cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Administrative Simplification, Simplified for Hawai‘i

BACKGROUND The American health care system contains a layer of administrative controls that has become increasingly burdensome to medical practices in terms of uncompensated physician and staff time and practice costs. A primary care physician in solo practice spends between 4 and 10 hours a week directly interacting with health insurance companies and his or her staff will spend an additional 60 hours a week. This reduces patient-care availability, net practice income and physician job satisfaction. METHODS A literature review was conducted to determine possible solutions to administrative burdens physicians face in Hawai'i. A total of 51 articles were found matching search criteria with five being reports from major organizations. RESULTS Twenty-seven articles were found that related to administrative simplification. The "administrative complexity" problem has been defined and its financial impact quantified. Promising solutions have been developed and proposed by private not-for-profit organizations and by the government, both state and federal. DISCUSSION A successful administrative simplification plan would: (1) Provide rapid access to insurance information; (2) Allow medical practices to readily track specific claims; (3) Streamline the preauthorization process through the use of decision-support tools at the practice level and by directing interactions through real-time network connections between insurers and provider electronic health records, thus minimizing phone time; (4) Adopt the Universal Provider Datasource system for provider credentialing; and (5) Standardize (to the greatest degree possible) provider/insurer contracts. These solutions are outlined in detail.
Exploring the impact of memory block permutation on performance of a crossbar ReRAM main memory

Owing to the advantages of low standby power and high scalability, ReRAM technology is considered as a promising replacement for conventional DRAM in future manycore systems. In order to make ReRAM highly scalable, the memory array has to have a crossbar array structure, which needs a specific access mechanism for activating a row of memory when reading/writing a data block from/to it. This type of memory access would cause Sneak Current that would lead to voltage drop on the memory cells of the activated row, i.e., the cells which are far from the write drivers experience more voltage drop compared to those close to them. This results in a nonuniform access latency for the cells of the same row. To address this problem, we propose and evaluate a scheme that exploits the non-uniformity of write access pattern of the workloads. More specifically, based on our extensive characterization of write patterns to the cache lines and memory pages of 20 CPU workloads, we recognized that (i) on each main memory access, just a few cache lines of the activated row need to be updated on a write-back, and more importantly, there is a temporal and spatial locality of the writes to the cache lines; and (ii) all pages of the memory footprint of an application do not see the same write counts during the execution of the workload. Motivated by these characteristics, we then evaluate different intra-page memory block permutations in order to improve the performance of a crossbar ReRAM-based main memory. Our results collectively show that, by applying some types of intra-page memory block permutation, the access latency to a ReRAM-based main memory can be reduced up to 50% when running the SPEC CPU2006 workloads.
Can Islamists be secularized? Religion and politics in urban Bangladesh

ABSTRACTAs in many other Muslim majority states, the Islamist parties play a significant role in the body politic of Bangladesh. Because of their counter-hegemonic modus operandi, the question arises regarding the ability of the Islamists to cohabit democratically in a secular or a quasi-secular political system. The literature on secularization, secularism, and Islam relies on a grand narrative of the reasons to address the question and provides us with polarized answers regarding the Islamists’ ability to accommodate the principle of secularism. However, almost all of the works have been done on the abstract, theoretical level and do not address the interplay of social and political factors in Muslim societies. None of the research on Islamism in Bangladesh addresses Islamist parties’ ability or inability to participate in a quasi-secular, democratic system through acclimating to secularism in the rubric of their political ideology, Islamism. This study therefore examines the grassroots-level socio-poli...
Subtype-specific response of retinal ganglion cells to optic nerve crush

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease with retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss, optic nerve degeneration and subsequent vision loss. There are about 30 different subtypes of RGCs whose response to glaucomatous injury is not well characterized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the response of 4 RGC subtypes in a mouse model of optic nerve crush (ONC). In this study, we also evaluated the pattern of axonal degeneration in RGC subtypes after nerve injury. We found that out of the 4 subtypes, transient-Off α RGCs are the most susceptible to injury followed by On-Off direction selective RGCs (DSGC). Non-image forming RGCs are more resilient with ipRGCs exhibiting the most resistance of them all. In contrast, axons degenerate irrespective of their retinal soma after ONC injury. In conclusion, we show that RGCs have subtype specific cell death response to ONC injury and that RGC axons disintegrate in an autonomous fashion undergoing Wallerian degeneration. These discoveries can further direct us towards effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to treat optic neuropathies, such as glaucoma.
Graphene: Properties and Theory

This chapter presents information (in slide form) about graphene properties, its massless relativistic spectrum, its Green’s function with and without a magnetic field, and its dielectric screening. This chapter also includes graphene energy loss, van der Waals interaction, transport, and a detailed analysis of its kinetic equations for DC and AC conductivity. Device applications are also discussed.
Third-Party Policymakers and the Limits of the Influence of Indicators

Author(s): Lee, Melissa M; Matanock, Aila M | Editor(s): Kelley, Judith; Simmons, Beth | Abstract: Global performance indicators can help leaders overcome rent-seeking politicians or competition-fearing monopolies by empowering allies, shaming bureaucrats, mobilizing publics, and promising to attract investment.19 External validationn...
Measurement of the kaon production normalization in the NuMI target using uncontained charged-current muon neutrino interactions in the NOvA Far Detector

aNOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that uses the NuMI beam from Fermilab. Its physics goals include providing constraints to the neutrino mass hierarchy and the CP-violating phase $\delta$ by precision measurements of the electron (anti)neutrino appearance in a muon (anti)neutrino beam. Similarly, new limits on the values of $\sin^2{\theta_{23}}$ and $\Delta m^{2}_{32}$ will be achieved by measurements of the muon (anti)neutrino disappearance probabilities. A combined analysis measurement will allow a better resolution of the $\theta_{23}$ octant. The NuMI beam is produced by the collision of high energy protons into a target, giving rise to kaon and pion mesons that decay to neutrinos of a specific flavor. This thesis presents a measurement of the kaon production normalization scale using uncontained charged-current muon neutrinos at the Far Detector. Because the neutrino beam is not pure in flavor, it contains an admixture of other different n eutrino flavors that become a source of background. %in oscillation analysis. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for accelerator experiments, such as NOvA, to have a reliable flux prediction of the neutrino beam in order to achieve its physics goals. One method to constrain the flux is to constrain and measure each flux component independently. The kaon component contributes to the intrinsic $\nu_{e}$ contamination of the beam, a key background for the $\nu_{e}$-appearance analysis. We observed that the uncontained sample in the 10-20 GeV region corresponds to the kaon component of the NuMI beam at the Far Detector. We also found a 60-80\% correlation between the Near Detector $\nu_{e}$ background and the Far Detector $\nu_{\mu}$ uncontained signal. The data used for this analysis was collected from October 2014 to February 2017, corresponding to $7.99 \times 10^{20}$ protons-on-target (POT). The ratio between the Far Detector data and the simulation is fitted to a lin e in the 10-20 GeV energy region. Calibration, energy scale,! final state interactions and neutrino flux (e.g. beam transport and hadron production shape only) systematic uncertainties are considered. The kaon production normalization scale is measured to be $S_{K} = 1.07 \pm 0.16$.
G protein subunit phosphorylation as a regulatory mechanism in heterotrimeric G protein signaling in mammals, yeast, and plants

Heterotrimeric G proteins composed of Gα, Gβ, and Gγ subunits are vital eukaryotic signaling elements that convey information from ligand-regulated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to cellular effectors. Heterotrimeric G protein-based signaling pathways are fundamental to human health [Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (2007) 1768, 994–1005] and are the target of >30% of pharmaceuticals in clinical use [Biotechnology Advances (2013) 31, 1676–1694; Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (2017) 16, 829–842]. This review focuses on phosphorylation of G protein subunits as a regulatory mechanism in mammals, budding yeast, and plants. This is a re-emerging field, as evidence for phosphoregulation of mammalian G protein subunits from biochemical studies in the early 1990s can now be complemented with contemporary phosphoproteomics and genetic approaches applied to a diversity of model systems. In addition, new evidence implicates a family of plant kinases, the receptor-like kinases, which are monophyletic with the interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase/Pelle kinases of metazoans, as possible GPCRs that signal via subunit phosphorylation. We describe early and modern observations on G protein subunit phosphorylation and its functional consequences in these three classes of organisms, and suggest future research directions.
Metal Only Spiral Slot Reflectarray Element Operating at 66 GHz

A metal-only reflectarray element operating in V-band (50–75 GHz) is proposed in this paper. By utilizing slots into the design, the dielectric substrate can be removed and replaced with an air gap. A slot based reflectarray element typically have a very limited phase curve. In contrast, in this paper, we show that multiple slots can result in a desirable phase range of 360°. The designed element consists of a square slot in the center of the unit cell with straight slots extending from its four corners to form resonators. The maximum loss of the element was less than 0.6 dB at the design frequency of 66 GHz.
A NIST perspective on metrology and EMC challenges for 5G and beyond

Wireless connectivity, the internet of things, smart technologies and applications will all create new EMC challenges, in both expected and unexpected forms. Traceable metrology needs to be developed, both to characterize and optimize these future systems, and to minimize interference and EMC problems. This paper looks at metrology and EMC challenges related to 5G and beyond communications, and what NIST is doing towards solutions.
Academic Library Collections in the Age of Extended Reality (XR)

Extended Reality (XR) introduces a new way to preserve, record, and manage content. Collections traditionally focus on content in the form of books, documents, and multimedia. XR is a new form of m...
Predicting High Confidence Errors in Eyewitness Memory: The Role of Face Recognition Ability, Decision-Time, and Justifications

Increasing research shows that high eyewitness confidence at the time of an initial identification is a strong predictor of accuracy ( Wixted & Wells, 2017 ). However, as with all forms of criminal evidence, this relationship is imperfect. This study addresses whether there are variables that systematically influence the rate of high confidence misidentifications. Notably, this is the first study to document the influence of face recognition ability on the confidence–accuracy relationship. Participants viewed photos of individuals of their same race or a different race and performed a lineup recognition test after either a 5-min (n = 277) or 1-day (n = 292) delay. High confidence identification errors were more likely when (a) individuals are worse face recognizers, (b) decision-times are slow, and (c) responses are justified with references to familiarity (e.g., “He looks familiar”).
“We Really Have to Hit Them Where It Hurts”: Analyzing Activists’ Corporate Campaigns

Despite a surge in activism efforts directed at corporations, extant research largely overlooks how activist organizations craft and implement their campaigns. To address this gap, this article applies issues management to examine the process used by activist organizations to pressure target corporations into altering practices and policies that they perceive to be problematic. Using a qualitative approach, this study draws from interviews with 21 activist practitioners, which are supplemented by organizational documents and news articles. This study introduces the Corporate Pressure Process Model, which depicts and describes the various phases of activists’ corporate campaigns, including how these groups determine what threat is most appropriate and select coordinating tactics. Based on the findings, this article also outlines implications for activist organizations and their target corporations.
Applying conservation ethics to the examination and treatment of software- and computer-based art

As part of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s ongoing initiative Conserving Computer-based Art (CCBA) and the collaborative research between the museum and the Department of Computer Science of New...
A Phase IV, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study of the Effects of Ustekinumab on Vascular Inflammation in Psoriasis (the VIP-U trial)

Psoriasis is a T helper type 17 autoimmune disease associated with an increased risk cardiovascular events and mortality. Ustekinumab, an antibody to p40, blocks cytokines IL-12 and IL-23, and is a highly effective and safe treatment for psoriasis. We conducted a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of ustekinumab on aortic vascular inflammation (AVI) measured by imaging, and key biomarkers of inflammation, lipid, and glucose metabolism in the blood of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. A total of 43 patients were randomized, and at week 12, ustekinumab-treated patients had a –18.65% (95% confidence interval = –29.45% to –7.85%) reduction in AVI, a reduction in inflammatory biomarkers, and an increase in apolipoprotein B lipoproteins compared with placebo. At week 12, placebo patients were crossed over such that all patients received ustekinumab for 52 weeks. At the end of 52 weeks of ustekinumab treatment, there was no change in AVI compared with baseline, inflammatory markers were reduced, and there were increases in selected measures of lipids and leptin. These results show that blockade of IL-12 and/or IL-23 may transiently reduce AVI, with more durable reduction in inflammatory cytokines associated with cardiovascular disease.
3D PRINTED HEART VALVES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

3D printing holds the promise of constructing precision replacement heart valves with patient-specific customization and optimization. Can functional heart valves be 3D printed? Five heart valves were designed in CAD and fabricated using a Polyjet Stratasys J750 printer with elastomeric resin: 2
Examining barriers and desired supports to increase faculty members’ use of digital technologies: perspectives of faculty, staff and administrators

Faculty members at Institutions of Higher Education have access to more technology than ever before and are teaching college and university students who use technology constantly in their personal lives. However, barriers still exist that limit how technology can enhance teaching at colleges and universities. This study examined the perspectives of faculty members, administrators, and technology support staff to examine the barriers and desired supports related to faculty members’ use of technology in their teaching. Findings indicated that the primary barriers were the amount of time needed to learn technologies and determine how to teach with them as well as the tension between focusing on teaching and other job responsibilities, including research. Desired supports included one-on-one, just-in-time support that was efficient and personalized to meet the needs of faculty members.
A Vectorial Approach to Unbalanced Optimal Mass Transport

Unbalanced optimal mass transport (OMT) seeks to remove the conservation of mass constraint by adding a source term to the standard continuity equation in the Benamou-Brenier formulation of OMT. In this study, we show how the unbalanced case fits into the vector-valued OMT framework simply by adding an auxiliary source layer and taking the flow between the source layer and the original layer(s) as the source term. This allows for unbalanced models both in the scalar and vector-valued density settings. The results are demonstrated on a number of synthetic and real vector-valued data sets.
Reinforcement Learning using EEG signals for Therapeutic Use of Music in Emotion Management

Prolonged influence of negative emotions can result in clinical depression or anxiety, and while many prescribed techniques exist, music therapy approaches, coupled with psychotherapy, have shown to help lower depressive symptoms, supplementing traditional treatment approaches. Identifying the appropriate choice of music, therefore, is of utmost importance. Selecting appropriate playlists, however, are challenged by user feedback that may inadvertently select songs that amplify the negative effects. Therefore, this work uses electroencephalogram (EEG) that automatically identifies the emotional impact of music and trains a reinforcement-learning approach to identify an adaptive personalized playlist of music to lead to improved emotional states. This work uses data from 32 users, collected in the publicly available DEAP dataset, to select songs for users that guide them towards joyful emotional states. Using a domain-specific reward-shaping function, a Q-learning agent is able to correctly guide a majority of users to the target emotional states, represented in a common emotion wheel. The average angular error of all users is 57°, with a standard deviation of 2.8 and the target emotional state is achieved.Clinical relevance— Music therapy for improving clinical depression and anxiety can be supplemented by additional emotion-guided music decisions in remote and personal settings by using automated techniques to capture emotional state and identify music that best guides users to target joyful states.
The Association Between Problem Recognition, Race/Ethnicity, and Professional Help-Seeking Intentions Across Psychological Disorders:

While 75% mental health problems emerge by young adulthood, there is a strong reluctance during this developmental stage to seek professional help. Although limitations in mental health literacy, s...
Selecting Key Agents from Environmental Mixtures: A Method for High-Dimensional Feature Selection in Presence of Strong Collinearity

Understanding health risks from environment mixtures is of growing scientific interest and presents unique methodological challenges. Individuals are exposed simultaneously to a multitude of pollut...
Compensating Victims of Police-Fabricated Confessions

A fabricated confession is one of the most egregious instances of misconduct in the criminal justice system. When the police fabricate a confession, they are defrauding, misleading, and deceiving everyone involved in the criminal process, consequently violating the criminal defendant's constitutional rights. Procedural safeguards, such as standards for admitting confessions into evidence and the exclusionary rule, do not sufficiently deter police-fabricated confessions, and provide no compensation to victims of such misconduct. Although excluding the fruits of illegal searches and interrogations deters police from some kinds of misconduct, the system falters when police fabricate confessions. A fabricated confession itself is inadmissible even without the exclusionary rule because it cannot be authenticated. And since the police-fabricated confession is by definition made up, there is no other evidence discovered and hence no evidence excluded. Finally, because no evidence is excluded, there is little deterrence: In cases when the police try to use fabricated confessions, they don't lose anything if they are caught, and consequently may attempt to fool the judicial system again in the future. Just as the exclusionary rule provides little deterrence to policefabricated confessions, it provides no compensation to the innocent victims of such misconduct. Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, however, may be used to provide such relief, thereby deterring police from fabricating confessions. In order to raise a Section 1983 claim, a harmed party must establish that a state official acting under color of state law violated his federal or constitutional rights. Although police violate no federal right simply by fabricating a confession, once that fabricated confession is used in a criminal proceeding, numerous constitutional rights could be implicated. Depending on the stage of the criminal process in which the fabricated confession is used, a suspect may suffer harms such as false arrest, imprisonment, indictment, or an unfair trial. These are harms that Section 1983 suits can and should remedy.
Genomics and Viruses in Sjögren’s Syndrome

Contributions from both genetic and environmental factors to the etiology of Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) are being discovered, though their roles in disease pathogenesis remain obscure. An important key to fully understand how genetic variation leads to disease is to comprehensively test all potential variation for association. Extraordinary developments in our understanding of the inherent variation present in the human genome and rapid advances in the technical capacity to evaluate this variation are moving us closer to understanding the genetic etiology for numerous complex diseases. In particular, major shifts in the past few years from small candidate gene studies to large genome-wide screens for association of human variation with disease have been remarkably successful. Dozens of new disease associations previously thought intractable to discovery have now been identified in complex diseases. Although the genetics of SS remains vastly unexplored, rapid advances in our understanding of related autoimmune diseases illustrate the potential complexity of the expected genetic landscape for SS with several emerging themes. First, multiple genes contribute to increasing disease risk. Second, many genes have now been associated with multiple autoimmune disorders. Third, the frequencies of some disease-associated variants are relatively common while others are rare within populations. In addition, the frequency of any given disease risk allele often varies between different racial groups. Fourth, certain disease variants are more strongly associated with clinically recognizable disease subgroups or manifestations as opposed to more general susceptibility risk to disease. Overall, studies in autoimmune diseases related to SS provide an encouraging glimpse into the potential for success in establishing the genetic basis for SS. We discuss how genetics is transforming our understanding of autoimmunity with relevance to SS and review evidence suggesting how environmental influences on susceptible genetic backgrounds may conspire to generate disease. We also discuss recent advances in transcriptional profiling and proteomic studies, which are beginning to provide global views of gene or protein expression profiles. Collectively, the broad views offered by these powerful and complementary approaches are revealing important disease-associated pathways and enhancing our understanding of the etiological mechanisms in SS.
Research Insights and the Halliburton-Baker Hughes Merger

Conventional business wisdom states that mergers make business sense. Merging firms can cut costs by reducing redundancies and consolidating operations, expanding their scope and market share, and freeing up capital for further growth. Last November, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, the second and third largest oilfield services firms in the world decided to merge. According to Halliburton, the deal, the biggest takeover of a U.S. energy company in three years, will consolidate operations, provide cost savings and align and expand their customer base. Halliburton’s CEO Dave Lesar has said that the merger could save the merged entity as much as $2 billion a year. And with lower oil prices and mounting pressures on margins, such a merger may make even more sense. But despite the many opportunities for business success, mergers are complicated and risky business.
Single-photoelectron noise reduction in scintillation detectors

The 1994-95 search at SLAC for millicharged particles used four 21/spl times/21/spl times/130-cm/sup 3/ Bicron 408 scintillation counters to detect a signal at the single-photoelectron level. The competing noise requiring minimization was due to combination of PM tube (8-inch Thorne EMI 9353KA) afterpulsing and ambient radiation-induced scintillator luminescence. A very slow decay (>30 /spl mu/s) component was observed and received particular attention. Efforts to reduce the SPE noise included photomultiplier tube base modifications, detector shielding and cooling, signal amplification, and veto procedures.
What Drives Risky Investments Lower Around Retirement

I solve the life-cycle portfolio allocation problem of a disappointment averse (DA) agent. DA agents overweight disappointing outcomes. Unlike expected utility investors, DA investors drastically cut their allocation to stocks around retirement due to a distinct effect associated with the drop in income risk. The effect is driven by the changing comovement between returns and the disappointment/elation realization. The allocations are consistent with empirical evidence on portfolio shares and the allocation rules of target-date retirement funds. Sufficiently disappointment-averse agents abstain from investing in stocks after retirement, which is consistent with the observed low rates of stock market participation among retirees.
Michael J. Glennon: National Security and Double Government

As a senator running for the office of president, Barack Obama was a harsh critic of the national security policies of President George W. Bush. Yet, once elected president, Obama continued, and expanded, the security policies of his predecessor. Understanding this puzzle is the motivation behind Michael Glennon’s important book, National Security and Double Government. To resolve this puzzle, Glennon turns to a framework provided by William Bagehot, a nineteenth century British businessman and journalist, in his analysis of the evolution of the English Constitution. Bagehot noted that a dual set of institutions had emerged in Britain. One set consisted of the ‘‘dignified institutions,’’ which included the monarchy and House of Lords. These institutions were ‘‘dignified in the sense that they provide a link to the past and excite the public imagination’’ (p. 5) through a range of public rituals and the associated pomp and circumstance. The second set were the ‘‘efficient institutions,’’ which included the House of Commons, the Cabinet, and the Prime Minister. These institutions, which are largely hidden behind the dignified institutions, were, according to Bagehot, what actually drove policy and government activities. Glennon applies and extends Bagehot’s dual institutions framework to the U.S. security state. In the context of the U.S., the dignified institutions include the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. These are the institutions that most people have in mind when they think of the Founding Fathers or when they praise America for its constitutionally-constrained government. These institutions foster and perpetuate feelings of loyalty, patriotism, and nationalism among citizens. The origins of the U.S. dignified institutions can be found in the ‘‘Madisonian’’ structure of dispersed power across the three branches of government. In advocating the separation of authority across the three branches, James Madison, and the other Founders, intended to create an arrangement which appreciated that the maintenance of liberty and freedom required checking against ambition in government.
Possible Implicit Mechanisms of Minority Representation

Minority representation is an important topic for political science—how do members of a racial majority group identify with the political goals of a minority, even when research documents widespread anti-Black bias? Does pro-Black policy support require an individual to be unbiased, or can such support emerge despite internalized anti-Black bias? This paper draws a distinction between two types of implicit racial attitude measures based on functionalist theories of attitudes (Katz, 1960; Smith, Bruner, & White, 1956) and research regarding automatic empathic processes (Decety & Jackson, 2004; Preston & de Waal, 2002). According to this distinction, some attitudes evaluate racial groups as attitude objects (evaluative associations), while others involve automatic identification with them as people (relational associations). I use subliminal racial priming for evaluative associations and a measure of implicit closeness to Blacks (Craemer, 2008) for relational associations. The evaluative measure captures association strength between a racial stimulus and race-unrelated positive or negative target words. The relational measure assesses association strength between the respondent's self-concept and the mental representation of a racial group based on implicit “self-other overlap” (Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991). Implicit measures are obtained in a well powered online reaction time study (n = 1,341). Online results are evaluated against a representative telephone survey (n = 1,200). Consistent with the extant literature, a significant anti-Black bias emerges in evaluative associations. In contrast, a significant pro-Black effect emerges in relational associations and the two implicit measures are statistically unrelated. Both measures predict pro-Black policy support independently of one another and net of other factors. Implicit closeness to Blacks predicts pro-Black policy support even among White respondents suggesting that minority representation based on relational associations may be possible despite widespread anti-Black evaluative bias.
Sexual Selection in the Three‐Spined Stickleback

The purpose of this study was to seek evidence for the influence of sexual selection on both male and female three-spined sticklebacks, a species in which the ♂ alone has parental responsibilities. We studied the intrasexual relationships of ♂♂ and ♀♀ prior to courtship, and the intrasexual and intersexual relationships of both sexes during courtship. Results demonstrated that both ♂♂ and ♀♀ compete intrasexually, and suggested that both sexes are discriminative in mate selection. These results are compatible with Trivers' (1972) model of the role of parental investment in sexual selection.
Surface Temperature Mapping of the University of Northern Iowa Campus Using High Resolution Thermal Infrared Aerial Imageries

The goal of this project was to map the surface temperature of the University of Northern Iowa campus using high-resolution thermal infrared aerial imageries. A thermal camera with a spectral bandwidth of 3.0-5.0 μm was flown at the average altitude of 600 m, achieving ground resolution of 29 cm. Ground control data was used to construct the pixelto-temperature conversion model, which was later used to produce temperature maps of the entire campus and also for validation of the model. The temperature map then was used to assess the building rooftop conditions and steam line faults in the study area. Assessment of the temperature map revealed a number of building structures that may be subject to insulation improvement due to their high surface temperatures leaks. Several hot spots were also identified on the campus for steam pipelines faults. High-resolution thermal infrared imagery proved highly effective tool for precise heat anomaly detection on the campus, and it can be used by university facility services for effective future maintenance of buildings and grounds.
Immunomodulatory functions of type I interferons

Interferon-α (IFNα) and IFNβ, collectively known as type I IFNs, are the major effector cytokines of the host immune response against viral infections. However, the production of type I IFNs is also induced in response to bacterial ligands of innate immune receptors and/or bacterial infections, indicating a broader physiological role for these cytokines in host defence and homeostasis than was originally assumed. The main focus of this Review is the underappreciated immunomodulatory functions of type I IFNs in health and disease. We discuss their function in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses, the response to bacterial ligands, inflammasome activation, intestinal homeostasis and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Kinetic properties of pyruvate kinase of rabbit brain

The kinetic properties of rabbit brain pyruvate kinase have been studied to determine its role in the regulation of glycolysis. One of the substrates of the enzyme, phosphoenolpyruvate, exhibits homotropic cooperativity (Hill coeff. of 1.45); thus, it is a moderate activator of the enzyme. The other substrate, ADP, shows normal Michaelis-Menton kinetics. Fructose-6-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate activate the enzyme only slightly at the 1mm level and inhibit slightly at higher levels, and hence have no metabolic influence on the enzyme activity. Fructose-1, 6-diphosphate also has a slight activation up to 0.5 mm but no inhibition at higher level; therefore, it has no influence either. ATP, 2-phosphoglycerate, and phenylalanine are inhibitors of the enzyme. ATP, being the energy reservoir derived from glycolysis as well as a product of the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme, is a significant feedback inhibitor of the enzyme. These kinetic properties suggest a key role for pyruvate kinase in the regulation of glycolysis. Phenylalanine inhibition of the enzyme has been reported to be a possible mechanism of damage to the developing brain in phenylketonuria. The inhibition by phenylalanine at 10 mm in the assay mixture is reversed by alanine, cysteine, or serine at 0.2 mm level. Furthermore, the effect of these amino acids in reversing the phenylalanine inhibition are mutually enhancing. Consequently phenylalanine cannot have a significant inhibition on the activity of pyruvate kinase in brain.
Identifying at‐risk students in videoconferencing and web‐based distance education

Abstract Based on the multivariate framework of student attrition developed by leading researchers in the field of distance education and instructional technology, this study centers on a method of assessing the ability of a student to complete a distance learning course. The focus of the investigation is construction and validation of a brief survey instrument to identify at‐risk students enrolled in Web‐based and videoconferencing courses.
DENSITY OF LONGHORNED BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: CERAMBYCIDAE) DIFFERS AT DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS IN HAWAIIAN MONTANE FOREST

Abstract Elevation has strong effects on climate and biota. In Hawaii, elevation on volcanic mountains affects temperature, rainfall, vegetation, and fauna. The effect of elevation on animal distribution and abundance can be direct through effects on climate or, in the case of phytophagous insects, indirectly mediated through climatic effects on host plants. In montane wet forests dominated by Metrosideros polymorpha (ohia lehua) and Acacia koa (koa), longhorned wood-boring beetles (Cerambycidae, Plagithmysus) play an important role as decomposers of wood and as food for higher trophic levels. The beetles I studied feed exclusively on dead wood of koa. I assessed the effect of elevation on the density of longhorned beetles in plantations of koa at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii. Density per branch of longhorned beetles was more than twice as great in the low-elevation sample (1,620–1,650 m; 3.49 beetles/branch, n = 200) as in the high-elevation sample (1,880–1,970 m; 1.61 beetles/branch...
Education, outreach, and marketing

Education and outreach programs seek to improve science education and the public's understanding of science. Although many scientists are doing much good work through these programs, others are uneasy with them, believing that they are unseemly and peripheral to ‘real’ science. I suggest taking a broader view and adding ‘marketing’ to ‘education and outreach.’ Education is business as usual for university scientists. Scientists think they know what to do, do it well at the college level, and can help at secondary and primary grade levels. Outreach sounds like public service—no harm, but not crucial. In contrast, many organizations consider marketing as a vital function and seek to do it better.
Loss of cortical serotonin2A signal transduction in senescent rats: Reversal following inhibition of protein kinase C

Abstract Using grease gap recordings, age-related changes in serotonin 2A receptors were assessed in sensorimotor regions of the cortex by examining serotonin-induced facilitation of the N -methyl- d -aspartate depolarization in cortical wedges prepared from young adult (3–6 months) and senescent (22–34 months) Fisher 344 rats. Serotonin (10–100 μM) facilitated the N -methyl- d -asparatate depolarization in wedges from young adult rats in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas no facilitation was observed in wedges from senescent rats. Similar results were obtained when ± 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane, a mixed serotonin 2A and serotonin 2C receptor agonist, was substituted for serotonin. In contrasts, agonists at α 1A-adrenoceptors , metabotropic glutamate receptors and muscarinic cholinoreceptors facilitated the N -methyl- d -aspartate depolarization in wedges from both young adult and senescent rats. Chelerythrine and staurosporine, inhibitors of protein kinase C, but not concanavalin A, myo-inositol or calmodulin antagonists, restored the serotonin facilitation in wedges from senescent animals. In situ hybridization histochemistry revealed that serotonin 2A receptor messenger RNA was present in layers II–VI of the cortex, with the highest density of silver grains located in layers III and V of both young adult and senescent rats. Detailed examination of layer V showed that silver grains were significantly higher than background only over pyramidal cells. We conclude that serotonin 2A receptors are expressed by pyramidal cells in both young adult and senescent rats and that serotonin acts directly on these receptors to facilitate the N -methyl- d -aspartate depolarization. Moreover, in senescent rats, signal transduction at cortical serotonin 2A receptors involved with facilitation of the N -methyl- d -aspartate response is compromised as a result of protein kinase C activation.
Serial Quantitative Planar Technetium-99m Isonitrile Imaging in Acute Myocardial Infarction: Efficacy for Noninvasive Assessment of Thrombolytic Therapy

Technetium-99m isonitrile is a new myocardial perfusion imaging agent that accumulates according to the distribution of myocardial blood flow. However, unlike thallium-201, it does not redistribute over time. This imaging agent was used with serial quantitative planar imaging to assess the initial risk area of infarction, its change over time and the relation to infarct-related artery patency in 30 patients with a first acute myocardial infarction. Twenty-three of 30 patients were treated with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) within 4 h after the onset of chest pain. Seven patients were treated in the conventional manner without thrombolytic therapy. Technetium-99m isonitrile was injected before or at the initiation of thrombolytic therapy, and imaging was performed several hours later. These initial images demonstrated the area at risk. Repeat imaging was performed 18 to 48 h later and at 6 to 14 days after the onset of myocardial infarction to visualize the ultimate extent of infarction. The initial area at risk varied greatly (range defect integral 2 to 61) both in patients treated with rt-PA and in those who received conventional treatment. For the total group, the initial imaging defect decreased in size in 20 patients and was unchanged or larger in 10 patients. Patients with a patent infarct-related artery had a significantly greater decrease in defect size than did patients with persistent coronary occlusion (-51 +/- 38% versus -1 +/- 26%, p = 0.0001). All patients with a decrease in defect size greater than 30% had a patent infarct-related artery. In 12 patients who also had predischarge quantitative exercise thallium-201 imaging, good agreement existed between the extent and severity of myocardial perfusion defect on the last technetium-99m isonitrile study before discharge and that noted on delayed thallium-201 imaging. It is concluded that serial planar technetium-99m isonitrile myocardial imaging in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing thrombolytic therapy offers a new quantitative noninvasive approach for assessment of the initial risk zone as well as the success of reperfusion.
Nonmydriatic fundus photography in screening for treatable diabetic retinopathy.

Abstract Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of both insulin-dependent (type I) and non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes. The American Diabetes Association and others recommend screening for retinopathy, beginning 5 years after onset of symptoms for patients with type I diabetes and at the time of diagnosis for patients with type II diabetes. Ideally, diabetic patients are evaluated at recommended intervals by an ophthalmologist. Realistically, however, this is often not feasable, for reasons both of cost and availability. There is evidence that many diabetic patients are being referred too late for intervention, perhaps in part due to lax screening and detection, often the responsibility of internists and other primary care physicians. Data supports the need for a cheap, widely available, easy-to-use, effective screening tool for detecting treatable diabetic retinopathy. To this end, several studies have evaluated nonmydriatic fundus photography, and compared it with more-established methods of detecting diabetic retinal disease. The real question to be considered is whether nonmydriatic fundus photography will help to detect early treatable retinopathy better than the average physician using ophthalmoscopy. Several studies support its usefulness in this regard, and are discussed in this review. Questions remain, however, and further study is warranted in evaluating its potential role.
The Byzantine physicians on epilepsy.

The aim of this study is to present epilepsy according to the most famous and representative Byzantine physicians throughout the whole period of the Byzantine empire. Mainly Byzantine medical texts were used as sources. The Byzantine physicians considered epilepsy to be a serious medical problem and followed the Hippocratic tradition as far as the etiology of this disease is concerned. Their pathophysiological theories of epilepsy identified the brain as the site of the problem, but, based on the Hippocratic humoral theory, emphasized causes such as an excess of humors or insufficient circulation of phlegm in the brain. It is surprising to note the accuracy of the details they provide regarding the clinical description of the disease, especially the seizures; many of these are still accepted today. It is also surprising that there was a concurrent opinion during all this medieval period that epilepsy was strictly an organic disease of the brain and the demonic origin of it a prejudice of uneducated people...
Effect of Adolescent Obesity on Cardiometabolic Risk in African-Americans and Caucasians

African-Americans have more hypertension, stroke, and type 2 diabetes than do Caucasians. Endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance are precursors for each. Since these diseases have origins in pediatrics and are associated with obesity, this study was designed to determine if obesity has different effects on endothelial function, insulin sensitivity, and secretion in African-American and Caucasian adolescents. Thirty-three Caucasian and 25 African-Americans (10–18 years old) were subdivided by BMI into lean, overweight, and obesity groups. Endothelial function was measured as forearm vascular resistance (FVR) over 1 min following 5 min of upper arm vascular occlusion. Insulin sensitivity and secretion were measured using intravenous glucose tolerance test and minimal model. Postocclusive FVR was significantly increased in obese African-Americans. Insulin sensitivity was reduced in obese subjects but did not differ by race. Insulin secretion was increased in African-Americans but did not differ by obesity. Subjects were subdivided into risk groups based on 20th percentile for postocclusion FVR response in lean. Seven of nine obese African-Americans were in the high risk group compared to 0 of 5 obese Caucasians. These results demonstrate that obesity significantly impairs endothelial function in African-Americans. Endothelial dysfunction likely predisposes to future cardiometabolic disease in obese African-American adolescents.
Reaction of hydrogen fluoride gas at high temperatures with silicon oxide film and silicon surface

The chemical nature of hydrogen fluoride gas at high temperatures, 523–1173 K, for etching silicon dioxide in hydrogen ambient at atmospheric pressure is studied, for the first time. Although only a slight decrease in the silicon dioxide film thickness can be observed below 1000 K, its surface is significantly etched above 1000 K. Hydrogen fluoride gas in the temperature range of 500-1000 K in hydrogen ambient is experimentally shown to be nonreactive with silicon dioxide. The existence of water molecules is necessary for hydrogen fluoride gas to etch silicon dioxide even at high temperatures. At temperatures above 873 K, hydrogen fluoride gas can react to roughen the surface of the silicon substrate. The corrosion of silicon carbide by hydrogen fluoride gas is also observed as the formation of pits at the surface.
HPDGIS 2010 workshop report: ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on High Performance and Distributed Geographic Information Systems (San Jose, California - November 2, 2010)

The increasingly computational and data intensive nature of geospatial problem solving and the requirement to provide collaborative support across numerous fields, necessitates the use of high performance computing and distributed systems which have emerged as prominent elements in the landscape of computing and information technologies. The inaugural ACM SIGSPATIAL HPDGIS workshop was hence launched to bring together researchers and practitioners to map out the fundamental research areas centered on synergistic advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis, high performance computing, and distributed systems.