cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A bacterial sulfonolipid triggers multicellular development in the closest living relatives of animals

Bacterially-produced small molecules exert profound influences on animal health, morphogenesis, and evolution through poorly understood mechanisms. In one of the closest living relatives of animals, the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta, we find that rosette colony development is induced by the prey bacterium Algoriphagus machipongonensis and its close relatives in the Bacteroidetes phylum. Here we show that a rosette inducing factor (RIF-1) produced by A. machipongonensis belongs to the small class of sulfonolipids, obscure relatives of the better known sphingolipids that play important roles in signal transmission in plants, animals, and fungi. RIF-1 has extraordinary potency (femtomolar, or 10(-15) M) and S. rosetta can respond to it over a broad dynamic range-nine orders of magnitude. This study provides a prototypical example of bacterial sulfonolipids triggering eukaryotic morphogenesis and suggests molecular mechanisms through which bacteria may have contributed to the evolution of animals.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00013.001.
Evolution and selection of Rhg1, a copy‐number variant nematode‐resistance locus

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance locus Rhg1 is a tandem repeat of a 31.2 kb unit of the soybean genome. Each 31.2-kb unit contains four genes. One allele of Rhg1, Rhg1-b, is responsible for protecting most US soybean production from SCN. Whole-genome sequencing was performed, and PCR assays were developed to investigate allelic variation in sequence and copy number of the Rhg1 locus across a population of soybean germplasm accessions. Four distinct sequences of the 31.2-kb repeat unit were identified, and some Rhg1 alleles carry up to three different types of repeat unit. The total number of copies of the repeat varies from 1 to 10 per haploid genome. Both copy number and sequence of the repeat correlate with the resistance phenotype, and the Rhg1 locus shows strong signatures of selection. Significant linkage disequilibrium in the genome outside the boundaries of the repeat allowed the Rhg1 genotype to be inferred using high-density single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping of 15 996 accessions. Over 860 germplasm accessions were found likely to possess Rhg1 alleles. The regions surrounding the repeat show indications of non-neutral evolution and high genetic variability in populations from different geographic locations, but without evidence of fixation of the resistant genotype. A compelling explanation of these results is that balancing selection is in operation at Rhg1.
Phonological Awareness in Spanish A Tutorial for Speech—Language Pathologists

In the United States, more than 2 million children in Grades pre-K through 6 speak Spanish as their primary language. Approximately 50% of these students receive academic instruction in Spanish. This tutorial provides research-based recommendations for presenting phonological awareness tasks to children who receive literacy instruction in Spanish. The authors also discuss how phonological awareness development may differ between monolingual children learning Spanish and monolingual children learning English, and the implications of these differences for choosing appropriate phonological awareness tasks for Spanish speakers.
Fast food and liquor store density, co-tenancy, and turnover: Vice store operations in Chicago, 1995–2008

Fast food restaurants and liquor stores—vice stores—have been shown to be more prevalent in predominantly Black and low income U.S. neighborhoods, and are associated with a number of health risks and social ills. The purpose of this study was to investigate in the City of Chicago vice store density and spatial distribution as a function of racial, socioeconomic, and other population characteristics; to examine spatial clustering among these outlets; and to study how store turnover follows population change over a 13-year period. We used spatial point process analysis to fit linear and non-linear models for the intensity function of stores. Spatial clustering was estimated using the K function. We found heterogeneous associations between stores and population characteristics, with the most consistent finding being a positive association between percent Black and liquor store exposure. A high degree of spatial clustering was evident, and liquor stores were more likely to stay in business over time than fast food restaurants. However, when liquor stores closed, they were more likely to be replaced by non-vice businesses. Results suggest that vice stores are associated with lower positions in racial and socioeconomic hierarchies, and this patterning is often durable over time.
James B. Donovan, Before the 'Bridge of Spies'

In the film “Bridge of Spies,” Tom Hanks plays James Donovan, a 1950s New York City lawyer who represented insurance companies.In 1957, Donovan also began to represent Rudolf Abel, whom the United States had arrested and charged with being a Soviet spy. Donovan represented Abel at trial and on appeal, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, all without success, except for persuading the trial judge not to sentence Abel to death.In 1962, Donovan, working closely with senior U.S. government officials, exchanged Abel on an East Berlin bridge for Francis Gary Powers, a U.S. spy plane pilot who had been shot down, captured, tried and convicted by the U.S.S.R. This essay sets forth some of Jim Donovan’s life and very relevant qualifications for his roles in these Cold War events. During World War II, Donovan was general counsel of the U.S. wartime intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Later in 1945, he was a senior, very significant member of Justice Robert H. Jackson’s U.S. team prosecuting Nazi war criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg. Donovan headed the prosecution team that prepared photographic evidence for the trial. Before the IMT, he introduced film evidence of Nazi concentration camps, the Nazi rise to government power in Germany and then aggressive war making, and Gestapo extermination of a Jewish ghetto.This essay originally was an email to The Jackson List. It now is one of many dozens of essays on The Jackson List archive site.
Exposure and Dialogue Programs in the Training of Development Analysts and Practitioners

It is inherent in the nature of the beast that there will be a progressive disconnect between the working lives of development professionals and the lives of those their work is meant to help. This is bad purely from a technical point of view. But it is a gross moral disconnect, too. EDPs, or Immersions as they are also known, are a way of addressing this disconnect between development professionals and development reality. They involve exposure to the realities of the lives of the poor through staying with them and experiencing their lives for a period of time, however short. Some general design principles have emerged from experience. Clarity of objectives, prior preparation and facilitation, and ex post evaluation are all important. Immersions must be done well. The point, however, is that they must be done. * Cornell University: T.H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, and Professor of Economics. Paper written for forthcoming volume, George DeMartino and Deirdre McCloskey (Editors), OUP Handbook on Professional Economics Ethics.
Transaural experiments and a revised duplex theory for the localization of low-frequency tones.

The roles of interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD) were studied in free-field source localization experiments for sine tones of low frequency (250–750 Hz). Experiments combined real-source trials with virtual trials created through transaural synthesis based on real-time ear canal measurements. Experiments showed the following: (1) The naturally occurring ILD is physically large enough to exert an influence on sound localization well below 1000 Hz. (2) An ILD having the same sign as the ITD modestly enhances the perceived azimuth of tones for all values of the ITD, and it eliminates left-right confusions that otherwise occur when the interaural phase difference (IPD) passes 180°. (3) Increasing the ILD to large, implausible values can decrease the perceived laterality while also increasing front-back confusions. (4) Tone localization is more directly related to the ITD than to the IPD. (5) An ILD having a sign opposite to the ITD promotes a slipped-cycle ITD, sometimes with dramatic effects on localization. Because the role of the ITD itself is altered by the ILD, the duplex processing of ITD and ILD reflects more than mere trading; the effect of the ITD can be reversed in sign.
Stratigraphic Changes in the Pliocene Carnivoran Assemblage from Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho

At least 17 carnivoran taxa occur in the Pliocene Glenns Ferry Formation at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument (HAFO), Idaho. This assemblage was examined for stratigraphic changes in species distribution, specimen abundance, and species diversity. Three relatively common mustelids, Trigonictis cookii, Trigonictis macrodon, and Mustela rexroadensis, occur at most stratigraphic levels, but are absent during an interval coinciding with the coolest time segment at HAFO. It is within this gap that two less-common mustelids, Ferinestrix vorax and Buisnictis breviramus, first appear at HAFO; they persist up-section with the more common mustelids listed above. Specimens of Borophagus hilli are restricted to the warm intervals at HAFO, irrespective of the relative abundance of surface water. The other canid at HAFO, Canis lepophagus, is more abundant during the dry intervals at HAFO, regardless of the estimated paleotemperature. Most remarkable is the recovery of many taxa impacted by abrupt climate change, although a notable change is the much higher relative abundance of carnivoran species following a return to warm temperatures.
A Photo Essay on Senegal: Advancing Development and a Pull Backwards by Tradition

Senegal is a country of contradictions. Cultural holdovers from the past battle with the influx of foreign ideas and development strategies. Development in Senegal takes many forms, yet despite the many steps forward in ameliorating living conditions and protecting the environment, traditional practices and perspectives often delay or hinder these advances. This is true in all sectors, including the environment, politics, urban planning, and community development. How the Senegalese harmonize new strategies with traditional perspectives will determine the extent and effectiveness of future development.
Determinant Factors of Failed Extubation and the Use of Noninvasive Ventilation in Trauma Patients

Trauma patients are frequently admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) requiring intubation and prolonged ventilator support. These interventions are necessary and life-saving but also carry with them potential complications that include but are not limited to laryngeal and pulmonary trauma, hemodynamic compromise, and pneumonia. For these reasons, patients should be liberated from a ventilator as soon as feasibly possible. This can be accomplished either by extubation or tracheostomy.
COMPUTING EOLIAN SAND TRANSPORT FROM ROUTINE WEATHER DATA

Extensive wind profile measurements have been made over beaches, tidal flats, and small dune fields in Barbados, Ecuador, Florida, Texas, and on Alaskan Arctic coasts by the author and his associates during the past several years. The linear relationship between shear and wind velocities was further verified by these measurements, in conjunction with Bagnold's data from experiments in a Libyan desert. From these measurements, a simple method is developed for computing eolian transport of the most common sand particle sizes which occur on coasts and deserts by using only routinely available wind observations from nearby weather stations.
Inadequacy of high K+/nigericin for calibrating BCECF. II. Intracellular pH dependence of the correction

In the accompanying study [G. Boyarsky, C. Hanssen, and L.A. Clyne. Am. J. Physiol. 271 (Cell Physiol. 40): C1131-C1145, 1996], it was demonstrated that steady-state intracellular pH (pHi) determined using high K+/nigericin calibrations was systematically in error in vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells by approximately 0.2 pH units. In this paper the possibility is explored that this correction (pHcor) to the nigericin-calibrated pHi (pHnig) might not be a constant but could vary as pHi varies. The range of pHi during exposures to "null solutions" designed to bracket pHi was extended to acidic and alkaline levels relative to the starting pHi in VSM cells. The pHcor necessary to correct pHnig was linearly dependent on pHnig, increasing from near zero at approximately 6.0 to approximately 0.2 at steady-state pHi, to approximately 0.3 at alkaline pHnig. It is shown how to retrieve previously acquired (tabulated) data using the linear relationship between pHcor and pHnig. Also examined were what corrections must be made to high K+/nigericin calibration curves to correct for this pHi-dependent pHcor. The following changes in the calibration parameters were found: the maximal fluorescence ratio increased from 16.75 to 17.28; the minimal fluorescence ratio decreased from 2.15 to 1.57; and the pK of 2',7'-bis (carboxy-ethyl)-5 (6)-carboxyfluorescein decreased from 7.13 to 6.93. Three potential explanations for these changes are discussed: external [K+] in the nigericin solutions could have been too low; internal [K+] changes during the calibration because of the finite buffering power of cells; and other acid-base transport/generation could have been contributing during the nigericin calibrations (i.e., nigericin does not overwhelm to insignificance other processes generating/consuming H+). The nonconstancy of pHcor is shown to have profound implications for measuring changes in pHi.
Comparison of automated BAX PCR and standard culture methods for detection of Listeria monocytogenes in blue Crabmeat (Callinectus sapidus) and blue crab processing plants.

This study compared the automated BAX PCR with the standard culture method (SCM) to detect Listeria monocytogenes in blue crab processing plants. Raw crabs, crabmeat, and environmental sponge samples were collected monthly from seven processing plants during the plant operating season, May through November 2006. For detection of L. monocytogenes in raw crabs and crabmeat, enrichment was performed in Listeria enrichment broth, whereas for environmental samples, demi-Fraser broth was used, and then plating on both Oxford agar and L. monocytogenes plating medium was done. Enriched samples were also analyzed by BAX PCR. A total of 960 samples were examined; 59 were positive by BAX PCR and 43 by SCM. Overall, there was no significant difference (P ≤0.05) between the methods for detecting the presence of L. monocytogenes in samples collected from crab processing plants. Twenty-two and 18 raw crab samples were positive for L. monocytogenes by SCM and BAX PCR, respectively. Twenty and 32 environmental samples wer...
Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Intra-articular Findings After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Ice Hockey Versus Other Sports

Background:The prevalence of comorbid knee pathology has been examined for sports-related anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, but it has not been examined in ice hockey players.Purpose:To compare concomitant bone bruising, collateral ligament injuries, and intra-articular injuries in ACL injuries suffered during ice hockey versus other sports.Study Design:Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:A total of 20 patients with ACL injuries sustained during ice hockey were identified from a prospective registry, of which 95% were male and 90% had a contact mechanism of injury (MOI). Thirteen cases and 46 controls who sustained ACL injuries from ice hockey and other sports, respectively, were included. Inclusion criteria for cases and controls were male sex, contact MOI, no prior knee surgery, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 6 weeks of injury, and surgery within 3 months of injury. Age, body mass index (BMI), MRI findings (bone bruising, medial and lateral collateral ligament [MCL, LCL...
The Relationship between Program-Related Characteristics and Pretreatment and Postadmission Attrition in Methadone Maintenance and Drug-Free Modalities

Two chronic problems confronting programs for rehabilitating drug dependent individuals have been failure of applicants to accept treatment after referral and premature termination of treatment. Upwards of 55% of referrals “drop out” before initiating treatment. Of those who actually enter programs, the postadmission attrition rates during the first three months range as high as 88% for drug-free modalities and 46% in methadone maintenance. Our own experience involving more than 4,000 applicants during the past nine years has shown that fewer than 25% of referrals are enrolled in programs three months after their initial application.
Effects of bulk and interfacial anharmonicity on thermal conductance at solid/solid interfaces

We present the results of classical molecular dynamics simulations to assess the relative contributions to interfacial thermal conductance from inelastic phonon processes at the interface and in the adjacent bulk materials. The simulated system is the prototypical interface between argon and ``heavy argon'' crystals, which enables comparison with many past computational studies. We run simulations interchanging the Lennard-Jones potential with its harmonic approximation to test the effect of anharmonicity on conductance. The results confirm that the presence of anharmonicity is correlated with increasing thermal conductance with temperature, which supports conclusions from prior experimental and theoretical work. However, in the model Ar/heavy-Ar system, anharmonic effects at the interface itself contribute a surprisingly small part of the total thermal conductance. The larger fraction of the thermal conductance at high temperatures arises from anharmonic effects away from the interface. These observations are supported by comparisons of the spectral energy density, which suggest that bulk anharmonic processes increase the interfacial conductance by thermalizing energy from modes with low transmission to modes with high transmission.
An Automated System for Contamination-Controlled Processing of Precision Instruments

The design and assembly of an automated system for cleaning and assembly of precise electromechanical instruments in a cleanroom environment is described. Precision contamination-controlled automation implies controlling processes that substantially exceed the ability of humans and controlling contamination at a Class 1 cleanroom level. The automated system described has demonstrated the capability to meet these requirements by successfully processing inertial instruments formerly processed by manual operators. It performs all operations while maintaining the internal processing environment at a Class 1 level.
Genealogies of Race, Gender, and Place

Through a case study of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's interventions into the lives of sharecroppers and tenant farmers in early twentieth-century Alabama, I show how gendered and racialized ...
Association of Inflammatory Status and Maxillary Sinus Schneiderian Membrane Thickness

Certain Schneiderian membrane thicknesses (SMT) have shown to be more prone to tearing/perforation, and some pathologies might influence SMT. Henceforth, we aimed at studying the correlation of inflammatory status to SMT in human fresh cadaver heads. A total of 14 fresh cadaver heads including 27 Schneiderian membrane specimens were histologically collected. A 10-item inflammatory score was determined in the entire sample and also in the thinner and thicker areas of each sample. Data was analyzed by using the Wilcoxon rank test and the Spearman’s rank correlation. The mean measured SMT was 0.40 ± 0.12 mm and the median was 0.33 ± 0.12 mm. A weak positive correlation was found between the mean SMT and inflammation score without a statistical significance. (r = 0.385, p = 0.115). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a statistical difference between the medians of the thinner and thicker areas (p < 0.001). The mean inflammation score of the thinner and thicker areas was 8.55 ± 2.57 and 11.61 ± 2.65, respectively. A moderate positive and statistically significant correlation was found between the inflammation score and the thickness of the thinner and thicker areas (r = 0.638, p = 0.000). A moderate association between the Schneiderian membrane thickness and the level of inflammation exists.
Young adult cancer survivors and work: a systematic review.

Context Sixty-three percent of cancer survivors continue to work, or return to work after treatment. Among this population, work ability and challenges encountered in the workplace by young adult cancer survivors have not been well established.
Programming Generalization When Mainstreaming Exceptional Children

Many articles have been written about psychological, legal and philosophical issues related to mainstreaming exceptional students into the regular classroom; but few provide the teacher with specif...
Design Optimization of RF Power MOSFET’s Using Large Signal Analysis Device Simulation of Matching Networks

This paper discusses the modeling and simulation of power MOSFET’s using large signal device simulation. In order to provide an accurate representation of an LDMOS MOSFET, a model for the intrinsic device and the extrinsic parasitic components is developed. The RF performance of the model is then verified with experimental data. With the proven model, the effect of parasitic components is analyzed and the matching networks are optimized for the desired response.
Memory model sensitive analysis of concurrent data types

Concurrency libraries can facilitate the development of multi-threaded programs by providing concurrent implementations of familiar data types such as queues and sets. Many optimized algorithms that use lock-free synchronization have been proposed for multiprocessors. Unfortunately, such algorithms are notoriously difficult to design and verify and may contain subtle concurrency bugs. Moreover, it is often difficult to place memory ordering fences in the implementation code. Such fences are required for correct function on relaxed memory models, which are common on contemporary multiprocessors. To address these difficulties, we describe an automated verification procedure based on bounded model checking that can exhaustively check all concurrent executions of a given test program on a relaxed memory model and can either (1) verify that the data type is sequentially consistent, or (2) construct a counterexample. Given C implementation code, a bounded test program, and an axiomatic memory model specification, our CheckFence prototype verifies operation-level sequential consistency by encoding the existence of inconsistent executions as solutions to a propositional formula and using a standard SAT solver to decide satisfiability. We applied CheckFence to five previously published algorithms and found several bugs (some not previously known). Furthermore, we determined where to place memory ordering fences in the implementations and verified their sufficiency on our test suite.
Spectral and electron collision properties of atomic ions

The aim of this study is to delineate the systematics of various properties of positive atomic ions over a wide range of nuclear charge, Z, and electron number, N. These properties include energy levels, transition rates, electron collision cross sections, and other directly observable quantities.
A YEAR OF SLEEPING IN THE RECLINER: NOT ANOTHER CASE OF HEART FAILURE

Orthopnea is a common clinical presentation of congestive heart failure (CHF). Rarer causes include severe lung disease and diaphragmatic paralysis. We present an unusual case of orthopnea and hypoxia while supine(platydeoxia) due to a patent foramen ovale(PFO) A 66-year-old man with a history of
Acute renal infarction: A diagnostic challenge.

Abstract Acute renal infarction is a relatively rare and scarcely reported condition. Contrast enhanced CT scan is essential for diagnosing this condition. The most common etiology of this condition is cardioembolic, however up to 59% of cases could be classified as idiopathic acute renal infarction. Here we present a case of a 41 year-old male who was admitted for acute onset right flank pain with fevers and rigors. A CT abdomen with contrast showed findings concerning for right pyelonephritis or renal infarction. Urinalysis was negative for infection. He did not respond to treatment with intravenous antibiotics and was thus diagnosed with acute renal infarction. Work-up for common etiologies was negative and the renal infarction was presumed to be idiopathic. He was discharged home on Enoxaparin. In conclusion, acute renal infarction is a rare condition which should be suspected in patients presenting with acute flank/abdominal pain in whom the more common etiologies have been ruled out.
A Cantorian Argument Against Infinitesimals

In 1887 Georg Cantor gave an influential but cryptic proof of theimpossibility of infinitesimals. I first give a reconstruction ofCantor's argument which relies mainly on traditional assumptions fromEuclidean geometry, together with elementary results of Cantor's ownset theory. I then apply the reconstructed argument to theinfinitesimals of Abraham Robinson's nonstandard analysis. Thisbrings out the importance for the argument of an assumption I call theChain Thesis. Doubts about the Chain Thesis are seen to render thereconstructed argument inconclusive as an attack on the infinitelysmall.
NetAnalyzer: A retrospective network analysis tool

A wide range of public domain and commercial tools currently exist to help network administrators manage networks. However, most of these are real-time analysis tools, and so provide more support in monitoring network activity. A very small subset of these tools assist the network administrator and/or designer in reconfiguring the network as well as identifying optimal resource allocations. The goal of the tool described in this paper is to help in designing and/or reconfiguring of networks for optimal allocation of both clients and file-systems in a distributed computing environment. This paper describes NetAnalyzer, a retrospective network analysis tool running under SUN UNIX (4.1.3) Operating System. The tool uses a utility to passively collect statistics on an Ethemet-based distributed computing environment by operating the interface in a promiscuous mode. The tool allows the user to obtain statistics on the Ethernet utilization, analyze the traffic between the subnetwork of a partitioned network, and also provides comprehensive knowledge of how the various file-system partitions on every server are used in the system. This information would assist the network administrator in reconfiguring the network to meet its requirements in a cost-effective manner.
Hardware Accelerated Mappers for Hadoop MapReduce Streaming

Heterogeneous architectures have emerged as an effective solution to address the energy-efficiency challenges. This is particularly happening in data centers where the integration of FPGA hardware accelerators with general purpose processors such as big Xeon or little Atom cores introduces enormous opportunities to address the power, scalability, and energy-efficiency challenges of processing emerging applications, in particular in domain of big data. Therefore, the rise of hardware accelerators in data centers, raises several important research questions: What is the potential for hardware acceleration in MapReduce, a defacto standard for big data analytics? What is the role of processor after acceleration; whether big or little core is most suited to run big data applications post hardware acceleration? This paper answers these questions through methodical real-system experiments on state-of-the-art hardware acceleration platforms. We first present the implementation of four highly used big data applications in a heterogeneous CPU+FPGA architecture. We develop the MapReduce implementation of K-means, K nearest neighbor, support vector machine, and naive Bayes in a Hadoop Streaming environment that allows developing mapper functions in a non-Java based language suited for interfacing with FPGA based hardware accelerating environment. We present a full implementation of the HW+SW mappers on existing FPGA+core platform and evaluate how a cluster of CPUs equipped with FPGAs uses the accelerated mapper to enhance the overall performance of MapReduce. Moreover, we study how various parameters at the application, system, and architecture levels affect the performance and power-efficiency benefits of Hadoop streaming hardware acceleration. This analysis helps to better understand how presence of HW accelerators for Hadoop MapReduce, changes the choice of CPU, tuning optimization parameters, and scheduling decisions for performance and energy-efficiency improvement. The results show a promising speedup as well as energy-efficiency gains of upto 5.7× and 16× is achieved, respectively, in an end-to-end Hadoop implementation using a semi-automated HLS framework. Results suggest that HW+SW acceleration yields significantly higher speedup on little cores, reducing the performance gap between little and big cores after the acceleration. On the other hand, the energy-efficiency benefit of HW+SW acceleration is higher on the big cores, which reduces the energy-efficiency gap between little and big cores. Overall, the experimental results show that a low cost embedded FPGA platform, programmed using a semi-automated HW+SW co-design methodology, brings significant performance and energy-efficiency gains for Hadoop MapReduce computing in cloud-based architectures and significantly reduces the reliance on large number of big high-performance cores.
Cost effectiveness of immediate biopsy versus surveillance of intermediate-suspicion thyroid nodules

Abstract Background In an effort to reduce overdiagnosis of low-risk thyroid cancer, recent clinical guidelines increased the size-based biopsy thresholds for thyroid nodules. The cost-effectiveness of these guidelines is largely unknown. We hypothesized that ultrasound surveillance in lieu of immediate fine needle aspiration biopsy would be cost effective for a 1.0 cm thyroid nodule with American Thyroid Association Intermediate Suspicion sonographic features. Methods A Markov transition-state model was constructed to compare immediate fine needle aspiration versus ultrasound surveillance. Univariate and multivariate sensitivity analyses were used to examine the uncertainty of cost, probability, and utility estimates in the model. Results Ultrasound surveillance was $1,829 less costly and 0.016 quality-adjusted life years more effective than immediate fine needle aspiration. Immediate fine needle aspiration became cost effective when the probability of malignancy increased from 15% to 84% or the cost of ultrasound increased from $129 to $793. Immediate fine needle aspiration was cost-effective if the quality adjustment factor for observation following a benign fine needle aspiration result exceeded the quality adjustment factor for observation without a biopsy. Conclusion Ultrasound surveillance is more cost-effective than immediate fine needle aspiration for 1.0 cm thyroid nodules with an intermediate-suspicion sonographic pattern. Additional investigation of health-related quality of life in patients undergoing fine needle aspiration or surveillance is necessary.
Clustering Reasons for Returning: an Overview of Return Migration in Albania

Return migrants in Albania show highly heterogeneous motivation-for-return profiles. It is certainly complicated to obtain a full vision of returnees’ characteristics, but this paper contributes to better understand the complex nature of their experiences before and during their life abroad, and after their return to Albania. Cluster analysis allowed grouping returnees that have similar characteristic by their reason for returning, leading to homogeneous empirical types that reflect the multifaceted system of interactions between the host and the home countries in which migrants are embedded. This paper clearly identifies at least two well-differentiated groups based on migrant reasons for returning and gives some policy recommendations to increase the in-flown and fully take advantage of returnees’ potentialities for the economic and social development of the country. Existing programs and services for the reintegration of return migrants in Albania must abandon their general stamp to consider the complex heterogeneity of returnees’ profiles.
Spin-orbit torque and Nernst effect in Bi-Sb/Co heterostructures

Harmonic measurements of the longitudinal and transverse voltages in Bi-Sb/Co bilayers are presented. A large second harmonic voltage signal due to the ordinary Nernst effect is observed. In experiments where a magnetic field is rotated in the film plane, the ordinary Nernst effect shows the same angular dependence in the transverse voltage as the dampinglike spin-orbit torque and in the longitudinal voltage as the unidirectional spin-Hall magnetoresistance, respectively. Therefore, the ordinary Nernst effect can be a spurious signal in spin-orbit torque measurements, leading to an overestimation of the spin-Hall angle and spin-Hall conductivity in topological insulators or semimetals.
Supplemental rods are needed to maximally reduce rod strain across the lumbosacral junction with TLIF but not ALIF in long constructs

Abstract Background Context Rod fracture at the lumbosacral (LS) junction remains challenging in long segment fusions and likely stems from increased LS strain. Reduction of LS instrumentation strain may help reduce fracture rates. Purpose The goal of this investigation was to assess the effect of supplemental posterior 4-rod (4R) construction on LS stability and rod strain compared with standard 2-rod (2R) construction in a long segment fusion model. Study Design/Setting Cadaveric biomechanical study. Outcome Measures Range of motion (ROM), rod strain, and sacral screw (SS) bending moments during flexion, extension, compression, lateral bending, and axial rotation. Methods Standard nondestructive flexibility tests (7.5 Nm) were performed on 14 cadaveric specimens (L1-ilium) to assess ROM stability, rod strain, and SS bending moment of a supplemental 4R construction versus standard 2R construction. Specimens were equally divided into L5-S1 anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) or L5-S1 transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) groups. Three conditions were tested in each group: (1) no lumbar interbody fusion (No LIF)+2R, (2) ALIF or TLIF+2R, and (3) ALIF or TLIF+4R. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) or ANOVA. Results No differences were observed between groups 1 and 2 for age, sex, bone mineral density, or baseline ROM (p>.09). Overall, TLIF+2R demonstrated greater ROM than ALIF+4R in extension (p=003), with greater rod strain in flexion, extension, and compression (p .11). Conclusions The use of ALIF and adding accessory rods with TLIF significantly reduced LS rod strain in a long segment cadaveric model with iliac fixation. Clinical Significance Reducing strain could decrease the risk of failure associated with long segment fixation.
Aristotle on multiple demonstration

ABSTRACTHow many scientific demonstrations can a single phenomenon have? This paper argues that, according to Aristotle's theory of scientific knowledge as laid out in the Posterior Analytics, a si...
A nanostructured bifunctional acid–base catalyst resin formed by lyotropic liquid crystal monomers

An ordered, nanoporous polymer resin was prepared from the self-assembly of lyotropic liquid crystal monomers and employed as a heterogeneous, bifunctional catalyst. This material contains antagoni...
Chemistry in the Early Universe

Galaxies and the first stars in the universe formed billions of years ago as a result of the cooperative effects of gravitational collapse and nonequilibrium chemistry. Gravity drew the primordial gas together into lumps; the formation of the first molecules in the universe, simple diatomic molecules like H2, H2 +, HD, HeH+, LiH, and LiH+, may then have ensured that the heat generated by gravitational collapse and shock waves was radiated away rapidly enough to allow the gravitational collapse and fragmentation of these gaseous lumps to proceed to the point of forming stars and galaxies. We briefly mention a few of the latest studies of this primordial chemistry, including that in the evolving intergalactic medium (IGM) in a Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model cosmology and that in radiative shocks in the early universe.
X-Ray and Radio Emission from Ultraviolet-selected Star-forming Galaxies at Redshifts 1.5 ≲ z ≲ 3.0 in the GOODS-North Field*

We have examined the stacked radio and X-ray emission from UV-selected galaxies spectroscopically confirmed to lie in the redshift range 1.5 z 3.0 in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North field to determine their average extinction and star formation rates (SFRs). The X-ray and radio data are obtained from the Chandra 2 Ms survey and the Very Large Array, respectively. There is a good agreement among the X-ray, radio, and dereddened UV estimates of the average SFR for our sample of z ~ 2 galaxies of ~50 M☉ yr-1, indicating that the locally calibrated SFR relations appear to be statistically valid in the redshift range 1.5 z 3.0. We find that UV-estimated SFRs (uncorrected for extinction) underestimate the bolometric SFRs as determined from the 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity by a factor of ~4.5-5.0 for galaxies over a large range in redshift, 1.0 z 3.5.
Preoperative Briefings and Postoperative Debriefings to Increase Resident Operative Autonomy and Performance

Objective To implement the use of standardized preoperative briefings and postoperative debriefings for surgical cases involving residents in an effort to improve resident autonomy and skill acquisition. Design Prospective longitudinal study. Setting Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Participants Resident and attending physicians. Results Joint Huddles for Improving Resident Education (JHFIRE) tool was created and successfully implemented by 19 residents and 17 faculty members. Over the course of three data collection periods spanning an academic year, overall scores improved though not statistically significantly in the metrics of Zwisch autonomy, Resident Performance, and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) scores. Female residents were scored significantly higher by attendings than their male counterparts in the assessment of baseline Resident Performance. Conclusions (1) JHFIRE tool implemented a standardized preoperative briefing and postoperative debriefing to improve communication and resident skill acquisition; (2) The tool was accepted and utilized throughout an academic year; (3) Zwisch, Resident Performance, and OSATS scores improved though not significantly.
Engagement with conservation tillage shaped by “good farmer” identity

The “good farmer” literature, grounded in Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus, and capital, has provided researchers with a socio-cultural approach to understanding conservation adoption behavior. The good farmer literature suggests that conservation practices may not be widely accepted because they do not allow farmers to demonstrate symbols of good farming. This lens has not been applied to the adoption of conservation tillage (CT), a practice increasingly used to improve conservation outcomes, farming efficiency and crop productivity. Drawing from in-depth interviews (n = 28) with dryland wheat farmers in the US inland Pacific Northwest (iPNW), this research seeks to understand how farmers’ engagement with CT is shaped by identity as a good farmer. Some farmers also sought to bolster social capital through CT by maintaining and strengthening relationships with peers, landowners, and future generations. We further found that engagement with CT provided a link for some participants between productivist values and stewardship values within the good farming identity. The findings from this research may help contextualize the barriers and opportunities to the adoption of agricultural conservation practices within farmer-specific social, cultural, and economic forms of capital.
A tribute to Charlotte S. Catz, MD.

Dr. Charlotte Catz has been an influential figure at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spearheading new initiatives, f...
Taxonomic List of Extant Primates

This chapter provides an introduction to primate that is one of the most diversified groups of living mammals, ranging from lemurs to humans. Members of the order have always been the focus of human curiosity, and many primates are astonishingly similar, both behaviorally and anatomically, to human beings, the most successful and progressive species of the order is Homo sapiens . The chapter provides a list of taxonomic names to become familiar with the wide variety and diversity of primates. This list is the foundation and necessary frame of reference for informed discussion about primates. The particular taxonomic place and common name of each species is helpful in increasing knowledge of primates and their characteristics.
Genetic profile and horticultural evaluation of Styrax americanus (American snowbell)

Styrax americanus Lam. (American snowbell) is an ornamental tree or shrub seldom used in the nursery industry. The species is common in the southeastern United States and is distributed continuously as far north as southeastern Virginia and southern Illinois. We studied a small, threatened population in northern Illinois (latitude = 41°10N), about 500 km disjunct from populations to the south. Little is known about the genetic diversity and landscape potential of this species. The first objective was to evaluate the genetic structure of the northern disjunct population and compare those individuals genetically to populations from the northern and southern extremes of the continuous range in southern Illinois and Florida, respectively. Percentage of polymorphic loci of the disjunct population was 64%, greater than that of the population in Florida. We propose that the diversity of the disjunct population is a consequence of its history as a component of the Grand Marsh that existed in the region until about 100 years ago. The second objective was to evaluate variation in floral morphology among plants from populations that span the distribution of S. americanus grown in a common environment. Results suggest that plants from Illinois have larger flowers than plants from Florida, new knowledge about phenotypic variation of traits with both horticultural and ecological implications. The third objective was to evaluate the tolerance of S. americanus to water deficit and partial flooding, and to determine how soilwater status affects cold tolerance during cold acclimation. Across hydration treatments, there were no provenance differences in CO2 exchange rates between the northern Illinois and Florida populations. Results suggest that plants exposed to prolonged water deficit exhibit less cold tolerance than well hydrated plants. This study provides initial evidence of a dynamic interplay of moisture supply and cold hardiness. Finally, the fourth objective was
Writing sequential programs for parallel processors: implementation experience

The PRAM model has proven to be a fertile ground for algorithm development. However, it assumes that processors operate synchronously, whereas shared-memory multiprocessors are asynchronous and are likely to remain so. This has motivated development of asynchronous PRAM models. Observing the dependence constraints implicit in a computation allows the author to design a large class of synchronous algorithms which run correctly on asynchronous processors without degradation in either time or work bounds. Of great practical interest is his use of randomization for dynamic load-balancing, dealing with asynchrony and providing transparent parallelization. This allows him to give a sequential specification for a parallel algorithm. This, in turn allows him to write sequential programs for parallel processors. He discusses his experience implementing asynchronous PRAM algorithms on shared memory multiprocessors. >
Contemporary Ideas in Physics and Biology in Gottlieb's Psychology

Gilbert Gottlieb was among the leading theorists in all of psychology and his imprint on contemporary developmental science generally and to developmental psychobiology and comparative psychology in particular is difficult to overstate. In manywaysGottlieb’s early formulations (e.g., Gottlieb, 1973, 1984, 1985) regarding the dynamic multilevel transactions integrating biology and ecology in the course of development were prescient of major advances in the field resulting from empirical findings in molecular genetics and cell development along with conceptual and methodological tools from nonlinear dynamic systems and complex adaptive systems theory. As such, in this chapter, we have tried to demonstrate explicitly these linkages between Gilbert Gottlieb’s work and contemporary ideas issuing forth from nonlinear dynamic systems theory and complex adaptive systems theory. In fond appreciation for Gilbert’s singular gift of placing the long-standing dispute between geneocentric perspectives and contextual perspectives regarding the role of biology and ecology in development (see Gottlieb (1992) for an excellent example), we also pursue the historical development of the main theoretical points addressed in this essay.
Alexis Carrel: the good, the bad, the ugly.

Background It is precisely 100 years since the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to the French surgeon Alexis Carrel, the second and to date one of only five surgeons to have received this most prestigious award. In spite of his outstanding contributions to the fields of cardiovascular and transplant surgery, the anniversary of his Nobel Prize award is likely to pass unnoticed and unacknowledged because of his outspoken and well-publicized beliefs and philosophies. Method A review was carried out of the very many biographical papers of Carrel's work and publications. Results Carrel's work did indeed form the basis of modern cardio-vascular and transplant surgery. Conclusion In spite of deserving the Nobel prize for his scientific work, Carrel's views on eugenics were so abhorrent that he is unlikely to ever receive the accolades he deserves.
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis for Certification of Ion-Implanted Arsenic in Silicon

Standard reference material (SRM) 2134 Arsenic Implant in Silicon was produced at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a calibrant for secondary ion mass spectrometry. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used as a primary method for certification of the arsenic implanted dose. A complete evaluation of all sources of uncertainty yielded an expanded relative uncertainty for the mean value of this SRM to be 0.38% at approximately the 95% level of confidence. No evidence indicating significant heterogeneity among samples was observed.