cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF LEUCONOSTOC CITROVORUM IN SKIMMILK FORTIFIED WITH LIVER CONCENTRATE OR PANCREAS EXTRACT1

Four strains (CAF-B, Da3, 9, and 14) of Leuconostoc citrovorum were grown at 22 and 30 C in sterile skimmilk which contained 0.0, 0.001, 0.01, or 0.1% liver concentrate or 0.0, 0.01, 0.1, or 0.5% pancreas extract. Numbers of leuconostocs were determined with the plate count at intervals during a 30-hr incubation. Smears, prepared concurrently, were stained and examined microscopically to determine numbers of cells in chains of leuconostocs. Highest numbers (approximately 108 or greater per milliliter) of leuconostocs resulted when highest concentrations of liver concentrate or pancreas extract were used. Lower concentrations of both additives were less stimulatory or without effect. Incubation temperature had little or no effect on stimulatory activity by either additive. All strains produced markedly higher ( 0.5 log or greater) populations with liver concentrate but only CAF-B and Da3 responded substantially to pancreas extract. Higher populations of most strains were attained earlier in fortified rathe...
Consumer Perceptions of Sport Sponsor’s Corporate Social Responsibility Activities

The popularity of sports provides sponsors with a unique opportunity to reach large numbers of customers. The aim of this study was to examine and understand consumers’ perception about the sponsor...
Parkinson's disease medication state management using data fusion of wearable sensors

Parkinson disease (PD) cure remains one of the greatest challenges in chronic neurological disorder therapy, motivating efforts to provide actionable information to guide self-managed therapy adjustments. In this paper, we develop a data fusion approach to combine multi-dimensional data from body-worn inertial sensors to automatically identify different medication states of patients with PD. The proposed approach employs several signal processing algorithms including time-frequency analysis and tensor decomposition to extract features that can represent spectral, temporal, and spatial behavior of body motion data. A Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifier is trained and tested using a data set of 12 patients, which resulted in an overall average accuracy of 78%.
Monetarism with Chinese Characteristics

Monetarism is often misunderstood, overlooked, forgotten, or even derided. Yet its basic logic, resting on the quantity theory of money, is evident and remains important in a world of pure fiat monies. Most major central banks have abandoned monetary targeting in favor of setting interest rates to achieve long-run price stability and full employment. China is an exception. Since 1998, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) has used money growth targets to help guide monetary policy aimed at preventing socially disruptive inflation and maintaining growth of nominal income. However, the PBC is subject to oversight by the State Council; the financial system is dominated by state-owned banks; capital markets are highly regulated; and interest rates and exchange rates are distorted. Thus, China’s monetarism is best described as “monetarism with Chinese characteristics.” This article gives an overview of the basic tenets of monetarism, contrasts monetary policy making at the Federal Reserve with that employed by the PBC, examines financial repression in China, and offers some lessons learned from the operation of the monetary transmission mechanism under China’s system of monetary targeting and financial repression. While the M1 money multiplier is robust in China, it has collapsed in the United States since the use of unconventional monetary policy. Both China and the United States would benefit from the adoption of an explicit monetary rule, the depoliticization of credit allocation, and market-determined interest rates.
Team Conflict: The 'Chatty' Accusation at the Customer Support Call Center

This case is used in Darden's core Leading Organizations course and is appropriate for MBA, Executive MBA, GEMBA, and executive education programs. The manager of a baby product company's global customer support center observes friction among her staff about the only non-American on the team, whom the others accuse of increasing their call response rate time—thus effectively lowering their pay. When conflict arises on a multicultural team, to what extent can it be attributed to cultural differences and when should a manager become involved? Excerpt UVA-OB-1046 Rev. Jun. 30, 2014 TEAM CONFLICT: THE “CHATTY” ACCUSATION AT THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT CALL CENTER In a rare moment alone in her office, Jennifer Ames reflected on the past 10 years of her career at BabyProduct Corporation (BPC). She could easily chart her successes: She had taken on challenges and produced results where her colleagues had failed; she had increased the diversity of the work force in every unit she had led; she had successfully launched new products and developed several new markets. In fact, just a few months before, Ames had been part of a team that had led a highly successful launch of several BPC product lines into the Latin American market. That success and the ensuing demand for its products drove BPC to centralize customer support in a call center in Austin, Texas—and to create Ames's new position: senior director for global customer support. Ames had studied other call-center models and created a team of four as a prototype for customer support. She had a goal of scaling up as the business expanded. But as she sat in her office, looking at the latest financials and mentally reviewing the events of a disturbing meeting earlier that morning, she saw the failure of her prototype looming large. The call response times were on an upward trajectory that would quickly plunge her budget into the red if the trend continued. Even worse, only one short month into her new position, Ames was worried that her team was stonewalling her. She was deeply troubled by the interaction she had just observed: there was friction among her staff members that was dividing them along American-versus-non-American lines. . . .
On Uniform Convergence of Diagonal Multipoint Padé Approximants for Entire Functions

We prove that for most entire functions f in the sense of category, a strong form of the Baker–Gammel–Wills conjecture holds. More precisely, there is an infinite sequence $${\mathcal {S}}$$ of positive integers n, such that given any $$r>0$$ , and multipoint Pade approximants $$R_{n}$$ to f with interpolation points in $$\left\{ z:\left| z\right| \le r\right\} $$ , $$\left\{ R_{n}\right\} _{n\in S}$$ converges locally uniformly to f in the plane. The sequence $${\mathcal {S}}$$ does not depend on r, or on the interpolation points. For entire functions with smooth rapidly decreasing coefficients, full diagonal sequences of multipoint Pade approximants converge.
Discrete event simulation of a road intersection integrating V2V and V2I features to improve traffic flow

Traffic congestion leads to waste of time and has tremendous impact on the environment. To reduce traffic congestion, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication have been explored and implemented. This paper focuses on integrating features of gap acceptance behavior proposed in V2V and road segment occupancy & intelligent traffic light phasing of V2I. Three separate simulation models have been presented in this study. A design of experiment generated thirty scenarios to capture the overall traffic flow performance in terms of total time and waiting time in the system, WIP and system efficiency. Results revealed that the proposed V2I simulation model in which routing was based on traffic light availability decreased the waiting time, total time and WIP significantly compared to baseline and smart traffic light vehicle flow model. The routing principle in the latter two models was based on space availability approach.
The role of the pharmacist in hypertension management.

Purpose of review Hypertension remains a vital, modifiable risk factor in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. However, many patients do not achieve their therapeutic goals for numerous reasons which can include poor disease insight and nonadherence. Pharmacists can be key players in controlling hypertension, given their medication knowledge and patient counseling skills, yet they remain an underutilized resource in the management of chronic disease states. Various models exist that allow pharmacists to provide direct patient-centered care but practices differ from state to state since pharmacists are not recognized nationally as healthcare providers. This article aims to provide an update on the proven methods in which pharmacists contribute to the management of hypertensive patients. Recent findings Several recently published studies demonstrate the positive impact of pharmacist intervention and care on patient outcomes in ambulatory and community settings. These practice models include medication therapy management, collaborative drug therapy management, telehealth and team-based care. Summary The role of the pharmacist in hypertension encompasses medication management, disease state education and patient counseling and is most successful when integrated into the patient's care team. Further validation through larger, prospective trials and evaluation of long-term outcomes, such as mortality, remain viable research opportunities.
Microspheres for Drug Delivery

With advances in biotechnology, genomics, and combinatorial chemistry, a wide variety of new, more potent and specific therapeutics are being created. Because of common problems such as low solubility, high potency, and/or poor stability of many of these new drugs, the means of drug delivery can impact efficacy and potential for commercialization as much as the nature of the drug itself. Thus, there is a corresponding need for safer and more effective methods and devices for drug delivery. Indeed, drug delivery systems—designed to provide a therapeutic agent in the needed amount, at the right time, to the proper location in the body, in a manner that optimizes efficacy, increases compliance and minimizes side effects—were responsible for $47 billion in sales in 2002, and the drug delivery market is expected to grow to $67 billion by 2006.
How Is Emmetropization Controlled? Results of Research on Experimental Myopia

The mechanisms by which emmetropia might be reached in growing eyes is discussed. Although emmetropia might result from normal developmental processes causing eyes to be a certain shape, the preponderance of evidence, especially from the accurate compensation for varying degrees of hyperopic and myopic defocus imposed by spectacle lenses, argues that the visual responses of the eye guide it toward emmetropia by means of a feedback mechanism. Little is known about the details of this control of eye growth, or what the error signal might be that indicates whether the eye is myopic or hyperopic, but there are clues that restrict the possibilities. The hypothesis that compensation is accomplished simply by the rate of ocular elongation being determined by the average amount of blurred or sharp vision, making lens compensation a special case of deprivation myopia, is not supported by most evidence available at present.
Measuring Women Empowerment in the Indian Apparel Industry

This study was aimed to develop and measure women empowerment in the Indian apparel industry. The research was designed to develop and measure the women empowerment of Indian women working in the apparel industry. Based on the Alkire-Foster methodology (Alkire & Foster, 2007), the research specifically measured the women empowerment level of women working in the Indian apparel industry and the domains that contribute to the women empowerment distributions. The results showed that the Indian female apparel workers were not empowered. Income and leadership in the community were found to contribute the most towards the empowerment of the Indian women working in the apparel industry.
Kinetic analysis of cellulose synthase of Gluconacetobacter hansenii in whole cells and in purified form.

Abstract The Gram-negative bacterium, Gluconacetobacter hansenii, has been long studied and is a model for cellulose synthesis. It produces cellulose, using the enzyme AcsA-AcsB, of exceptionally high crystallinity in comparison to the cellulose of higher plants. We determined the rate of cellulose synthesis in whole cells measured as moles of glucose incorporated into cellulose per second per mole of enzyme. This was determined by quantifying the rate of cellulose synthesis (over a short time span, such that the enzyme concentration is not changing due to cell growth) and the amount of enzyme in the whole cell by quantitative western blotting. We found that the whole cell rate of 24 s −1 is much faster than the k cat , measured from steady-state kinetic analysis, of 1.7 s −1 . Our whole cell rates are consistent with previous studies using microscopy. We postulate that the rationale for this difference is the presence of an alternative in vivo priming mechanism. This in turn can increase the rate of initiation, which we previously postulated to be the rate-limiting step in catalysis.
Middle East and Southwest Asia Daily Precipitation Characteristics Associated with the Madden–Julian Oscillation during Boreal Winter

AbstractThe spatial and temporal evolution of Middle East and southwest Asia (MESW) precipitation characteristics and the associated atmospheric circulation during times in which tropical eastern I...
Spatio-temporal analysis of meta-data semantics of market shares over large public geosocial media data

ABSTRACTMonitoring market share changes over space and time is an essential and continuous task for commercial companies and their third-party local agents to adjust their sale campaigns and market...
Adversarial Poisoning of Importance Weighting in Domain Adaptation

Domain adaptation techniques such as importance weighting modify the training data to better represent a different test data distribution, a process that may be particularly vulnerable to a malicious attack in an adversarial machine learning scenario. In this work, we explore the level of such vulnerability of importance weighting to poisoning attacks. Importance weighting, like other domain adaptation approaches, assumes that the distributions of training and test data are different but related. An intelligent adversary, having full or partial access to the training data, can take advantage of the expected difference between the distributions, and can inject well crafted malicious samples into the training data, resulting in an incorrect estimation of the importance ratio. In this work, we demonstrate the vulnerability of one of the simplest yet most effective approaches for directly estimating the importance ratio, namely, modifying the training distribution using a discriminative classifier such as the logistic regression. We test the robustness of the importance weighting process using well-controlled synthetic datasets, with an increasing number of attack points in the training data. Under the worst case perfect knowledge scenario, where the attacker has full access to the training data, we demonstrate that importance weighting can be dramatically compromised with the insertion of even a single attack point. We then show that even under limited knowledge scenario, where the attacker has limited access to the training data, the estimation process can still be significantly compromised.
Sustainability of carbon delivery to an algal biorefinery: A techno-economic and life-cycle assessment

Abstract Supplementation of carbon is critical for high productivity cultivation of most microalgae. Moreover, using microalgae for atmospheric CO2 mitigation to combat climate change is promising as waste sources and atmospheric CO2 can be utilized to produce useful products. The challenge is developing technologies, processes, and strategies that utilize carbon efficiently such that the overall system is sustainable. Through engineering system modeling combined with techno-economic and life-cycle assessments, this study examined the implications of various delivery methods of carbon to a production-scale algal biorefinery. Five primary carbon sources were considered: atmospheric CO2; CO2 from direct chemical or power plant waste emissions; CO2 that has been concentrated from waste sources and compressed; inorganic carbon in the form of hydrogen carbonate; and organic carbon in the form of cellulosic sugars derived from corn stover. Each source was evaluated assuming co-location as well as pipeline transportation up to 100 km. Sustainability results indicate that economics are more prohibitive than energy and emissions. Of the scenarios evaluated, only two met both the economic and environmental criteria of contributing less than 0.50 US-$ GGE−1 and 20 g CO2-eq MJ−1 to the overall system, respectively: uncompressed, pure sources of gaseous CO2 with pipeline transportation of 40 km or less; and compressed, supercritical CO2 from pure sources for pipeline transportation up to 100 km. A first order scalability assessment of algal biofuels based on these results shows carbon to be a limiting nutrient in an algal biorefinery with a total US production capability of 360 million gallons of fuel per year.
Information for Submitting to Online Law Review Companions

This document contains information about submitting essays, commentaries, reviews, responses, and other writings to online companions to the main law reviews and journals at selected law schools. The document includes word-count limitations, subject matter specifications, preferred submission methods, whether articles from the online journal are included in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library and other information of possible interest to authors. It covers 60 online companions to main law reviews.
How Does Crossing Roads with Friends Impact Risk Taking in Young Adolescents and Adults

Objective The goal of this investigation was to examine how crossing roads with a friend versus alone affects gap decisions and movement timing in young adolescents and adults. Methods Ninety-six 12-year-olds and adults physically crossed a single lane of continuous traffic in an immersive pedestrian simulator. Participants completed 30 crossings either with a friend or alone. Participants were instructed to cross the road without being hit by a car, but friend pairs were not instructed to cross together. Results Pairs of adolescent friends exhibited riskier road-crossing behavior than pairs of adult friends. For gaps crossed together, adult pairs were more discriminating in their gap choices than adult solo crossers, crossing fewer of the smaller gaps and more of the larger gaps. This pattern did not hold for 12-year-old pairs compared to 12-year-old solo crossers. To compensate for their less discriminating gap choices, pairs of 12-year-olds adjusted their movement timing by entering and crossing the road more quickly. For gaps crossed separately, both adult and 12-year-old first crossers chose smaller gaps than second crossers. Unlike adults, 12-year-old first crossers were significantly less discriminating in their gap choices than 12-year-old second crossers. Conclusions Compared to adults, young adolescents took riskier gaps in traffic when crossing virtual roads with a friend than when crossing alone. Given that young adolescents often cross roads together in everyday life, peer influences may pose a significant risk to road safety in early adolescence.
Disparities in diabetes-related multiple chronic conditions and mortality: The influence of race

Abstract Aims The aims of this study are to confirm disparities in diabetes mortality rates based on race, determine if race predicts combinations of diabetes and multiple chronic conditions (MCC) that are leading causes of death (LCD), and determine if combinations of diabetes plus MCC mediate the relationship between race and mortality. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of 443,932 Medicare beneficiaries in the State of Michigan with type 2 diabetes mellitus and MCC. We applied Cox proportional hazards regression to determine predictors of mortality. We applied multinomial logistic regression to determine predictors of MCC combinations. Results We found that race influences mortality in Medicare beneficiaries with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and MCC. Prior to adjusting for MCC combinations, we observed that Blacks and American Indian/Alaska Natives have increased risk of mortality compared to Whites, while there is no difference in mortality between Hispanics and Whites. Regarding MCC combinations, Black/African American beneficiaries experience increased odds for most MCC combinations while Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanics experience lower odds for MCC combinations, compared to Whites. When adjusting for MCC, mortality disparities observed between Whites, Black/African Americans, and American Indians/Alaska Natives persist. Conclusions Compared to Whites, Black/African Americans in our cohort had increased odds of most MCC combinations, and an increased risk of mortality that persisted even after adjusting for MCC combinations.
#Ringingthealarm: Chronic “Pilotitis” Stunts Digital Health in Nepal

Nepal Health Sector Strategy (NHSS) 2015–2020 aspires to leverage digital health to improve health outcomes for Nepalese citizens. At present, there is a paucity in evidence on digital health projects that have been implemented in Nepal. This study aims to map past and extant digital health projects using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping design framework and assess projects using the World Health Organization (WHO) building blocks of a health systems framework. Our findings shed light on the current actors in the digital health space, the spectrum of health services offered, along with opportunities and challenges to move beyond “pilotitis”. In total, 20 digital health solutions were identified through our review that were implemented between 1993 to 2017. The momentum for digital health projects in Nepal is sporadic but continuous. Overall, digital health solutions in Nepal are limited in scope, focus areas, target audiences and sustainability potential. At the national level, implementation of digital health projects is frayed, issue and organization-centric, and primarily driven by donor or non-governmental organizations. Engaging the private sector, especially telecommunications companies, is an underutilized strategy to move beyond “pilotitis”. Existing pioneers in the space must engage in strategic collaborative partnerships with the private sector or incentivize independent commercial health technology ventures.
Phosphonated Poly(ethylene terephthalate) ionomers as compatibilizers in extruded Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Poly(m-xylylene adipamide) blends and oriented films

Abstract Blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(m-xylylene adipamide) (MXD6) were successfully compatibilized by using a phosphonated PET ionomer in the Na+ form (Na+-PPET) as a compatibilizer. The compatibilized 90:10 (by weight) polyester/polyamide blends containing various amounts of the phosphonated polyester were prepared by melt mixing in a twin-screw extruder. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the extruded blends contained spherical MXD6 domains dispersed in the PET matrix. The phase-separated MXD6 domain size decreased with increasing ionic monomer concentration, and the efficient compatibilization was attributed to specific interactions between the ionic phosphonate groups on the Na+-PPET ionomer and the amide linkages of MXD6. Thermal analysis suggested that the small MXD6 domains nucleated the crystallization of PET upon cooling as indicated by a shift of crystallization temperature of PET to higher temperatures. Furthermore, the specific interactions appeared to inhibit crystallization of MXD6. Biaxial orientation of melt processed films of the blends with a draw ratio of 3 × 3 transformed the spherical MXD6 domains into high aspect ratio platelets that were oriented in the plane of the film. Compared to the uncompatibilized base blends, optical property characterization on the oriented films revealed a decreased haziness by 56% and an improved transparency by 35% with 0.22 mol% of phosphonated ionic monomers incorporated in the polyester component. Moreover, a 33% decrease in oxygen permeability was found for the oriented Na+-PPET/PET/MXD6 blend composition containing 0.11 mol% of phosphonated monomers.
Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis of Axial Spondyloarthritis.

Background Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic, rheumatic disease characterized by inflammation of the sacroiliac joint, spine, and entheses. Axial spondyloarthritis affects up to 1.4% of adults in the United States and is associated with decreased quality of life, increased mortality, and substantial health care-related costs, imposing a high burden on patients, their caregivers, and society. Summary of work Diagnosing axSpA can be difficult. In this review, we seek to help rheumatologists in recognizing and diagnosing axSpA. Major conclusions A discussion of challenges associated with diagnosis is presented, including use and interpretation of imaging, reasons for diagnostic delays, differences in disease presentation by sex, and differential diagnoses of axSpA. Future research directions The early diagnosis of axSpA and advances in available therapeutic options have improved patient care and disease management, but delays in diagnosis and treatment remain common. Additional research and education are critical for recognizing diverse axSpA presentations and optimizing management early in the course of disease.
Another Side of Invisibility: Present and Responsible Black Fathers

Some Black men are engaged with their families as spouse and father. They are often overlooked, invisible to the public, and ignored in our theory, research, and practice (Connor & White, 2006). In this chapter, I will discuss how this circumstance of public invisibility involves particular challenges for Black men and delineates the struggle faced by these Black fathers who are the exception rather than the rule. I will also present some of the implications for working with these present fathers in counseling and therapeutic settings. Fundamental to working with present Black fathers is an understanding that many subscribe to conventional notions of both masculinity and fatherhood, while male roles in the contemporary men’s movement make new transitions away from old models. The adherence to traditional male gender roles creates a unique role strain, one mixed with race, gender, and psychohistorical contexts central to understanding the world of Black men and the position of present Black fathers in it.
BPAL: A tool for managing semantically enriched conceptual process models

In this paper we will provide an overview of the Business Process Abstract Language (BPAL) Platform, which implements a Business Process (BP) modelling and reasoning environment where the procedural knowledge of a BP can be enriched through ontology-based annotations. The BPAL Platform provides a graphical user interface to ease the definition of a Business Process Knowledge Base that collects the various facets of process knowledge. It also provides a reasoner implementing services for the enactment, verification, retrieval, and composition of processes in the knowledge base. After discussing the functionalities and the architecture of the tool, we report on an experimental evaluation of the whole system, whose results are encouraging and show the viability of the approach.
Finite element approximation and preconditioners for a coupled thermal-acoustic model

We consider a time-harmonic mathematical model for a coupled thermal-acoustic model. We demonstrate coercivity of the PDE system and hence well-posedness and optimal error estimates for standard Galerkin methods. The large scale and ill-conditioning of the discrete system motivates the study of preconditioners. Three block preconditioners are studied. The first two, applying block Jacobi and block Gauss-Seidel approaches to our problem, give provably mesh-independent spectral bounds. The third preconditioner, based on problem-specific physical reasoning, does not have this property. However, on moderate-sized meshes, it considerably outperforms the existing mesh techniques. Numerical experiments in two and three dimensions confirm the theoretical results.
The Effects of Practice Modality on Pragmatic Development in L2 Chinese

This study investigated the effects of input-based and output-based practice on the development of accuracy and speed in recognizing and producing request-making forms in L2 Chinese. Fifty American learners of Chinese with intermediate level proficiency were randomly assigned to an input-based training group, an output-based training group, or a control group. The input and output groups practiced the target forms over four consecutive days. The control group did not practice the forms. The effects of practice were measured by a Listening Judgment Test (LJT) and an Oral Discourse Completion Test (ODCT). The results showed that the effects of input-based and output-based practice were shared across task modalities on measures of performance accuracy (i.e., accuracy in the LJT and ODCT) but not on measures of performance speed (i.e., LJT response times, ODCT planning times, and speech rates). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Preference assessments in the zoo: Keeper and staff predictions of enrichment preferences across species

Environmental enrichment is widely used in the management of zoo animals, and is an essential strategy for increasing the behavioral welfare of these populations. It may be difficult, however, to identify potentially effective enrichment strategies that are also cost-effective and readily available. An animal's preference for a potential enrichment item may be a reliable predictor of whether that individual will reliably interact with that item, and subsequently enable staff to evaluate the effects of that enrichment strategy. The aim of the present study was to assess the utility of preference assessments for identifying potential enrichment items across six different species--each representing a different taxonomic group. In addition, we evaluated the agreement between zoo personnel's predictions of animals' enrichment preferences and stimuli selected via a preference assessment. Five out of six species (nine out of 11 individuals) exhibited clear, systematic preferences for specific stimuli. Similarities in enrichment preferences were observed among all individuals of primates, whereas individuals within ungulate and avian species displayed individual differences in enrichment preferences. Overall, zoo personnel, regardless of experience level, were significantly more accurate at predicting least-preferred stimuli than most-preferred stimuli across species, and tended to make the same predictions for all individuals within a species. Preference assessments may therefore be a useful, efficient husbandry strategy for identifying viable enrichment items at both the individual and species levels.
Teacher Shortages in Urban Schools The Role of Traditional and Alternative Certification Routes in Filling the Voids

Quality teachers have an impact on improving student learning and performance, but teacher shortages remain a significant problem for urban schools. This article examines the impact of traditional approaches in teacher recruitment through university-based certification programs as well as alternative certification routes. Each approach may have particular merit, but each also faces particular obstacles, such as overcoming preconceptions held by preservice teachers or demonstrating consistent quality in its trainees. These approaches are primarily concerned with aspects of recruitment and largely ignore the way systematically poor retention measures also contribute to staffing needs. The article argues that traditional and alternative certification efforts are by themselves limited in their potential to address the problem of teacher shortages in urban schools and that an organizational view of schools that looks beyond individual teachers as the lone indicators of instructional performance and educational...
A component of the human electroretinogram associated with red color vision.

A recently discovered component of the human electroretinogram (the electrical response wave resulting from stimulation by light) is recorded with an electrode mounted in a contact lens. Although previous investigators have thought it to be a photopic response, this component of the ERG is found to have a spectral sensitivity function that is maximal at approximately 630 mμ and is not similar to either a photopic or a scotopic luminosity function. This component is absent in the eyes of protanopes (red color blind) but present in eyes characterized by other forms of color deficiency. It increases rapidly with dark adaptation and is greatest after approximately one minute in darkness. It is accompanied by several new and previously unreported waves which also make their appearance during the early stages of dark adaptation. This research provides direct physiological evidence for a peripheral locus of color blindness and for a specific red color mechanism.
Lattice constants and force constants for iron, nickel, and copper from orbital energies added to pairwise atomic repulsions in cluster models

Abstract A theory combining electrostatic forces and one-electron molecular orbital energies is used to determine the bulk lattice and nearest neighbor stretching force constants for α-Fe using 9- and 15-atom models. While 13-atom clusters do not produce bulk bond lenghts for bcc, Ni and Cu, 9-atom bcc clusters produce close estimates.
Agnotology as a Teaching Tool: Learning Climate Science by Studying Misinformation

Abstract Despite the existence of a clear scientific consensus about global warming, opinion surveys find confusion among the American public, regarding both scientific issues and the strength of the scientific consensus. Evidence increasingly points to misinformation as a contributing factor. This situation is both a challenge and an opportunity for science educators, including geographers. The direct study of misin- formation—termed agnotology (Proctor 2008)—can potentially sharpen student critical thinking skills, raise awareness of the processes of science such as peer review, and improve understanding of the basic science. This potential is illustrated with examples from a small, upper-division collegiate weather and climate class.
Towards a polynomial-time randomized algorithm for closed product-form networks

We present a Markov chain Monte Carlo method for class throughputs in closed multiclass product-form networks. The method is as follows. For a given network, we construct a “regularized” network with a highly simplified structure that has the same steady-state distribution. We then simulate the regularized network. The method has performed reasonably well across a broad range of problems. We give a heuristic explanation of this and prove that the regularized network “mixes in polynomial time” in some special cases.
Ring-Field IR Sensor For Space Surveillance

A novel scanning sensor concept has been designed and evaluated for missile surveillance from an orbiting satellite. This concept, called a ring-field sensor, is capable of providing fast frame rates, excellent spatial resolution, and high radiometric sensitivity with relatively small optics. The scan implementation utilizes a continuously nutating, optically flat mirror in object space which exhibits very low momentum exchange with the spacecraft. Ring-field scanning combines most of the advantages of a spinning line array and a linear scanning line array for broad band systems without their major disadvantages. Furthermore, it is uniquely suited to predetection filtering over a wide field of view for background suppression. Incorporation of a Fabry-Perot etalon in the optics, for example, will result in improvement in signal to background noise but, more importantly, will provide suppression of the structured background by a factor of two or more. This performance improvement does not require a large number of detectors. The ring-field sensor concept is described, and the results of signal to noise enhancement estimates using the Fabry-Perot etalon are presented. Target and background spectra are included to indicate the basis for the estimates of sensor performance.© (1976) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Information, sharing and support in pregnancy: addressing needs for mHealth design

Early pregnancy education and social support is crucial for women, in order to enable them to achieve a healthy pregnancy weight. Opportunities exist for mobile health support applications (mHealth) to aid in pregnancy health management. We present preliminary results of our study of lower-income pregnant American women, in order to understand the design need and challenges for potential mHealth interventions for pregnancy. We find that existing apps ignore the crucial role of the spouse, overstate the need for social sharing with strangers and fail to provide targeted and individualized information about early pregnancy.
Impatience, Incentives and Obesity

This paper explores the relationship between time preferences, economic incentives, and body mass index (BMI). Using data from the 2006 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we …rst show that greater impatience increases BMI and the likelihood of obesity even after controlling for demographic, human capital, occupational, and …nancial characteristics as well as risk preference. Next, we provide evidence of an interaction
Electrostatic fields on PC spreadsheets

Abstract Electrostatic field solutions involve a large amount of tedious calculation, especially when using coordinate systems more complicated than the standard rectangular, circular, and spherical systems. Many of these calculations can be carried out on a computer, using traditional programming languages such as FORTRAN and BASIC, but this involves writing a program which must be tested and debugged before the results are available. The geometrical nature of the solutions usually requires plotting, and this is normally done as a separate step, whether working on mainframe or personal computers. Spreadsheet packages such as VISICALC, LOTUS 123, or EXEL offer a much faster and simpler alternative to these calculations, since they can accept formulae directly, without programming, and can perform the calculations as soon as the formula is entered. Most versions of these programs also have built-in graphing capabilities, allowing the plots to be seen in a few seconds. In addition, the two-dimensional nature of the spreadsheet allows numerical finite difference methods to be implemented with very little work, and a typical solution of Laplace's equations can be solved in less than 5 min from initial setup to plots of the potential. At each step of the iteration, the recalculated potential is displayed on screen, allowing the operator to get a feel for the convergence of the procedure. Examples of these techniques are used here to illustrate the use of spreadsheets in solution of Laplace's equation and to point out the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to field solutions.
Molecular analysis of a developmentally regulated gene required for Dictyostelium aggregation.

We have previously shown that the developmentally regulated gene D2 is induced during aggregation by pulses of cAMP, which act via the cell surface receptor and consequent signal transduction pathways (W. Rowekamp and R. A. Firte1,1980, Dev. Biol. 79,409–418; S. K. O. Mann and R. A. Firtel,1987, Mol Cell Biol. 7,458–469; S. K. O. Mann, C. Pinko, and R. A. Firtel,1988, Dev. Biol., in press). In this manuscript, we compare the complete derived amino acid sequence for D2 to two cloned and sequenced eukaryotic esterases and examine the requirement of the D2 gene product for development. Amino acid sequence data comparisons suggest that D2 encodes a serine esterase with strong sequence identity to Torpedo acetylcholine esterase and a Drosophila esterase. The protein has a putative leader sequence, suggesting that it is shunted into vesicles. Using an antisense gene construct driven by a Discoidin I promoter, whose transcriptional activity depends on the growth conditions of the cells, we show that inhibition of D2 mRNA accumulation results in an abnormal developmental program that includes the absence of normal streaming and incomplete aggregate formation and subsequent development. We suggest that D2 encodes an esterase function required for proper aggregation and subsequent development.
Groundwater and ecosystems damages: Questioning the Gisser–Sánchez effect

Abstract Gisser and Sanchez (1980a) state the conditions under which welfare gains from policy intervention are negligible in aquifer management, when compared with non-regulation or “free market” outcomes. This is the so-called Gisser–Sanchez effect (GSE), which has been supported by the ensuing literature during recent decades. The GSE requires a number of assumptions, among which is the disregard for aquatic ecosystems linked and dependent on aquifer systems. The depletion of aquifer systems in arid and semiarid regions worldwide is causing acute water scarcity and quality degradation, and leading to extensive ecosystem damages. This study shows that by including environmental damages into the analytical model, results can change substantially. The analysis highlights both theoretically and empirically the importance of policies in groundwater management, as well as the potential role for stakeholders' cooperation. The empirical application deals with two large aquifers in Spain, the Western La Mancha aquifer which is grossly mismanaged, and the Eastern La Mancha aquifer, which is moving towards sustainable management. Western and Eastern La Mancha aquifers illustrate that policies and institutions are essential to avoid the current global aquifer mismanagement.
Kinetic control in protein folding for light chain amyloidosis and the differential effects of somatic mutations

Abstract Light chain amyloidosis is a devastating disease where immunoglobulin light chains form amyloid fibrils, resulting in organ dysfunction and death. Previous studies have shown a direct correlation between the protein thermodynamic stability and the propensity for amyloid formation for some proteins involved in light chain amyloidosis. Here we investigate the effect of somatic mutations on protein stability and in vitro fibril formation of single and double restorative mutants of the protein AL-103 compared to the wild-type germline control protein. A scan rate dependence and hysteresis in the thermal unfolding and refolding was observed for all proteins. This indicates that the unfolding/refolding reaction is kinetically determined with different kinetic constants for unfolding and refolding even though the process remains experimentally reversible. Our structural analysis of AL-103 and AL-103 delP95aIns suggests a kinetic coupling of the unfolding/refolding process with cis–trans prolyl isomerization. Our data reveal that the deletion of proline 95a (AL-103 delP95aIns), which removes the trans–cis di-proline motif present in the patient protein AL-103, results in a dramatic increment in the thermodynamic stability and a significant delay in fibril formation kinetics with respect to AL-103. Fibril formation is pH dependent; all proteins form fibrils at pH 2; reactions become slower and more stochastic as the pH increases up to pH 7. Based on these results, we propose that, in addition to thermodynamic stability, kinetic stability (possibly influenced by the presence of cis proline 95a) plays a major role in the AL-103 amyloid fibril formation process.
A predictive model of shell morphology in CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots

Lattice mismatch in core/shell nanoparticles occurs when the core and shell materials have different lattice parameters. When there is a significant lattice mismatch, a coherent core-shell interface results in substantial lattice strain energy, which can affect the shell morphology. The shell can be of uniform thickness or can be rough, having thin and thick regions. A smooth shell minimizes the surface energy at the expense of increased lattice strain energy and a rough shell does the opposite. A quantitative treatment of the lattice strain energy in determining the shell morphology of CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoparticles is presented here. We use the inhomogeneity in hole tunneling rates through the shell to adsorbed hole acceptors to quantify the extent of shell thickness inhomogeneity. The results can be understood in terms of a model based on elastic continuum calculations, which indicate that the lattice strain energy depends on both core size and shell thickness. The model assumes thermodynamic equilibrium, i.e., that the shell morphology corresponds to a minimum total (lattice strain plus surface) energy. Comparison with the experimental results indicates that CdSe/CdS nanoparticles undergo an abrupt transition from smooth to rough shells when the total lattice strain energy exceeds about 27 eV or the strain energy density exceeds 0.59 eV/nm2. We also find that the predictions of this model are not followed for CdSe/CdS nanoparticles when the shell is deposited at very low temperature and therefore equilibrium is not established.
Use of Beauty Products among U.S. Adolescents: An Exploration of Media Influence

Abstract The goal of this study is to 1) identify the types of beauty product used and to compare the frequency with which adolescent boys and girls use them; and 2) determine types of beauty product use are significant in relation to the degree of media influence among them in the United States. While cosmetic use is among the most common ways to enhance the appearance of adolescent girls, teenage boys in the United States have emerged as a sector of consumers in the health and beauty industry as well, which is reflected by their concern with personal hygiene and appearance as well as by increased sales (Shah, 2004). Consumer socialization research of adolescents has identified the media as a major source of influence (Brittain, 1963; Churchill and Moschis, 1979; Mascarenhas and Higby, 1993; Moore and Moschis, 1981; Robertson, 1979). Adolescents’ use of beauty products can be influenced by how much these young people are exposed to media sources, due to the media’s significant and pervasive influence on ...
Ultrastructural morphometry of matrical changes induced by exercise and food restriction in the rat calcaneal tendon.

Abstract The ultrastructural morphometry of collagen fibril populations in 24 calcaneal tendons obtained from 12 Fischer 344 rats were studied to elucidate matrical changes induced by food restriction and/or endurance exercise. Rats were randomly assigned to four equal groups: ad libitum control (AC), ad libitum exercise (AE), restricted diet control (RC) and restricted diet exercise (RE) groups. Beginning from 6 weeks of age, animals in the two food restriction groups were fed 60% of the mean food consumption of ad libitum fed rats. Then, starting from 6–7 months of age, the rats in the two exercise groups performed 40–50 min of treadmill running at 1.2–1.6 miles h −1 every day for a total of 10 weeks. Endurance training did not significantly alter body weight, but food restriction with or without exercise resulted in a significant loss of body weight. In ad libitum fed controls, food restriction alone did not significantly alter the mean collagen fibril CSA, but predisposed a preponderance of small-sized collagen fibrils. Endurance training per se induced a significant (32%) increase in mean fibril CSA (P