MRIs, 7 had [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose PET, 4 had Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) PET and one patient had [18F]flortaucipir PET. Cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of grey matter volume and metabolism were performed between bvFTD-PiD, naPPA-PiD, and controls. Cortical PiB summaries were calculated to determine beta-amyloid positivity. Results The bvFTD-PiD and naPPA-PiD groups showed different foci of volume loss and hypometabolism early in the disease, with bvFTD-PiD involving bilateral prefrontal and anterior temporal cortices and naPPA-PiD involving left inferior frontal gyrus, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex. However, patterns merged over time with progressive spread into prefrontal and anterior temporal lobe in naPPA-PiD, and eventual involvement of posterior temporal lobe, motor cortex and parietal lobe in both groups. Rates of frontotemporal atrophy were faster in bvFTD-PiD than naPPA-PiD. One patient was beta-amyloid positive on PET with low Alzheimer9s neuropathologic changes at autopsy. Flortaucipir PET showed elevated uptake in frontotemporal white matter. Conclusion Patterns of atrophy and hypometabolism differ in PiD according to presenting syndrome, although patterns of neurodegeneration appear to converge over time.
Critically Ill Health Care-Associated Urinary Tract Infection: Broad vs. Narrow Antibiotics in the Emergency Department Have Similar Outcomes.

Abstract Background Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the second most common infection requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission in emergency department (ED) patients. Optimal empiric management for health care-associated (HCA) UTI is unclear, particularly in the critically ill. Objective To compare clinical failure of broad vs. narrow antibiotic selection in the ED for patients presenting with HCA UTI admitted to the ICU. Methods Observational cohort of patients started on empiric antibiotic for UTI with at least one HCA risk factor (recurrent UTI, chronic urinary catheter or dialysis, urologic procedures, previous antibiotic exposure, hospitalization, or group facility residence). Broad antibiotics covered Pseudomonas spp. and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase. Clinical failure was a composite of multiorgan dysfunction (MODS) by day 2 and in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were length of stay (LOS), readmission, recurrent infection, development of multidrug-resistant organisms, and Clostridium difficile infection. Associations were reported with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results There were 272 patients included; 196 (72.1%) received broad and 76 (27.9%) received narrow therapy. There was no association between antibiotic selection and clinical failure (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.5–2.25, p = 0.89) or between antibiotic selection and number of HCA risk factors (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.73–1.31, p = 0.87). There was an association between clinical failure and MODS on ICU admission (OR 9.14, 95% CI 4.70–17.78, p Conclusion Initial empiric broad or narrow antibiotic coverage in HCA UTI patients who presented to the ED and required ICU admission had similar clinical outcomes.
And, Action! Towards Leveraging Multimodal Patterns for Storytelling and Content Analysis

Humans perform intelligent tasks by productively leveraging relevant information from numerous sensory and experiential inputs, and recent scientific and hardware advances have made it increasingly possible for machines to attempt this as well. However, improved resource availability does not automatically give rise to humanlike performance in complex tasks [1]. In this talk, I discuss recent work towards three tasks that benefit from an elegant synthesis of linguistic and visual input: visual storytelling, visual question answering (VQA), and affective content analysis. I focus primarily on visual storytelling, a burgeoning task with the goal of generating coherent, sensible narratives for sequences of input images [2]. I analyze recent work in this area, and then introduce a novel visual storytelling approach that employs a hierarchical context-based network, with a co-attention mechanism that jointly attends to patterns in visual (image) and linguistic (description) input. Following this, I describe ongoing work in VQA, another inherently multimodal task with the goal of producing accurate, sensible answers to questions about images. I explore a formulation in which the VQA model generates unconstrained, free-form text, providing preliminary evidence that harnessing the linguistic patterns latent in language models results in competitive task performance [3]. Finally, I introduce some intriguing new work that investigates the utility of linguistic patterns in a task that is not inherently multimodal: analyzing the affective content of images. I close by suggesting some exciting future directions for each of these tasks as they pertain to multimodal media analysis.
Probabilistic Number Theory in Additive Arithmetic Semigroups, III

We extend the investigation of quantitative mean-value theorems of completely multiplicative functions on additive arithmetic semigroups given in our previous paper. Then the new and old quantitative mean-value theorems are applied to the investigation of local distribution of values of a special additive function Ω*(a). The result is unexpected from the point of view of classical number theory. This reveals the fact that the essential divergence of the theory of additive arithmetic semigroups from classical number theory is not related to the existence of a zero of the zeta function Z(y) at y = −q −1.
Improving competition and mental health for transgender athletes.

There have been and continue to be numerous bills in the US and others globally that would limit or prohibit transgender (Tables 1} women from competing in women’s athletics [1]. Part of the reason...
Aesthetic Experience, Moral Vision, and ‘Unselfing’ in Iris Murdoch

I examine Iris Murdoch’s view regarding the connection between moral progress and aesthetic experience. Drawing Plato’s and Kant’s theories together, Murdoch argues for her own theory of moral progress, which involves a pilgrimage that one must make from the self-focused fantasy life into which one is born to the apprehension of reality, particularly in its moral dimensions. This pilgrimage is possible only via the practice of what Murdoch calls ‘unselfing.’ In her view, certain kinds of aesthetic experiences facilitate unselfing; they train us to exercise what Murdoch refers to as ‘loving attention,’ which involves respecting something other than oneself. Aesthetic experiences, through the attitude that they command us to acquire, train us to respond and attend to things in the morally ideal way. The practice of attention, which aesthetic experience trains us to do, leads to the defeat of the ego and a moral transformation. That is to say, since moral training brings about the transformation of a person that is the aim of the Murdochian moral pilgrimage, moral training is the key to the moral pilgrimage, and aesthetic experience is the key to moral training.
The Expected Recovery Rate and the Probability of Default on High Yield Debt

Several studies find a negative relation between the recovery rate and the default rate on high yield debt. It has been argued that this is due to inelastic demand for defaulted debt. This paper shows, based on definitional relations in the bond market, that the expected recovery rate is positively related (everything else equal) to the ex ante probability of default. Empirical evidence supports the model and indicates that it is useful in explaining the default rate as well as the recovery rate.
Characterization of multi- and single-layer structure SAW sensor [gas sensor]

The design of CMOS compatible thin ZnO film base, and LiNbO/sub 3/ wafer base, surface acoustics wave (SAW) gas sensors, that are highly selective and sensitive, is described. Furthermore, design and post-CMOS processing fabrication steps that utilises micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) techniques to implement the SAW gas sensor are presented. The Rayleigh wave velocity for various ZnO film thicknesses is simulated and results are presented. The velocity calculation is based on a computer simulation of a multilayer (ZnO/SiO/sub 2//Si) structure that uses wave equations. Simulation results and experimental measurements of SAW sensors with a single layer bulk LiNbO/sub 3/ wafer are shown, and compared. Moreover, results of experimentation and simulation of wave velocity for a yz-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ wafer are shown.
The origins of Iran-Contra: Lessons from the Durrani Affair

This essay concentrates on the hitherto unknown origins of Iran-Contra. Through a series of interviews with participants and access to previously private papers, the essay establishes the role played by the U.S. and Israel in initiating arms deals with Iran before any hostage taking in Lebanon. Therefore, it corrects the proposition advanced by Special Prosecutor Walsh and others who linked the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran with the deteriorating situation in Lebanon.
Transport and metabolism of the tea flavonoid (-)-epicatechin by the human intestinal cell line Caco-2.

Purpose: Tea flavonoids, including (–)-epicatechin (EC), have been suggested to have chemopreventive properties in cancer. However, there is limited knowledge of the oral bioavailability of these dietary compounds. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the absorption of EC.
Simplified Feature Set for Arabic Named Entity Recognition

This paper introduces simplified yet effective features that can robustly identify named entities in Arabic text without the need for morphological or syntactic analysis or gazetteers. A CRF sequence labeling model is trained on features that primarily use character n-gram of leading and trailing letters in words and word n-grams. The proposed features help overcome some of the morphological and orthgraphic complexities of Arabic. In comparing to results in the literature using Arabic specific features such POS tags on the same dataset and same CRF implementation, the results in this paper are lower by 2 F-measure points for locations, but are better by 8 points for organizations and 9 points for persons.
Tetrakis(dimethylamino)diboron

[1630-79-1] C8H24B2N4 (MW 197.93) InChI = 1S/C8H24B2N4/c1-11(2)9(12(3)4)10(13(5)6)14(7)8/h1-8H3 InChIKey = KMCDRSZVZMXKRL-UHFFFAOYSA-N (reagent used to synthesize other diboron species) Physical Data: flammable. boiling point: 55–57 C. Analysis of Reagent Purity: 11B (Δ = 36 ppm) and 1H NMR (Δ = 2.76 ppm). Preparative Methods: Wurtz coupling with molten sodium in toluene.1 Form Supplied in: colorless to yellow liquid. Available commercially. Purification: Fractional distillation (90°C, 12 Torr). Handling, Storage and Precantions: sensitive to air and moisture. Use under inert atmosphere in a fume hood using standard Schlenk techniques. Chemist should be appropriately protected with gloves, goggles, and lab coat. Keep away from sources of ignition. Storage in a sealed vessel at or below 70°C. Storage at 0°C also possible but requires vessel to warm to ambient temperature in a fume hood before opening under N2.
Measuring Internet Activity: a (Selective) Review of Methods and Metrics

Two Decades after the birth of the World Wide Web, more than two billion people around the world are Internet users. The digital landscape is littered with hints that the affordances of digital communications are being leveraged to transform life in profound and important ways. The reach and influence of digitally mediated activity grow by the day and touch upon all aspects of life, from health, education, and commerce to religion and governance. This trend demands that we seek answers to the biggest questions about how digitally mediated communication changes society and the role of different policies in helping or hindering the beneficial aspects of these changes. Yet despite the profusion of data the digital age has brought upon us — we now have access to a flood of information about the movements, relationships, purchasing decisions, interests, and intimate thoughts of people around the world — the distance between the great questions of the digital age and our understanding of the impact of digital communications on society remains large. A number of ongoing policy questions have emerged that beg for better empirical data and analyses upon which to base wider and more insightful perspectives on the mechanics of social, economic, and political life online. This paper seeks to describe the conceptual and practical impediments to measuring and understanding digital activity and highlights a sample of the many efforts to fill the gap between our incomplete understanding of digital life and the formidable policy questions related to developing a vibrant and healthy Internet that serves the public interest and contributes to human wellbeing. Our primary focus is on efforts to measure Internet activity, as we believe obtaining robust, accurate data is a necessary and valuable first step that will lead us closer to answering the vitally important questions of the digital realm. Even this step is challenging: the Internet is difficult to measure and monitor, and there is no simple aggregate measure of Internet activity — no GDP, no HDI. In the following section we present a framework for assessing efforts to document digital activity. The next three sections offer a summary and description of many of the ongoing projects that document digital activity, with two final sections devoted to discussion and conclusions.
Endoscopic resection of intrathoracic tumors: experience with and long-term results for 26 patients.

Object Thoracoscopy may be used in place of thoracotomy to resect intrathoracic neoplasms such as paraspinal neurogenic tumors. Although these tumors are rare, they account for the majority of tumors arising in the posterior mediastinum. Methods A database was maintained of all patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery for tumors. The authors analyzed the presenting symptoms, pathological diagnoses, and outcomes of 26 patients (7 males and 19 females, mean age 37.2 years) who were treated for intrathoracic tumors via thoracoscopy between January 1995 and May 2009. Fourteen patients were diagnosed incidentally (54%). Five patients (19%) presented with dyspnea or shortness of breath, 4 (15%) with pain, 1 (4%) with pneumonia, 1 (4%) with hoarseness, and 1 (4%) with Horner syndrome. Results Pathology demonstrated schwannomas in 20 patients (77%). Other diagnoses included ganglioneurofibroma, paraganglioma, epithelioid angiosarcoma, benign hemangioma, benign granular cell tumor, and infectious granuloma. One p...
The Role of Activity in the Development of Long-Range Horizontal Connections in Area 17 of the Ferret

Horizontal connections in area 17 of adult cats and ferrets link cells with similar preferred orientations by a patchy network of projections extending several millimeters across the cortex. The maturation of orientation selectivity in ferret area 17 has been demonstrated previously by quantitative single-unit recording and optical imaging to begin at approximately postnatal days (P) 32–P36. We therefore made restricted injections of cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) or CTB-gold into ferret area 17 at a series of developmental ages and statistically quantified the degree of clustering in plots of retrogradely labeled cells in tangential sections through layer III for comparison to the published values for orientation tuning at each age. At P21, horizontal connections within area 17 lacked patchiness entirely, although clear patches of labeled cells were present in extrastriate areas. By P27, significant clustering of horizontal connections within area 17 was present. A second phase of cluster refinement was observed to occur at approximately P34–P36, coinciding with the emergence of mature orientation tuning and maps. Continuous silencing of cortical action potentials by chronic tetrodotoxin infusion from P21 resulted in a spatially random distribution of retrogradely labeled cells at P34. In contrast, bilateral enucleation from P21 did not prevent the initial development of clustered horizontal connections. We conclude, based on our findings and those of others, that the anatomical specificity of long-range horizontal connections results from an activity-dependent process that initially can use spontaneous activity in the cortical and thalamic networks to establish crude periodic connections and later uses visual cues to refine these connections.
Evolutionary Social Psychology

We have argued that the evolutionary perspective to social psychology is not untestable, not reductionist, not a theory about rigid genetic determinism, not a justification for the status quo, and not incompatible with sociocultural or cognitive analyses. What it is, instead, is a set of ideas that have proved quite useful in generating novel hypotheses, and parsimoniously connecting findings from very different domains ranging from mate choice and family relationships to aggression and intergroup relations. Adopting an evolutionary perspective can help us appreciate not only the common threads that bind the people in our culture to those in other cultures, but also, beyond that, to the other species with which we share the earth. Taking this broad perspective, however, also makes us aware of the vast reaches of our own ignorance. As yet, we know very little about how evolved psychological mechanisnis inside individuals develop, or how they influence, and are influenced by, the complex cultures that humans construct. Bringing light to these questions will require a fuller integration of all the different theoretical perspectives on human social behavior.
An analysis of the mirror-induced objective self-awareness effect

The present study assessed the combined effect of mirror presence and degree of evaluation apprehension on task performance and palmar sweating. The primary finding of interest was that mirror presence led to a reduction in palmar sweating but no such reduction occurred in a condition in which no mirror was present. Since other studies have shown that audience presence increases palmar sweating, the results of the present experiment suggest that, contrary to objective self-awareness theory, mirror presence and audience presence may involve different psychological processes.
Human dignity, transhuman dignity, and all that jazz.

A common objection to many new biomedical technologies is that they threaten human dignity. Indeed, national and international bodies such as the President's Council on Bioethics (2002), UNESCO (20...
Phylogenetic relationships among some Pythium species inferred from sequence analysis of the mitochondrially encoded cytochrome oxidase II gene

The phylogenetic relationships of 67 iso- lates representing 24 species of Pythium were assessed by sequence alignment of 684 bp of the mitochon- drially-encoded cytochrome oxidase II gene. Se- quence differences among species ranged 1.6-14.7% substitutions. The species grouped into three major clades that were, in a general sense, reflective of zoos- porangial or hyphal swelling morphology. Clade I contained species with globose to spherical zoospo- rangia or spherical hyphal swellings. Clade II was comprised of four species, only one of which pro- duced zoosporangia (P. ultimum var. sporangiiferum) with the remaining species producing only spherical hyphal swellings. Species with filamentous to lobulate zoosporangia were in clade III. Pythium oligandrum, a species that produces subglobose zoosporangia with interconnecting filamentous parts was intermediate between species with inflated to lobulate filamentous zoosporangia and species that produced spherical to globose zoosporangia (clades I and II). Two species that produced globose zoosporangia (P pulchrum and P rostratum) grouped together separately from the other clades, as did P. nunn. The evolutionary relationships among species obtained by analysis of cox II DNA sequence data corresponds well with the genomic location of this mitochondrially encoded gene as well as the location of the nuclear encoded 5S rRNA gene for a subset of species examined. Char- acteristics such as heterothallism, oogonial ornamen- tation, mycoparasitism and the presence of linear mi- tochondrial genomes were polyphyletic. The only species that contained isolates that did not group to- gether were P ultimum and P irregulare, possible rea- sons for this are discussed.
Tsunami Simulation Using Sources Inferred from Various Measurement Data: Implications for the Model Forecast

Model forecast applications use various models of tsunami sources inferred from different measurement data. Even the same type of observation data can produce substantially different tsunami source models during a real-time forecast when more data are obtained during the real-time analysis. Improved tsunami observations enable investigation of the influence of such model source variability on the final forecast using different source data sets of several events. The 2010 Maule, Chile and 2011 Tohoku, Japan tsunamis were two recent events that provide ample observations throughout the Pacific and were, thus, used here to study the sensitivity of different model inputs for forecasting. The sources for these events were derived using the following three different methods: (1) real time or post event inversion of tsunameter water level data; (2) prediction of sea floor deformations via analysis of seismic wave forms and application of a finite fault model; and (3) prediction of sea floor deformation using real-time GPS data. For the March 11, 2011 Tohoku tsunami, two examples of each method are used, while for the February 27, 2010 Maule event, only one tsunameter inversion and one finite fault model method were used due to a much more limited data set. Observed data from the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting for Tsunamis (DART) network, Japan GPS buoys, and select tide gauges across the Pacific were compared with forecasts to assess the sensitivity of these three methods using root-mean-square error analysis. We divided the analysis by the type of data and the distance from the source. This sensitivity analysis showed that increasing the resolution of a tsunami source model does not necessarily improve tsunami forecast quality, even in the near-field. Instead, the findings suggest that when forecasting coastal impact, defining the overall energy characteristic of a tsunami source may be more important than refining small source details. Source models based on direct tsunami observations are better at reproducing a tsunami signal: this finding is not very surprising but has implications for tsunami forecasting and warning operations.
How do Elementary Teachers Compensate for Incomplete Science Content Knowledge

The purpose of this study was to describe how three primary teachers attempted to overcome incomplete content knowledge when teaching an astronomy unit. Daily observations of science activities were videotaped and transcribed from each classroom to determine the influences on the changes in teacher and student ideas of astronomy. Teachers' ideas were triggered toward the more scientific by classroom interactions. Influences on the experienced teachers' ideas were questions raised by the students, or conceptions students held of the content. Experienced teachers planned to elicit and address student ideas, and so were triggered to improve their understanding of the astronomy.
Commentary on "The issue of spontaneous arteriovenous fistulae after superficial thrombophlebitis, endovenous ablations, and deep vein thrombosis: an unusual but predictable finding".

Spontaneous arteriovenous fistulae develop after the formation of venous thrombi in animals. In patients who have undergone endovenous ablation, angiogenesis occurs. This study was undertaken to examine the clinical presentation, development, and effects of spontaneous arteriovenous fistulae in patients with venous thrombosis.
DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF HEAT EXCHANGERS FOR BATCH HEATING BY THE NTU-EFFECTIVENESS METHOD

A design method has been developed for sizing external heat exchangers for batch processes based on the effectiveness-NTU method. The method is applicable to any heat exchanger configuration and design. Based on the specified process conditions a solution is obtained which directly specifies the required batch circulation rate and the associated heat exchanger effectiveness. This approach is particularly useful for those types of heat exchanger designs which permit explicit sizing.
Radiation-induced cathodoluminescent signatures in calcite

Abstract At ambient temperatures, a permanent change due to neutron irradiation has been identified in the luminescent properties of the common mineral calcite. Calcite is one of many ubiquitous minerals that are known to exhibit luminescence under electron bombardment, a process known as cathodoluminescence (CL). The UV–Visible spectra of individual calcite grains were measured with CL spectroscopy before and after neutron irradiation. Exposure to neutrons causes additional crystal lattice defects (beyond those naturally-occurring) that leave a permanent, readily-measurable CL signature in the 515 nm region of the spectrum. Dose response results following irradiation have been measured and a spectroscopic signature is described that increases proportionately to neutron dose. The CL measurements are complicated by a dependence on the orientation relative to direction of excitation. When taken into account, the total dose to the crystal can be estimated, and possibly even the direction of the neutron source can be determined. This signature could potentially be developed into a nuclear forensics tool to help identify locations where special nuclear materials have been stored.
Transplacental induction of ameloblastoma in rat using ethylnitrosourea (ENU)

We report the first instance of transplacental induction of an ameloblastoma using a nitrosourea compound. This model may be of use in the study of odontogenic tumors.
Why Tariffs, not Subsidies? A Search for Stylized Facts

Barriers to trade are commonly viewed as a result of political systems in which politically influential groups benefit from and successfully lobby for protection. However, trade policy is a highly inefficient tool for redistributing income. Although recent theoretical research has focused on explanations of why (inefficient) trade barriers might be preferred to more direct means of redistribution, this research has been carried out with little empirical support. We address this gap in the literature with an exploratory cross-country empirical investigation of the economic factors correlated with a reliance on tariffs rather than subsidies, and find that the existing theoretical literature is consistent with the cross-country evidence.
Cold-microwave enhanced enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays—A path to high-throughput clinical diagnostics

Abstract The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) constitutes an important clinical diagnostic approach. However, the prolonged incubation times involved lead to turnaround times of typically ⩾1 day, potentially delaying a definitive diagnosis or an adequate treatment plan for individual patients. Here cold-microwave technology (CMT) was employed to significantly reduce the times required for diagnostic ELISAs. The new approach was validated and compared to a conventional ELISA setup measuring canine calprotectin (cCP). Canine serum and fecal specimens were used for the analytical validation of cCP ELISA by conventional and CMT–ELISA. Cross-validation of both ELISA methods consisted of the determination of analytic sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and reproducibility. The long-term stability of antibody-coated ELISA plates was also evaluated up to 33 days. The ELISA approaches were comparable to each other. The observed-to-expected ratios for linearity and accuracy were 100.2 ± 11.8 and 98.1 ± 10.8% (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. Precision and reproducibility were ⩽17.2%. For samples run on precoated ELISA plates over 33 days %CVs were ⩽12.5%. While both ELISA approaches were analytically sensitive, linear, accurate, precise, and reproducible with measurements of cCP concentrations, CMT–ELISA offered a reduction in incubation times by 90–95%, facilitating a very fast turnaround time and suggesting CMT–ELISA for improved human and veterinary clinical diagnostics.
Nocturnal urinary excretion of 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate in prepubertal major depressive disorder

Abstract Levels of the melatonin metabolite, 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate, were measured in overnight urine from 31 prepubertal children with major depressive disorder and 15 normal control children with very low family loading for affective disorder. The two groups did not differ with regard to their nocturnal excretion of this compound, nor was depressive subgroup identified whose 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate excretion differed from that of the control group. Previous studies of pineal function in depression are reviewed and discussed in the context of the present investigation.
Long-term evaluation of a fiber optic-based irreversible moisture sensor

A fiber optic-based irreversible moisture sensor that can be used to determine if a location has ever been wet during a given monitoring period is presented. The irreversible sensor offers a simple means to detect moisture when more complex dedicated continuous monitoring is not feasible and/or where traditional moisture sensors are not applicable, such as in confided spaces. The irreversible moisture sensor has three response states that indicate if an area is actively wet, has been wet but is currently dry, or has never been wet. The irreversible moisture sensor is based on long period grating fiber optic technology. The functionality and survivability of the sensor to exposure in typical atmospheric environments has been evaluated. Testing consisted of long-term exposure to low and high humidity levels (<10 to 97 % relative humidity), and exposure to freezing and elevated temperatures (-10 and 60 °C). The sensors were monitored periodically to examine their functionality. The sensors exhibited rapid irreversible response to water even after extended exposure to the simulated service conditions, and thus are suitable for long-term service in typical atmospheric environments. Potential applications for this sensor include remote, confined or difficult to access locations, aggressive environments where electrical-based sensors perform inadequately, or where approval for fielding instrumentation for continuous monitoring maybe prohibitive, such as on aircraft.
In vitro and in vivo evaluation of the site-specific administration of D-phenylalanyl-L-prolyl-L-arginyl chloromethyl ketone (PPACK) : a powerful thrombin inhibitor

Abstract d -Phenylalanyl- l -prolyl- l -arginyl chloromethyl ketone (PPACK) was incorporated into thin films of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA, 33% vinyl acetate content). The release devices sustained the release of PPACK for approximately 120 min and delivered approximately 47 μg of PPACK/cm 2 /h in vitro at 4°C. The chemical degradation of PPACK was evaluated by HPLC and by 1 H-NMR spectroscopy. In spite of its low chemical stability, PPACK could be released from the polymeric matrix without apparent degradation. As a functional test of the release of PPACK from a polymer, the ability to inhibit platelet deposition on a metallic coronary stent was tested in vivo in a clinically relevant baboon model. In control experiments, the stent itself as well as stents in contact with plain films of EVA were found to be highly thrombogenic. However, when the coronary stent was placed in contact with a polymer film loaded with PPACK, there was a marked diminution in the number of platelets deposited on the stent for the duration of the 2-h experiment. Those studies provide the first experimental confirmation of the concept that the intraarterial, site-specific release of a thrombin inhibitor can reduce platelet deposition on an artificial polymeric surface in vivo.
Inhibition of influenza a virus replication by rifampicin and selenocystamine

The effects of selenocystamine, an inhibitor of influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in vitro activity, in the antibiotic rifampicin were studied on influenza A/PR/8/34 (HON1) infection in embryonated eggs. Both drugs completely inhibited hemagglutinating and infective virus yields when added at relatively early times postinfection. Maximal inhibition was produced by apparently noncytotoxic concentrations of 50 microgram of selenocystamine, or of 400 microgram of rifampicin, per egg.
Anatomical and metabolic small-animal whole-body imaging using ring-shaped confocal photoacoustic computed tomography

Due to the wide use of animals for human disease studies, small animal whole-body imaging plays an increasingly important role in biomedical research. Currently, none of the existing imaging modalities can provide both anatomical and glucose metabolic information, leading to higher costs of building dual-modality systems. Even with image coregistration, the spatial resolution of the metabolic imaging modality is not improved. We present a ring-shaped confocal photoacoustic computed tomography (RC-PACT) system that can provide both assessments in a single modality. Utilizing the novel design of confocal full-ring light delivery and ultrasound transducer array detection, RC-PACT provides full-view cross-sectional imaging with high spatial resolution. Scanning along the orthogonal direction provides three-dimensional imaging. While the mouse anatomy was imaged with endogenous hemoglobin contrast, the glucose metabolism was imaged with a near-infrared dye-labeled 2-deoxyglucose. Through mouse tumor models, we demonstrate that RC-PACT may be a paradigm shifting imaging method for preclinical research.
The nazi racial policy towards the Karaites

La politique nazie montrait d'etranges inconsequences raciales, en laissant en securite divers groupements non "aryens", par exemple les karaites, a causes des sentiments reserves de ces groupements a l'egard des Slaves.
The Local Minima Method (LMM) of Pharmacophore Determination: A Protocol for Predicting the Bioactive Conformation of Small, Conformationally Flexible Molecules

Software has been developed for potential energy surface analysis and the local minima method of pharmacophore determination.1 LMM is rigorous and systematic and employs multiple conformations which are the local minima from the potential energy surface of each compound in the data set. It produces a series of possible pharmacophores from a postulated set of pharmacophore elements. The best pharmacophore is then determined by performing a comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) on each one. The pharmacophore which produces the most self-consistent model is deemed the best. Local minima on the gas-phase potential energy surface are shown to be a reasonably close approximation to protein bound conformations, and these conformations can be found through systematic conformational searches followed by minimization of the local minima. LMM was used to develop a 3D-QSAR model for dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) inhibitors which was highly predictive (predictive R2 = 0.71 and standard error of predictions = 0.4...