cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Word Intelligibility in Multi-voice Singing: The Influence of Chorus Size.

Summary Objective This study investigated how the intelligibility of sung words is influenced by the number of singers in a choral music style. Methods The study used repeated measures factorial. One hundred forty-nine participants listened to recordings of spoken and sung English words and attempted to identify the words. Each stimuli word was sung or spoken in sync by either one, four, eight, sixteen, or twenty-seven members of a high-quality Soprano Alto Tenor Bass (SATB) choir. Results In general, single-voice word recognition was higher than multi-voice word recognition in the sung condition. However, the difference between four concurrent singers and the full choir was negligible; that is, reduced intelligibility with multiple singers shows little sensitivity to the number of singers. The principal effect of voice density on intelligibility is found to occur with coda consonants—a result consistent with the importance many choral conductors attribute to coordinating word offsets. In particular, the plosives /b/, /d/, /g/, and /p/ are easily confused. Coda liquids (/l/,/r/) were also found to be a source of confusion. Finally, an increasing density of voices appears to have a facilitating effect for the coda nasal /m/. Conclusions Groups of four or more choral singers do appear to be less intelligible than single singers, although the observed effect is modest. However, increasing the number of singers in a choral texture beyond four singers does not appear to further degrade intelligibility.
Hippodamia convergens (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Dissemination of Dogwood Anthracnose Fungus (Melanconiales: Melanconeacae).

The fungal pathogen, Discula destructiva Redlin, has been responsible for the decline or death, or both, of flowering dogwood, Cornus florida L., in the eastern United States. Our research addressed the role of a selected insect in transportation and dissemination of D. destructiva . Densities of conidia on adults of our model insect, the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Menevile, were quantified using scanning electron microscopy. Significantly more conidia were attached to the ventral body surface than to the dorsal surface. Also, conidia were deposited around trichomes of dogwood leaves exposed to infested convergent lady beetles. Our data demonstrate that our model, the convergent lady beetle, is capable of transporting conidia of D. destrutctiva . Because conidia may remain viable for 16 d, insects may play an important role in the epidemiology of dogwood anthracnose.
Main Parent in Cold Rice by SSR Marker

Fushiguang,Tengxi138,Shangyu397 and Wuyoudao1 are the founder parents of rice breeding at cold region from the 1990s.50 SSR markers were used to cluster and PCO analyze the founder parents and their derivatives.The results showed that 150 alleles were detected and allelic variation of single SSR loci ranged from 2 to 6,mean allelic variation was 3.PIC ranged from 0.0725 to 0.6845,mean was 0.3655.51 experiment varieties were separated into four classes and four founder parents were in four classes separately.four founder parents were far from each other and their derivatives distributed around them through PCO analysis.Only 3 in 39 rare alleles detected existed in founder parents.This showed that genetic improvement of cold rice has progressed to surround a few founder parents in recent years.Founder parents has transmitted their most fine genes to derivatives and pedigree analysis has the same result with SSR and PCO analysis.
Follow-Up Study on Efficacy and Safety of Levetiracetam Therapy on Epilepsy in 100 Children

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam(LEV) therapy on different types of epilepsies in children. Methods One hundred cases of children with epilepsy receiving LEV therapy from Shanxi Children′s Hospital between Aug.2008 and Oct.2010 were investigated in the subject.The method of self-controlled and open-label research was performed.The LEV treatment initiated at the dose of 10 mg·kg-1·d-1,which was divided into twice daily,the same amounts were added continuously once a week,until the objective dose of 20-40 mg·kg-1·d-1 within 3-4 weeks.Observation lasted for 6-24 months.Following the judgment standard of the efficacy:Percentage reduction of seizure frequency,the efficacy and electroencephalogram(EEG) changes were assessed,safety was evaluated by recor-ding adverse events. Results Among 100 children,96 patients were followed up,49 cases(51.0%) achieved seizure-free,27 children(28.1%) had at least 50% reduction in seizures but not 100%,17 cases(17.8%) had inefficacy and 3 cases(3.1%) had aggravation.The total effective rate was 79.1%.EEG improvemented in 8 cases.The adverse events happened in few cases,including mood and behavioral changes(14 cases,14.6%),asthenia(7 cases,7.3%),somnolence(6 cases,6.3%),and skin rashes(1 case,1.0%).Two cases withdrew the treatment for side effects. Conclusion Levetiracetam is of well efficacy and safety for children with various types of epilepsy,should be wildly applied to epileptic children.
Palliation Outcomes of Neonates Born With Single-Ventricle Anomalies Associated With Aortic Arch Obstruction.

Background The two most common surgical strategies for the treatment of neonates born with single-ventricle anomalies associated with aortic arch obstruction are the Norwood operation and pulmonary artery banding plus coarctation repair (PAB+COA). We reviewed characteristics and outcomes of neonates who underwent those two surgical strategies at our institution. Methods Between 2002 and 2012, 94 neonates with a single ventricle and aortic arch obstruction (excluding hypoplastic left heart syndrome) underwent Norwood (n = 65) or PAB+COA (n = 29). Outcomes were parametrically modeled, and risk factors associated with early and late death were analyzed. Results Competing-risks analysis showed that, at 2 years after the operation, 24% of patients had died or received transplantation and 75% had undergone a Glenn shunt. At 5 years after the Glenn shunt, 10% of patients had died or received transplantation, 62% had undergone Fontan, and 28% were alive awaiting Fontan. Overall 8-year survival was 70%. Outcomes after Norwood included extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use in 9 (14%), unplanned reoperation in 13 (20%), hospital death in 10 (15%), and interstage death in 8 (12%), with 8-year survival of 66%. Outcomes after PAB+COA included extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use in 1 (3%), unplanned reoperation in 9 (30%), hospital death in 1 (3%), and interstage death in 3 (10%), with 8-year survival of 76%. There was an association trend between underlying anatomy and survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9 to 4.7; p = 0.087). On multivariable analysis, factors associated with death were extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use (HR, 5.5; 95% CI, 1.9 to 15.9; p = 0.002), genetic syndromes/extracardiac anomalies (HR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.5 to 8.2; p = 0.003), and weight of 2.5 kg or less (HR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.3 to 7.2; p = 0.012). Conclusions Anatomic and patient characteristics influence palliation outcomes in neonates born with single-ventricle anomalies associated with aortic arch obstruction. Although the Norwood operation is applicable in most of these patients, the PAB+COA strategy is a valid alternative in well-selected patients.
Point cloud processing strategies for noise filtering, structural segmentation, and meshing of ground-based 3D Flash LIDAR images

It is now the case that well-performing flash LIDAR focal plane array devices are commercially available. Such devices give us the ability to measure and record frame-registered 3D point cloud sequences at video frame rates. For many 3D computer vision applications this allows the processes of structure from motion or multi-view stereo reconstruction to be circumvented. This allows us to construct simpler, more efficient, and more robust 3D computer vision systems. This is a particular advantage for ground-based vision tasks which necessitate real-time or near real-time operation. The goal of this work is introduce several important considerations for dealing with commercial 3D Flash LIDAR data and to describe useful strategies for noise filtering, structural segmentation, and meshing of ground-based data. With marginal refinement efforts the results of this work are directly applicable to many ground-based computer vision tasks.
Radiation-induced mechanical property changes of CNT yarn

Abstract Stimulated by the previous findings that ion beam can induce carbon nanotube (CNT) welding, we studied the irradiation effects on CNT yarns by proton irradiation. A 2.5 MeV proton beam was transmitted through a 25 μm thick Ti window and irradiated CNT yarn in air. The yarn, of about 40 μm in diameter, was fabricated by pulling and spinning CNT bundles from a CNT aligned film. After irradiation to an ion fluence of 5 × 1012, 1 × 1013, 1 × 1014, and 1 × 1015 cm−2, Raman spectroscopy was performed to study defect behavior by comparing intensity changes to the D and G bands at 1350 cm−1 and 1560 cm−1, respectively. The analysis revealed a decreasing defect level up to 1 × 1013 cm−2, followed by an increasing defect level with increasing fluence. The mechanical properties of the yarns are characterized by using a tensile tester with a strain rate of 0.2 mm/min at room temperature. The maximum tensile strength occurred at a fluence of 1 × 1013 cm−2. With increasing proton fluencies, the fracture strain shows gradual enhancement.
Electrodecontamination of glove-box materials

A basic electrolyte planned for use as an electrodecontamination step in the Advanced Size Reduction Facility is evaluated. The effects of process variables on metal dissolution rates are investigated, and optimum process conditions are identified. Decontamination to low-level waste standards is achieved through the removal of 2.4 mg/cm/sup 2/ metal surface. The fastest throughput rates are achieved with solutions of pH 7, low temperatures (35/sup 0/C), and with low-chromium levels in the electrolyte. Electrical efficiencies of the process range from 10 to 20%.
LRU Caching with Dependent Competing Requests

Least-recently-used (LRU) caching systems have been widely used, and are increasingly deployed driven by emerging trends for big data. In a typical scenario, these systems are used to serve multiple flows of dependent data item requests that are also correlated over time. These flows compete for the limited cache space. Characterizing the miss ratios of these competing flows can facilitate the design and improve the system performance. The existing asymptotic analyses for correlated requests give explicit results for Zipf's distributions with the index greater than a critical value (one). Consequently, the asymptotic result is inaccurate around this critical point, which notably is also the typical parameter region reported by many empirical measurements. In contrast, we derive the asymptotic miss ratios of multiple flows for a large class of truncated heavy-tailed data item popularity distributions with time dependency. Importantly, it significantly improves the accuracy in numerical computations when the index of a Zipf's distribution is close to one. Moreover, the result generalizes beyond Zipf's distributions, e.g., to Weibull, for multiple flows of correlated data item requests. Our asymptotic result directly exploits the critical properties of the distribution and the truncated support region. As our versatile expression is explicit, it avoids the numerical computations required by the characteristic time approximation. Interestingly, it also validates the characteristic time approximation with new forms for multiple flows of competing requests that are correlated over time under certain conditions.
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance in Biology: Spin Trapping

Discovered in 1945 by Zavoisky1, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has since been applied to a large number of research areas. It is a spectroscopic method using frequencies in the microwave region (i.e. 109 up to 1011hz) and wavelengths from approximately 10−3 to 10−1 meters; it is limited to the detection of unpaired electrons. Unpaired electrons are present in free radicals, triplet electronic states and transition and rare earth ions. The sensitivity of the method allows radical concentrations of 10 nM to be detected.
A Data Driven Health Monitoring Approach to Extending Small Sats Mission

In the next coming years, the International Space Station (ISS) plans to launch several small-sat missions powered by lithium-ion battery packs. An extended version of such mission requires dependable, energy dense, and durable power sources as well as system health monitoring. Hence a good health estimation framework to increase mission success is absolutely necessary as the devices are subjected to high demand operating conditions. This paper describes a hierarchical architecture which combines data-driven anomaly detection methods with a fine-grained model-based diagnosis and prognostics architecture. At the core of the architecture is a distributed stack of deep neural network that detects and classifies the data traces from nearby satellites based on prior observations. Any identified anomaly is transmitted to the ground, which then uses model-based diagnosis and prognosis framework to make health state estimation. In parallel, periodically the data traces from the satellites are transported to the ground and analyzed using model-based techniques. This data is then used to train the neural networks, which are run from ground systems and periodically updated. The collaborative architecture enables quick data-driven inference on the satellite and more intensive analysis on the ground where often time and power consumption are not constrained. The current work demonstrates implementation of this architecture through an initial battery data set. In the future we propose to apply this framework to other electric and electronic components on-board the small satellites.
Evaluation of Weng et al.: Leveraging Cell Type Correlations and Single-Cell Bioinformatics to Identify Progenitor Diversity and Lineage.

An example of the peer review process for "Single-Cell Transcriptomics Resolves Intermediate Glial Progenitors and Uncovers a Pivotal Determinant of Cell Fate and Gliomagenesis" (Weng et al., 2019) is presented here.
The Importance Of Environment For Indigenous Health

Background: In countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Columbia, and US, indigenous nations suffer from sizable health disparities. There is a clear need to understand the role of environ...
Gravity in Midfacial Aging: A 3-Dimensional Study.

BACKGROUND Volume loss and volume descent are complementary aspects of facial aging, although the respective contribution of each is unclear. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to quantify in 3 dimensions the effects of gravity on the midface in both upright and supine positions in an older and a younger group of patients. METHODS A prospective study was undertaken of 53 female patients who had not undergone treatment with dermal fillers or facial cosmetic surgery. Three-dimensional photography with a VECTRA H1 camera (Canfield Scientific, Fairfield, NJ) was taken in supine and sitting positions. Volume shifts and displacement of structures in 3 dimensions were measured and analyzed. RESULTS Morphologically, upon shifting from sitting to supine position, the tail of the brow elevated, the tear trough filled, the buccal and malar fat shifted posteriosuperiorly, the earlobe decreased in height, the nasiolabial folds and marionette lines diminished, the modiolus shifted laterally, and the jowl diminished. Volumetric analysis revealed that the infraorbital region increased in volume by a mean [SD] of 0.59 [0.55] mL, the tear trough by 0.22 [0.19] mL, and the malar region by 1.2 [1.06] mL. With subjects in the supine position, all facial topographic landmarks displaced significantly from sitting position. CONCLUSIONS Facial aging in this cohort was predominantly due to tissue descent rather than volume loss. Reversal of the gravitational force restores the 3D position of the facial subunits and leads to volumization in desirable locations that approximates a more youthful appearance. The volume restored via redistribution of facial fat is comparable to that typically injected during direct volume transfer procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4
Moving Beyond Co-Management: Opportunities and Limitations for Enabling Transitions to Polycentric Governance in Chile’s Territorial User Rights in Fisheries Policy

This paper contributes insights to discussions of adaptive governance in marine socio-ecological systems by elucidating the conditions which limit or enable the transition from co-management to polycentric governance at the local scale. I offer a comparative study of two coastal communities, Carelmapu and Ancud, which are both bound by the same political structures governing marine resources and are home to multiple fishing unions governed by Chile’s co-management policy, Territorial User Rights in Fisheries (TURFs). However, each community has experienced different outcomes in their abilities to transform to polycentric governance at the local scale in the Lakes Region of southern Chile. I suggest that the legislative structures which govern new ocean uses have brought new stakeholders to the table of environmental governance and have shifted power dynamics, creating both opportunities and limitations for the transition of polycentric governance. In Carelmapu, fishing unions have been unable to organize to transform environmental governance because they refuse to work with the Indigenous Communities, who are seeking to form an Indigenous marine protected area. In Ancud on the island of Chiloe, fishing unions have initiated the beginnings of polycentric governance by uniting and collaborating with government officials to form a new institution to govern resources. I first explore how the legislative structures which govern new ocean uses have caused conflict in Carelmapu between fishers and the Indigenous Community, with attention to how conflict and exclusion constrain the formation of polycentric governance. I then examine the conditions under which fishing unions in Ancud facilitated the beginnings of polycentric governance through new management plans.
Adaptive Internode Ranging for Coherent Distributed Antenna Arrays

An adaptive ranging technique for maintaining high-accuracy ranging between nodes in coherent distributed antenna arrays is presented. Coherent distributed antenna arrays are networks of wireless systems coordinated coherently at the level of the wavelength of the wireless signal. Enabling coherent operation between separate mobile nodes for active and passive microwave remote sensing requires accurate knowledge of the relative positions of the nodes in the array. In this article, a novel adaptive ranging technique based on the near-optimal waveform for high-accuracy ranging, a two-tone waveform, is designed and demonstrated in software-defined radio platforms representing array nodes. Ranging accuracy is dependent on both signal-to-noise ratio and the separation of the two tones in the waveform; however, in realistic environments, factors such as attenuation or antenna misalignment are not easily predicted, which can lead to degradation of the ranging measurement. Selecting one appropriate waveform for range measurements is, thus, not feasible unless the bandwidth assigned to it is always higher than required for the needed range accuracy. Rather than allocating such an unnecessarily wide bandwidth, this article presents a controller that regulates the spectral resources adaptively to meet the desired reference accuracy while minimizing the total occupied bandwidth. The controller continuously monitors the statistical parameters of the received signal, such as signal-to-noise ratio, in a perception stage and adapts the spectral characteristics of the transmitted waveform in an action stage. The adaptive action, based on a Cramer–Rao lower bound analysis, maintains the signal statistical characteristics below a specified bound to maintain high coherent gain. Experimental results demonstrate the ability to maintain ranging standard deviation of 1.5 mm (standard deviation of time delay estimates equals $10^{-11}$ s), which yields 90% or more of the possible achievable coherent gain at carrier frequencies up to 13.33 GHz.
Distributed Stochastic Gradient Descent: Nonconvexity, Nonsmoothness, and Convergence to Local Minima

In centralized settings, it is well known that stochastic gradient descent (SGD) avoids saddle points and converges to local minima in nonconvex problems. However, similar guarantees are lacking for distributed first-order algorithms. The paper studies distributed stochastic gradient descent (D-SGD)--a simple network-based implementation of SGD. Conditions under which D-SGD avoids saddle points and converges to local minima are studied. First, we consider the problem of computing critical points. Assuming loss functions are nonconvex and possibly nonsmooth, it is shown that, for each fixed initialization, D-SGD converges to critical points of the loss with probability one. Next, we consider the problem of avoiding saddle points. In this case, we again assume that loss functions may be nonconvex and nonsmooth, but are smooth in a neighborhood of a saddle point. It is shown that, for any fixed initialization, D-SGD avoids such saddle points with probability one. Results are proved by studying the underlying (distributed) gradient flow, using the ordinary differential equation (ODE) method of stochastic approximation, and extending classical techniques from dynamical systems theory such as stable manifolds. Results are proved in the general context of subspace-constrained optimization, for which D-SGD is a special case.
The Validity of Tribal Checkpoints to Curb the Spread of COVID-19

This essay examines the question of whether, during a public health emergency, tribes located in a state that has adopted minimal protections to curb the pandemic may enact stronger protections for their own citizens and territories. May they do so, even when enforcement of these protections causes inconvenience to those simply passing through the reservations and when the regulations affect non-member residents of the reservations? Based on Supreme Court case law, the answer is yes—tribes are within their rights in adopting and enforcing regulations designed to protect their citizens and other reservation residents from a public health emergency.
Assessing the therapeutic potential and toxicity of Mitragyna speciosa in opioid use disorder

Mitragyna speciosa Korth. is an evergreen plant native to Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as kratom in the western world and krathom, ketum, or biak-biak in Southeast Asian countries. Kratom i...
Judaism: The Basics

Introduction: Defining a Religion and Judaism in Particular 1. Defining Judaism through Stories 2. Who and What is Israel? The Community of Judaism and Passover 3. The Israelite Before God and the Days of Awe 4. The Individual Israelite and Israel in History: The Huppah, the Covenant of Abraham, Eating Lunch 5. The Purpose of the Law, the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath 6. God is One, Merciful and Just 7. The Formation of Normative Judaism 8. The Articulation of Normative Judaism 9. Reform, Orthodox and Conservative Judaisms, Zionism 10. The Holocaust and How Judaism Speaks Today
Observations at high resolution on several indanthrene dyes

Philosophy and politics are not alone in moving with a rhythm that is dialectic. The development of modern physics has been marked by advances in experiment and in theory which subsequently have interacted to establish a new base for further growth. The instrumentation of physics, too, has frequently evolved in this fashion. Our electron microscopy for instance has involved the production of instruments whose potentialities could only be realized through the development of better specimens which in the end have required improved microscopes for their adequate study. At the moment we are in that phase of this cycle where attainable resolving power is so high that we are being hard-pressed to find preparations really worth looking at these maximal resolutions.
The Learning Disability Program at California State University, Northridge

The Learning Disability Program at California State University, Northridge, Zvi, Jennifer, and Axelrod, Lee. The Learning Disability Program at California State University, Northridge is based on strategy rather than a remedial model. Students are assisted in circumventing or compensating for their learning disability through a variety of strategies; assistive technology is emphasized. Support services provided through the Program include: testing accomodations, tutors, priority regristration, diagnostic testing, Program computer lab, specialized counseling, and a disability career conselor.
The role of mediating verbal behavior in selection-based responding

Michael (1985) distinguished between two kinds of verbal behavior which he identified as selection-based (SB) and topography-based (TB). Research has shown substantial differences between the two types of verbal behavior for nonverbal participants, but little differences has been found with highly verbal participants. This study arranged for highly verbal participants (college students) to engage in a SB task while "talking aloud," one of Ericsson & Simon's (1993) techniques for conducting protocol analyses. The transcripts of these sessions were analyzed in terms of Skinner's (1957) elementary verbal operants. Very consistent types of statements were found to precede correct selections in the SB task. This finding lends support to the possibility that some SB conditional discriminations, and related emergent equivalence relations, are mediated by TB vocal responding when using highly verbal participants. These data also account for some of the differences observed in the SB and TB research.
Fast and intuitive clustering of web documents

Conventional document retrieval systems (e.g., Alta Vista) return long lists of ranked documents in response to user queries. Recently, document clustering has been put forth as an alternative method of organizing retrieval results (Cutting et al. 1992). A person browsing the clusters can discover patterns that could be overlooked in the traditional presentation. This paper describes two novel clustering methods that intersect the documents in a cluster to determine the set of words (or phrases) shared by all the documents in the cluster. We report on experiments that evaluate these intersection-based clustering methods on collections of snippets returned from Web search engines. First, we show that word-intersection clustering produces superior clusters and does so faster than standard techniques. Second, we show that our O(n log n) time phrase-intersection clustering method produces comparable clusters and does so more than two orders of magnitude faster than all methods tested.
States of high conductance in a large-scale model of the visual cortex.

This paper reports on the consequences of large, activity dependent, synaptic conductances for neurons in a large-scale neuronal network model of the input layer 4Cα of the Macaque primary visual cortex (Area V1). This high conductance state accounts for experimental observations about orientation selectivity, dynamics, and response magnitude (D. McLaughlin et al. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 8087-8092), and the linear dependence of Simple cells on visual stimuli (J. Wielaard et al. (2001) J. Neuroscience 21: 5203-5211). The source of large conductances in the model can be traced to inhibitory corticocortical synapses, and the model's predictions of large conductance changes are consistent with recent intracellular measurements (L. Borg-Graham et al. (1998) Nature 393: 369-373; J. Hirsch et al. (1998) J. Neuroscience 15: 9517-9528; J.S. Anderson et al. (2000) J. Neurophysiol. 84: 909-926). During visual stimulation, these conductances are large enough that their associated time-scales become the shortest in the model cortex, even below that of synaptic interactions. One consequence of this activity driven separation of time-scales is that a neuron responds very quickly to temporal changes in its synaptic drive, with its intracellular membrane potential tracking closely an effective reversal poten- tial composed of the instantaneous synaptic inputs. From the effective potential and large synaptic conductance, the spiking activity of a cell can be expressed in an interesting and simplified manner, with the result suggest- ing how accurate and smoothly graded responses are achieved in the model network. Further, since neurons in this high-conductance state respond quickly, they are also good candidates as coincidence detectors and burst transmitters.
Section 2 and Article 82: A Comparison of American and European Approaches to Monopolization Law

This paper provides a general overview of the differences between American and European monopolization law. American courts have taken a relatively conservative approach toward monopolization law, in the sense of showing reluctance to penalize a firm simply because of its monopoly status, and of allowing wide scope, at least at the level of pure legal doctrine, for efficiency defenses to be asserted. Europe, in comparison, has taken an interventionist approach. Error-cost analysis provides a justification for the American approach. A preliminary empirical examination suggests that the scope of a country's monopolization law is inversely related its degree of trade dependence.
Sociolinguistic subversion of a phonological hierarchy

AbstractThe theoretical view that sound change is selective is attractive to specialists in language variation and change, who often encounter diachronic developments which appear to propagate through phonological systems selectively, frequently by phonetically defined classes. Yet two areas remain ill understood: how innovations affect members within a narrowly defined class, and what effects extrasystemic factors can have on selective change. This study begins with the view that incipience and expansion of sound change is selective within classes, and that the relative propensity of class members to undergo change in specific environments is expected to be constant within a given language. The history and present state of surface-level spirantization of post-vocalic /p t k/ in the Italian region of Tuscany—e.g. /la kasa / → above; [laha:sa] ‘the house’, /diko/ → above; [di:ho] ‘I say’—appears to violate these basic principles. Detailed analysis of change in progress suggests, however, that sociolinguist...
The influences of course effort, mastery and performance goals, grade expectancies, and earned course grades on student ratings of course satisfaction.

Background. The positive relation between course grades and student ratings of course satisfaction is well established but controversy continues concerning the magnitude, interpretation, and implications of this association. Aims. This study examined the within course relations of a set of variables often implicated as potential contributors to the grade-student rating relation. Sample. Two-hundred and twenty students enrolled in an internet-based university course. Method. Measures of course mastery and performance goals, expected grades, course effort, cumulative GPA, and final course grade were prospectively collected. The dependent variable was a global measure of course satisfaction obtained at the end of the semester. Results. A path model fit the data very well and all study variables directly or indirectly predicted course satisfaction. Grades had a moderately strong effect, half of which was independent of other model variables. Adjusting for all model variables, students high on mastery course goals evaluated the course more positively whereas students high on performance goals provided less favourable evaluations. Conclusions. Students can assess the same course and instructor in different ways depending upon such factors as their degree of success, their motivations for taking the course, and the amount of effort invested. Course satisfaction, then, can be substantially influenced by factors loosely or unrelated to course or teacher effectiveness.
Wavelet neural networks: a design perspective

The application of wavelets in the fields of mathematics and engineering has grown rapidly in the past few years. One interesting application is to use wavelets as the activation functions in neural networks. This paper discusses the theoretical background involving wavelets from which feedforward wavelet neural networks are simply a direct consequence and evaluates a design procedure for developing these multiresolution networks. Two different wavelet neural network design examples are presented in order to demonstrate the issues involved in the design of wavelet networks. One example is to use a wavelet neural network to solve a two dimensional nonlinear function approximation problem. The other example is to use a wavelet neural network for feathering the position of the solar arrays of the Space Station. >
Diagnosis and treatment of insomnia

Purpose. The diagnostic criteria and treatment of insomnia are reviewed. Summary. Insomnia is most often described as a subjective complaint of poor sleep quality or quantity despite adequate time for sleep, resulting in daytime fatigue, irritability, and decreased concentration. Insomnia is classified as idiopathic or comorbid. Comorbid insomnias are associated with psychiatric disorders, medical disorders, substance abuse, and specific sleep disorders. Idiopathic insomnia is essentially a diagnosis of exclusion. A wide array of terminology exists for defining the duration of insomnia symptoms, which may add to the confusion regarding insomnia classification. Acute insomnia refers to sleep problems lasting from one night to a few weeks, whereas chronic insomnia refers to sleep problems lasting at least three nights weekly for at least one month. Diagnostic tools for identifying insomnia are multifactorial. Nonpharmacologic interventions for insomnia include sleep-hygiene education, stimulus-control therapy, relaxation therapy, and sleep-restriction therapy. The most effective pharmacologic therapies for insomnia are benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine-receptor agonists, melatonin-receptor agonists, and antidepressants. Choice of a specific agent should be based on patient-specific factors, including age, proposed length of treatment, primary sleep complaint, history of drug or alcohol abuse, and cost. Conclusion. Many treatment options are available for patients with insomnia. Behavioral therapies should be initiated as first-line treatment in most patients. For patients who require the addition of pharmacologic therapy, the drugs with the most evidence for benefit include benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine-receptor agonists, melatonin-receptor agonists, and antidepressants. Selection of a specific agent must take into account numerous patient-specific factors.
Statistical characterization of periodic, area-preserving mappings

A method of statistically characterizing an area-preserving, doubly periodic mapping is presented. This method allows one to calculate the characteristic functions, and the joint probabilities of the mapping.
FEMALE MATE CHOICE IN RELATION TO STRUCTURAL PLUMAGE COLORATION IN BLUE GROSBEAKS

Abstract Plumage blueness in Blue Grosbeaks (Passerina caerulea) is related to nutritional condition during molt, and bluer males hold larger territories with more food resources. We tested the hypothesis that females use male plumage brightness as a criterion in choosing mates. In a mate-choice aviary, we presented females with a choice between males whose feathers were either brightened with blue marker or dulled with black marker. Treatment resulted in an increase in the plumage intensity (reflectance at peak wavelength) of blue-treated males and a decrease in the intensity of black-treated males within the natural range of variation, while the wavelength of peak reflection (hue) remained unchanged. During mate-choice trials, females consistently preferred particular males, but choice was random with respect to treatment. Thus, the intensity of blue coloration of male Blue Grosbeaks appears not to function as a criterion in female mate choice. Eleccion de Pareja en Hembras de Passerina caerulea con Rel...
Enhanced phospholipase D activity and altered morphology in RhoA-overexpressing RAT1 fibroblasts.

Abstract Small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho family are implicated in the regulation of phospholipase D (PLD). However, few studies have addressed their role in agonist-stimulated PLD activity in vivo. Stable lines of Rat1 fibroblasts overexpressing RhoA were shown to have altered morphology. Moreover, they demonstrated increased PLD activity when stimulated with lysophosphatidic acid, platelet-derived growth factor, and phorbol ester, compared with vector-transfected cells. However, phosphoinositide phospholipase C activity was unaltered by overexpression of RhoA. These data indicate a critical downstream role for RhoA in agonist-stimulated PLD activity in intact cells.
Composition of solar wind noble gases released by surface oxidation of a metal separate from the Weston meteorite

The paper reports on a set of experiments intended to test the feasibility of determining elemental and isotopic ratios of the noble gases and nitrogen in the solar wind in metal separates from gas-rich ordinary chondrites. Helium, neon, and argon show clear evidence of a solar wind signature, while no solar component could be identified for xenon and nitrogen. Helium, neon, and argon elemental isotopic ratios appear to depend on depth within the metal grains. The ratios derived indicate that the Weston meteorite did not acquire its solar wind gases from a recent exposure to solar wind, but more probably at a time in the past similar to or even earlier than the exposure time of Apollo 17 breccias. The Ar-36/Ar-38 ratio, in tandem with other recent determinations of this value, indicates that the solar and terrestrial values can no longer be assumed to be equivalent.
Lack of effect of a highly purified yeast RNA preparation on maze learning

Mice injected with 280 mg/kg of highly purified yeast RNA learned to avoid shock by choosing a white rather than a black door in a Y-maze at the same rate as saline-injected controls. The generality and interpretation of reports on enhancement of acquisition following RNA injection is questioned.
Sex Differences in the Determinants of Occupational Status

This paper examines the equivalence of occupational status as it is assigned to typically male andfemale occupations. An argument is developed for the conceptualization of occupational status as a function of the nature of the occupational task. A determination is then made of the extent to which these occupational tasks contribute to occupational status and a comparison is made of the size of the contribution for male and female occupations. The findings suggest that the occupational task characteristics predict status scores relatively well and make substantially different contributions to status depending on the sex identification of the occupation. The implications of this findingfor the validity of recent research comparing the male and female status attainment process are discussed.
Structure and Bonding of Ordered Organic Monolayers of 1,5-Cyclooctadiene on the Silicon(001) Surface

The interaction of 1,5-cyclooctadiene with the (001) surface of silicon has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ab initio computational chemistry techniques. Scanning tunneling microscopy images reveal that 1,5-cyclooctadiene molecules adsorb onto well-defined lattice sites and that the molecules are highly ordered both translationally and rotationally. Fourier-transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectra show that bonding occurs without dissociation by breaking one π bond of the 1,5-cyclooctadiene molecule and the π bond of one SiSi dimer of the reconstructed Si(001) surface, forming two new Si−C bonds. Only one of the two unsaturated bonds in each 1,5-cyclooctadiene molecule react, leaving one double bond exposed at the outermost surface. Computational chemistry studies suggest that the surface-bound molecule involves rapid interconversions of several similar low-symmetry conformations.
Teh PRO and CON of annexation of suburbs illustrated by the situation in Cleveland

So many cities are face to face with the desirability as well as difficulty of annexation, that we think our readers will be interested in this speical study of one city.
Platelet and vascular thromboxane A2/prostaglandin H2 receptors : evidence for different subclasses in the rat

Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) and its precursor prostaglandin H2 (PGH2) induce platelet aggregation and vascular contraction through shared cell surface receptors commonly referred to as TXA2 or TXA2/PGH2 receptors. Whether different subclasses of TXA2/PGH2 receptors exist in platelets and vascular smooth muscle cells is controversial. In this study, TXA2 receptors on washed rat and human platelets and cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMC) were characterized using radioligand competition binding assays with the 125I-labeled TXA2/PGH2 receptor agonist [1S-(1α,2β(5Z),3α(1E,3R∗), 4α)]-7-[3-(3-hydroxy-4-(4'-iodophenoxy)-1-butenyl)-7-oxabicyclo-[2.2.1]-heptan-2-yl] -5-heptenoic acid (I-BOP) and various agonists and antagonists. Scatchard analyses of equilibrium binding data revealed Kd values of 205 ± 68 pM (N = 6), 2.2 ± 0.3 nM (N = 9) and 310 ± 60 pM (N = 7) and Bmax values of 1.3 ± 0.45 fmol/106 platelets. 2.8 ± 0.2 fmol/106 platelets and 20.9 ± 2.2 fmol/106 cells for rat and human platelets and RASMC, respectively. Concentration-dependent increases in intracellular free Ca2+ concentrations induced by I-BOP were observed in RASMC loaded with the calcium sensitive dye fura-2. The ic50 values for various TXA2/PGH2 analogues in competition binding assays with 125I-BOP were determined. Based on their ic50 values, the rank orders were I-BOP < L657925 < ONO11113 ⩽ SQ29548 < PTA-TPO < PTA-NO ⩽ L657926 ⩽ I-PTA-OH < PTA-OH[2] = meta-I-PTA-PO ⩽ ONO11120[2] = ONO11120[1] < PTA-OH[1] in rat platelets. I-BOP < SQ29548 < PTA-TPO = L657925 ⩽ ONO11113 < I-PTA-OH < PTA-NO ⩽ meta-I-PTA-PO ⩽ PTA-OH[2] < ONO11120[2] ⩽ ONO11120[1] < L657926 ⩽ PTA-OH[1] in human platelets, and I-BOP < L657925 < ONO11113 ⩽ SQ29548 < ONO11120[2] ⩽ L657926 ⩽ PTA-OH[2] < PTA-TPO < ONO11120[1] < I-PTA-OH < meta-I-PTA-PO < PTA-NO < PTA-OH[1] in RASMC. For the structurally dissimilar compounds I-BOP. SQ29548. ONO-11113. L657925 and L657926, there were no significant differences in the rank order potencies between the three tissues. In contrast, the rank order potencies for the 13-azapinane TXA2 analogs were significantly different in rat platelets compared to RASMC. and human platelets compared to RASMC. but not significantly different between rat and human platelets. The ratios of ic50 values for the two sets of epimeric pairs of 13-azapinane TXA2 analogs (ONO11120[1] and [2] and PTA-OH[1] and [2]) were significantly different (P < 0.05) for rat and human platelets compared to RASMC but not different between rat and human platelets. The results are consistent with the notion that TXA2/PGH2 receptors on platelets are different from those on RASMC. and 13-azapinane TXA2 analogs may be useful compounds for discriminating between the two classes of TXA2/PGH2 receptors.
Parenting style and psychosocial outcomes in a sample of Jamaican adolescents

We examined the relationship between parenting style and adolescents' psychological and behavioural well-being in the Jamaican context. Consistent with pertinent studies from western societies, our data indicated that authoritarian parenting was associated with diminished psychological and behavioural adjustment, such that adolescents who reported their parents as more authoritarian also reported a greater risk of anger depression, suicide ideation, and conduct problems. Further, gender moderated the effect of authoritarian parenting on conduct problems, with the association being significantly greater for boys than for girls. Additionally, adolescents' agreement with parents' style of parenting moderated the association between authoritarian parenting and adolescents' psychological distress, such that when adolescents disagreed with their parents' parenting behaviours, adolescents were more likely to exhibit psychosocial problems. We discussed our findings within the context of cultural socialisation pro...
Polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether sulfate-based background electrolytes in capillary electrophoresis

Abstract A homologous series of (polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether) hydrogensulfates has been synthesized, characterized and used as the source of anionic co-ions in mobility-matching background electrolytes designed to eliminate the efficiency-degrading effects of electromigration dispersion. The mobilities of the new anionic co-ions vary in the 5·10 −5 to 45·10 −5 cm 2 /Vs range in 25 m M mobility-matching background electrolytes, prepared from ϵ-aminocaproic acid and the respective (polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether) hydrogensulfate. It is demonstrated experimentally that the electromigration dispersion-related peak broadening can be minimized and difficult electrophoretic separations can be realized without significant alteration of the separation selectivity when these (polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether) sulfate anions are used as co-ions in mobility-matching background electrolytes.
In vitro models of tumor vessels and matrix: Engineering approaches to investigate transport limitations and drug delivery in cancer

Tumor-stroma interactions have emerged as critical determinants of drug efficacy. However, the underlying biological and physicochemical mechanisms by which the microenvironment regulates therapeutic response remain unclear, due in part to a lack of physiologically relevant in vitro platforms to accurately interrogate tissue-level phenomena. Tissue-engineered tumor models are beginning to address this shortcoming. By allowing selective incorporation of microenvironmental complexity, these platforms afford unique access to tumor-associated signaling and transport dynamics. This review will focus on engineering approaches to study drug delivery as a function of tumor-associated changes of the vasculature and extracellular matrix (ECM). First, we review current biological understanding of these components and discuss their impact on transport processes. Then, we evaluate existing microfluidic, tissue engineering, and materials science strategies to recapitulate vascular and ECM characteristics of tumors, and finish by outlining challenges and future directions of the field that may ultimately improve anti-cancer therapies.