cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Blood Transfusion and Postoperative Delirium

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common complication of surgery associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Transfusion of packed red blood cells has been reproducibly associated with POD in many retrospective and prospective cohort studies. We review the biological evidence for a potential causal pathway between transfusion and delirium via oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, and summarize the clinical literature on delirium and transfusion to date.
Mentoring and Other Support Behaviors in Elementary Schools

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensional structure of mentoring and other support behaviors that occur naturally among adults in elementary school settings. A questionnaire about support relationships was developed and administered to a statewide random sample of teachers (N = 488). Six separate factors emerged as dimensions of support among teachers: Mentoring, Supporting, Collaborating, Career Strategizing, Supervising, and Grounding. The study lends credence to the idea of multidimensional support within an elementary school organization characterized by relationships that are distinct from those described in business and academic settings. The findings suggest that in elementary school settings a broad base of support may be preferable to having a single exclusive mentor and that formalized programs should be based on these natural informal networks.
Comparative toxicity and efficacy of engineered anthrax lethal toxin variants with broad anti-tumor activities

We have previously designed and characterized versions of anthrax lethal toxin that are selectively cytotoxic in the tumor microenvironment and which display broad and potent anti-tumor activities in vivo. Here, we have performed the first direct comparison of the safety and efficacy of three engineered anthrax lethal toxin variants requiring activation by either matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs), urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) or co-localized MMP/uPA activities. C57BL/6J mice were challenged with six doses of engineered toxins via intraperitoneal (I.P.) or intravenous (I.V.) dose routes to determine the maximum tolerated dose for six administrations (MTD6) and dose-limiting toxicities. Efficacy was evaluated using the B16-BL6 syngraft model of melanoma; mice bearing established tumors were treated with six I.P. doses of toxin and tumor measurements and immunohistochemistry, paired with terminal blood work, were used to elaborate upon the anti-tumor mechanism and relative efficacy of each variant. We found that MMP-, uPA- and dual MMP/uPA-activated anthrax lethal toxins exhibited the same dose-limiting toxicity; dose-dependent GI toxicity. In terms of efficacy, all three toxins significantly reduced primary B16-BL6 tumor burden, ranging from 32% to 87% reduction, and they also delayed disease progression as evidenced by dose-dependent normalization of blood work values. While target organ toxicity and effective doses were similar amongst the variants, the dual MMP/uPA-activated anthrax lethal toxin exhibited the highest I.P. MTD6 and was 1.5-3-fold better tolerated than the single MMP- and uPA-activated toxins. Overall, we demonstrate that this dual MMP/uPA-activated anthrax lethal toxin can be administered safely and is highly effective in a preclinical model of melanoma. This modified bacterial cytotoxin is thus a promising candidate for further clinical development and evaluation for use in treating human cancers.
A simple method for the determination of urinary dehydroepiandrosterone.

Abstract A convenient new method for the quantitative measurement of human urinary dehydro ep iandrosterone (DHA) is described. Its specificity, reliability and reproducibility are discussed. Due to its simplicity, the method may be used in clinical laboratories for routine as well as research purposes.
Medicinal Plants Used to Treat Livestock Ailments in Honduras

Livestock owners, veterinarians, and non-government extension agents were interviewed using participatory techniques to identify medicinal plants used to treat livestock ailments and to assist in prioritizing plants for further testing for medical applications. A total of 21 plants were identified as useful in treating ailments. Of these plants, 17 are known to be biologically active or to contain biologically active compounds. Most respondents considered the use of medicinal plants to be acceptable, but some respondents believed plant treatments were slower acting than synthetic drugs. Other reported drawbacks to medicinal plant treatments were the time required to make the plant medical preparations and the difficulty in treating large livestock.
Heterocyclic amine content in beef cooked by different methods to varying degrees of doneness and gravy made from meat drippings

Abstract Meats cooked at high temperatures sometimes contain heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are known mutagens and animal carcinogens, but their carcinogenic potential in humans has not been established. To investigate the association between HCAs and cancer, sources of exposure to these compounds need to be determined. Beef is the most frequently consumed meat in the United States and for this study we determined HCA values in beef samples cooked in ways to represent US cooking practices, the results of which can be used in epidemiological studies to estimate HCA exposure from dietary questionnaires. We measured five HCAs [2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoline (IQ), 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoline (MeIQ), 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoxaline (MeIQx), 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoxaline (DiMeIQx) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b ]pyridine (PhIP)] in different types of cooked beef using solid-phase extraction and HPLC. Steak and hamburger patties were pan-fried, oven-broiled, and grilled/barbecued to four levels of doneness (rare, medium, well done or very well done), while beef roasts were oven cooked to three levels of doneness (rare, medium or well done). The measured values of the specific HCAs varied with the cut of beef, cooking method, and doneness level. In general, MeIQ× content increased with doneness under each cooking condition for steak and hamburger patties, up to 8.2 ng/g. PhIP was the predominant HCA produced in steak (1.9 to 30 ng/g), but was formed only in very well done fried or grilled hamburger. DiMeIQx was found in trace levels in pan-fried steaks only, while IQ and MeIQ were not detectable in any of the samples. Roast beef did not contain any of the HCAs, but the gravy made from the drippings from well done roasts had 2 ng/g of PhIP and 7 ng/g of MeIQx. Epidemiological studies need to consider the type of meat, cooking method and degree of doneness/surface browning in survey questions to adequately assess an individual's exposure to HCAs.
Vascular Smooth Muscle Function and Its Changes in Hypertension

The contractile state of vascular smooth muscle influences arterial blood pressure and regulates organ blood flow. Current evidence suggests that the contractile apparatus of vascular smooth muscle is composed of thin and thick filaments, and that force generated between these two filaments provides the mechanism for cell shortening. The molecular events that initiate the interaction between these filaments are dependent upon the free sarcoplasmic concentration of activator calcium, which is regulated by the cell membrane and at subcellular sites. Changes in electrical activity of the cell membrane and interaction of pharmacologic agents with membrane receptors alter the cell, causing either a decrease or increase in sarcoplasmic calcium concentration and thus changing the contractile state of the vascular smooth muscle cell. Alterations in the cellular mechanisms that regulate intracellular calcium concentration may contribute to abnormal vascular function in pathologic states. In this brief review, the normal mechanism of vascular smooth muscle contraction is described, and the evidence that indicates that components of the contractile process change in hypertension is examined.
Cultures in CollisionPhilosophical Lessons from Computer‐Mediated Communication

I expand the metaphor of computing as philosophical laboratory by exploring philosophical insights gleaned from examining computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies in terms of the cultural values and communicative preferences they embed, as well as their interactions with the values and preferences that define diverse cultures in which the technologies are deployed. These empirically grounded data provide new insights for debates in philosophy of technology, notions of the self, and epistemology. This approach to utilizing data drawn from the cultural encounters facilitated by CMC technologies further suggests more ambitious ways of making philosophical use of CMC venues as a laboratory for testing and refining basic claims and hypotheses. The approach also uncovers other grounds that should encourage philosophers to become interdisciplinarians - not only for the sake of perhaps developing new sorts of insights and even forms of knowledge but also in order to shape and contribute to a global ethic and a Socratic education needed to sustain cultural diversity as CMC envelops the globe.
Reproducing consistent wireless protocol performance across environments

Full scale experimentation with wireless networks in deployment environments is difficult. Therefore a common validation technique is to test a prototype network in a convenient environment prior to deployment. In this paper, we consider the problem of obtaining comparable protocol performance when the test and deployment environments differ in RF propagation environment and/or inter-node spacing. To achieve comparable protocol behavior in the two settings, we propose the concept of ''link usage spectrum''. Based on the hypothesis that the link usage spectrum is a gross predictor for network performance, we show how to replicate in the test setting the link usage spectrum of the protocol that is expected in the deployment setting. We show our technique for achieving comparable protocol behavior via experiments and simulations in multiple indoor and outdoor propagation environments. The link usage spectrum is protocol specific; we illustrate for a family of protocols how the link usage spectrum is calculated analytically, from the protocol metric for choosing forwarding links in the network, and how power scaling can be used to match the link usage spectrum across networks.
DIVERSITY IN THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE: DEVELOPING TALENT

Much has been written about the need for and barriers to achievement of greater diversity in the biomedical workforce from the perspectives of gender, race and ethnicity; this is not a new topic. These discussions often center around a ‘pipeline metaphor’ which imagines students flowing through a series of experiences to eventually arrive at a science career. Here we argue that diversity will only be achieved if the primary focus is on: what is happening within the pipeline, not just counting individuals entering and leaving it; de-emphasizing achieving academic milestones by ‘typical’ ages; and adopting approaches that most effectively develop talent. Students may develop skills at different rates based on factors such as earlier access to educational resources, exposure to science (especially research experiences), and competing demands for time and attention during high school and college. Therefore, there is wide variety among students at any point along the pipeline. Taking this view requires letting go of imagining the pipeline as a sequence of age-dependent steps in favor of milestones of skill and talent development decoupled from age or educational stage. Emphasizing talent development opens up many new approaches for science training outside of traditional degree programs. This article provides examples of such approaches, including interventions at the post-baccalaureate and PhD levels, as well as a novel coaching model that incorporates well-established social science theories and complements traditional mentoring. These approaches could significantly impact diversity by developing scientific talent, especially among currently underrepresented minorities.
Long-decay-time photoconductivity in highly disordered carbon fibers

A photoconductivity with a rather long decay time (\ensuremath{\simeq}0.3 s at 290 K) is observed in a carbon material that is characterized by its huge specific surface area (1000 ${\mathrm{m}}^{2}$/g). The decay time is temperature dependent at low temperatures (100 K) with a small activation energy (3--5 meV), and is also dependent on the illumination power. A decrease in the mobility of the carriers during the illumination is strongly suggested. The relaxation of dangling bonds on the large surface area is proposed as the mechanism to screen the Coulomb attraction among the photocarriers and to build a recombination barrier, resulting in the long decay time. This photoconductivity is considered to be an effect analogous to the persistent photoconductivity in semiconductors, although some apparent differences are also observed.
Foreskin Reconstruction Reduces the Complication Rate of Distal Hypospadias Repair

Purpose In our centre during distal Hypospadias repair the preference is to reconstruct the foreskin, unless parents request circumcision (e.g. for religious reasons). Our hypothesis is that foreskin reconstruction in distal Hypospadias reduces the long-term risk of complications. This study aims to test this hypothesis by retrospectively comparing the complication rates of distal Hypospadias repairs with and without foreskin reconstruction. Material and Methods A retrospective case note review was performed of distal Hypospadias repairs between September 2003 and December 2006. Information about type of Hypospadias, presence of chordee, surgical procedure, surgeon, post-operative complications including readmission, urethral fistulae, wound infection and dehiscence, meatal stenosis, foreskin complications, and details of any further surgery were recorded. Comparisons were made using Fisher exact test, p Results 146 cases were identified (Matthieu 130, Snodgrass 8, MAGPI/meatoplasty 8). 117 (80%) had foreskin reconstruction and 29 (20%) were circumcised. 12 were lost to follow-up. Follow-up averaged 3.3 years (range 2.3 to 5.7). Long-term complications (3 fistulae, 7 foreskin complications) occurred in 10 of 110 (9%) of foreskin reconstructions, and 6 of 24 (25%) in the circumcised group (2 fistulae, 2 meatal stenoses, 2 dehiscences). Foreskin reconstruction significantly reduced long-term complications, p Conclusions Foreskin repair significantly reduces complications in distal Hypospadias repair, and is a reliable technique for both specialists and trainees.
Study of the Acoustic Reflex Feedback Loop

The acoustic reflex is a regulator, which is thought to act as a protective mechanism in limiting the magnitude of high level sounds before they reach the cochlea.
Acoustic studies of high temperature superconductors

Acoustic studies of superconductors have a long tradition. The most notable of such studies was the early experimental confirmation of the temperature dependent ultrasonic attenuation in superconductors, predicted by the Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) theory. This confirmation placed ultrasonics in the forefront of methods used for various features of superconductors. Among those, in particular, were measurements of the superconducting energy gap and of its anisotropy. Accordingly, the advent, three decades later, of high temperature superconductivity brought about a flurry of activity in acoustic measurements of this new state of solids. These studies include frequencies from less than 1 Hz to the GHz range, thus covering a much broader range than what is traditionally referred to as ultrasonics. In this paper a very brief review of the background is followed by a discussion of the highlights of low and high frequency stress wave propagation studies on high temperature superconductors. Emphasis is given to investigations of the dynamics of superconducting vortex line lattices.
Significance of the histochemical demonstration of ATPase in epithelia noted for active transport.

Significance of the Histochemical Demonstration of ATPase in Epithelia Noted for Active Transport
Selective reactivity of CD8-independent T lymphocytes to a cytotoxic T lymphocyte-selected H-2Kb mutant altered at position 222 in the α3 domain

To study the structural basis for specificity and affinity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes for major histocompatibility complex/peptide complexes, we have employed a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated immunoselection approach to obtain H-2Kb structural mutants which are resistant to lysis by a Kb-specific alloreactive CTL clone. In this study we describe the Kb structural mutant, designated R8.60.14, recovered following immunoselection using the CD8-dependent CTL clone 60 as a selective agent. Although serologically unaltered with respect to Kb expression, R8.60.14 is not recognized by CD8-dependent, Kb-specific CTL. DNA sequence analysis revealed a single Glu----Lys amino acid substitution at position 222 in the Kb alpha 3-domain of this variant. To determine if a direct correlation exists between CD8 dependence of a Kb specific CTL and its failure to respond to R8.60.14, we examined the lytic response against R8.60.14 by CD8-independent, Kb-specific CTL obtained from long-term culture in the presence of anti-CD8 monoclonal antibody, 3.155. CD8-independent CTL exhibit no difference in their response against the R8 parent and R8.60.14 variant. This study demonstrates unequivocally that Kb-specific recognition of R8.60.14 by CD8-independent CTL is unaltered, while the response by CD8-dependent CTL is completely abrogated. Thus, the sole basis for emergence of this variant in the CTL-mediated immunoselection approach used in this study resides in the alteration of a single CD8-binding site residue at position 222 in the Kb alpha 3 domain. The functional importance of this Glu222 residue for the interaction between the CD8 molecule on CD8-dependent CTL and the Kb alpha 3 domain is further reinforced by virtue of the recovery of the R8.60.14 variant on the basis of its resistance to lysis by a CD8-dependent CTL clone in this CTL-mediated immunoselection approach.
Electrical analysis of piezoelectric transformers and associated high-voltage output circuits

Piezoelectric transformers can be useful as compact, high-voltage supplies. At the University of Missouri, the effect of adding output circuits to bipolar piezoelectric transformers is being studied. These piezoelectric transformers produce output voltages in excess of 25 kV from medium-voltage, radio frequency inputs. However, the high output voltage and low output current of these devices can make it difficult to acquire an accurate electrical measurement of the output voltage without affecting the transformer ratio or resonance of the device. This paper will analyze capacitive voltage dividers as a means of diagnostic measurement and Cockcroft-Walton type circuits to increase the voltage multiplication beyond that of the piezoelectric transformer alone.
Role of Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract Immunity in Resistance to Mycoplasma Respiratory Disease

This study determined whether respiratory tract immunization protects against mycoplasma infection and compared preferential immunization of the upper respiratory tract (nasal) with upper and lower respiratory tract (nasal-pulmonary) immunization. Small volumes of inoculum preferentially deposited antigen and induced IgA responses in nasal passages. Larger inoculums deposited antigen in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts, generating corresponding IgA responses. Mice were given nasal or nasal-pulmonary immunizations with Mycoplasma pulmonis antigen alone or with cholera toxin (CT), and resistance to infection was determined. Generation of upper respiratory tract immunity reduced mycoplasma infection at this site, but CT was needed to elicit protective responses. In the lower respiratory tract, nasal-pulmonary immunization was most effective, but nasal immunization did confer some protection from pulmonary infection. In contrast, intraperitoneal immunization resulted in little protection. Thus, respiratory tract immunity plays a major role in resisting mycoplasma infection, and it should be considered during vaccine development.
Brief survey of the relationships between finite random sets and morphology

In order to be able to optimally design morphological shape extraction algorithms operating on binary digital images, there needs to be a probability theory for finite random sets and probability relations that show how the probability changes as a finite random set is propagated through a morphological operation. In this paper, we develop such a theory for finite random sets. We then demonstrate how to apply this theory for calculating the probability that a set S perturbed by min or max noise N and dilated or eroded by a structuring element K is a subset, superset, or hits a given set R. In some cases we obtain exact results and in some cases we obtain bounds for the desired probability.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Preventing increases in early-morning blood pressure, heart rate, and the rate-pressure product with controlled onset extended release verapamil at bedtime versus enalapril, losartan, and placebo on arising.

Abstract Background Therapeutic agents for the treatment of hypertension may differ in their efficacy during the early-morning period, a time when both morbid and mortal cardiovascular events are increased compared with other times of the day. Methods We studied the effects of a chronotherapeutic delivery system of verapamil (controlled-onset extended release [COER]-24 system) dosed at bedtime versus conventional morning administration of both enalapril and losartan on the blood pressure (BP), heart rate, and the heart rate systolic BP product during the first 4 hours after awakening in a placebo-controlled, forced-titration trial. There were 357 men and women enrolled in the trial with an untreated sitting diastolic BP of 95 to 114 mm Hg and ambulatory daytime diastolic BP ≥85 mm Hg. Patients were randomized to either COER-verapamil hydrochloride each evening (240 mg titrated to 360 mg), enalapril each morning (10 mg titrated to 20 mg), losartan each morning (50 mg titrated to 100 mg), or placebo. Early morning assessments of BP, heart rate, and the heart rate systolic BP product were performed by use of 24-hour ambulatory recordings after 4 weeks (low dose) and 8 weeks (high dose) of therapy. Results Results were similar at weeks 4 and 8 for all treatment groups except that the magnitude of change was greater at week 8. After 8 weeks of treatment, reductions in early morning BP by COER-verapamil were significantly greater (−15/−10 mm Hg) than enalapril (−9/−7 mm Hg, P P Conclusions Bedtime administration of an agent designed to parallel the circadian rhythm of BP and heart rate led to significantly greater early morning hemodynamic effects compared with other conventional once-daily antihypertensive agents dosed in the morning. (Am Heart J 2002;144:657-65.)
Fusing face and ECG for personal identification

Single modality biometric identification systems exhibit performance that may not be adequate for many security applications. Face and fingerprint modalities dominate the biometric verification/identification field. However, both face and fingerprint can be compromised using counterfeit credentials. Previous research has demonstrated the use of the electrocardiogram (ECG) as a novel biometric. This paper explores the fusion of a traditional face recognition technique with ECG. System performance with multimodality fusion can be superior to reliance on a single biometric, but performance depends heavily on the fusion technique. In addition, a fusion-based system is more difficult to defeat, since an imposter must provide counterfeit credentials for both face and cardiovascular function.
Evaluation of Sexual Content in Teen-Centered Films From 1980 to 2007

Film has become a popular form of entertainment among teenagers and provides images from which teens model behaviors and form attitudes. This study addresses the understudied area of the portrayal of teen and adult sexual behaviors over nearly three decades in the top-grossing teen-centered films from 1980 to 2007. This study analyzes the frequency, nature, character portrayals, and consequences of sexual behavior. The results show that teen-centered films are replete with passionate kissing and sexual dialogue yet contain a modicum of implied intercourse and intimate touching. Moreover, the frequency of such occurrences has remained surprisingly constant over the last three decades. This research also reveals that teen-centered films, as a source for sexual socialization, are relatively impoverished when it comes to responsible messages dealing with abstinence, safe sex practices, and the health risks associated with sex.
Hybrid Document Indexing with Spectral Embedding

Document representation has a large impact on the performance of document retrieval and clustering algorithms. We propose a hybrid document indexing scheme that combines the traditional bag-of-words representation with spectral embedding. This method accounts for the specifics of the document collection and also uses semantic similarity information based on a large scale statistical analysis. Clustering experiments showed improvements over the traditional tf-idf representation and over the spectral methods based solely on the document collection.
Reproductive ecology and the persistence of an endangered plant

Amsinckia grandiflora (large-flowered fiddleneck) is an extremely rare California annual wildflower, known only from three populations. We conducted field and greenhouse experiments to compare the rare heterostyle with a cryptic self-incompatibility system (A. grandiflora) to a common, self-compatible, homostylous, sympatric congener (A. tessellata). Inter-species comparisons of adult plants suggested that in the greenhouse, A. grandiflora balances low floral seed set (seeds per flower) with increased floral output (flowers / plant) and a greater number of flowers per inflorescence. Seed set from active self-, intra- and inter-morph pollinations was high in A. grandiflora, indicating that the cryptic self-incompatibility system does not prevent seed set in the species. In the field, A. grandiflora floral output was only slightly greater than for A. tessellata, and did not fully balance lower floral seed set. Amsinckia tessellata average seed weight was lower than that of A. grandiflora, which, along with the lower number of flowers produced, indicated lower maternal investment per nutlet than for A. grandi- flora. Under conditions of unlimited resources, it appears that A. grandiflora fitness is not intrinsically limited when compared to its weedy relative A. tessellata. The differences in nutlet output between A. grandiflora and A. tessellata under field conditions are more likely due to differential responses to extrinsic factors such as competition and pollinator availability.
Disease-associated MRE11 mutants impact ATM/ATR DNA damage signaling by distinct mechanisms

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) can lead to instability of the genome if not repaired correctly. The MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 (MRN) complex binds DSBs and initiates damage-induced signaling cascades via activation of the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ataxia-telangiectasia- and rad3-related (ATR) kinases. Mutations throughout MRE11 cause ataxia-telangiectasia-like disorder (ATLD) featuring cerebellar degeneration, and cancer-predisposition in certain kindreds. Here, we have examined the impact on DNA damage signaling of several disease-associated MRE11A alleles to gain greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying the diverse disease sequelae of ATLD. To this end, we have designed a system whereby endogenous wild-type Mre11a is conditionally deleted and disease-associated MRE11 mutants are stably expressed at physiologic levels. We find that mutations in the highly conserved N-terminal domain impact ATM signaling by perturbing both MRE11 interaction with NBS1 and MRE11 homodimerization. In contrast, an inherited allele in the MRE11 C-terminus maintains MRN interactions and ATM/ATR kinase activation. These findings reveal that ATLD patients have reduced ATM activation resulting from at least two distinct mechanisms: (i) N-terminal mutations destabilize MRN interactions, and (ii) mutation of the extreme C-terminus maintains interactions but leads to low levels of the complex. The N-terminal mutations were found in ATLD patients with childhood cancer; thus, our studies suggest a clinically relevant dichotomy in MRE11A alleles. More broadly, these studies underscore the importance of understanding specific effects of hypomorphic disease-associated mutations to achieve accurate prognosis and appropriate long-term medical surveillance.
MAdFraud: investigating ad fraud in android applications

Many Android applications are distributed for free but are supported by advertisements. Ad libraries embedded in the app fetch content from the ad provider and display it on the app's user interface. The ad provider pays the developer for the ads displayed to the user and ads clicked by the user. A major threat to this ecosystem is ad fraud, where a miscreant's code fetches ads without displaying them to the user or "clicks" on ads automatically. Ad fraud has been extensively studied in the context of web advertising but has gone largely unstudied in the context of mobile advertising.We take the first step to study mobile ad fraud perpetrated by Android apps. We identify two fraudulent ad behaviors in apps: 1) requesting ads while the app is in the background, and 2) clicking on ads without user interaction. Based on these observations, we developed an analysis tool, MAdFraud, which automatically runs many apps simultaneously in emulators to trigger and expose ad fraud. Since the formats of ad impressions and clicks vary widely between different ad providers, we develop a novel approach for automatically identifying ad impressions and clicks in three steps: building HTTP request trees, identifying ad request pages using machine learning, and detecting clicks in HTTP request trees using heuristics. We apply our methodology and tool to two datasets: 1) 130,339 apps crawled from 19 Android markets including Play and many third-party markets, and 2) 35,087 apps that likely contain malware provided by a security company. From analyzing these datasets, we find that about 30% of apps with ads make ad requests while in running in the background. In addition, we find 27 apps which generate clicks without user interaction. We find that the click fraud apps attempt to remain stealthy when fabricating ad traffic by only periodically sending clicks and changing which ad provider is being targeted between installations.
Three Times a Day Milking: Effects on Milk Production, Reproductive Efficiency, and Udder Health

Dairy Herd Improvement records from 14 Holstein herds in San Joaquin County, CA were studied. Seven herds were milked three times a day, the other 7 twice a day. Three times daily milking significantly increased yield of 305-d fat-corrected milk. Percentage increases in production were 19.4, 13.5, 11.7, and 13.4% for cows in parity one, two, three, and four or later, respectively. Percentage of milk fat was slightly lower for cows milked three times a day compared with those milked twice a day. Cows milked three times a day had fewer days to first breeding than their twice daily counterparts. First lactation cows milked three times daily had more days to last breeding, more breedings, and consequently, more days open than cows milked twice a day. For second lactation cows milked three times a day, there was no difference in days to last breeding or days open, but they required more breedings than cows milked twice a day. Third and fourth lactation cows milked three times daily had fewer days to last breeding, no difference in number of breedings, and therefore, fewer days open than those milked twice daily. Udder health was evaluated by California Mastitis Test scores. Cows milked three times a day up to their third lactation had higher scores than those milked twice a day. Fourth and later lactation cows had a lower score than cows milked twice a day.
The Construct Validity and Refinement of Process-Based Policing Measures:

Prior tests of Tyler's process-based model of policing have left basic measurement questions unanswered. With a sample of 432 adults from a nationwide telephone survey conducted in spring 2005, factor-analytic procedures were used to develop more valid scales and to test process-based model hypotheses. Regression analyses confirmed that procedural justice judgments affect police legitimacy, which in turn influence both cooperation with police and compliance with the law. When legitimacy was disaggregated, trust in the police predicted both of the outcomes of interest. Obligation to obey, however, was not significantly associated with either compliance or cooperation. Finally, distributive fairness appeared to be as salient as legitimacy in facilitating participant cooperation.
A TEM Investigation of the Effects of Tensile Stress on Thin Film Microstructure and Surface Morphology

We have studied the microscopic effects of tensile stress on film thickness and grain growth in gold thin films of 25nm nominal thickness using transmission electron microscopy. Free-standing films were annealed at 150°C resulting in films with columnar grains and fiber texture. After repeated anneals, tensile stresses caused by grain growth became large enough to cause cracks to form and propagate diffusively. While tensile stress must eventually result in an overall decrease in film thickness, local specimen thickening in front of crack tips is observed. The tensile stress also profoundly affected grain growth in these films. Grains near crack tips are larger than grains 400nm away from the tips, and elongated grains with axial ratios greater than 15 have been observed in cracked regions of the films.
Site and Regional Statistics Preserving Interpolation for Missing Precipitation Data Estimation

Deterministic and stochastic weighting methods are the most frequently used methods for estimating missing rainfall values at a gauge based on values recorded at all other available recording gauges. However, spatial interpolation methods used for estimation of missing precipitation data at a site seldom check for their ability to preserve site and regional statistics. Such statistics are primarily defined by spatial correlations and other site-to-site statistics in a region. Preservation of site and regional statistics represents a means of assessing the validity of missing precipitation estimates at a site. This study will evaluate the efficacy of a newly proposed FuzzyLogic interpolation method aimed at estimation of missing data with the objective of minimizing estimation error and preserving site and regional statistics. Rain gauge sites in the state of Kentucky, USA, are used as a case study for evaluation of FuzzyLogic method. Several error and performance measures will be used to evaluate the method and trade-offs in accuracy of estimation and preservation of site and regional
Oklahoma tobacco policy-making.

Objectives To document and analyze comprehensive Oklahoma state tobacco policy-making trends and their link to public health trends. Methods A historical qualitative and archival content overview and analysis from 1985 to the present of previously secret tobacco industry documents. Results The 2002 Oklahoma State Plan for Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation indicated tobacco use was the largest cause of annual preventable death in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State Plan recommended a variety of proposals, including sales restrictions, youth access enforcement, repealing state preemption of stricter local tobacco control laws, adopting clean indoor air laws, increasing tobacco taxes, cessation programs, and anti-tobacco education efforts. Conclusions Since 1985, the powerful tobacco lobby in Oklahoma has been highly successful in maintaining lower tobacco taxes and reduced regulations, which is a major impediment to the anti-tobacco public health goals of the Oklahoma State Plan and enhanced public health.
Learning by Constraint Relaxation

We present a soft computing approach to text processing and propose a constraint theoretic approach for machine learning called learning by constraint relaxation (LCR). Words do not convey exact meanings but act as soft constraints over possible meanings. LCR is based on this principle: a failure to recognize is an opportunity to learn. A rule-making language, RML, has been implemented to facilitate problem representation and experimentation with constraint relaxation problems. LCR has been used to extract knowledge from texts containing medical descriptions and informatics codes.
Investigation of a high temperature oxide-trap activation model for SiC power MOSFETs

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory is investigating performance and reliability issues associated with the development of n-channel 4H-SiC DMOSFET devices for advanced power conversion systems. The threshold-voltage instability (V T ) effect generally observed in state-of-the-art SiC MOSFETs can be explained by an electron tunneling mechanism, where electrons tunnel in and out of near interfacial oxide traps from the underlying SiC substrate [1]. This effect is very similar to that observed in irradiated Si MOSFETs, and described by the Harry Diamond Laboratory (HDL) Hole Trap Model, which attributed that observed instability to the charging and discharging of an oxide trap associated with an oxygen-vacancy defect — the so-called E ′ center [2]. The pre-cursor site for this trap is a weak Si-Si bond which may be broken by the hole-trapping process. It apparently can also be broken by the application of an electric field at elevated temperature. Recent electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements used to study negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) in Si MOS test structures have shown an increase in the number of these E′ defects with the simultaneous application of both a high-temperature and gate-bias stress [3]. This effect may also explain previous high-temperature gate bias (HTGB) stress testing results of power SiC MOSFETs, including the case of self-heating caused by ON-state current stressing, which revealed a significant increase in the V T instability [4]. This result was unexpected since the tunneling process is generally insensitive to changes in temperature. However, since recent ESR results in the literature have identified an E′-type oxide defect in SiC MOS-based devices as well [5], it may very well be that additional oxide traps are also being activated under bias at high temperature in SiC MOSFETs.
Characterizing User Activity in WiFi Networks: University Campus and Urban Area Case Studies

In this paper we investigate and characterize user activity in WiFi networks by analyzing and comparing the behavior of users that connect to two public WiFi networks, one of them deployed in a University campus and the other in a major urban area. We characterize WiFi network user activity based on two main features, namely: time users stay connected to Access Points and Access Point load. Overall, the main contributions of our work are as follows: (1) to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study comparing user activity in two different scenarions, i.e., a University campus WiFi network and an urban WiFi network; (2) our results validate previously observed characteristics of user behavior in WiFi networks, as well as unveil new behavior patterns, such as the fact that users on campus tend to stay connected to the network for longer periods of time when compared to users in an urban area; and (3) our work is the first study to formally test and validate the hypothesis that association times in WiFi networks follows a power law and to estimate the power-law's tail index.
Development of growth rate, body lipid, moisture, and energy models for white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) fed at various feeding rates.

The objectives were to develop and evaluate: 1) growth rate models, 2) body lipid, moisture, and energy models for white sturgeon fed at various feeding rates (FR; % body weight [BW] per day) and then evaluate responses at proportions of optimum feeding rate (OFR) across increasing BW (g). For objective 1, 19 datasets from the literature containing initial BW, FR and specific growth rate (SGR; % BW increase per day) were used. For objective 2, 12 datasets from the literature (11 from objective 1) containing SGR, FR, final BW, body lipid (%), protein (%), ash (%), moisture (%), and energy (kJ/g) were used. The average rearing temperatures was 19.2 ± 1.5 °C (mean ± SD). The average nutrient compositions and gross energy of the diets were 45.7 ± 4.3% protein, 14.8 ± 3.2% lipid, and 20.4 ± 1.3 kJ/g, respectively. The logistic model was used for objectives 1 and 2 to develop a statistical relationship between SGR and FR, then an iterative technique was used to estimate OFR for each dataset. For objective 2, the statistical relationship between body lipid, energy, and moisture and FR was established. Using the OFR estimate, SGR, body lipid, energy and moisture were computed at various FR as a proportion of OFR. Finally, a nonparametric fitting procedure was used to establish relationships between SGR, body lipid, energy and moisture (responses) compared with BW (predictor) at various proportions of OFR. This allows visualization of the effect of under- or over-feeding on the various responses. When examining the differences between OFR at 100% and various proportions of OFR, SGR differences decrease and moisture differences increase as BW increases. Lipid and energy differences decrease as BW increases. To our knowledge, these are the first description of changes in nutrient compositions when white sturgeon are fed at various FR. Because physiological and behavioral properties that are unique to sturgeon, results from this study are specific to sturgeon under the conditions of this study and cannot be compared directly with salmonids even if some of the results are similar. This research provides insight to designing future nutritional studies in sturgeon.
Towards progress indicators for measuring student programming effort during solution development

When learning to program, assignment feedback can easily reinforce a fixed mindset---where one believes intelligence is a fixed ability you either have or you don't. However, this can have negative consequences for learning. The alternative is a growth mindset, where one believes intelligence is malleable and can be improved through practice, effort, and hard work. We develop a set of fifteen progress indicators that can be used to assess student programming effort independently of the correctness of their code. The goal is to provide the measurement support needed for innovative feedback that gives a more welcoming experience for students, recognizing the effort they put in and the accomplishments they make as they work on solutions, rather than simply looking at whether code "works". Our set of progress indicators includes seven associated with writing solution code for a problem that are suitable for use on all programming assignments, and eight associated with self-checking programs using software tests, which are appropriate for assignments where students are required to test their own work. In this initial work, we applied these indicators to a collection of programming assignments from 257 students to determine the suitability of the measures and validate their results. The resulting set of progress indicators is the first step toward developing feedback strategies that recognize and reward effort and hard work, with the goal of fostering the development of a growth mindset among students.
Resume as Narrative: A Linguist reflects on the process of professional storybuilding

While professional identities (like all identities) are largely discursively accomplished, the specific contextualized components which constitute “sounding professional” are often poorly understood, or indeed recognized more often in their absence, which presents an interesting challenge to those tasked with learning these ways of talking in securing a job, for example graduate students in a professionally-oriented MA program in sociolinguistics. This paper considers the linguistic process of presenting a professional identity, with particular focus on the resume as a very carefully constructed storyworld in which every linguistic choice ( i.e. referring expression) contributes to positionings that construct and convey identity. Just as with any story, through the choices that we make in highlighting one aspect of a job over another “our identities as social beings emerge as we construct our own individual experiences as a way to position ourselves in relation to social and cultural expectations” (Schiffrin 1996)
Short-Sale Restrictions and Price Clustering: Evidence from SEC Rule 201

We provide a novel test of information-based theories of price clustering by examining trade, order, and the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) quote price clustering during periods when information is removed from the market. We use a natural experiment of short-sale restrictions resulting from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 201 to more effectively determine the impact of information on price clustering. We find evidence of increased price clustering for trades, orders, and NBBO prices during short-sale restrictions. Overall, our findings indicate that short-sale restrictions harm the price discovery process and lead to a reduction in market efficiency.
From Synthetic Macromolecules to Biological-Like Complex Systems

“His Majesty the Hirohito Emperor of Japan asks: Professor Staudinger, is this a concept that came into your mind to explain various phenomenological behaviors of a group of compounds or did you really prove their existence by rigorous scientific means? The highly impressed Professor Staudinger answers: It is this experimental demonstration of the existence of macromolecules which forms the essential part of my work in the field of Macromolecular Science.” From the discussion between the Emperor of Japan and Professor Staudinger on 17th of April 1957 at the Imperial Palace of Japan
Intra-Arterial Adenosine Deaminase: a Tool for Assessing Physiologic Functions of Adenosine

Intracoronary infusions of adenosine deaminase have been used to test the hypothesis that adenosine regulates coronary blood flow. This paper critically reviews the technique of intra-arterial adenosine deaminase infusions and describes other examples of the use of this enzyme to assess the participation of adenosine in cardiovascular regulation.
Revisiting 5α-reductase inhibitors and the risk of prostate cancer.

The role of 5α-reductase inhibitors (5-ARI) in prostate cancer chemoprevention remains a controversy, as cancer prevention trials with 5-ARIs have shown a decreased incidence of low-grade prostate cancer but a potential increased risk in high-grade disease. Recent studies have shed light on the long-term safety of 5-ARIs in terms of influencing prostate cancer risk.