cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lobular structure of hemochorial primate placentas, and its relation to maternal vessels.

Structure of the placental lobule and its topographic relation to the ostia of maternal vessels were studied in primates with hemochorial placentas. The lobule contains most of the terminal villi, whereas stems predominate in interlobular areas. The placenta of Tarsiidae consists of one lobule supplied by one maternal artery. Ceboidea (New World Monkeys) have multilobular placentas. In both forms arteries reach the intervillous space below the center of a lobule, and then continue into the lobule as perforated, branched channels which lose their maternal vessel wall. In Cercopithecoidea (Old World Monkeys) each maternal artery has a convolution in the decidua below an interlobular area, then continues straight to a point below the center of a lobule, and opens there. Hominoid (ape and human) placentas are supplied by much larger numbers of arterial convolutions at interlobular areas, with interlobular openings close to anchoring points of villous stems. Venous drainage is at the periphery in Tarsius and interlobular in all other forms. The interlobular intervillous space may have more or less specialized portions emptying into maternal veins. Circulation in the intervillous space must be directed from the center toward the periphery of the lobule in Tarsiidae and Ceboidea. In Cercopithecoidea and Hominoidea the path of maternal blood issuing from arteries is not known. It is suggested that arterial blood irrigates first the periphery, and that this is the cause of dense proliferation of villi there.
Cross-reactivity of existing equine influenza vaccines with a new strain of equine influenza virus from China

A novel strain of equine influenza virus, influenza A/equine/Jilin (China)/1/89, has emerged which is genetically distinct from all earlier strains of equine influenza. It is therefore possible that the vaccines against equine influenza may be unable to protect horses against disease caused by this virus strain. In vitro serological assays established that there were low levels of immunological cross-reactivity between the new virus, the current vaccine strains and the strains of equine-2 influenza virus now in circulation.
A SEMIAUTOMATED PROCEDURE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TRIGLYCERIDES IN SERUM.

Abstract A procedure is described for the determination of triglycerides in serum, using an AutoAnalyzer and the same isopropanol extract of serum that is used in the automated determination of cholesterol. The method gives results identical to those obtained with a manual procedure, and enables one to carry out 100 or more triglyceride determinations per day.
Patients With Dual Diagnoses or Substance Use Disorders Only: 12-Step Group Participation and 1-Year Outcomes

We compared outpatients (regional facility) with substance use and psychiatric (N == 199) or only substance use (N == 146) disorders on baseline and one-year symptoms (93%% follow-up), and treatment and 12-step group participation over the year (2005). We examined whether diagnostic status moderated associations between participation and outcomes (Addiction Severity Index) with regressions. At follow-up, dual diagnosis patients had more severe symptoms, despite comparable treatment. The groups were comparable on 12-step participation, which was associated with better outcomes. However, associations of participation with better outcomes were weaker for dual diagnosis patients. Study (VA HSR&D-funded) implications and limitations are noted and research suggested.
Energy component analysis calculations on neutral atom …︁ base interactions

We present energy component analysis calculations on alkali atom (Li,Na) hydride (H2O,NH3,H2S) interactions and compare these with corresponding (Li+ … NH3) cation … hydride interactions. In contrast to cation hydride interactions, the neutral atom–hydride interactions are shown to involve considerable contributions from all energy components.
Anaphase Promoting Complex or Cyclosome

The anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) was initially described as a multi-subunit protein complex that ubiquitinates anaphase inhibitors thus targeting them for destruction by proteasomes to initiate loss of sister chromatid cohesion. However, recent studies have identified important new functions of the APC/C. Moreover, sister centromere separation can occur in the absence of APC/C activity in mammals, indicating that anaphase onset might be triggered by multiple factors. Here we discuss whether the APC/C functions primarily as the anaphase trigger, or whether it has more general properties, relevant for cell cycle control at multiple developmental and cell cycle stages. Additionally, we discuss the validity of the APC-dependent model for sister segregation in mammals.
Preconception Vaccination with a Glycoprotein B (gB) DNA Vaccine Protects against Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Transmission in the Guinea Pig Model of Congenital CMV Infection

DNA vaccines expressing the guinea pig cytomegalovirus (GPCMV) homologs of the glycoprotein B (gB) and UL83 proteins were evaluated for protection against congenital GPCMV infection. After 4 doses of DNA administered by epidermal (gene gun) route, all guinea pigs developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibody and, for gB-vaccine recipients, neutralizing antibody. Dams were challenged with 1 X 10 4 plaque-forming units of GPCMV in the third trimester. Preconception vaccination with gB did not decrease overall pup mortality, although, within the gB-vaccine group, pup mortality was lower among dams with high ELISA responses. Preconception maternal vaccination with gB vaccine significantly reduced congenital transmission in liveborn pups. In contrast, UL83 vaccine had no significant effect on pup mortality or vertical transmission of GPCMV. Virus load was significantly lower in infected pups born to gB- and UL83-vaccinated dams than in infected pups born to control dams. These data support the concept that subunit gB vaccination may be useful in protecting against CMV-induced disease.
Aging predisposes to acute inflammatory induced pathology after tumor immunotherapy

Cancer commonly occurs in the elderly and immunotherapy (IT) is being increasingly applied to this population. However, the majority of preclinical mouse tumor models assessing potential efficacy and toxicities of therapeutics use young mice. We assessed the impact of age on responses to systemic immune stimulation. In contrast to young mice, systemic cancer IT regimens or LPS given to aged mice resulted in rapid and lethal toxicities affecting multiple organs correlating with heightened proinflammatory cytokines systemically and within the parenchymal tissues. This inflammatory response and increased morbidity with age was independent of T cells or NK cells. However, prior in vivo depletion of macrophages in aged mice resulted in lesser cytokine levels, increased survival, and decreased liver histopathology. Furthermore, macrophages from aged mice and normal human elderly volunteers displayed heightened TNF and IL-6 production upon in vitro stimulation. Treatment of both TNF knockout mice and in vivo TNF blockade in aged mice resulted in significant increases in survival and lessened pathology. Importantly, TNF blockade in tumor-bearing, aged mice receiving IT displayed significant anti-tumor effects. These data demonstrate the critical role of macrophages in the age-associated hyper-inflammatory cytokine responses to systemic immunostimulation and underscore the importance of performing preclinical assessments in aged mice.
RNAmutants: a web server to explore the mutational landscape of RNA secondary structures.

The history and mechanism of molecular evolution in DNA have been greatly elucidated by contributions from genetics, probability theory and bioinformatics—indeed, mathematical developments such as Kimura’s neutral theory, Kingman’s coalescent theory and efficient software such as BLAST, ClustalW, Phylip, etc., provide the foundation for modern population genetics. In contrast to DNA, the function of most noncoding RNA depends on tertiary structure, experimentally known to be largely determined by secondary structure, for which dynamic programming can efficiently compute the minimum free energy secondary structure. For this reason, understanding the effect of pointwise mutations in RNA secondary structure could reveal fundamental properties of structural RNA molecules and improve our understanding of molecular evolution of RNA. The web server RNAmutants provides several efficient tools to compute the ensemble of low-energy secondary structures for all k-mutants of a given RNA sequence, where k is bounded by a user-specified upper bound. As we have previously shown, these tools can be used to predict putative deleterious mutations and to analyze regulatory sequences from the hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency genomes. Web server is available at http://bioinformatics.bc.edu/clotelab/RNAmutants/, and downloadable binaries at http://rnamutants .csail.mit.edu/.
The Craft, Practice, and Possibility of Poetry in Educational Research

Developing a poetic voice prepares scholars to discover and communicate findings in multidimensional, penetrating, and more accessible ways. The author explores the craft, practice, and possibility for a poetic approach to inquiry among teaching and learning communities and encourages all researchers, especially those using qualitative methodologies, to consider what poets do and learn how to incorporate rhythm, form, metaphor, and other poetic techniques to enhance their work. Examples are presented of poetic techniques from research. The author discusses the use of poetry as a means for educational scholarship to impact the arts, influence wider audiences, and improve teacher and graduate student education.
Interfacial binding of bee venom secreted phospholipase A2 to membranes occurs predominantly by a nonelectrostatic mechanism.

The secreted phospholipase A2 from bee venom (bvPLA2) contains a membrane binding surface composed mainly of hydrophobic residues and two basic residues that come in close contact with the membrane. Previous studies have shown that the mutant in which these two basic residues (K14 and R23) as well as three other nearby basic residues were collectively changed to glutamate (charge reversal), like wild-type enzyme, binds with high affinity to anionic phospholipid vesicles. In the present study, we have measured the equilibrium constants for the interaction of wild-type bvPLA2, the charge-reversal mutant (bvPLA2-E5), and the mutant in which the five basic residues were changed to neutral glutamine (bvPLA2-Q5) with phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles containing various amounts of the anionic phosphatidylserine (PS). Remarkably, bvPLA2-E5 with an anionic membrane binding surface binds more tightly to vesicles as the mole percent of PS is increased. Computational studies predict that this is due to a significant ...
Initial Parafoveal Versus Peripheral Scotomas in Glaucoma: Risk Factors and Visual Field Characteristics

Objective To assess risk factors for an initial parafoveal scotoma (IPFS) compared with an initial nasal step (INS) in glaucoma. Design Retrospective, observational study. Participants Sixty-nine patients with glaucoma with an isolated IPFS and 53 patients with an isolated INS. Methods On the basis of 2 reliable, consistent 24-2 Swedish interactive threshold algorithm standard visual fields (VFs), 2 groups of patients with glaucoma were studied: those with an IPFS in 1 hemifield (≥3 adjacent points with P P P P Main Outcome Measures Maximum untreated intraocular pressure (IOP), disc hemorrhage (DH) detection during follow-up, systemic risk factors, and VF mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD). Results Maximum untreated IOP (21.6±4.5 vs. 28.3±9.6 mmHg; P P =0.001) and systemic risk factors (hypotension, migraine, Raynaud's phenomenon, and sleep apnea; 16%, 23%, 24%, and 9% vs. 0%, 4%, 9%, and 0%; P =0.001, 0.002, 0.025, and 0.030, respectively) were significantly higher in patients with an IPFS than in patients with an INS. There were no significant differences in age, gender, family history of glaucoma, refractive error, central corneal thickness, and disc area between the 2 groups (all P >0.1). Mean deviation was similar between the 2 groups ( P =0.346), but PSD was significantly greater in the IPFS group than in the INS group ( P =0.043). Conclusions Eyes with an IPFS differ from those with an INS. These findings may help clinicians identify patients at higher risk of early central field loss. Financial Disclosure(s) Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
When does Retrieval Induce Forgetting and When does it Induce Facilitation? Implications for Retrieval Inhibition, Testing Effect, and Text Processing

Retrieval practice can enhance long-term retention of the tested material (the testing effect), but it can also impair later recall of the nontested material – a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (Anderson, M. C., Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (1994). Remembering can cause forgetting: retrieval dynamics in long-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(5), 1063–1087). Recent research, however, has shown that retrieval practice can sometimes improve later recall of the nontested material – a phenomenon termed retrieval-induced facilitation (Chan, J. C. K., McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (2006). Retrieval-induced facilitation: initially nontested material can benefit from prior testing of related material. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 135, 553–571). What drives these different effects? Two experiments were designed to examine the conditions under which retrieval induces forgetting and facilitation. Two variables, the level of integration invoked during encoding and the length of delay between retrieval practice and final test, were revealed as critical factors in determining whether testing facilitated or hindered later retrieval of the nontested information. A text processing framework is advanced to account for these findings.
The Mystery of Mismatch Repair Deficiency: Lynch or Lynch-like?

Syndromic familial colorectal cancer (CRC) has gone through an evolution of names, and at this time, we refer to Lynch syndrome as the familial syndrome characterized by a germline mutation in a DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene1. This helped distinguish Lynch syndrome from other familial collections of tumors that were not linked to MMR gene mutations, and underscored the unique clinical consequences of tumors with DNA MMR deficiency, which involve differences in the growth rates of the tumors, their location in the colon, the natural history, the risks of cancer in non-colonic organs, and differences in the responses to chemotherapy2. The collective agreement to use this nomenclature was in part based upon the fact that one can detect almost all Lynch syndrome CRCs by virtue of the presence of microsatellite instability (MSI) and abnormal MMR protein immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the tumor tissues.
Canopy warming caused photosynthetic acclimation and reduced seed yield in maize grown at ambient and elevated [CO2]

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2 ]) and attendant increases in growing season temperature are expected to be the most important global change factors impacting production agriculture. Although maize is the most highly produced crop worldwide, few studies have evaluated the interactive effects of elevated [CO2 ] and temperature on its photosynthetic physiology, agronomic traits or biomass, and seed yield under open field conditions. This study investigates the effects of rising [CO2 ] and warmer temperature, independently and in combination, on maize grown in the field throughout a full growing season. Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) technology was used to target atmospheric [CO2 ] to 200 μmol mol(-1) above ambient [CO2 ] and infrared heaters to target a plant canopy increase of 3.5 °C, with actual season mean heating of ~2.7 °C, mimicking conditions predicted by the second half of this century. Photosynthetic gas-exchange parameters, leaf nitrogen and carbon content, leaf water potential components, and developmental measurements were collected throughout the season, and biomass and yield were measured at the end of the growing season. As predicted for a C4 plant, elevated [CO2 ] did not stimulate photosynthesis, biomass, or yield. Canopy warming caused a large shift in aboveground allocation by stimulating season-long vegetative biomass and decreasing reproductive biomass accumulation at both CO2 concentrations, resulting in decreased harvest index. Warming caused a reduction in photosynthesis due to down-regulation of photosynthetic biochemical parameters and the decrease in the electron transport rate. The reduction in seed yield with warming was driven by reduced photosynthetic capacity and by a shift in aboveground carbon allocation away from reproduction. This field study portends that future warming will reduce yield in maize, and this will not be mitigated by higher atmospheric [CO2 ] unless appropriate adaptation traits can be introduced into future cultivars.
Per-Pixel Floating-Point ADCs with Electronic Shutters for a High Dynamic Range, High Frame Rate Infrared Focal Plane Array

A per-pixel floating-point, dual-slope A/D converter (ADC) array for a 16 times 16 long wavelength infrared detector array has been integrated in a 0.18-mum CMOS technology. To achieve a high dynamic range and high frame rate simultaneously, an electronic shutter is combined with an ADC for each pixel. A unique method of comparator offset cancellation, employing an integration capacitor with digital calibration, improves the uniformity of the array. The experimental prototype achieves a 19-bit dynamic range and 8-bit resolution at 3 kfps, with a power consumption of only 7 muW/pixel. Each per-pixel ADC occupies 4000 mum2 and is well-suited to 3-dimensional integration
Simple MAP Inference via Low-Rank Relaxations

We focus on the problem of maximum a posteriori (MAP) inference in Markov random fields with binary variables and pairwise interactions. For this common subclass of inference tasks, we consider low-rank relaxations that interpolate between the discrete problem and its full-rank semidefinite relaxation. We develop new theoretical bounds studying the effect of rank, showing that as the rank grows, the relaxed objective increases but saturates, and that the fraction in objective value retained by the rounded discrete solution decreases. In practice, we show two algorithms for optimizing the low-rank objectives which are simple to implement, enjoy ties to the underlying theory, and outperform existing approaches on benchmark MAP inference tasks.
Physician use of and attitudes regarding the minimum data set.

Objective To determine physician use of the Minimum Data Set (MDS), part of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI). Design A population-based survey. Setting The United States Participants A total of 2223 physicians listing geriatrics as their primary specialty, 1921 of whom are internists and 302 family physicians. Measurements A 34-item questionnaire asking nine physician-specific demographic questions; nursing home caseload; percent time spent reviewing MDS and care plan; how the information on the MDS was used. Physicians were also asked to describe their attitudes about the MDS. Results Among the 472 physicians who completed the survey and cared for nursing home patients, 357 were internists and 107 were family physicians. Ninety-one percent of the physicians were board certified, 76% had certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics, and 65% oversaw 20 nursing home patients. Only 11% of physicians reported reviewing the entire MDS, and 21% part of the MDS for all of their patients. Nineteen percent of physicians did not review the care plan for any of their patients. Fifty-six percent of 461 comments made by physicians regarding the MDS were negative or derogatory. Conclusions Many practicing geriatricians are not using MDS to facilitate medical decisions. If this physician population is not using the MDS, there is a need to improve the information transfer from the MDS form to the busy clinician.
Japanese Cooperative and Competitive A ltitudes: Age and Gender Effects

Japanese fifth through twelfth graders (N = 927) rated and ranked 24 cooperative and competitive activities (teacher-generated) in terms of personal importance. Factor analyses revealed one consistent cooperative factor across school levels, and different competitive factor structures for elementary, middle and high school pupils. Analyses of variance on individual items and on composite measures suggested that (1) while females were significantly more cooperative and males more competitive than one another, both sexes responded much more positively towards cooperative than competitive items, and (2) cooperative and competitive orientation depends on the specific activity. Age, gender and situational factors were related to pupils' cultural socialization at school.
Behavioral plasticity in nest building increases fecundity in marsh birds

ABSTRACT Many bird species nest in precarious, unpredictable locations to decrease the risk of predation. Although it is likely that many species have adapted behaviors to deal with stochastic habitats, there is currently limited evidence of plastic behavior increasing avian fecundity in the wild. Virginia Rails (Rallus limicola) and Soras (Porzana carolina) live in the littoral zones of wetlands that experience high hydrologic variability. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, we tested for the effects of hydrology and behavioral plasticity on the survival of Virginia Rail (n = 75) and Sora (n = 22) nests across 10 wetlands in Maine, USA. We identified the best predictors of both (1) nesting success at individual nests and (2) mean nesting success at the site level, using logistic-exposure models and an information-theoretic approach. Daily nesting survival was 98% for both species, and apparent nest survival was 31 of 85 nests, or 63.5%. Ninety percent of all nesting failures was from predation. Hydrolog...
A Genomic Portrait of Human Microsatellite Variation

Rapid advances in DNA sequencing and genotyping technologies are beginning to reveal the scope and pattern of human genomic variation. Although single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been intensively studied, the extent and form of variation at other types of molecular variants remain poorly understood. Polymorphism at the most variable loci in the human genome, microsatellites, has rarely been examined on a genomic scale without the ascertainment biases that attend typical genotyping studies. We conducted a genomic survey of variation at microsatellites with at least three perfect repeats by comparing two complete genome sequences, the Human Genome Reference sequence and the sequence of J. Craig Venter. The genomic proportion of polymorphic loci was 2.7%, much higher than the rate of SNP variation, with marked heterogeneity among classes of loci. The proportion of variable loci increased substantially with repeat number. Repeat lengths differed in levels of variation, with longer repeat lengths generally showing higher polymorphism at the same repeat number. Microsatellite variation was weakly correlated with regional SNP number, indicating modest effects of shared genealogical history. Reductions in variation were detected at microsatellites located in introns, in untranslated regions, in coding exons, and just upstream of transcription start sites, suggesting the presence of selective constraints. Our results provide new insights into microsatellite mutational processes and yield a preview of patterns of variation that will be obtained in genomic surveys of larger numbers of individuals.
Model of human dynamic orientation

The dynamics associated with the perception of orientation were modelled for near-threshold and suprathreshold vestibular stimuli. A model of the information available at the peripheral sensors which was consistent with available neurophysiologic data was developed and served as the basis for the models of the perceptual responses. The central processor was assumed to utilize the information from the peripheral sensors in an optimal (minimum mean square error) manner to produce the perceptual estimates of dynamic orientation. This assumption, coupled with the models of sensory information, determined the form of the model for the central processor. The problem of integrating information from the semi-circular canals and the otoliths to predict the perceptual response to motions which stimulated both organs was studied. A model was developed which was shown to be useful in predicting the perceptual response to multi-sensory stimuli.
Rejecting the Square Peg in a Round Hole: Expanding Arguments in Oral Interpretation Introductions

This paper aims to advance the level of argument made in the introductions of competitive forensic oral interpretation of literature events. It is argued that the status quo of arguments in oral interp introductions is overall sub-par, and perhaps limited. Connections are made between the goals of the oral interpretation introduction and current work in the scholarship of historicity. Akin to conclusions performance scholars have made, it is not the truth or falsity of literature or history which is of primary concern, but rather the (potential) generative nature of literature. Just as Pollock calls performance scholars to make history go rather than go away, I argue that as a parallel, we can make oral interpretation go rather than go away through the use of an expanded understanding of the use of an argument in the oral interpretation introduction. In lieu of an Aristotelian-only reading of argumentation in oral interpretation, we can take cues from both our performance studies and performance-based debate colleagues in order to inflate the possibilities of both meaningful and generative arguments in oral interpretation introductions. Implications for the competitive, educational, and game aspects of forensics are also offered.
A rapid method of determining the presence and type of botulinus toxin in contaminated foods

The importance of an early diagnosis of botulism like that of tetanus and diphtheria is emphasized by the fact that the benefits of antitoxin depend on early administration. In the case of botulism this is confirmed by clinical reports and experiments. Thus, Forssman 1 concludes from his work on guinea-pigs and rabbits that botulinus antitoxin, to have marked therapeutic effects, must be given before the appearance of respiratory symptoms. Kempner,2 Dickson and Howitt3 and others, however, have shown that it is possible to save guinea-pigs by the injection of botulinus antitoxin as long as 24 hours after the injection or feeding of a fatal dose of toxin (fatal in 48 hours), even though definite symptoms of intoxication were manifest. There are at least two distinct types of botulinus toxin, known as A and B. The antitoxin prepared against each type is specific for the homologous toxin and will not protect against the heterologous toxin. These facts clearly indicate the importance of using both types of antitoxin provided the type specific for the toxin causing the poisoning is not known. The problem at hand then includes, in addition to an early diagnosis, the type determination of the infecting organism. Graham and Schwarze 4 suggest the feeding of the responsible food to chickens as a preliminary method of determining the type strain of B. botulinus. They found that type A is fatal when fed to mature
Pragmatism: A Study in Middle Class Ideology

aggregate passes from a mere polyp-like formation into a community of interdependencies; (2) the ways in which the developing community is affected by the size, composition, and rate of growth or decline of the population; (3) the significance of migration for both the development of the community and the maintenance of community stability; and (4) the relative numbers in the various functions composing the communal structure, together with the factors which make for change in the existing equilibrium and the ways in which such change occurs. Clearly, human ecology has much in common with every other social science. The problem with which it deals underlies that of each of theseveral specialized studies of human social life. Its data are drawn from the same sources and it employs many of the same techniques of investigation. The points of convergence are, in fact, too numerous to detail in this paper.24 There is no basis therefore to conclude from what has been said that human ecology is an autonomous social science: it is quite unlikely that there is any autonomy in science. The distinctive feature of the study lies in the conception of the adjustment of man to habitat as a process of community development. Whereas this may be an implicit assumption in most social science disciplines, it is for human ecology the principal working hypothesis. Thus human ecology might well be regarded as the basic social science.
Trauma Surgery in an Austere Environment: Trauma and Emergency Surgery in Unusual Situations

Many guidelines are available to assist in the provision of essential trauma care in various settings including guidelines that stress the feasibility of effective, coordinated trauma systems using simple planning, organizational, and process improvement concepts (Mock et al., Guidelines for essential trauma care. World Health Organization, 2004; Latifi et al., World J Surg 38:1898–1904, 2014; Wisborg et al., J Trauma 64:1342–1348, 2008). As with other reports of trauma care in particular settings, we hope to augment these general guidelines with our own unique lessons learned from providing trauma surgical care in our unusual situation. Setting up, maintaining, and improving a facility to provide trauma and emergency surgery in remote, potentially hostile locations, is a daunting task. However, the US military, by necessity, has the unique background, personnel, and resources to expeditiously provide care in these austere environments. A deployed surgical team’s success in these settings relies on adequate preparation, pre-deployment training, resource acquisition and assurance, team organization with ongoing training, and dedication to process improvement.
A Review of the Benefits of Geothermal Heat Pump Systems in Retail Buildings

Abstract Geothermal systems are becoming increasingly popular during the surge of green building. However, their popularity is limited by a lack of knowledge and perceived risk associated with a new system. These systems do not pollute the environment because they operate from earth's natural energy and do not alter chemical compounds. Geothermal systems are cheaper in the long run because only equipment that uses combustion requires expensive fuel to operate. These savings counteract the higher price of the equipment installation. Energy conservation also benefits society because there is less damage to the environment. Buildings that are sustainable can be recognized with LEED certification but properties that violate environmental standards can be penalized. Geothermal systems are a good option to improve sustainability because it can improve the quality of the work environment and profitability of business. Moderately sized retail building projects that use them are at an advantage compared to those that do not. This paper provides an in depth study of geothermal system for retails stores in Northeastern United States.
Should we treat genetic syndromes

With the greater availability of GH due to the development of recombinant human GH, GH therapy has expanded well beyond the original FDA indication for GHD. We examine the NCGS database, comparing data for FDA-approved indications with data for "other" conditions to see whether such expanded use is warranted. Although statistical analyses are of questionable validity because of the small size of some subpopulations and other factors discussed herein, certain trends emerge from the data captured by NCGS. We conclude that many clinical syndromes characterized by short stature are responsive to GH, at least in the short term. For many such syndromes, responsiveness is of the same magnitude as that seen in Turner's syndrome and, occasionally, GHD. If responsiveness to GH is the most important criterion for GH therapy, these "other" conditions warrant an open-minded, prospective evaluation.
Modeling the Individual Variability of Loudness Perception with a Multi-Category Psychometric Function

Loudness is a suprathreshold percept that provides insight into the status of the entire auditory pathway. Individuals with matched thresholds can show individual variability in their loudness perception that is currently not well understood. As a means to analyze and model listener variability, we introduce the multi-category psychometric function (MCPF), a novel representation for categorical data that fully describes the probabilistic relationship between stimulus level and categorical-loudness perception. We present results based on categorical loudness scaling (CLS) data for adults with normal-hearing (NH) and hearing loss (HL). We show how the MCPF can be used to improve CLS estimates, by combining listener models with maximum-likelihood (ML) estimation. We also describe how the MCPF could be used in an entropy-based stimulus-selection technique. These techniques utilize the probabilistic nature of categorical perception, a novel usage of this dimension of loudness information, to improve the quality of loudness measurements.
Why the Current Economic Crisis is not Over

The dominant school in economics, the so called Neoclassical school, seeks to make economics scientific by adopting assumptions and mathematical techniques from nineteenth-century physics. The basic units of analysis in this approach are isolated units-independent, self-interested, rational agents with perfect knowledge. Four important lessons are derived from an examination of "Candide," "Philoctetes," "Frankenstein," "Rhinoceros," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "The History of the Peloponnesian War," and "The Aeneid." These lessons are used to develop a richer and more realistic view of human action that acknowledges the tendency among humans of developing relations. Humans live in an uncertain world and oscillate between optimism and pessimism. Because of the need to belong, once a movement toward optimism or pessimism develops, it becomes stronger and stronger as the need to belong and the pain of being an outsider leads more and more individuals to become either more optimistic or more pessimistic, according to the dominant tendency. Economic and financial trends are the outcome of such self-amplifying processes. Nontraditional social theorists, such as Pareto, Knight, Keynes, Sornette, and Mackay, have acknowledged this process. It is then argued that the logical structure of the oscillation from optimism to pessimism in a tragedy goes through the following stages: confidence, alarm, relief, panic, false hope, and despair. Because economic and financial processes similarly oscillate from optimism to pessimism, they should go through the same sequence of stages. These stages are identified in the economic processes of the 1930s. The model is then applied to the current state of the economy to argue that the economy is in a false hope rally within the panic stage, and the crisis has several stages to complete before it is finished.
What Is Giftedness

The Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools decided in December of 2008 to scrap the gifted label (De Vise, 2008; Stabley, 2008). According to school officials, erasing the label does not matter because gifted instruction is still available – to all students. Not all parents have been pleased with this decision: “If Montgomery school officials don't ‘give these kids a name, they can ignore the real fact they exist,’ Lori White Wasserman, a parent, wrote on an e-mail list for advocates of gifted instruction in the county” (quoted in De Vise, 2008). The school officials had reasons for their decision. How good the reasons were is a matter of debate. First, Montgomery County is a district in which, according to De Vise (2008), most if not all parents think their children are above average. One is reminded of Garrison Keillor's mythical Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average (Garrison Keillor quotes, 2009). So some parents were apparently offended when their children were not identified as gifted. Second, Montgomery County is among those school districts that are extremely competitive. Its schools are nationally, and perhaps internationally, famous and students work very hard to compete in a pressured atmosphere. Dropping the “gifted” label is one effort to decrease the competition and the marks of separation among the students in the district.
Stabilities and electrical conductivities of electrode materials for use in H2S-containing gases

Stabilities and conductivities of sulfides and lithiated sulfides derived from La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Cr0.2O3, LaCr0.9Ti0.1O3, Y0.9Ca0.1FeO3, and SrCo0.8Fe0.2O3 are studied in a gas mixture of 96% H2 and 4% H2S at 900 °C using X-ray diffraction, microscopy, and impedance spectroscopy. Results indicate that the sulfide and lithiated sulfide derived from Y0.9Ca0.1FeO3 exhibit not only high stability but also high electrical conductivity, implying that they are viable candidate electrode materials for H2S polishing and for solid oxide fuel cells using H2S-containing fuels. In contrast, the lithiated sulfides derived from La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Cr0.2O3 and LaCr0.9Ti0.1O3 exhibit relatively low electrical conductivity, although their chemical and thermal stability appear to be very good. On the other hand, the lithiated sulfides derived from SrCo0.8Fe0.2O3 show inadequate chemical stability under the testing conditions even though the electrical conductivity appears to be good.
Pesticides in Orange Juice Sold in Connecticut

There is concern that orange juice from foreign countries may contain residues of pesticides not allowed in the United States. Of 17 orange juices examined, 15 listed Brazil as the source of all or part of the juice used. Six samples contained residues. All pesticides found were allowed for use in the United States, and all residues were well below EPA allowable tolerances in oranges.
Implications of sustainability for the United States light-duty transportation sector

This paper reviews existing literature to assess the consensus of the scientific and engineering communities concerning the potential for the United States’ light-duty transportation sector to meet a goal of 80% reduction in vehicle emissions and examine what it will take to meet this target. Climate change is a problem that must be solved. The primary cause of this problem is burning of fossil fuels to generate energy. A dramatic reduction in carbon emissions must happen soon, and a significant fraction of this reduction must come from the transportation sector. This paper reviews existing literature to assess the consensus of the scientific and engineering communities concerning the potential for the United States' light-duty transportation sector to meet a goal of 80% reduction in vehicle emissions and examine what it will take to meet this target. It is unlikely that reducing energy consumption in just vehicles with gasoline-based internal combustion drivetrains will be sufficient to meet GHG emission-reduction targets. This paper explores what additional benefits are possible through the adoption of alternative energy sources, looking at three possible on-vehicle energy carriers: carbon-based fuels, hydrogen, and batteries.
Why would you do that? predicting the uses and gratifications behind smartphone-usage behaviors

While people often use smartphones to achieve specific goals, at other times they use them out of habit or to pass the time. Uses and Gratifications Theory explains that users' motivations for engaging with technology can be divided into instrumental and ritualistic purposes. Instrumental uses of technology are goal-directed and purposeful, while ritualistic uses are habitual and diversionary. In this paper, we provide an empirical account of the nature of instrumental vs. ritualistic use of smartphones based on data collected from 43 Android users over 2 weeks through logging application use and collecting ESM survey data about the purpose of use. We describe the phone-use behaviors users exhibit when seeking instrumental and ritualistic gratifications, and we develop a classification scheme for predicting ritualistic vs. instrumental use with an accuracy of 77% for a general model, increasing to more than 97% with a sliding confidence threshold. We discuss how such a model might be used to improve the experience of smartphone users in application areas such as recommender systems and social media.
Surface tunable magnetic nano-sorbents for carbon dioxide sorption and separation

Abstract The increasing level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is directly linked to global climate change, which has motivated a number of technological-based mitigation approaches for carbon capture and storage. Among these, CO2 sorption using solid sorbents is one of the most promising strategies. This report focuses on the development and evaluation of novel, hybrid inorganic-organic magnetic nano-sorbents for advanced, high capacity CO2 sorption and magnetic separation processes. Magnetic nanocomposites were prepared by grafting various polymers (e.g. polyethylenimine, polyethylene glycol, etc.) onto magnetite nanoparticles (nMAG) through solution-based sonication and evaporation methodologies. Further, we demonstrate that nMAG can be coated with polyethylenimine (PEI) with different molecular weights (Mw) and structures (linear vs. branched), yielding nMAG nanocomposite libraries with varied PEI loadings and combinations of amine types (primary, secondary, and tertiary amines). Surface functionalized nMAG nanocomposites were characterized by TEM, BET, SQUID, and FTIR techniques and evaluated for CO2 adsorption capacity and recyclability with TGA. Among the as-prepared materials, PEI-nMAG shows the highest CO2 adsorption capacity with superior selectivity and recyclability.
Cross-engine query execution in federated database systems

We have developed a reference implementation of the BigDAWG system: a new architecture for future Big Data applications, guided by the philosophy that “one size does not fit all”. Such applications not only call for large-scale analytics, but also for real-time streaming support, smaller analytics at interactive speeds, data visualization, and cross-storage-system queries. The importance and effectiveness of such a system has been demonstrated in a hospital application using data from an intensive care unit (ICU). In this article, we describe the implementation and evaluation of the cross-system Query Executor. In particular, we focus on cross-engine shuffle joins within the BigDAWG system, and evaluate various strategies of computing them when faced with varying degrees of data skew.
Accelerated stress & reliability testing for software and cyber-physical systems

This paper considers the topic of accelerated testing of cyber-physical systems and software. It compares the testing of these systems to each other and to classical mechanical/electro-mechanical systems. The impact of the software (and combined hardware-software element) on accelerated testing is also considered. A case study is used to examine and illustrate key aspects of cyber-physical system testing. This case study relates to a near worst-case example: a long-duration autonomous spacecraft mission. The paper then discusses one prospective approach for testing software and cyber-physical systems, the use of an autonomous testing system, and discusses the benefits of this approach (including being able to incorporate elements of this system and its knowledge base into an onboard maintenance system) before concluding.
Membrane Requirements in the Pursuit of Blood Oxygenator Optimization

Until recently, clinical use of blood oxygenators has been restricted to direct contacting devices, in which the blood has a direct interface with oxygen. This is most commonly accomplished by either passing bubbles of oxygen through a continuous phase of blood or filming the blood and allowing oxygen to contact the free surface. In both cases, addition of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide from the blood is readily achieved. However, the high surface energies present at the gas/blood interface causes excessive blood trauma in the form of hemolysis and protein denaturation.(1) This limits such devices to short term heart/lung bypass such as open heart surgery where only several hours of perfusion are required. If clinical applications are to be enlarged to include intermediate and long term support for coronary diseases and pulmonary insufficiency, then means must be found to reduce blood trauma to acceptable physiological levels. Hopefully, this will be the role of the membrane lung.
Incentivizing Information Design

A principal hires an agent to acquire costly information that will influence the decision of a third party. While the realized piece of information is observable and contractible, the experimental process is not. Assuming a general family of information cost functions (inclusive of Shannon’s mutual information), we show that the first best is achievable when the agent has limited liability or when he is risk averse, in contrast to standard moral hazard models. However, when the agent is risk averse and has limited liability, efficiency losses arise generically. Specifically, we show that the principal obtains his first best outcome if and only if she intends to implement a ”symmetric” experiment, i.e. one in which the cost of generating each piece of evidence is the same. On the other hand, ”asymmetric” experiments that are relatively uninformative with high probability but occasionally produce conclusive evidence will bear large agency costs.
Opioids in Georgia Medicaid: Gender and Insurance Disparities in Utilization and Potential Inappropriate Prescribing Practices.

Objectives Medicaid populations have been disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic. In Georgia, opioid deaths have increased at more than twice the rate of the nation at large. It is unknown if certain populations within the Medicaid unduly receive opioid prescriptions or experience inappropriate prescribing of opioids. Thus, this study examines gender and insurance disparities in the use of opioids and the prevalence of indicators for potential inappropriate prescribing of opioids in the Georgia Medicaid population. Methods Using individual Georgia Medicaid pharmacy claims data from 2012, disparities across gender (male/female) and type of insurance (fee-for-service (FFS)/managed care (MC)) were examined for the general use of opioids and potential inappropriate prescribing practices by providers. These outcome measures were taken from previous clinical guidelines and expert panels. T-tests were conducted to estimate significance in disparities across gender and type of insurance. Key Findings Average number of opioid prescriptions received and average days of supply of opioids were higher among males than females (p<0.001), and among FFS patients than MC patients (p<0.001). Similarly, average incidences of potential inappropriate prescribing of opioids were higher among males (1.41) than females (0.83) (p<0.001), and among FFS patients (1.60) than MC patients (0.46) (p<0.001). Conclusions Results indicate statistically significant disparities among male/female patients and FFS/MC patients in the general use of opioids and in potential inappropriate prescribing of opioids. Policies aimed at curbing potential inappropriate prescribing of opioids, especially among male and FFS enrollees are needed to reduce prescription drug abuse within this population.
Is there a will to meaning

All thinking human beings seek an answer to the question, What is the meaning of life? Herein are discussed answers to this question, drawing on various traditions, but especially from Stoicism.