cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optometric management of congenital cataracts.

Background Congenital cataracts have historically been a major cause of visual impairment in children. Their treatment improved once deprivation amblyopia became better understood. Many children born with congenital cataracts are now able to develop good functional levels of visual acuity. Early detection and surgical removal of the cataracts are only the first steps in the treatment. Results The optical correction of the resulting aphakia, usually with contact lenses, and the long term treatment of amblyopia when required are invariably more difficult. The pediatric optometrist is particularly well suited to manage this postsurgical treatment of patients with congenital cataracts.
Urethroplasty Using Diverticular Tissue

AbstractDiverticula that occur in the neourethra following repair of hypospadias, epispadias or urethral stricture generally are associated with obstruction distal to the dilated segment. This diverticular tissue can be moderately elastic and well vascularized. We have been able to relieve the stenosis by developing and advancing a diverticular flap, simultaneously reducing the size of the diverticulum.
The Engineering Properties of Soils

When describing the basic Coulomb equation for the shear failure of soil, it is assumed that the normal stress acting upon the shear plane is determined by the load imposed upon the soil from without, and that the whole of this load is carried by the particulate granular material. In reality, one should also take into account the fact that part of the imposed load is carried by the pore fluids, which can be either gaseous or liquid or sometimes both of these together. The pore fluid pressure acts to oppose the normal stress generated by the imposed load, and its magnitude depends upon the boundary condition at the site concerned and the compressibility both of the soil structure and of the pore fluids. If the soil is being unloaded, then an opposite effect takes place so that the permeability of the soil and the boundary conditions at the site determine the value of pore pressure at any one time. If the boundary is impervious and the permeability of the soil is low, it will take longer for the pore fluids to drain through the material than would be the case for a pervious soil within a free-draining boundary. In the latter case, the pore fluids would be forced out of the material as quickly as a slowly imposed load was increased, so that significant pore pressures might not develop.
Globalization: Comparing the US and German Engineering Management Education Programs

Globalization has become one of many important issues in engineering management education. This paper explores this internationalization through first hand experience as a Fulbright professor at an engineering university in Germany. First, the changing conditions facing education programs in the European Union is described. Then, the process and focus of engineering management studies in Germany is investigated. Finally, the implications of the changes in the European Union programs and specifically the German programs on US education programs are highlighted.
Frontend wearout modeling from device to system with power/ground signature analysis

With the scaling of CMOS technology, frontend wearout mechanisms, including Bias Temperature Instability (BTI) and Gate Oxide Breakdown (GOBD), are serious issues for transistors. In general, degradation due to BTI and GOBD are modeled based on test structure data, and the models are expressed by a threshold voltage shift and a voltage dependent ohmic resistance in the circuit simulation. In this paper, we determine the relationship between the threshold voltage shift model and ground signal degradation for BTI, and the oxide degradation model and the ground/power signal degradation for GOBD. The calculation of amplitude and delay shift of the signature signal is used to find the relationship. Then, we find a mathematical model to calculate the degradation of a chip. Also, based on the combined models, we extract the critical path and calculate the system lifetime.
Fluorescence Reporter-Based Genome-Wide RNA Interference Screening to Identify Alternative Splicing Regulators

Alternative splicing is a regulated process that leads to inclusion or exclusion of particular exons in a pre-mRNA transcript, resulting in multiple protein isoforms being encoded by a single gene. With more than 90 % of human genes known to undergo alternative splicing, it represents a major source for biological diversity inside cells. Although in vitro splicing assays have revealed insights into the mechanisms regulating individual alternative splicing events, our global understanding of alternative splicing regulation is still evolving. In recent years, genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) screening has transformed biological research by enabling genome-scale loss-of-function screens in cultured cells and model organisms. In addition to resulting in the identification of new cellular pathways and potential drug targets, these screens have also uncovered many previously unknown mechanisms regulating alternative splicing. Here, we describe a method for the identification of alternative splicing regulators using genome-wide RNAi screening, as well as assays for further validation of the identified candidates. With modifications, this method can also be adapted to study the splicing regulation of pre-mRNAs that contain two or more splice isoforms.
Divorced Young Adult Mothers’ Experiences of Breakup: Benefits and Drawbacks

The goal of the current study is to examine the consequences of postdivorce dating breakup for young adult divorced mothers, ages 21–29. First, we hypothesized that breakup would be negatively rela...
Radiation Transport in Random Media With Large Fluctuations

Neutral particle transport in media exhibiting large and complex material property spatial variation is modeled by representing cross sections as lognormal random functions of space and generated through a nonlinear memory-less transformation of a Gaussian process with covariance uniquely determined by the covariance of the cross section. A Karhunen-Loeve decomposition of the Gaussian process is implemented to effciently generate realizations of the random cross sections and Woodcock Monte Carlo used to transport particles on each realization and generate benchmark solutions for the mean and variance of the particle flux as well as probability densities of the particle reflectance and transmittance. A computationally effcient stochastic collocation method is implemented to directly compute the statistical moments such as the mean and variance, while a polynomial chaos expansion in conjunction with stochastic collocation provides a convenient surrogate model that also produces probability densities of output quantities of interest. Extensive numerical testing demonstrates that use of stochastic reduced-order modeling provides an accurate and cost-effective alternative to random sampling for particle transport in random media.
Airborne Aphrodisiac Odor From Estrous Rats

It was recently discovered that a volatile odor emitted by estrous female rats provokes penile erection in male rats (Sachs, 1997). This finding has implications for the analysis of sexual arousal in animals (Liu, Salamone & Sachs, 1997; Sachs, 1995a), but aspects of the odor’s effectiveness may also have more general relevance for those concerned with chemical signals in vertebrates. First, this appears to be the first documented instance in mammals of an airborne pheromone that can—of itself—evoke a stereotypic motor pattern that is not concerned with investigation. More important, the time required for the odor to exert its effect raises anew questions about the traditional distinction between “priming” and “releasing” pheromones. Justification of these conclusions will be facilitated by a brief summary of the relevant findings.
pH effect on the formation of THM and HAA disinfection byproducts and potential control strategies for food processing

Abstract Chlorine-based sanitizers have seen wide spread use in food sanitation. The reaction of chlorine species with organic matter is a concern for two reasons. Available chlorine can be “used up” by organic compounds resulting in a lower amount of chlorine available for disinfection. Another concern is that some forms of chlorine can react with some organic compounds to form toxic halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the role of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypochlorite ion (OCl−) in the production of DBPs with a particular interest in the production of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Since most of the chlorine reactions are pH dependent, pH is found to have a significant effect on the formation of chlorine DBPs. In many cases, the concentration of THMs decreases and HAAs increases as pH decreases. pH also plays an important role in the determination of the type and amount of DBPs formed, with lower, more acidic, pHs resulting in the formation of less chloroform. This review summarizes the information from the literature on the role of chlorine-based sanitizers as affected by pH in the formation of different types of DBPs. Alternative novel strategies to minimize the formation of DBPs are also discussed.
Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary: A Rare Tumor With a Poor Prognosis.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of women diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary. Methods The National Cancer Data Base was accessed, and women diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary, between 2004 and 2014 were identified. Median and 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were calculated following generation of Kaplan-Meir curves and compared with the log-rank test. A Cox multivariate model was constructed to identify variables associated with mortality. Results A total 469 women were identified with a median age of 39 years; 81.7% of tumors were unilateral, whereas median size was 13 cm. Only 20.1% of patients had stage I disease. Women who underwent cancer-directed surgery had a 5-year OS rate of 24.1%. Five-year OS rates were 48.6%, 30.7%, 18%, and 12.3% for those with stages I, II, III, and IV disease, respectively, P Conclusions Small cell carcinomas of the ovary are unilateral tumors primarily arising in premenopausal women. Multimodal treatment with cancer-directed surgery and CT results in a modest increase of a generally poor survival.
Ecological processes regulating geographic distributions of Plethodon salamanders in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Understanding how dispersal, adaptation to environmental characteristics, and interactions among species set the limits to species geographic distributions is one of the primary goals of biogeography. Evolutionary history of a species allows for a species to be adapted to a particular environment and is thought to have the greatest influence on where, geographically, a species can exist. However, often the species distribution is much smaller than its potential range based solely on environmental characteristics alone, and both local and regional ecological processes are responsible for this range restriction. For instance, the ability to disperse to suitable habitat and interspecific associations also factor in to the capability of a species to access and successfully colonize regions outside of its distribution. In this study, I assess patterns in trophic morphology, environmental characteristics, and spatially-explicit population models to assess the geographic distribution of Plethodon teyahalee. I find that the mechanisms regulating this species‘ distribution varies geographically, and that it is a combination of both environmental characteristics and interspecific competition which regulate this species‘ geographic range limits in this group. Further, this research also demonstrates that local processes, such as interspecific competition, can be important in understanding regional patterns such as species geographic distributions.
Protein Nutriture and Requirements of the Elderly

Protein requirements of populations have been estimated for more than a century (see Munro, 1964a, 1985, for the historical references in the paragraph). In 1853 and again in 1865, Playfair reported the protein intakes of different classes of the population of Britain and concluded that the requirements of adults ranged from 57 g protein per day in the case of a subsistence diet to 184 g for laborers doing heavy work. Later in the same century, Voit and Atwater both supported generous allowances of protein for the average working man, but several subsequent investigators publishing just before World War I concluded that 30 to 50 g protein daily was not only adequate to maintain nitrogen balance but even improved the general health and vigor of young adults. Following the first global war, the League of Nations was formed, and in 1936 a health committee reported that the safe protein intake for adults was 1 g per kilogram body weight and that some of the protein should come from animal sources.
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: An Introduction

This is an engaging and accessible introduction to the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's great masterpiece of moral philosophy. Michael Pakaluk offers a thorough and lucid examination of the entire work, uncovering Aristotle's motivations and basic views while paying careful attention to his arguments. The chapter on friendship captures Aristotle's doctrine with clarity and insight, and Pakaluk gives original and compelling interpretations of the Function Argument, the Doctrine of the Mean, courage and other character virtues, Akrasia, and the two treatments of pleasure. There is also a useful section on how to read an Aristotelian text. This book will be invaluable for all student readers encountering one of the most important and influential works of Western philosophy.
Indole-based fluorescence sensors for both cations and anions

Abstract The fluorescence properties of the ligand idpa (1H-Indole-3-ethanamine, N,N-bis(2-pyridinylmethyl)amine) complexed with metal ions along with their crystal structures were investigated to further understand the role of π contacts in quenching fluorescence. In particular, the π contacting ability of indole fluorophore of idpa and its impact on the fluorescence properties are compared to those of anthracene (in adpa) and coumarin fluorophores (in cdpa) investigated previously by us. Unlike adpa and cdpa, the fluorescence of free idpa increases with rising pH, which is attributed via TD-DFT studies to quenching at lower pH values by a proton transfer in the excited state from the protonated tertiary amine to the pydridyl nitrogen. Structural studies show that the AgI complex of idpa is a dimer held together by very short inter-complex η1 Ag···C π contacts of 2.382 A, indicating powerful π contacting ability of indole as expected from the electrostatic potential map. However, structural studies of the ZnII, NiII, PbII, and CdII complexes of idpa show no metal-fluorophore π contacts present in the solid state, which was ascribed to a plethora of other π contacts and hydrogen bondings possible only in solid state. All metal ions on complex-formation cause quenching of fluorescence of idpa relative to that of free idpa at pH 7.45, suggesting the existence of π contacts in solution. DFT/TD-DFT studies showed that O-H···C π contacts with the solvent stabilizes the excited state and makes the S1 → S0 emission to be a charge transfer transition, quenching the fluorescence of ZnIIidpa, and possibly CdIIidpa as well. The existence of π contacts in solution was also reflected in the fact that the ZnII and CdII complexes show increased fluorescence intensity when titrated with Cl−, which could be due to the disruption of fluorescence-quenching O-H···C π contacts with solvent molecules. The observed fluorescence responses of ZnII and CdII complexes to Cl− render these complexes to be used as a possible sensor for Cl−.
Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation and Mineralocorticoid Receptor Activity in Patients With Medically and Surgically Treated Primary Aldosteronism.

Importance Primary aldosteronism (PA) is an ideal condition to evaluate the role of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Objective To investigate whether MR antagonist therapy or surgical adrenalectomy in PA influence the risk for incident AF. Design This cohort study included patients aged 18 years and older. Patients with PA and age-matched patients with essential hypertension were identified via electronic health records. Patients with a history of AF, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or stroke were excluded. Data were collected between 1991 and the end of 2016 in an academic medical center, with a mean follow-up duration of approximately 8 years. Exposures Patients with PA treated with MR antagonists or surgical adrenalectomy were compared with patients with essential hypertension. Patients with PA who were treated with MR antagonists were categorized by whether their plasma renin activity remained suppressed ( Main Outcomes and Measure Incident AF. Results A total of 195 patients with PA who were treated with MR antagonists and 201 patients with PA treated with surgical adrenalectomy were included, as well as 40 092 age-matched patients with essential hypertension. Despite similar blood pressure at study entry and throughout follow-up, patients with PA who were treated with MR antagonists whose renin remained suppressed had a higher risk for incident AF than patients with essential hypertension (adjusted HR, 2.55 [95% CI, 1.75-3.71]). They also had an adjusted 10-year cumulative AF incidence difference of 14.1 (95% CI, 6.7-21.5) excess cases per 100 persons compared with patients with essential hypertension. In contrast, patients with PA who were treated with MR antagonists and whose renin increased and patients with PA who were treated with surgical adrenalectomy had no statistically significant difference in risk for incident AF compared with patients with essential hypertension. Conclusions and Relevance When compared with patients with essential hypertension, patients with PA treated with MR antagonists such that renin remained suppressed (as a proxy for insufficient MR blockade) had a significantly higher risk for incident AF; however, treatment of PA with MR antagonists to substantially increase renin (suggesting sufficient MR blockade), or with surgical adrenalectomy (to remove the source of aldosteronism), was associated with no significant difference in risk for developing AF. These findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that MR blockade may be a potential therapy to decrease the incidence of AF.
Maximum Likelihood Estimation-Based SAR ADC

A 10-bit successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is presented in this brief. After SAR quantization is finished, the comparator is fired 18 times and the outputs are sent to the estimator for calculation of the residue voltage. The estimator output is subtracted from the SAR output to form the overall output. MLE improves the ADC SNR by more than 8 dB without the need for prior knowledge of SAR noise distribution. A prototype ADC in 65 nm process achieves an average SNR of 64.5 dB at sampling frequency of 1.28 MHz and power supply of 1 V while consuming 5.6 fJ/conversion-step. The estimation accuracy is consistent across voltage and temperature ranges.
Condescension, anticipation, reciprocal ecstasies: theological reflections on early Christian readings of Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3

In the biblical theophanies of Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3, divine condescension and human ascent constitute reciprocal ecstatic moves towards a divine–human encounter. The christological interpretation, widespread in early Christian reception history, further discerns in Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3 an anticipation of the radical condescension of the Logos-made-human and, conversely, an anticipation of the deifying ascent of humanity in Christ. Finally, the early Christian reading of Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3 as ‘christophanies’ – that is, as manifestations of the Logos-to-be-incarnate – also allows us a glimpse into the performative aspect and experiential claims of early Christian exegesis, broadly construed to also incorporate hymnography, iconography and ritual.
Mutual Information and the Edge of Chaos in Reservoir Computers.

A reservoir computer is a dynamical system that may be used to perform computations. A reservoir computer usually consists of a set of nonlinear nodes coupled together in a network so that there are feedback paths. Training the reservoir computer consists of inputing a signal of interest and fitting the time series signals of the reservoir computer nodes to a training signal that is related to the input signal. It is believed that dynamical systems function most efficiently as computers at the "edge of chaos", the point at which the largest Lyapunov exponent of the dynamical system transitions from negative to positive. In this work I simulate several different reservoir computers and ask if the best performance really does come at this edge of chaos. I find that while it is possible to get optimum performance at the edge of chaos, there may also be parameter values where the edge of chaos regime produces poor performance. This ambiguous parameter dependance has implications for building reservoir computers from analog physical systems, where the parameter range is restricted.
Data Governance, Consumer Privacy, and Project Status Reporting: Remembering H. Jeff Smith

In October 2019, the information systems community was shocked and saddened to learn that H. Jeff Smith had passed away after battling lymphoma. While primarily known for his pioneering work on privacy, Jeff made a number of significant contributions to the field of information systems. In this invited editorial, we examine the impact of Jeff’s scholarship on the areas of data governance, consumer privacy, and project status reporting.
Design and sample characteristics of COordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP) Chicago: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Coordinated Oral health Promotion (CO-OP) Chicago is a two-arm cluster-randomized trial with a wait-list control. The primary aim is to evaluate the efficacy of an oral health community health worker (CHW) intervention to improve oral health behaviors in low-income, urban children under the age of three years. Exploratory aims will determine cost-effectiveness, and if any CHW intervention impact on child tooth brushing behaviors varies when CHWs are based out of a medical clinic compared to a community setting. This paper describes progress toward achieving these aims. Participating families were recruited from community social service centers and pediatric primary care medical clinics in Cook County, Illinois. Sites were cluster-randomized to CHW intervention or usual services (a wait-list control). The intervention is oral health support from CHWs delivered in four visits to individual families over one year. The trial sample consists of 420 child/caregiver dyads enrolled at the 20 participating sites over 11 months. Participant demographics varied across the sites, but primary outcomes values at baseline did not. Data on brushing frequency, plaque, and other oral health behaviors are collected at three timepoints: baseline, 6-, and 12-months. The primary analysis will assess differences in caregiver-reported child brushing frequency and observed plaque score between the two arms at 12-months. The trial is currently in the active intervention phase. The trial’s cluster-randomized controlled design takes a real-world approach by integrating into existing health and social service agencies and collecting data in participant homes. Results will address an important child health disparity. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT03397589","term_id":"NCT03397589"}}NCT03397589. Clinical trial registration University of Illinois at Chicago Protocol Record 2017-1090 National Institutes of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIDCR) Protocol Number: 17-074-E {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT03397589","term_id":"NCT03397589"}}NCT03397589
High Performance Gnrfet Based Serializer

ULSI technology is characterized by high speed and low power devices with nano scale features. Scaling down the silicon devices has come to an end due to its physical limitations with ballistic effects. For high speed data transmission, conversion of object codes into serial data, will require high speed serialized devices. GNRFET with channel length of nearly 10nm is used in this study to implement 2:1 serializer. A negative edge triggered D-flipflops and transmission gate 2:1 multiplexer were used in the design. ADS (Advanced Design System) tools were used with 0.7V power for biasing the devices. The data obtained in this work was compared with standard CMOS serializer for addressing the features of these nano scale technology for this application. The power consumption of the serializer was found to be 0.4mW.
Ontogenetic dietary shifts in Deinonychus antirrhopus (Theropoda; Dromaeosauridae): Insights into the ecology and social behavior of raptorial dinosaurs through stable isotope analysis

Abstract The image of the highly intelligent, pack-hunting raptor has become engrained in scientific literature and popular works alike. First proposed to explain the relatively common co-occurrence of the large-bodied iguanodontian Tenontosaurus tilletti and the wolf-sized Deinonychus antirrhopus from the Lower Cretaceous of North America, a canid-like social hunting structure has become the standard depiction of dromaeosaurs in popular works over the last three decades. This reconstruction is, however, problematic largely due to the fact that highly coordinated hunting strategies are rarely observed in modern archosaurs. This has led to the alternative hypothesis that D. antirrhopus was more analogous to agonistic reptilian carnivores, like the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Among the many differences between these two analogs is how social and asocial organisms rear their young, producing a diagnostic pattern based on the presence or absence of ontogenetic dietary changes. In order to test for dietary changes through growth, stable carbon and oxygen isotope (δ13C, δ18O) analysis was performed on tooth carbonate from small ( 9 mm crown height) D. antirrhopus specimens from two microsites from the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly (Montana) and Antlers (Oklahoma) formations. Teeth from goniopholidid crocodylians and Tenontosaurus tilletti from the Cloverly Formation were also tested for comparison. The results show that the Cloverly goniopholidids, like their modern counterparts, went through a distinct transition in diet as they grew. The smallest teeth were the relatively most enriched in 13C (mean = −9.32‰; n = 5), the medium-sized teeth were the most-depleted in 13C (mean = −10.56‰; n = 5), and the largest teeth were intermediate (mean = −10.12‰; n = 6). These factors are characteristic of the dietary shifts seen in modern asocial reptiles. D. antirrhopus showed this same pattern in tooth samples collected from both rock units, with small teeth being the more enriched in 13C (mean = −8.99‰; n = 10) and the large teeth being more depleted in 13C (mean = −10.38‰; n = 10). These differences suggest that juvenile and adult D. antirrhopus from both formations likely consumed different prey. Hypothetical food sources, such as T. tilletti, are close to the 13C isotopic signal of adult D. antirrhopus, consistent with the hypothesized trophic relationship (predator-prey) between these two species. Juvenile D. antirrhopus had a diet more enriched in 13C, likely composed of smaller-bodied, but trophically-higher species. Taken together, these data add to the growing evidence that D. antirrhopus was not a complex social hunter by modern mammalian standards.
The Conceptualization and Measurement of the Homosexual, Heterosexual, and Bisexual Populations in the United States

In this chapter we conceptualize and measure sexuality and sexual orientation. We discuss the two main approaches used by social scientists to conceptualize sexual orientation, namely, essentialism and social constructionism. Next we review some of the literature that has endeavored to measure sexual orientation. We specify three different dimensions of sexuality, namely, sexual behavior in one’s lifetime, sexual self-identification, and sexual preference. We then use sexuality data to explore the multiple dimensions of sexuality, in contrast to using only a single dimension, say, only behavior or only self-identification or only desire. We show that an essentialist view works in a fairly consistent manner for heterosexual persons but is not at all consistent for homosexual and bisexual persons. We then develop several percentages of the U.S. adult population who according to various definitions may be classified as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Finally we discuss some of the implications of the findings of our research for demographic analyses of sexuality.
Die Codierung von Kapital: Eine rechtliche Analyse der Ursachen wirtschaftlicher Ungleichheit

Kapital ist kein Ding, sondern ein soziales Verhaltnis. Das hat bereits Karl Marx erkannt. Es ist aber ein soziales Verhaltnis besonderer Art, in dem die Staatsgewalt eine zentrale Rolle spielt. Eigentumsrechte, Kreditsicherungsrechte, Immaterialguterrechte, sowie andere Rechtsinstitute vermitteln privaten Inhaber*innen Rechte, die sie gegenuber Dritten durchsetzen konnen. Die Durchsetzbarkeit erhoht den Wert des Anspruches und ermoglicht es, diesen auch schon im Vorfeld gegen Entgelt auf andere zu ubertragen. Ohne rechtliche Codierung des Kapitals gabe es keine Markte jenseits von solchen Austauschverhaltnissen, bei denen jede*r die Mittelsperson kennt. Der privilegierte Zugang zum Recht schafft Vermogen; ungleicher Zugang zum Recht tragt daher zu Ungleichheit bei.
Bile Acid Diarrhea in Adults and Adolescents.

Background Bile acids are central to enterohepatic signaling pathways activated through natural receptors, farnesoid X receptor [FXR mediates synthesis of fibroblast growth factor-19 (FGF-19)], and G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 (GPBAR1, also known as TGR5). Although bile acid diarrhea (BAD) is more commonly encountered in ileal resection or disease, there is evidence documenting "idiopathic" BAD in about 20% of adolescents and 30% of adults presenting with chronic, non-bloody diarrhea often attributed to irritable bowel syndrome. Mechanism(s) leading to increased hepatic synthesis and colonic bile acid levels in "idiopathic" BAD include reduced synthesis of FGF-19 by the ileal mucosa, or genetic variation in hepatocyte proteins klotho β and FGF receptor 4 (FGFR4) that mediate negative feedback of bile acid synthesis. Purpose The objective of this review is to summarize the diagnosis of BAD in adults and adolescents. In addition to 75 SeHCAT retention for diagnosis of BAD, studies have validated fasting serum 7αC4 and FGF-19, respectively, by-product and inhibitor of hepatic bile acid synthesis, as well as fecal bile acid measurements. These assays are widely available through reference laboratories, and they are being simplified (eg, measurement of primary fecal bile acids in a random stool sample). BAD has also been identified as a co-factor contributing to persistent diarrhea in other diseases in remission including inflammatory bowel disease, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, and neuroendocrine tumors. In summary, advances in diagnosis of BAD provide opportunities for generalists and pediatric and adult gastroenterologists to provide targeted treatment for BAD presenting as chronic non-bloody diarrhea.
Some influences of the physical environment on human cognition.

The value of human work, even when it is primarily physical, arises from unique cognitive capabilities. This article samples a broadly distributed research base regarding influences of the physical environment on human cognition. The presentation draws primarily on studies conducted within the context of dynamic physical domains of work, to address controls and information sources for enabling human intervention, and related reasoning and planning. Several examples illustrate the role of the environment as a source of information and as an influence on the sequencing of work activity. Life support is discussed both as an instance of a dynamic physical system and for its potential to preclude direct engagement with the environment, with predictable cognitive consequences. Language: en
Attitudes Toward Mathematics Integration and Related Professional Development Needs of Outstanding Agricultural Education Instructors

Agricultural education has been present in public schools since their development in America. Minnesota was the first state to offer secondary agricultural education with the first school organized in 1888.Phipps and Osborne (1988)noted that agricultural education has developed deep philosophical roots, placing a great deal of emphasis on pragmatism. “The practical application and successful transfer of knowledge, skills, and attitudes into real-world settings is the goal of instruction” (p. 19).Phipps and Osborne (1988)further acknowledged that “agricultural education has been cited as an innovative program model for education, in order to maintain an innovative program, efforts have been made to reshape agricultural education programs to ensure their continued value, relevance, vitality, and quality” (p. 14).
Capital controls and the real exchange rate: Do controls promote disequilibria?

Abstract The consensus view is that capital controls can effectively lengthen the maturity composition of capital inflows and increase the independence of monetary policy but are not generally effective at reducing net inflows and influencing the real exchange rate. This paper studies the adjustment dynamics of the real exchange rate towards its long-run equilibrium and presents empirical evidence that capital controls increase the persistence of misalignments. Allowing the speed of adjustment to vary according to the intensity of restrictions on capital flows, it is shown that the real exchange rate converges to its long-run level at significantly slower rates in countries with capital controls. This result is stronger when the exchange rate is undervalued and is independent of confounding factors such as the exchange rate regime and other forms of heterogeneity affecting the speed of adjustment. I also find evidence that controls on capital inflows have greater effects than controls on outflows. In addition, while the combination of capital controls with a fixed or managed exchange rate regime significantly increases the persistence of misalignments, controls appear to loose traction under more flexible exchange rate arrangements.
Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment among Transition Economies in Central and Eastern Europe

(2001). Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment among Transition Economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Post-Soviet Geography and Economics: Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 142-152.
SYMMETRY IN THE ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY OF NASCENT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TEAMS

Using a sample of 958 software development teams we test the relationship between the development of symmetry in individual absorptive capacity (ACAP) and team ACAP, as well as the joint effect of both types on team performance. The results show that initial symmetry in individual ACAP, instead of growth over time, plays a key role in enhancing team ACAP. Furthermore, although increased team ACAP enhances product development speed, it also mediates the effect of initial team ACAP on product development. Our results show that the ability of team members to process knowledge is critically important. Guidelines developed from this research could assist in designing teams with symmetrical ACAP, which could be a source of competitive advantage.
Reexamining Rural Decline: How Changing Rural Classifications Affect Perceived Growth

This article illustrates the commonly overlooked sample selection problem inherent in using rural classification methods that change over time due to population changes. Since fast-growing rural areas grow out of their rural status, using recent rural definitions excludes the most successful places from the analysis. Average economic performance of the areas remaining rural significantly understates true rural performance. We illustrate this problem using one rural classification system, rural-urban continuum codes. Choice of code vintage alters conclusions regarding the relative speed of rural and urban growth and can mislead researchers regarding magnitudes and signs of factors believed to influence growth.
Insuring Against Terrorism and Crime

The attacks of September 11th produced staggering losses of life and property. They also brought forth substantial private-insurance payouts, as well as federal relief for the City of New York and for the families of individuals who perished on that day. The losses suffered during and after the attacks, and the structure of the relief effort, have raised questions about the availability of insurance against terrorism, the role of government in providing for, subsidizing, or ensuring the presence of such insurance, as well as the interaction between relief and the incentives for taking precautions against similar losses in the future. In response to such losses, and in anticipation of others, one might imagine an array of government responses ranging from nonintervention, to subsidized private insurance, to after-the-fact government payments of a fixed or uncertain kind. It is our claim that the particular mix of responses the government has chosen with respect to 9/11, including the September 11th Victims' Compensation Fund1 and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002,2 will significantly affect private expectations about the government's likely response to future terrorist attacks. These expectations will in turn affect future private actions, ranging from the types of insurance policies that will be written, to the character of real estate development that will take place (especially in the country's largest cities), and to the level of charitable contributions that will be made following any future terrorist attack. The causal arrow can also point
Sorting and selection with random costs

There is a growing body of work on sorting and selection in models other than the unit-cost comparison model. This work treats a natural stochastic variant of the problem where the cost of comparing two elements is a random variable. Each cost is chosen independently and is known to the algorithm. In particular we consider the following three models: each cost is chosen uniformly in the range [0, 1], each cost is 0 with some probability p and 1 otherwise, or each cost is 1 with probability p and infinite otherwise. We present lower and upper bounds (optimal in most cases) for these problems. We obtain our upper bounds by carefully designing algorithms to ensure that the costs incurred at various stages are independent and using properties of random partial orders when appropriate.
Signature-Based approach for intrusion detection

This research presents a data mining technique for discovering masquerader intrusion. User/system access data are used as a basis for deriving statistically significant event patterns. These patterns could be considered as a user/system access signature. Signature-based approach employs a model discovery technique to derive a reference ground model accounting for the user/system access data. A unique characteristic of this reference ground model is that it captures the statistical characteristics of the access signature, thus providing a basis for reasoning the existence of a security intrusion based on comparing real time access signature with that embedded in the reference ground model. The effectiveness of this approach will be evaluated based on comparative performance using a publicly available data set that contains user masquerade.
Reasoning about action II: the qualification problem

Abstract We present a computationally effective approach to representing and reasoning about actions with many qualifications. The approach involves treating actions as qualified not by specific facts that may or may not hold when the action is executed, but instead as potentially qualified by general constraints describing the domain being investigated. Specifically, we suggest that the result of the action be computed without considering these qualifying domain constraints, and take the action to be qualified if and only if any of the constraints is violated after the computation is complete. Our approach is presented using the framework developed in [6], where we discussed a solution to the frame and ramification problems based on the notion of possible worlds, and compared the computational requirements of that solution to the needs of more conventional ones. In the present paper, we show that the domain constraint approach to qualification, coupled with the possible worlds approach described earlier, has the remarkable property that essentially no computational resources are required to confirm that an action is unqualified. As before, we also make a quantitative comparison between the resources needed by our approach and those required by other formulations.
Overloading and Inheritance

This paper reports on some recent investigations aimed at separating and clarifying a number of concepts that frequently appear in object-based and object-oriented languages. Concepts considered include are over-loading, encapsulation, the message paradigm, and a limited form of inheritance. We also introduce formulations of the concepts of overload-systems and coercion-systems, and we present a treatment of (+, ×)-recursive classes and the definition of primitive recursive functions over such classes.
A Chebyshev minimax technique oriented to aerospace trajectory optimization problems

This paper describes a method based upon the classical calculus of variations for solving directly Chebyshev minimax problems which arise in trajectory optimization. The close relationship between minimax problems and problems with state variable inequality constraints is used to gain insight into the minimax problem, and to define an order for minimax functions. The method is applicable to 1) afl problems in which the first time derivative of the minimax function does not contain control variables explicitly, and 2) all problems with a "flat" maximum (including problems in which the first time derivative of the minimax function contains control variables). The theory is applied to both a simple example and a formulation of the optimal re-entry heating problem whose performance index consists of a minimax term for maximum heating rate, a terminal function for maximum crossrange, and a path integral for minimum total heating. Several shooting and gradient-type numerical algorithms are suggested by the approach.
Contaminants as Tracers for Studying Dynamics of Soil Formation: Mining an Ocean of Opportunities.

Contaminants as Tracers for Studying Dynamics of Soil Formation: Mining an Ocean of Opportunities.
Magnetic Reconnection and Current‐Sheet Formation at X‐Type Neutral Points

Numerical solutions of the nonlinear, resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations are used to study the evolution of a perturbed or stressed x-type neutral point. By performing individual simulations for both compressible and incompressible plasmas, we are able to demonstrate that the important physics for this problem involves just the interaction between the plasma flow velocity and the magnetic field and that the thermodynamics has a relatively passive effect. We have also done separate simulations for both solid, conducting wall boundary conditions at a fixed distance from the x-point and for open boundary conditions that adjust as required by the evolving solution within the boundaries. With solid, conducting wall boundary conditions, our solutions for azimuthally symmetric disturbances agree with those obtained in previous analytic linear studies. In this case the stressed x-point relaxes back to the unstressed state on a time scale somewhat shorter than the time scale for the linear resistive tearing mode. Perturbations that are not azimuthally symmetric can relax even faster than the symmetric modes. When the conditions at the boundary are free to adjust, the disturbances grow in amplitude on an Alfven time scale with the eventual formation of a current sheet separating two y-points. This rapid growingmore » behavior is, of course, in sharp contrast to the relatively slow decaying solutions obtained with closed boundaries. The growing solutions qualitatively agree with previous analytic x-point solutions that have been suggested as an explanation for the rapid energy conversion in flares and substorms.« less
The Moral Basis of Stakeholder Theory

Stakeholder theory is an important and commonly used framework for business ethics. Several of the most popular business ethics and business and society texts such as Archie Carroll's Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management (1993) and Joseph Weiss's Business Ethics: A Managerial, Stakeholder Approach (1994) rely on the concept. In the past two years, over two hundred articles on stakeholder theory have appeared in philosophical and business journals.1 In this paper I will examine the claim that businesses should consider the interests of stake holders, and question whether there is a moral basis for that claim. I will point out three approaches to stakeholder theory: prudence, agency, and deontological views. Of these, deontology has offered the strongest arguments for a normative stakeholder approach. However, on examination it turns out that deontology in this context relies on an embedded notion of corporate personhood. When this is made explicit, it both underwrites duties to some, but not all, stakeholders, and provides a way to distinguish between competing stakeholder claims.
Identifying value mappings for data integration: an unsupervised approach

The Web is a distributed network of information sources where the individual sources are autonomously created and maintained. Consequently, syntactic and semantic heterogeneity of data among sources abound. Most of the current data cleaning solutions assume that the data values referencing the same object bear some textual similarity. However, this assumption is often violated in practice. “Two-door front wheel drive” can be represented as “2DR-FWD” or “R2FD”, or even as “CAR TYPE 3” in different data sources. To address this problem, we propose a novel two-step automated technique that exploits statistical dependency structures among objects which is invariant to the tokens representing the objects. The algorithm achieved a high accuracy in our empirical study, suggesting that it can be a useful addition to the existing information integration techniques.
Causal networks: semantics and expressiveness

Dependency knowledge of the form “x is independent of y once z is known” invariably obeys the four graphoid axioms, examples include probabilistic and database dependencies. Often, such knowledge can be represented efficiently with graphical structures such as undirected graphs and directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). In this paper we show that the graphical criterion called d-separation is a sound rule for reading independencies from any DAG based on a causal input list drawn from a graphoid. The rule may be extended to cover DAGs that represent functional dependencies as well as conditional dependencies.