cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Beyond house and haven: toward a revisioning of emotional relationships with places

Abstract An extensive and ever-growing body of literature exists that explores the nature and nuances of people's emotional relationships to place. This includes writings on sense of place, place attachment and place identity. A review of this literature suggests that while these concepts are broadly defined and discussed in theory, their application in research does not fully embrace all of the important dimensions they suggest. Empirical research, influenced by the notion of ‘home’, consequently focuses on residential settings, positive affect and a depoliticized view of individual experiences. This has limited our understanding of a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. Recent literature demonstrates a need to better incorporate the full magnitude of human experiences into the current discourse on people–place relationships. Recent research that works toward this end is discussed here. Consequently, this paper focuses on several strengths in the literature that warrant further investigation: First, people's emotional relationships to places encompass a broad range of physical settings and emotions. Second, people's relationships to places are an ever-changing, dynamic phenomenon, and as such, they can be a conscious process in which people are active shapers of their lives. Third, people's emotional relationships to places exist within a larger socio-political milieu.
Ground State Properties¶of the Neutral Falicov–Kimball Model

We determine the large U ground states in the neutral two-dimensional Falicov–Kimball model for a sequence of densities converging to 0. For rational densities in (1/6,2/11) we show that the ground states exhibit a phase separation.
A rapidly growing choroidal melanoma

Abstract PURPOSE: We describe a rapidly growing choroidal melanoma that failed to respond to consecutive globe-sparing treatments in an individual with ocular melanocytosis. DESIGN: Interventional case report. METHODS: A 53-year-old man with right ocular melanocytosis, decreased vision in the right eye, and right eye pain was referred for suspected choroidal melanoma. The lesion, which measured 2.4 mm × 6.6 mm × 6.0 mm, was treated with transpupillary thermotherapy on two occasions and with iodine-125 (I-125) plaque brachytherapy, both of which failed. Enucleation allowed histologic analysis. RESULTS: At enucleation, the choroidal melanoma in the right eye measured 13.6 mm × 16.5 mm × 16.9 mm, which demonstrated the most rapid growth and doubling time reported in a tumor of this type thus far. Pathologic analysis classified the tumor as a mixed-cell type. CONCLUSION: This case reiterates the association between ocular melanocytosis and choroidal melanoma, provides additional evidence that rapid growth and doubling time may be associated with transpupillary thermotherapy and I-125 plaque failure, and highlights the need to follow those tumors closely.
Hierarchy equations for reduced density matrices

Starting with Schr\"odinger's time-independent equation for $N$ indistinguishable particles, an exact equation is derived for the reduced density matrix of order $s$, ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s}$. The equation contains terms dependent on ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s+1}$ and ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s+2}$. The Hartree-Fock equation is derived, without recourse to the variational method, by assuming that ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{2}$ and ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{3}$ are particular functionals of ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{1}$.
Augmented Split Plot Experiment Design

A new class of augmented experiment designs is introduced. This is a follow-up on the 2005 paper by the author on augmented split block experiment designs. The designs are presented to expand the possibilities for experimenters for use in screening untested or partially screened material. These designs allow testing of new treatments over other factors, such as tillage, weed control, fertilizer, density, etc. This is desirable in the later stages of screening new genotypes or other treatments.
The evaluation of the normal derivative along the boundary in the direct boundary element method

Abstract An integral representation for the normal derivative of a harmonic function at a field point along the boundary is derived for the direct boundary element method. The representation is written in terms of strongly singular integrals. Methods for evaluating these strongly singular integrals analytically are presented.
The Synthesis of the Uroporphyrins II and IV

Uroporphyrin II and uroporphyrin IV have been synthesized by rational methods. The former has also been separated from a mixture of uroporphyrins previously synthesized.
Cusping, capture, and breakup of interacting drops by a curvatureless boundary-integral algorithm

A three-dimensional boundary-integral algorithm for interacting deformable drops in Stokes flow is developed. The algorithm is applicable to very large deformations and extreme cases, including cusped interfaces and drops closely approaching breakup. A new, curvatureless boundary-integral formulation is used, containing only the normal vectors, which are usually much less sensitive than is the curvature to discretization errors. A proper regularization makes the method applicable to small surface separations and arbitrary λ, where λ is the ratio of the viscosities of the drop and medium. The curvatureless form eliminates the difficulty with the concentrated capillary force inherent in two-dimensional cusps and allows simulation of three-dimensional drop/bubble motions with point and line singularities, while the conventional form can only handle point singularities. A combination of the curvatureless form and a special, passive technique for adaptive mesh stabilization allows three-dimensional simulations for high aspect ratio drops closely approaching breakup, using highly stretched triangulations with fixed topology. The code is applied to study relative motion of two bubbles or drops under gravity for moderately high Bond numbers [Bscr ], when cusping and breakup are typical. The deformation-induced capture efficiency of bubbles and low-viscosity drops is calculated and found to be in reasonable agreement with available experiments of Manga & Stone (1993, 1995b). Three-dimensional breakup of the smaller drop due to the interaction with a larger one for λ=O(1) is also considered, and the algorithm is shown to accurately simulate both the primary breakup moment and the volume partition by extrapolation for moderately supercritical conditions. Calculations of the breakup efficiency suggest that breakup due to interactions is significant in a sedimenting emulsion with narrow size distribution at λ=O(1) and [Bscr ][ges ]5–10. A combined capture and breakup phenomenon, when the smaller drop starts breaking without being released from the dimple formed on the larger one, is also observed in the simulations. A general classification of possible modes of two-drop interactions for λ=O(1) is made.
Free cell suspensions from ovarian tissue: preparation and steroidogenic response to gonadotropins.

Free cell suspensions were prepared from preovulatory rabbit ovaries by sequential enzyme treatment. Cell recovery was approximately 30% as determined by DNA assay. Viability of recovered cells was greater than 90 % as judged by exclusion of nigrosin dye. The free cells were capable of metabolizing acetate- 2-14C to CO2 at a constant rate for at least 4 hr, the longest time tested. LH, at a concentration of 3.3 ×lO-11M (0.001 μg/ml), gave a 2- to 3-fold stimulation of acetate-2-14C incorporation into testosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and androstenedione. Maximal stimulation was attained with a LH concentration of 3.3 ×10-10M. Steroids were purified and characterized by a combination of paper and thin layer chromatography, derivative formation, and recrystallization. Prolactin and insulin had no effect, but FSH (2.5 μg/ml) had a slight effect, probably due to a trace amount of contaminating LH. No effect of LH was seen prior to 60 min of simultaneous exposure to LH and acetate-2-14C. This indicates a la...
Fortuitous convergences and essential ambiguities: Transcultural political elites in the medieval Deccan

It is virtually axiomatic that 'Hindu* and 'Muslim' are fundamental and inescapable categories of identity in modern South Asia and that each is in large measure constituted in opposition to its other.1 Yet, there is an abundance of evidence dating from the premodern period which suggests that this was not always the case. To judge from epigraphic data, the medieval Deccan was one historical milieu where the religious categories 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' appear to have been of minimal relevance as primary bases of identity. Instead, as Cynthia Talbot (1995) has shown, identity was more likely to be cast in ethnic rather than religious terms, with designations such as Turuska,' 'P?ras?ka,' 'Telugu,' 'Karn?ta,' and 'Oriy?' figuring in inscriptions more frequently than 'Muslim' or 'Hindu.' Following this epigraphic cue, one might reasonably decide to avoid religious labels in discussing individual identity; but even so, one may still wish to distinguish analytically between the broader cultural traditions to which individuals belong. Accordingly, one could then speak of the 'Indie' languages, patterns of dress, systems of food, and other cultural practices that were favored by Telugus, Karnatas, and Oriyas, in contrast to the 'Islamicate' traditions followed by Turushkas and Parasikas. But even here things are not quite as clear-cut as they may seem, since indie' cultural forms and practices in the Deccan were often heavily islamicized' and vice versa At Vijayanagara, for example, men of the ruling elite dressed in public in an Arab-style tunic known in the local vernaculars as kab?yi (from the Arab qaba\ Wagoner 1996), while Ibrahim e?dil Sh?h II, one of the best known rulers of the neighboring kingdom of Bijapur, is remembered as the author of the Kit?b-i Nauras (from the Sanskrit navarasa, 'nine aesthetic moods'), an important Persian work dealing with classical Sanskrit rasa theory and written in a heavily Sanskritized vocabulary (Eaton 1978: 98ff.).
Targeted overexpression of galanin in lactotrophs of transgenic mice induces hyperprolactinemia and pituitary hyperplasia.

We generated transgenic mice that carry 4.6 kb of the mouse galanin gene fused to 2.5 kb of the rat PRL promoter. In all transgenic lines that carried and transmitted the transgene, there were significant increases in galanin messenger RNA and peptide levels in the anterior pituitary in both male and female transgenic mice, and the elevation of galanin was restricted to the anterior lobe. Furthermore, galanin release from pituitary cells in vitro of both male and female transgenic mice was dramatically increased compared with that in control mice. At 2–4 months of age, pituitary PRL contents in female transgenic mice were increased compared with those in normal controls. Moreover, PRL messenger RNA levels were increased in female transgenic mice. However, plasma levels of PRL in female transgenic mice were not significantly higher until 6 months of age. By 11 months of age, cell numbers in the anterior pituitary were increased in female, but not male, transgenic mice. The percentage of lactotrophs in fema...
Extrarenal uptake of Tc-99m-DTPA in a case of retroperitoneal abscess causing spurious data in renal function assessment

The author reports CT of the abdomen and quantitative analysis of renal scintigraphy that was spuriously assessed due to unwanted extrarenai uptake. The patient had a retroperitoneal abscess that was related to fistula from the right kidney. Renal scintigraphy was performed to assess split renal function as a preoperative evaluation for nephrectomy. The computer generated differential function did not appear to coincide with the visual analysis. This discrepancy was believed due to extrarenal uptake from the area of the retroperitoneal abscess.
Yttria-stabilized zirconia-based composites with adaptive thermal conductivity

Abstract Thermal conductivity trends in a “chameleon coating” thin film were characterized with a time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) technique. A yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based nanocomposite material containing ∼21 vol.% silver (Ag) was employed for this study. The thermal conductivity ( k ) of the as-deposited composite film was measured with TDTR and found to have a value of 7.4 ± 1.4 W m −1 K −1 . The film was then annealed at 500 °C for 1 h to stimulate Ag flow from within the composite to the surface via diffusion. The Ag that coalesced on the surface during annealing was removed to expose the underlying porous YSZ matrix, and the sample was reexamined with the TDTR technique. The thermal conductivity of the porous nanocomposite YSZ material was then measured to be 1.6 ± 0.2 W m −1 K −1 , which is significantly lower than a fully dense control sample of pure nanocrystalline YSZ (2.0 ± 0.1 W m −1 K −1 ). The annealed film displayed a 20% reduction in thermal conductivity as compared to the control sample and a 4–5-fold reduction in thermal conductivity as compared to the as-deposited material. The experiments demonstrate temperature triggering of a composite material, resulting in self-modifying thermal conductivity and diffusion-controlled porosity. These aspects can be used to enhance or restrict thermal transport (i.e., a thermal switch). The applicability of the TDTR technique to measurements of thin, nanoporous film materials is also demonstrated.
A Simple Method for Modeling Transmembrane Helix Oligomers

We describe an effective procedure for modeling the structures of simple transmembrane helix homo-oligomers. The method differs from many previous approaches in that the only structural constraint we use to help select the correct model is the oligomerization state of the protein. The method involves the following steps: (1) perform 100-250 independent Monte Carlo energy minimizations of helix pairs to produce a large collection of well-packed structures; (2) filter the minimized structures to find those that are consistent with the expected symmetry of the oligomer; (3) cluster the structures that pass the symmetry filter; and (4) select a representative of the most populous cluster as the final prediction. We applied the method to the transmembrane helices of five proteins and compare our results to the available experimental data. Our predictions of glycophorin A, neu, the M2 channel and phospholamban resulted in a single model for each protein that agreed with the experimental results. In the case of erbB-2, however, we obtained three structurally distinct clusters of approximately equal sizes, so it was not possible to identify a clearly favored structure. This may reflect a real heterogeneity of packing modes for erbB-2, which is known to interact with different receptor subunits. Our method should be useful for obtaining structural models of transmembrane domains, improving our understanding of structure/function relationships for particular membrane proteins.
The Influence of the Gamma Motor System on Jaw Movements during Speech: A Theoretical Framework and Some Preliminary Observations

A selective anesthesization technique was applied to the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve in man, and jaw activity was observed during speech under conditions of gamma motor blockade. The ...
Auditory Membrane Vibrations: Measurements at Sub-Angstrom Levels by Optical Heterodyne Spectroscopy

We describe an optical technique for measurement of mechanical vibrations in the auditory organs of living animals. The technique uses light scattered from the vibrating structure and offers several new advantages. Better than 1 angstrom sensitivity, 10 micrometers spatial resolution, and > 70 decibels dynamic range are achieved. Illustrative measurements of the mechanical response of the tympanic membrane of crickets (Gryllidae) are reported.
The Theme Course: Connecting the Plant Trip to the Text Book

A plant trip provides subjects for team projects and lecture examples in a sophomore chemical engineering course, thus becoming a unifying “theme” for the course. The “theme” structure is intended to improve student mastery of course material by helping students relate different course topics to one another via real equipment and processes. Here, performance in a subsequent junior chemical engineering course by students from the “theme course” is compared with performance by students who took the sophomore course in a traditional lecture-homework-exam format. Theme course graduates claim better retention of concepts from the sophomore course, though their scores on exam questions testing their knowledge, comprehension, and application of these concepts did not differ significantly from that of students from the traditional course. Theme course graduates did earn higher grades in the junior course, due to better performance on exam questions requiring higher level skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students were enthusiastic about the course structure, and expressed excitement about learning from “real life.” Thus the “theme” structure results in early student success in the skills necessary for engineering design, and generates student enthusiasm for engineering.
Figure Control Concepts For Segmented Reflector Telescopes

Control analysis activities related to the development of figure control technologies for large space telescopes with precision segmented actively controlled primary reflectors are reviewed. The Precision Segmented Reflector (PSR) configuration is described along with the development and use of the PSR models. Geometric and dynamic models, characterization of figure estimation errors and optimal sensor placement, and the development of quasi-static and dynamic control concepts are outlined. The structure of a quasi-static controller is presented, that utilizes edge sensor measurements to estimate displacement errors at the actuator level and generates figure correction commands. The second approach considers decentralization of the reflector system at the panel level, while the third considers decentralization at the actuator level.
Inner shelf circulation patterns and nearshore flow reversal under downwelling and stratified conditions off a curved coastline

[1] The role of a curved coastline and associated bathymetry in the development of downwelling circulation in a stratified inner shelf is examined through a number of numerical experiments. Different scenarios include constant versus variable wind-forcing and variations in bottom friction. The three-dimensional response of the shelf within the domain (embayment enclosed by capes) is associated with the generation of a velocity/ pycnocline disturbance at the upstream cape and its subsequent downstream advection. This disturbance is more pronounced under variable wind conditions. Its downstream advection through the bay exhibits different patterns depending on the competition between inertia and bottom friction near the cape. When inertia dominates, the disturbance separates from the cape and travels downwind with an enhanced downstream flow offshore and a countercurrent inshore. The separation occurs at a low Rossby number (Ro � 0.15), which is attributed to the positive curvature of the coastline forming the cape. When friction dominates, the advection path is constrained along the coastline, resulting in an alongshore temperature gradient and a transient thermal front running almost perpendicular to the coast/isobaths. Simulations with spatially variable bottom friction, with higher friction toward the coast, result in the generation of eddy-like features. The numerical results are in agreement with both observations and surface temperature imagery from Long Bay, South Carolina, an embayment enclosed by two capes, and emphasize the role that coastline and associated shelf morphology can play in enhancing cross-shelf transport and exchange.
Image Processing for Fiber-coupled Monocentric Imagers

We describe theoretical and experimental investigation of “cascade imaging processing,” the recovery of high-resolution spherical images formed by monocentric lenses, sampled by quasi-period optical fiber bundles, transferred and resampled by multiple conventional CMOS focal planes.
The Socialization of Teachers: An Ethnographic Study of Factors Contributing to the Rationalization of the Teacher's Instructional Perspective.

You become very organized and structured as a result of being a teacher.... You struggle to be efficient. Control becomes a major goal.... Paperwork, hall duty, meetings, discipline problems, keepi...
Radiation Oncology Peer Review: Measuring Quality

I’m with you when you’re right, Governor. But not when you’re wrong. –David M. Kleck, public relations counsel You stupid sonofabitch. I don’t need you when I’m right. –Earl Long, Louisiana governor [1] In a 1992 article, Cosio and Taylor [2] summarized the US Department of Defense experience with a very specific type of military nonbattle trauma: soda pop vending machine injuries. A total of 64 reported events had contributed to 15 deaths and 13 cases of multiple trauma, including 49 fractures. Although one unfortunate man was killed by a machine tipped over by colleagues just as he left his room, the remaining cases were triggered by people trying to retrieve sodas that had not descended (n 33), trying to get free sodas (n 7), trying to clean under the machines (n 3), or trying to retrieve change (n 2). The mean age of the victims was 19.8 years (range, 5-39 years). Because it is unlikely that any of the injured intended to be crushed by a vending machine, we easily may believe the statement of one victim: “It came down faster than I thought . . . it was too heavy” [3]. This is a glaring example of how we can fatally miscalculate our competence in some arenas. In a seminal 1999 article, Kruger and Dunning [4] described the results of experiments in which participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, logic, and grammar drastically and reproducibly overestimated their true capabilities. These people considered themselves to be well above average: from the true median of their cohort at the 12th percentile, they thought they had performed at the 62nd. The authors further demonstrated that once these bottomquartile performers were taught in the subject of that incompetence, (1) their performance levels rose, and (2) their self-analysis became more accurate. In other words, we do not well recognize our own lack of competence in areas in which it exists, and the best way to remedy such poor competence calibration is to be taught more in those areas. This phenomenon is extraordinarily apt in the area of quality in radiation oncology as well. Practice accreditation as provided by the ACR [5] or clinical review from Quality Research in Radiation Oncology [6] provides an organization with the benefit of a comparison of institutional metrics and clinical outcomes with national benchmarks. At the individual level, peer review, performed in a collegial and administratively confidential manner, provides essential opportunities for physicians to “sharpen” one another in terms of clinical care and plan review [7]. The American Board of Medical Specialties requires within the Maintenance of Certification construct that Practice Quality Improvement projects provide individual assessments using national norms [8]; such projects serve as critical adjuncts to ongoing local peer review. As a discipline, radiation oncology takes insufficient advantage of these processes. In 2013, it is an uncomfortable fact that many of our peer-review and Practice Quality Improvement projects are merely administrative. Until now, the pre-
Delayed Intracerebral Hemorrhage after Ventriculoperitoneal Shunting

Intracerebral hemorrhage after a ventricular shunting procedure is uncommon. In our series of 900 shunting procedures we have seen 3 moderate sized hemorrhages (3 to 5 cm in size) for an incidence of 0.3%. One of these cases developed the hemorrhage one week after an uneventful ventricular shunting procedure. The patient left the hospital on the 5th postoperative day feeling well. On the 7th postoperative day she developed a headache and had a generalized convulsion. On readmission she was lethargic, with a stiff neck and a mild left hemiparesis. A CT scan and MRI scan revealed a 3–5 cm right frontal intraparenchymal hematoma along the path of the ventricular catheter. A cerebral angiogram was normal. The patient had had no trauma since the shunting procedure. She had no history of bleeding disorder, and hematological tests including platelet count, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, and bleeding time were all within normal limits. The patient fully recovered without operative intervention.
Spurious peaks produced by compton scattering in Ge(Li)-Ge(Li) coincidence gamma-ray spectrometer systems

We present results from our investigations of Compton scattering between Ge(Li) γ-ray detectors in coincidence experiments. Such scattering can generate false peaks that can be mistaken for photopeaks. The effects of varying gate position, gate width, background subtraction, and angle between detectors are discussed, and suggestions an: made for recognizing and minimizing spurious effects.
Decrease in Striatal Enkephalin mRNA in Mouse Models of Huntington’s Disease

Huntington's disease is a devastating progressive neurodegenerative illness characterized by massive neuronal loss in the striatum. It is caused by the presence of an expanded CAG repeat in the gene encoding huntingtin, a protein of unknown function. We have examined the expression of neurotransmitters and other antigens present in striatal neurons with immunohistochemistry, and the level of expression of mRNAs encoding enkephalin, substance P, and glutamic acid decarboxylases with quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry, in the striatum of two mouse models of Huntington's disease: transgenic animals expressing exon 1 of the human huntingtin gene with 144 CAG repeats and "knock-in" mice containing a chimeric mouse/human exon 1 with 71 or 94 CAG repeats inserted by homologous targeting. Although the transgenic (but not the knock-in) mice were previously shown to display prominent huntingtin- and ubiquitin-containing nuclear inclusions in striatal neurons, in situ nick translation followed by emulsion autoradiography did not reveal any DNA damage in striatum or cortex in these mice. Immunolabeling for calbindin D 28K, enkephalin, substance P, glutamic acid decarboxylases (M(r) 65,000 or 67,000, GAD65 and GAD67), somatostatin, choline acetyltransferase, parvalbumin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein were remarkably similar in transgenic, knock-in, and wild-type mice. Both transgenic and knock-in mice, however, showed a marked decrease in the level of expression of enkephalin mRNA in striatal neurons without significant decreases in mRNAs encoding substance P, GAD65, or GAD67. The data indicate that decreased expression of enkephalin mRNA may be an early sign of neuronal dysfunction due to the Huntington's disease mutation.
Contribution of Active-Site Residues to the Function of Onconase, a Ribonuclease with Antitumoral Activity †

Onconase (ONC), a homologue of ribonuclease A (RNase A), is in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. ONC possesses a conserved active-site catalytic triad, which is composed of His10, Lys31, and His97. The three-dimensional structure of ONC suggests that two additional residues, Lys9 and an N-terminal lactam formed from a glutamine residue (Pca1), could also contribute to catalysis. To determine the role of Pca1, Lys9, and Lys31 in the function of ONC, site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace each with alanine. Values of k(cat)/K(M) for the variants were determined with a novel fluorogenic substrate, which was designed to match the nucleobase specificity of ONC and gives the highest known k(cat)/K(M) value for the enzyme. The K9A and K31A variants display 10(3)-fold lower k(cat)/K(M) values than the wild-type enzyme, and a K9A/K31A double variant suffers a >10(4)-fold decrease in catalytic activity. In addition, replacing Lys9 or Lys31 eliminates the antitumoral activity of ONC. The side chains of Pca1 and Lys9 form a hydrogen bond in crystalline ONC. Replacing Pca1 with an alanine residue lowers the catalytic activity of ONC by 20-fold. Yet, replacing Pca1 in the K9A variant enzyme does not further reduce catalytic activity, revealing that the function of the N-terminal pyroglutamate residue is to secure Lys9. The thermodynamic cycle derived from k(cat)/K(M) values indicates that the Pca1...Lys9 hydrogen bond contributes 2.0 kcal/mol to the stabilization of the rate-limiting transition state during catalysis. Finally, binding isotherms with a substrate analogue indicate that Lys9 and Lys31 contribute little to substrate binding and that the low intrinsic catalytic activity of ONC originates largely from the low affinity of the enzyme for its substrate. These findings could assist the further development of ONC as a cancer chemotherapeutic.
Multilevel converters as a utility interface for renewable energy systems

Multilevel inverter structures have been developed to overcome shortcomings in solid-state switching device ratings so that they can be applied to high-voltage electrical systems. The general function of the multilevel inverter is to synthesize a desired AC voltage from several levels of DC voltages. For this reason, multilevel inverters are ideal for connecting either in series or in parallel an AC grid with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or fuel cells or with energy storage devices such as capacitors or batteries. In this paper the cascaded H-bridges multilevel inverter is described.
An Exploratory Study of Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivators and Student Performance in an Auditing Course.

The objective of this study is to investigate the association of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators and student performance. This study performs an exploratory analysis and presents evidence to demonstrate that intrinsic motivators affect the connection between external motivators and student performance. The empirical tests follow the framework developed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and examine the mediation effect on the data collected from an undergraduate auditing course. The results indicate that there exists a partial mediation effect of voluntary online quizzes (a measure of intrinsic motivator) on the association between mandatory in-class quizzes (a measure of external motivator) and course performance. The findings offer basis for interesting implications, suggesting that mandatory external motivators (e.g., in-class quizzes) are of less value with the presence of other viable motivational techniques (e.g., online quizzes). Voluntary online quizzes help foster learner intrinsic motivation and hence bear more importance with student performance. Educators may consider using techniques that can boost intrinsic motivation in teaching practices.
Candidate and Media Agenda Setting in the 2005 Virginia Gubernatorial Election

This study examines relationships among candidate and media agendas during the 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election. Candidate press releases and newspaper articles about the election were analyzed using the computer program VBPro. High agenda correlations indicated that the 2 major-party candidates, Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Jerry Kilgore, and the 4 major newspapers serving the state discussed similar issues during the campaign. Cross-lagged correlations indicated both candidates' agendas shared reciprocal relationships with the agendas of 2 papers, whereas the candidates set the agendas of 2 others. Intermedia agenda-setting effects were also observed. The candidates' agendas influenced each other during the campaign's hotphase, although post hoc analysis indicated that Kilgore earlier set Kaine's agenda. Implications for future agenda-setting research are discussed.
Confidence Interval Estimation Using Standardized Time Series

Observations of a stationary stochastic process can be transformed into a standardized time series. This paper presents a lemma giving the asymptotic properties of this standardized series under quite general conditions. In particular, the conditions are satisfied by stationary discrete-event simulations. Confidence intervals can be constructed using this lemma. For illustration, we develop two easily computed interval estimators for the process mean. When independent replications of the series are available, such as in computer simulation experiments, these interval estimators may be combined with the classical confidence interval estimator. These interval estimators also tend to compensate for simulation initialization bias if the sign of the bias is known. In an empirical study using three elementary simulated processes, the interval estimators presented here compare favorably with the classical interval estimator. In a recent paper, Goldsman and Schruben Goldsman, D., L. Schruben. 1982. Asymptotic properties of some confidence interval estimators. Tech. Rep. 544, School of O.R.I.E., Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. show that the asymptotic properties of the confidence intervals presented in this paper strictly dominate those of classical confidence intervals.
Nurse home visits for infants and toddlers of low-income families improve behavioural, language and attention outcomes at age 6–9 years; paraprofessional visits improve visual attention and task switching

Commentary on : Olds DL, Holmberg JR, Donelan-McCall N, et al. Effects of home visits by paraprofessionals and by nurses on children: follow-up of a randomized trial at ages 6 and 9 years. JAMA Pediatr 2014;168:114–21.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] Through the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (funded under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), federal funds now support early-life home-visiting programmes in the USA, but only if they are evidence-based. Therefore, the rigorous evaluation of different models of home-visiting programmes has increased.1 The Nurse Family Partnership is the most studied home-visiting model in the USA, … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJAMA%2BPediatr%26rft.volume%253D168%26rft.spage%253D114%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1001%252Fjamapediatrics.2013.3817%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F24296904%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.3817&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=24296904&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febnurs%2F18%2F2%2F50.atom [4]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000331366900008&link_type=ISI
Spaces of dependence, spaces of engagement and the politics of scale, or: looking for local politics

The relation between spaces of dependence and spaces of engagement is a contingent matter. In the case of the community builders the Federal Housing Administration clearly had a national space of dependence in mind and was interested in promoting its interest in boosting the demand for housing in the United States. Local politics appears as metropolitan, regional, national or even international as different organizations try to secure those networks of associations through which respective projects can be realized. Changing economic geographies at more global scales threaten the realization of the local interests. The Conservative Party has tended to do especially well in the South and in rural areas and Labor less badly in the North and in urban areas. But the one which seems to fit the empirical materials most convincingly emphasizes the increasing importance of local labor and housing markets as bases for political mobilization and particularly, of course, for home owners.
Timing, Timing, Timing: Fast Decoding of Object Information from Intracranial Field Potentials in Human Visual Cortex

Summary The difficulty of visual recognition stems from the need to achieve high selectivity while maintaining robustness to object transformations within hundreds of milliseconds. Theories of visual recognition differ in whether the neuronal circuits invoke recurrent feedback connections or not. The timing of neurophysiological responses in visual cortex plays a key role in distinguishing between bottom-up and top-down theories. Here, we quantified at millisecond resolution the amount of visual information conveyed by intracranial field potentials from 912 electrodes in 11 human subjects. We could decode object category information from human visual cortex in single trials as early as 100 ms poststimulus. Decoding performance was robust to depth rotation and scale changes. The results suggest that physiological activity in the temporal lobe can account for key properties of visual recognition. The fast decoding in single trials is compatible with feedforward theories and provides strong constraints for computational models of human vision.
Reducing the effect of overwater structures on migrating juvenile salmon: An experiment with light

Abstract Like many migratory species, anadromous juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) rely heavily on light perception to orient themselves in space, capture prey, shoal, avoid predators, and migrate along the shoreline to the ocean. However, the continuous demographic expansion along the US West coast has modified many natural coastal environments and has created a new artificial light environment for these species. Among the contributing factors are the construction of large overwater structures such as ferry terminals that have interfered with juvenile salmon migration and behavior by reducing light availability in the salmon migratory pathway. We examined in this study whether the use of an artificial lighting system can mitigate the dock shading impacts on juvenile salmon behavior. A linear mixed effect model was used to analyze changes in individual fish behavior (due to dock shading and artificial lighting) within a shoal. Two different fish movement metrics were examined to characterize the change in behavior: swimming angular variation, and closest distance to the dock. Juvenile salmon avoided penetrating under the dock when strong shadow was present underneath it. Conversely, when artificial light was used to attenuate the dock edge shadow, it was able to mitigate to some extent the effect on juvenile salmon swimming behavior by making them swim closer to the dock with a higher directionality. But when light was used on a non-shaded area, it caused them to stay further away. Light could potentially be used as a method to mitigate dock shading but precautions need to be paid.
Vivaldi: a decentralized network coordinate system

Large-scale Internet applications can benefit from an ability to predict round-trip times to other hosts without having to contact them first. Explicit measurements are often unattractive because the cost of measurement can outweigh the benefits of exploiting proximity information. Vivaldi is a simple, light-weight algorithm that assigns synthetic coordinates to hosts such that the distance between the coordinates of two hosts accurately predicts the communication latency between the hosts. Vivaldi is fully distributed, requiring no fixed network infrastructure and no distinguished hosts. It is also efficient: a new host can compute good coordinates for itself after collecting latency information from only a few other hosts. Because it requires little com-munication, Vivaldi can piggy-back on the communication patterns of the application using it and scale to a large number of hosts. An evaluation of Vivaldi using a simulated network whose latencies are based on measurements among 1740 Internet hosts shows that a 2-dimensional Euclidean model with height vectors embeds these hosts with low error (the median relative error in round-trip time prediction is 11 percent).
Adaptive Routing Techniques for Distributed Communications Systems

The concept of a netted or distributed communications system is significant because it offers a major advantage over conventional communications systems, i.e., a better chance of providing surviving lines of communication after an attack on the system. During and after an attack, however, an effective adaptive routing technique is necessary to adjust the routing tables of the message-switching control system to the changing situation. Previously investigated adaptive routing techniques are shown to be insufficient for the task, and a number of promising alternatives are formulated and investigated such as some stochastic techniques, which use information on messages passing through the network to adjust the tables, and some deterministic techniques, which use dynamic programming or graph-theoretic algorithms to recalculate changes in the tables from observed changes in the network. Each alternative has operational advantages, which make it good for certain types of communications systems, and certain disadvantages if applied to others. Regions of applicability and inapplicability, with respect to the above system parameters, are given for the various techniques. Recommended techniques are specified for two currently proposed applications of distributed communications systems. A number of research areas are pointed out in which further efforts in the analysis and simulation of adaptive routing techniques will have useful payoffs in the design of future distributed communications systems.
Disparities in use of laparoscopic hysterectomies: a nationwide analysis.

Abstract Study Objective To determine patient and hospital characteristics that were associated with undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy compared with abdominal hysterectomy. Design Canadian Task Force Classification II-3. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed the 2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. All women who underwent laparoscopic or abdominal hysterectomy for either menorrhagia or leiomyoma were included based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision coding. A linear model with binomial distribution and logit link function was used to determine patient and hospital characteristics associated with hysterectomy approach. Main Results A total of 32 436 patients were included in this study. Of these, 32% patients underwent laparoscopic hysterectomies, and 67% underwent abdominal hysterectomies. With regard to patient characteristics, women younger than 35 years old were more likely to undergo laparoscopic hysterectomy when compared with each of the other age categories (p Conclusions Despite the increased popularity of and training in laparoscopic hysterectomies, there remains an obvious disparity in its delivery with regard to patient and hospital characteristics. Further investigation is needed on the etiology of this disparity and interventions that may alleviate it.
The Philosophical Horizon

The experiments in our conceptual laboratory are now completed. Before we close up, we want to recapitulate some of the findings we have collected along the way and to sum up the lessons we can draw from them.
Inequality Amidst Nutritional Abundance: Native Americans on the Great Plains

The heights of Plains nomads collected by Franz Boas varied by 9 centimeters, following an inverted U-shape by latitude, a pattern also found among Union Army soldiers born east of the Plains. To understand tribal differences, I bring new explanatory variables to the table in the study of historical heights: proxies for effort prices in hunting and gathering food, including biomass, rainfall estimated from tree rings, and tribal area, as well as proximity to trails used by western settlers and movement to reservations. Collectively, these variables explain a substantial share of the systematic variation in average height across tribes.
Host range and dynamics of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis among birds in North America.

An epidemic of conjunctivitis among house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) bacterial infections was first described in 1994. The disease exhibits high primary host specificity, but has been isolated from a limited number of secondary avian hosts at various times and locations. We used records from the House Finch Disease Survey, a continent-wide, volunteer monitoring project, to document the host range of conjunctivitis in birds at feeding stations and to investigate how disease in house finches might influence the spread of conjunctivitis to other hosts. Between 1994 and 1998, participants recorded 675 cases of conjunctivitis in 31 species other than house finches in eastern North America. Seventy five % of these cases were observed among three species: American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis), purple finches (Carpodacus purpureus) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus). The proportion of sites with diseased wintering populations of the three species increased over t...
Fast FIR filtering algorithms based on overlapped block structure

The concept of overlapped block digital filtering is introduced, and the conditions for shift-invariant operation are derived. Two special types of overlapped block structures which can be used to realized finite impulse response (FIR) filters are discussed. Their efficient implementation based on fast short-length linear convolution algorithms and discrete Fourier transform (DFT) are described. >
A procedure for estimating the hepatotoxic potential of certain industrial solvents.

Abstract A screening procedure has been described for estimating the hepatotoxic potential of industrial solvents in mice. Data on lethality, barbiturate sleeping time, and bromosulfalein retention, coupled with minimal histologic examination, were employed to determine the individual hepatotoxic potency and relative hepatotoxic potencies for nine halogenated methane derivatives. A method has been described for estimating the industrial hepatotoxic hazard by these data.
Thermodynamic Properties of the Kinesin Neck-Region Docking to the Catalytic Core

Kinesin motors move on microtubules by a mechanism that involves a large, ATP-triggered conformational change in which a mechanical element called the neck linker docks onto the catalytic core, making contacts with the core throughout its length. Here, we investigate the thermodynamic properties of this conformational change using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. We placed spin probes at several locations on the human kinesin neck linker and recorded EPR spectra in the presence of microtubules and either 5′-adenylylimidodiphosphate (AMPPNP) or ADP at temperatures of 4–30°C. The free-energy change (ΔG) associated with AMPPNP-induced docking of the neck linker onto the catalytic core is favorable but small, about 3 kJ/mol. In contrast, the favorable enthalpy change (ΔH) and unfavorable entropy change (TΔS) are quite large, about 50 kJ/mol. A mutation in the neck linker, V331A/N332A, results in an unfavorable ΔG for AMPPNP-induced zipping of the neck linker onto the core and causes motility defects. These results suggest that the kinesin neck linker folds onto the core from a more unstructured state, thereby paying a large entropic cost and gaining a large amount of enthalpy.