cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alterations in calretinin immunostaining in the ferret superior olivary complex after cochlear ablation.

In this study, we used image analysis to assess changes in calretinin immunoreactivity in the lateral (LSO) and medial (MSO) superior olivary nuclei in ferrets 2 months after unilateral cochlear ablations at 30–40 days of age, soon after hearing onset. These two nuclei are the first significant sites of binaural convergence in the ascending auditory system, and both receive direct projections from the deafferented cochlear nucleus. Cochlear ablation results in a decrease in the overall level of calretinin immunostaining within the LSO ipsilaterally compared with the contralateral side and with control animals and within the MSO bilaterally compared with control ferrets. In addition, the level of calretinin immunostaining ipsilaterally within neurons in the LSO was significantly less in cochlear ablated than control animals. In contrast, there was no effect of cochlear ablation on the level of calretinin immunostaining within neurons either in the contralateral LSO or in the MSO. These results are consistent with a downregulation in calretinin within the neuropil of MSO bilaterally and LSO ipsilaterally, as well as a downregulation in calretinin within somata in the ipsilateral LSO as a result of unilateral cochlear ablation soon after hearing onset. Thus, cochlear-driven activity appears to affect calcium binding protein levels in both neuropil and neurons within the superior olivary complex. J. Comp. Neurol. 470:63–79, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
a structural analysis of proverbs in a Sicilian village

The work in this area, both theoretical and substantive, has focused on mythology, with other forms of oral literature receiving less systematic attention. While the analysis presented in this paper draws on theoretical and methodological approaches generated by the study of myth, it explores another genre-proverbs-and examines its cultural significance within the Sicilian village of Garre.' The study illustrates how ethnographically relevant cognitive and evaluative themes can be encoded in proverb form. In addition, and perhaps more importantly from a methodological perspective, it demonstrates one way in which Claude Levi-Strauss's structural model of myth analysis can be modified and utilized to uncover the dominant cultural constructs shared by the members of a social group. Before I begin the analysis, some mention should be made about the usefulness of studying oral literature in a community that forms part of a literate nation-state. To start with, such an approach can be justified by noting that, despite economic and political linkages with national centers, the values, beliefs, and concerns of rural South Italians have rarely been given recognition in the dominant written works of the wider Italian society.2 But even more significant is the fact that oral literature performs qualitatively different functions in society from those performed by its written counterparts (Bauman 1975). For example, written works are usually the creation of one individual whose viewpoint is expressed in a relatively unalterable form. On the other hand, as collective creations myths, folktales, proverbs, riddles, and jokes provide a medium through which group members can participate in the articulation, interpretation, and even modification of their shared perceptions (Dundes 1968). Perhaps that is why, even in complex societies in which access to written literary genres is widespread, oral literature continues to be found among people who are in face-to-face contact (Agar 1971; Dundes 1969). In sum, because of its universal role in communicating and reflecting cultural meaning within the context of social interaction, oral literature remains a valid object of anthropological inquiry in literate and nonliterate societies alike.
Compression of Municipal Solid Waste in Bioreactor Landfills: Mechanical Creep and Biocompression

AbstractAn evaluation is presented on the effects of scale, stress, waste segregation, and waste decomposition on mechanical creep and biocompression of municipal solid waste. Laboratory experiments were conducted in 64-, 100-, and 305-mm-diameter compression cells. A field-scale experiment (Deer Track Bioreactor Experiment) was conducted on fresh waste of the same composition and material properties. The mechanical creep compression ratio (CαM′) and biocompression ratio (CαB′) were not affected by scale (i.e., specimen size). The mechanical creep ratio for fresh and degraded wastes and CαB′ for fresh wastes were not affected by stress (i.e., similar CαM′ and CαB′ were obtained for a given waste at two creep stresses). Variation in CαM′ can be related to the waste compressibility index, which is a function of waste composition, dry unit weight, and dry weight water content, or to the ratio of cellulose plus hemicellulose to lignin ([C+H]/L). Larger CαM′ is coincident with larger waste compressibility inde...
What You Do in High School Matters: High School GPA, Educational Attainment, and Labor Market Earnings as a Young Adult

Using abstracted grades and other data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, we investigate the relationships between cumulative high school grade point average (GPA), educational attainment, and labor market earnings among a sample of young adults (ages 24–34). We estimate several models with an extensive list of control variables and high school fixed effects. Results consistently show that high school GPA is a positive and statistically significant predictor of educational attainment and earnings in adulthood. Moreover, the coefficient estimates are large and economically important for each gender. Interesting and somewhat unexpected findings emerge for race in that, after controlling for innate ability, academic performance, and other economic and demographic variables, African Americans advance further in the formal educational system than their White counterparts. Various sensitivity tests support the stability of the core findings.
Mismatch repair and drug responses in cancer

Abstract Defects in mismatch repair contribute to development of approximately 15% of colon cancers and to origination of endometrial, gastric and other cancers. Tumors with defects in mismatch repair exhibit marked resistance to alkylators and a variety of anticancer agents that modify DNA to create substrates for the mismatch repair system. These altered drug responses appear to derive from requirements for mismatch repair proteins in signalling apoptosis, altered cell cycle checkpoint behaviour and/or loss of mismatch repair dependent toxicity arising from futile repair cycling. Altered repair mechanisms for mismatched substrates in mismatch repair defective tumors provide both challenges for development of tumor-phenotype-screening methodologies to assure appropriate therapy is administered for these cancers and foci for development of new therapy approaches that capitalize on modified drug responses in mismatch repair- defective cells.
Scattering of gravity waves by potential vorticity in a shallow-water fluid

The influence of a geostrophically balanced or potential vorticity (PV) containing background flow on the propagation of a coherent gravity wave is examined in a rotating shallow-water model. Over inertial time scales, we find that the gravity wave energy is scattered into other modes of similar wavelength, but with different directions of propagation. We attribute this response to nonlinear resonant interactions between the PV and gravity wave modes, despite the absence of any exchange of energy between the two, and show that the response is consistent with resonant triad theory. We first consider the scattering of a gravity wave mode due to a single PV mode, and compare the theoretical response to numerical solutions. This is followed by consideration of the propagation of a coherent gravity mode through a turbulent PV background. These results are expected to have relevance to the propagation of coherent internal tides in the open ocean.
factors influencing decline in soil pH in Hawaiian Eucalyptus and Albizia plantations

Abstract Soil pH declined from 5.9 to 5.0 in 8 years beneath plantations of Eucalyptus saligna (Sm.) in Hawaii. In stands of Albizia falcataria, (L.) Fosberg, the soil pH change was more dramatic, declining from 5.9 to 4.6. We measured several components of soil acidity beneath four mixtures of the two tree species to gain insight on the processes responsible for the decline in soil pH. These components were studied using an empirical method of comparing acid quantity, degree of neutralization (depletion of base cations), and acid strength. The decline in soil pH differed between species as a result of differences in the degree of neutralization of the soil exchange complex; the larger decrease in soil pH under Albizia was produced by greater acidification of the exchange complex. Empirical titration curves suggested that differences in acid strength moderated the divergence in soil pH beneath the species. Had the acids accumulating in the soil under Albizia been as strong as those in the Eucalyptus soil, the difference in soil pH would have been greater. Though the two species had contrasting effects on soil pH, the differences in degree of neutralization, responsible for the pH decline, were small compared with differences in the amount of cations stored in tree biomass. Continued supply of nutrient cations (from weathering or fertilization) will ultimately control both the extent of soil pH decline and the level of productivity sustained by the forest.
Empirical Determinants of US Equity Flows to Developed Countries: Does Valuation Matter?

This paper explores a new panel data set on US gross cross-border equity flows to 20 industrialized nations combined with measures of market valuation for the period of 1977-2005. Empirical evidence of imperfect integration across world equity markets indicates that valuation matters. Consistent with relative value trading as a determinant of equity flow patterns, we find that quity flows decrease sharply with host-country market valuations. This paper also finds that equity flows increase sharply with US equity market valuations. The findings of this research suggest that American investors are informed about both domestic markets and foreign markets. Peripheral findings of this research confirm the findings of other researches, but this research is based on a longer sample period. Consistent with existing literature, there is a negative influence of interest rates spreads, and information asymmetries on cross-border trades in equities.
New developments in the biochemical assessment of myocardial injury in children: troponins T and I as highly sensitive and specific markers of myocardial injury

Abstract In this review, we discuss the potential impact of the newly developed and recently clinically available cardiac-specific markers, troponin T, cTnT and troponin I, cTnI, for the pediatric practitioner. Biochemical markers have not been used routinely in this patient population and relatively few studies have been performed to determine the indications for their use or the manner of their interpretation, yet subclinical myocardial damage in children is of considerable clinical significance due to their long life expectancy and future somatic growth. We will begin with a short overview of the history of biochemical markers and then briefly describe the properties and physiologic role of these particular muscle proteins. Salient developments in the use of these markers in adults will be highlighted, including: acute myocardial infarction (AMI), unstable angina pectoris (UA), post-surgical or post-trauma AMI assessment, myocarditis, pre-cardiac transplant screening of organs for suitability. We will relate these to similar pediatric contexts where they exist. Where appropriate, we will discuss situations that are unique to pediatric care, such as neonatal stress monitoring and doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury. Finally, some confounding problems that have arisen are considered and we discuss the manner in which these issues are either being or have been resolved.
Phosphatidate phosphohydrolase in purified rat brain myelin

Highly purified myelin from rat brain stem has been shown to contain phosphatidate phosphohydrolase, an enzyme which converts phosphatidate to diacylglycerol. The high levels relative to cytosol and microsomes (17% and 22%, respectively) tended to preclude contamination by these fractions as the source of activity. Additional evidence came from study of repeated purification, mixing experiments, and washing of the myelin with salt and detergent. We conclude that this enzyme, in addition to being widely distributed in other subcellular fractions, is intrinsic to the myelin membrane. Through its activity it generates a key substrate for the cytidine (Kennedy) pathway which was previously shown to occur in this membrane.
Political Entrepreneurship, Institutional Change, and American Political Development

Institutions are instruments of stability. Twenty years of research in the “new institutionalism” has produced voluminous studies into how structures constitute or constrain the behavior of actors in political, social, and economic contexts. Agenda controls order and limit the alternatives actors choose from, logics of appropriateness dictate appropriate “scripts” agents follow in structural contexts, learning effects and high initial fixed costs reinforce past choices in ways that restrict future alternatives.Kenneth A. Shepsle, “Institutional Arrangements and Equilibrium in Multidimensional Voting Models,” American Journal of Political Science 23 (1979): 27–59; Paul J. DiMaggio and Walter W. Powell, “Introduction” in The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis, ed. Walter W. Powell and Paul J. DiMaggio (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991); Paul Pierson, “Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics,” American Political Science Review 94 (2000): 251–67. In other words, institutions produce stability through “regulative, normative, or cognitive mechanisms” that limit, constitute, or constrain the range of alternatives actors confront.Elisabeth S. Clemens and James M. Cook, “Politics and Institutionalism: Explaining Durability and Change,” Annual Review of Sociology 25 (1999): 441–66.
ENERGETICS OF SWIMMING BY THE PLATYPUS ORNITHORHYNCHUS ANATINUS: METABOLIC EFFORT ASSOCIATED WITH ROWING

The metabolism of swimming in the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus Shaw was studied by measurement of oxygen consumption in a recirculating water flume. Platypuses swam against a constant water current of 0.45‐1.0 m s -1 . Animals used a rowing stroke and alternated bouts of surface and submerged swimming. Metabolic rate remained constant over the range of swimming speeds tested. The cost of transport decreased with increasing velocity to a minimum of 0.51 at 1.0 m s -1 . Metabolic rate and cost of transport for the platypus were lower than values for semiaquatic mammals that swim at the water surface using a paddling mode. However, relative to transport costs for fish, the platypus utilized energy at a similar level to highly derived aquatic mammals that use submerged swimming modes. The efficient aquatic locomotion of the platypus results from its specialised rowing mode in conjunction with enlarged and flexible forefeet for high thrust generation and a behavioral strategy that reduces drag and energy cost by submerged swimming. Summary
Crack-tip force method for computing energy release rate in delaminated plates

A new method called the crack-tip force method (CTFM) is derived for computing the energy release rate in delaminated beams and plates. In this method the delaminated plate is divided into two laminates on either side of the plane of delamination. The interaction forces, called crack-tip forces, between the sub-laminates at the crack-tip are computed. The energy release rate is expressed as a quadratic function of the crack-tip forces and the plate compliance coefficients. The CTFM is compared to the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) as well as to a previously derived method called the strain energy density method using double cantilevered beam specimens as examples. The CTFM is found to be very efficient as the crack-tip forces are part of the solution of finite element analysis of delaminated plates, and they can be readily used to compute the point-wise energy release rate along the delamination front.
Auditory cortical activity to different voice onset times in cochlear implant users

Abstract Objective Voice onset time (VOT) is a critical temporal cue for perception of speech in cochlear implant (CI) users. We assessed the cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) to consonant vowels (CVs) with varying VOTs and related these potentials to various speech perception measures. Methods CAEPs were recorded from 64 scalp electrodes during passive listening in CI and normal-hearing (NH) groups. Speech stimuli were synthesized CVs from a 6-step VOT /ba/-/pa/ continuum ranging from 0 to 50 ms VOT in 10-ms steps. Behavioral measures included the 50% boundary point for categorical perception (“ba” to “pa”) from an active condition task. Results Behavioral measures: CI users with poor speech perception performance had prolonged 50% VOT boundary points compared to NH subjects. The 50% boundary point was also significantly correlated to the ability to discriminate consonants in quiet and noise masking. Electrophysiology: The most striking difference between the NH and CI subjects was that the P2 response was significantly reduced in amplitude in the CI group compared to NH. N1 amplitude did not differ between NH and CI groups. P2 latency increased with increases in VOT for both NH and CI groups. P2 was delayed more in CI users with poor speech perception compared to NH subjects. N1 amplitude was significantly related to consonant perception in noise while P2 latency was significantly related to vowel perception in noise. When dipole source modelling in auditory cortex was used to characterize N1/P2, more significant relationships were observed with speech perception measures compared to the same N1/P2 activity when measured at the scalp. N1 dipole amplitude measures were significantly correlated with consonants in noise discrimination. Like N1, the P2 dipole amplitude was correlated with consonant discrimination, but additional significant relationships were observed such as sentence and word identification. Conclusions P2 responses to a VOT continuum stimulus were different between NH subjects and CI users. P2 responses show more significant relationships with speech perception than N1 responses. Significance The current findings indicate that N1/P2 measures during a passive listening task relate to speech perception outcomes after cochlear implantation.
Artificial urinary sphincter versus male sling for post-prostatectomy incontinence--what do patients choose?

Purpose: Early outcomes of the male sling to correct post-prostatectomy incontinence have been promising in select patients. Long-term data are lacking to determine whether the male sling is as effective as the artificial urinary sphincter, which is the current gold standard. Because the male sling offers the significant advantage of avoiding a mechanical device but without established success, we determined the patient preference for the male sling vs the artificial urinary sphincter.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the charts of 133 men with post-prostatectomy incontinence who underwent the first procedure to correct incontinence. After urodynamics the surgeon recommended an artificial urinary sphincter or a male sling and patients were told the artificial urinary sphincter satisfaction rate and shorter term data on the male sling. Patients with high grade post-prostatectomy incontinence (pad weight greater than 400 gm/24 hours) were recommended to receive an artificial urinary sphincter, those with m...
An ELISA method for detection of human antibodies to an immunotoxin

Introduction: The use of biological molecules, such as immunotoxins, as pharmaceuticals is limited by the presence and development of human antibodies to these agents. This immune response can cause significant inflammatory-related toxicities and can interfere with the efficacy of the biological agent. Therefore, a clinically applicable method to detect these human antibodies is needed for screening patients prior to enrollment and for monitoring patients during treatment. The SS1(dsFv)-PE38 immunotoxin currently in clinical trials is a hybrid molecule targeted against mesothelin-expressing cancer cells via the Fv portion of a murine antibody linked to the Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE), which can inhibit protein synthesis leading to cell death. The objective of this study was to determine if an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based method could be used to detect human anti-SS1(dsFv)-PE38 antibodies in patient serum. Methods: Human antibodies to the immunotoxin in serially diluted serum specimens were captured on immunotoxin-coated ELISA plates, and detected using a secondary goat antihuman antibody linked to biotin in combination with horseradish peroxidase linked to avidin D (HRP–Avidin). The color was developed with tetramethyl benzidine (TMB). Curves of optical density (OD630) versus dilution for 44 serum specimens were compared with positive and negative control serum specimens to classify the serum as positive or negative for anti-immunotoxin antibodies. Results: Ten out of the 40 patients screened were positive for anti-immunotoxin antibodies. Repeated testing of seven samples produced the same results in two independent experiments. The first two patients treated with the immunotoxin developed anti-immunotoxin antibodies during treatment. The results were in perfect concordance with a tissue culture-based neutralization assay performed by an independent laboratory. Discussion: An ELISA-based strategy using an immunotoxin to capture human anti-immunotoxin antibodies provides a consistently accurate technology for screening and monitoring patient serum specimens in clinical trials. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
Machine-Description Driven Compilers for EPIC and VLIW Processors

In the past, due to the restricted gate count available on an inexpensive chip, embedded DSPs have had limited parallelism, few registers and irregular, incomplete interconnectivity. More recently, with increasing levels of integration, embedded VLIW processors have started to appear. Such processors typically have higher levels of instruction-level parallelism, more registers, and a relatively regular interconnect between the registers and the functional units. The central challenges faced by a code generator for an EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing) or VLIW processor are quite different from those for the earlier DSPs and, consequently, so is the structure of a code generator that is designed to be easily retargetable. In this paper, we explain the nature of the challenges faced by an EPIC or VLIW compiler and present a strategy for performing code generation in an incremental fashion that is best suited to generating high-quality code efficiently. We also describe the Operation Binding Lattice, a formal model for incrementally binding the opcodes and register assignments in an EPIC code generator. As we show, this reflects the phase structure of the EPIC code generator. It also defines the structure of the machine-description database, which is queried by the code generator for the information that it needs about the target processor. Lastly, we discuss our implementation of these ideas and techniques in Elcor, our EPIC compiler research infrastructure.
Anonymity, Adverse Selection, and the Sorting of Interdealer Trades

This article asks why London security dealers use more than one trading venue to trade with one another. We argue that differences in the exclusivity, liquidity, anonymity, and post-trade transparency of each system permit a more efficient sorting of interdealer trades than if there were just one system. Our evidence comes from detailed data on where London dealers chose to place interdealer trades. Contrary to intuition, we show that uninformed interdealer trades (as measured by subsequent price impact) tend to migrate to third-party brokered systems where trade is anonymous. By contrast, informed interdealer trades tend to migrate to the direct, nonanonymous public market. Additionally, we show that this distribution of trades is supported by differences in the price improvement dealers receive in the direct and brokered markets. Our findings have implications for three strands of the market microstructure literature. First, they contribute to our understanding of the importance of anonymity and transparency in securities trading. Most theoretical models of the effects of anonymity and transparency predict that anonymous trading systems will attract more informed trades
A Family of Natural Best L1-Approximants by Nondecreasing Functions

Let fbe a bounded function on [0, 1] and f p be the best L p approximant to fby nondecreasing functions. The usual natural bestLi-approximant fi is characterized by f 1 - lim p→1 f p . In this paper we consider families of norms induced by Orlicz functions ϕ a (x) such that ϕ a (x) → x as a → 0 but for which the best L ϕ a -approximants f ϕ a to fconverge to functions other than the natural best L 1-approximant. We give an example to show that in some cases, any best L 1 approximant to f can be thought of as the natural best with respect to some family of norms. Finally, an unbounded f and a family of norms induced by ϕ a (x) are given such that f ϕ a diverges in L 1norm to ∞.
Development and Verification of Transfer Matrix Unbalance Response Procedure for Three-Level Rotor-Foundation Systems

Details are presented of an analysis and computer code for the calculation of complex multi-span rotor-bearing-pedestal-foundation systems. This multi-level system analysis is based on the Prohl-Myklestad transfer matrix method. The rotor model used is similar to that given by Lund and Orcutt [1]. Eight-coefficient bearings are also used, to permit elliptical orbit rotor motions. The bearings are mounted in massive, damped flexible pedestals, which are themselves mounted upon a foundation structure with distributed mass and stiffness properties. The foundation in turn, is supported on a number of flexible-damped supports. Different foundation properties in the horizontal and vertical directions are included. The analysis is described in detail, along with the computer code, and the results obtained with it are compared with data published previously by other investigators. It is shown that transfer matrix methods can be successfully used for multi-level systems, and that the additional computational effort involved is moderate. Three applications of the code are described which validate various aspects of the analysis and the computer program.
Editorial: We are getting thicker!

This PDF file contains the editorial “Editorial: We are getting thicker!” for OE Vol. 32 Issue 11
Dishonesty in the Name of Equity

Under what conditions do people act dishonestly to help or hurt others? We addressed this question by examining the influence of a previously overlooked factor—the beneficiary or victim of dishonest acts. In two experiments, we randomly paired participants and manipulated their wealth levels through an initial lottery. We then observed how inequity between partners influenced the likelihood of one dishonestly helping or hurting the other, while varying the financial incentives for dishonest behavior. The results show that financial self-interest cannot fully explain people's tendency to dishonestly help or hurt others. Rather, such dishonesty is influenced by emotional reactions to wealth-based inequity, even when the dishonesty bears a personal financial cost. Envy evoked by negative inequity led to hurting behavior, whereas guilt induced by positive inequity motivated helping behavior. Finally, inequity between the partner and third parties triggered dishonest helping through empathy with the partner.
Bureaucracy And Charities: The Economics Of Private Voluntary Aid

This paper tries to shed light on the economics of non-profit firms. It presents a limited managerial discretionary model of non-profits to indicate that the functions of the non-profits are not devoid of self-interest. The model shows that non-profits are not that different than for-profit firm except that they are constrained by the zero-profit condition associated with non-profits. Nevertheless, the managers of non-profit are self-interested utility-maximizers like their counterparts in for-profit firms. The limited role that they can play is clear from the analysis above. If non-profit organizations perform a useful role, they must provide outputs that cannot be provided profitably by private enterprises. It must be the case that the lure of profit doesn’t lead to a socially efficient allocation of resources when there are socially valuable forms of outputs that are not rewarded financially----either because they are costly to buyers to evaluate or because they go to persons with little ability to pay.
Analytical estimation of ultrasound properties, thermal diffusivity, and perfusion using magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound temperature data

For thermal modeling to play a significant role in treatment planning, monitoring, and control of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thermal therapies, accurate knowledge of ultrasound and thermal properties is essential. This study develops a new analytical solution for the temperature change observed in MRgFUS which can be used with experimental MR temperature data to provide estimates of the ultrasound initial heating rate, Gaussian beam variance, tissue thermal diffusivity, and Pennes perfusion parameter. Simulations demonstrate that this technique provides accurate and robust property estimates that are independent of the beam size, thermal diffusivity, and perfusion levels in the presence of realistic MR noise. The technique is also demonstrated in vivo using MRgFUS heating data in rabbit back muscle. Errors in property estimates are kept less than 5% by applying a third order Taylor series approximation of the perfusion term and ensuring the ratio of the fitting time (the duration of experimental data utilized for optimization) to the perfusion time constant remains less than one.
Forced Air Cooling With Synthetic Jet Ejectors

This paper discusses the concept of synthetic jet ejectors for forced air cooling and some practical implementations of the same. Synthetic or “zero-mass-flux” jets, unlike conventional jets, require no mass addition to the system, and thus provide means of efficiently directing airflow across a heated surface. Because these jets are zero net mass flux in nature and are comprised entirely of the ambient fluid, they can be conveniently integrated with the surfaces that require cooling without the need for complex plumbing. A synthetic jet ejector mechanism for obtaining high heat transfer rates at low flow rates is discussed. Synthetic jet ejectors consist of a primary “zero-mass-flux” unsteady jet driving a secondary airflow through a channel. Several practical implementations of synthetic jets are introduced from low form factor, low power spot cooling applications to high heat dissipation applications and flow bypass control where synthetic jets are used to enhance fan performance.© 2005 ASME
An Effective and Efficient Systems Technique for Establishing a Competency Performance-Based Program in the Health Sciences

Educators who are responsible for training individuals in the health sciences field must develop new kinds of instructional programs that will prepare students for the job responsibilities expected of them. Competency performancebased instruction is one of the most fruitful methods for providing for this type of training. An effective and efficient systematic competency-based procedure is described, which was devised and implemented in developing a clinical laboratory practicum course of instruction at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan.
Insulin infusion suppresses while glucose infusion induces Toll-like receptors and high-mobility group-B1 protein expression in mononuclear cells of type 1 diabetes patients

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an insulin infusion exerts an anti-inflammatory effect and whether the infusion of small amounts of glucose results in oxidative and inflammatory ...
Matrix Approximation and Latent Roots

(1938). Matrix Approximation and Latent Roots. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 165-171.
Automated sea floor extraction from underwater video

Ocean floor mapping using video is a method to simply and cost-effectively record large areas of the seafloor. Obtaining visual and elevation models has noteworthy applications in search and recovery missions. Hazards to navigation are abundant and pose a significant threat to the safety, effectiveness, and speed of naval operations and commercial vessels. This project’s objective was to develop a workflow to automatically extract metadata from marine video and create image optical and elevation surface mosaics. Three developments made this possible. First, optical character recognition (OCR) by means of two-dimensional correlation, using a known character set, allowed for the capture of metadata from image files. Second, exploiting the image metadata (i.e., latitude, longitude, heading, camera angle, and depth readings) allowed for the determination of location and orientation of the image frame in mosaic. Image registration improved the accuracy of mosaicking. Finally, overlapping data allowed us to determine height information. A disparity map was created using the parallax from overlapping viewpoints of a given area and the relative height data was utilized to create a three-dimensional, textured elevation map.
Voiding Dysfunction Secondary to Penetrating Bony Fragment 20 Years After Pelvic Fracture

We report a case of persistent voiding dysfunction caused by an unsuspected penetrating bony spicule 20 years after extraperitoneal bladder rupture and pelvic fracture.
Coping with Cold-Pressor Pain: Effects of Mood and Covert Imaginal Modeling

Thirty volunteers participated in cold-pressor pain hand-immersions to investigate the effects of moods on imaginai model interventions. Participants (N = 30) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments. Pleasant and unpleasant imageries induced participant mood states. Participants experienced either (a) pleasant imaginai scenes followed by imaginai models, (b) unpleasant imaginai scenes followed by imaginai models or, (c) no intervention. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAS) and a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were conducted. Unpleasant mood induction participants reported more negative moods (i.e., sadness, worry) than no treatment controls. Pleasant mood induction participants reported a significant decrease in anger. Pleasant mood induction participants showed significant increases in pain tolerance after treatment. Other groups showed nonsignificant differences in ability to tolerate pain. Hypotheses are given for the results. Results suggest that pleasant moods may have beneficial effects on pain coping interventions.
Children’s Use of Vernacular Functions of 'like' in Peer Conversation

Much recent research describes the ongoing development of 'like' as a discourse particle and in the 'BE+like' quotative construction. Comparatively little is known about how speakers acquire this variable. This study examines children’s (ages 3-6 and 10) use of like to better understand how it is incorporated into maturing grammars. There is evidence for early acquisition of discourse 'like', most frequently as a discourse particle adjoined to determiner phrases. Also, children’s discourse 'like' tokens occurred more frequently with the verb BE, and quotative tokens more frequently without BE, than adults’, suggesting a weaker distinction between the discourse and quotative functions.
On the Usefulness of Information

In 1774, the Peruvian viceroy, Manuel de Amat, after an initial survey, sent a second expedition to the island of Tahiti. The participants of the first expedition had christened the isle “La isla de Amat” in his honor. Little did they know that their naming process came tardy, following Samuel Wallis’s “King George III Island” and Louis Antoine de Bougainville’s extravagant “La Nouvelle Cythere.” However, aware of the northern European designs on the island, Amat sought to forestall a British or French settlement by sending his own small detachment of two Franciscan missionaries, a domestic servant, and a soldier for protection. This soldier, a young man barely twenty years of age named Maximo Rodriguez, had a gift for languages. He had acquired a smattering of Tahitian on the first Spanish expedition to the island and from four Tahitians who returned to Lima following that encounter. From the little that is known about Rodriguez, one might surmise that he was a mestizo of Amerindian and European origin. In his native Lima, this status would have prevented his social ascent in the Peruvian colonial society. On Tahiti, on the other hand, Rodriguez quickly realized that his linguistic ability and his willingness to engage in reciprocity with some of the highest-ranking chiefs opened cultural doors.
Wanderings: Misreadings, Miswritings, Misunderstandings

Let me begin with an anecdote, a cautionary tale. I walk into my class, an entry-level reading and writing class, and begin with what has become a standard exercise by turning to a book I have assigned, in this case Richard Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory. This is a very teachable book — well-suited, in its way, for a composition class. Rodriguez becomes himself a metaphor through which my From Only Connect: Uniting Reading and Writing, ed. Thomas Newkirk (Montclair: Boynton/Cook, 1986) 89–119. students can organize and think about their own experience with education, moving from one world to another, finding in the contradictions of his experience a way of talking about, of inventing even, the contradictions in their own.1 It’s a teachable book also, however, because Rodriguez’s prose resists quick summation or any easy reduction to a “main idea.” It requires application, extension, interpretation —not just summary. It has the grace to ask more of a reader —that is, than assent or affirmation. There is more for a reader to do than admire the author’s wit and wisdom. It doesn’t propose answers to all the questions it raises. It poses problems that the author has not already solved. It’s a hesitant, tentative, contradictory text and, as such, it posits a role for a reader or writer that my students would not (or could not) imagine on their own.
Rapid Cellular Assays on Microfabricated Fluidic Devices

Functional elements are being developed to load cells with fluorescent markers, perform cytometry, lyse cells, and separate the lysate contents on a microfluidic device.
Neonatal Herpes Simplex Encephalitis

The sequential EEGs of 15 neonates with herpes simplex virus meningoencephalitis were correlated with clinical and laboratory findings at the Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
Comprehensive simulation analysis of routing protocols for MANETs

Mobile Adhoc networks (MANET) are a group of mobile nodes that have the capability of maintaining a network without the need of centralized infrastructure. This concept has gained a lot of potential in various areas for data collection and data synchronization. Mobility and absence of any static network makes it very attractive for safety critical application. This paper discusses performance evaluation of Adhoc wireless Routing protocols when used with different Mobility Models to realize practical scenarios. In this paper we have evaluated the impact of varying speed of nodes to get the overall throughput of the network. We further observed the effect of throughput on changing the routing protocol, hence suggesting the best protocol for different speed ranges. Our proposed network can find application in various areas. The Simulation Environment used for this purpose is Network Simulator 3(ns-3). The use of ns-3 gives enough flexibility to optimize Quality of Service (QoS) parameters at each layer without any overhead.
Equilibrium shape of ferrofluid in the uniform external field

It is well-known that morphology of magnetic or electric ferrofluids is extremely sensitive to the applied external electromagnetic fields. Even in the static regimes, they demonstrate a variety of qualitative and quantitative transformations often mentioned as free surface instabilities. That makes their computational modeling rather challenging. Therefore, for the sake of validation and verification, there is a need for having exact solutions. Modelers noticed that quite often isolated ferrofluids take on the shape of a prolate spheroid. So, there were several claims that a consistent theory allows to prove that isolated drop of ferrofluid exposed to a uniform field, indeed, has a shape of a spheroid. In this paper we analyze this problem one more time using a special technique of the analysis of the equilibrium shape, which traces back to the papers of Eshelby.
Early genetic testing for neonatal epilepsy: When, why, and how?

The incidence of seizures is greatest during the neonatal period, with an estimated rate of 2–4 per 1,000 live births. Although the majority of seizures in the newborn are due to acquired brain disorders, a substantial proportion are due to metabolic and genetic disorders causing neonatal- and infantile-onset epilepsies. For decades, genetics has played a critical role in identification and treatment of seizures in the newborn and infantile period.1,2 With newborn screening, disorders such as phenylketonuria and biotinidase deficiency can be identified before patients develop seizures. Early identification and treatment prevents the development of often severe epilepsy syndromes and associated comorbidities. Detection and early treatment will continue to improve as newborn screening methods advance, whether based in genetics or clinical observation: the first channelopathy that causes epilepsy was identified in families with benign familial neonatal convulsions in the 1990s, before completion of the human genome project and modern genomics.3
A Scientific Examination of Western Dietary Practices as They Relate to Food Practices in Ayurveda

Ayurveda stresses the important role of food in maintaining health and preventing disease. Healthy, natural, wholesome food is considered to be essential for nourishing body, mind, and soul. In Ayurveda, health centers on nutritious food, and a good digestion depends upon our lifestyle. Our lifestyle depends on our environment, and our environment affects the quality of our food, which in turn affects the quality of our health. But our modern environment is radically different from that of the previous thousands of years, and we are not well educated about how our environment impacts our food, particularly in terms of freezing, microwaving, and processing with chemical additives. Ayurveda proposes that food is best eaten when it is lightly cooked or steamed. Cold food and drinks should be avoided, as should food that is microwaved, frozen, or highly processed. In addition, various food combinations or practices should be avoided such as consuming equal portions of honey and ghee or the heating of honey. But is there any biomedical evidence for these practices? This chapter will evaluate evidence-based research as it applies to Ayurvedic dietary recommendations and discuss how it relates to modern food processing and food consumption.
Wirkungsweise und Anwendungen ionenspezifischer Glaselektroden

Gab es bis zum Jahre 1935 nur ca. 60 Veroffentlichungen, die sich mit dem Thema "Glaselektrode" befaBten, so waren es 1948 bereits tiber 700 und heute sind es wahrscheinlich mehr als 2000. Da an die pH-Messung die unterschiedlichsten Anforderungen gestellt werden, und oft auch Personen, die mit den Grundziigen einer EMK-Messung weniger vertraut sind, diese Messungen ausfUhren, sei hier eine Dbersicht tiber die elektrochemischen Eigenheiten der Glaselektrode gegeben (vgl. M. Dole (9) und L. Kratz (36)).
Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment of the Dually Diagnosed Adolescent

Because many adolescents in treatment for substance abuse present with other psychiatric diagnoses, it is important to recognize the disorders that the physician is likely to see and to formulate an integrated treatment plan. This article presents guidelines for management and consultation.
Importance of Recent Fracture as Predictor of Imminent Fracture Risk.

To examine the importance of recent fracture as a predictor of imminent fracture risk, review the importance of prior fracture type and timing, and identify risk factors for recurrent osteoporotic fracture. Prior fracture type and timing impact risk of subsequent fracture that is largely independent of bone mineral density. Site of re-fracture is similar to original major osteoporotic fracture. Incidence of recurrent major osteoporotic fracture is greatest within the first year. Other risk factors include those that pertain to individual characteristics. Approved osteoporosis therapies reduce risk of recurrent fracture. Prior fracture timing, type, and individual characteristics are important components of predicting the risk of future fracture. Initiation of osteoporosis medication therapy should be started after initial fracture to reduce the risk of future fracture, though these medications typically take 6–12 months to have an effect, during which time is the highest rate of imminent re-fracture.
When do they put all of their eggs in one basket? past election result, issue salience, and the nicheness of radical right-wing parties

ABSTRACTWhen do radical right-wing parties (RRPs) become more or less niche? In other words, when do they restrict their policy platform and emphasize their core issues (e.g. immigration) more or e...
Advancing an HIV vaccine; advancing vaccinology

Of any pathogen, HIV provides perhaps the greatest challenge to successful vaccine development. Nevertheless, progress continued to be made in 2018; new vaccine concepts entered the clinic and new insights were obtained in basic research that will ultimately help to guide rational vaccine design against many’difficult’ pathogens.
Deoxygenation of biomass pyrolysis vapors: Improving clarity on the fate of carbon

Abstract Deoxygenating biomass pyrolysis vapors prior to condensation would ideally yield chemically stable and petroleum-miscible streams comprised primarily of hydrocarbons that could be integrated into the existing refinery infrastructure. Both in-situ and ex-situ catalytic fast pyrolysis have shown promising results in terms of product quality, i.e., lower acidity, higher heating values, and product stability. However, these improvements come at the expense of carbon loss as CO, CO2, and coke, as well as cracking of larger molecules (potentially more valuable) into smaller molecules. It is thus of utmost importance to track the carbon, both product distribution and carbon yields, in order to obtain the full picture of deoxygenation efficacy. Despite potentially interesting results reported in the literature, it is unfortunately difficult to compare the true ability of various catalyst systems for deoxygenating biomass pyrolysis vapors primarily due to insufficient product characterization and data reporting. In this review paper, it is argued that results ultimately need to be reported in terms of carbon yields of individual products. This would enable an accurate accounting of where the carbon ultimately resides after processing, which is required for a more conclusive comparison between various systems. This information would enable the identification of effective catalytic systems for pyrolysis vapor deoxygenation and accelerate the advancement of catalyst design. Additionally, hydrodeoxygenation is discussed as a promising process in terms of carbon recovery. This article aims to propose a set of standard criteria for future reports on deoxygenation of biomass pyrolysis vapors by scrutinizing the existing literature.