cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Life history and descriptions of immature stages of Ambrysus lunatus lunatus (Hemiptera: Naucoridae).

The life history of Ambrysus l. lunatus Usinger in the South Llano River of central Texas was studied in 1988 and 1989. This subspecies is bivoltine in central Texas and overwinters as third through fifth instars and adults among submerged rocks and algae at the margins of flowing water. All nymphal stages generally were present from mid-May through early December; however, first and second instars exhibited two peaks of high proportions in mid-May to early June and in late August. A maximum likelihood G test suggested that the second generation begins in late July, when there occurs a major shift in the age structure of the population. This subspecies was reared from egg to adult in the laboratory on larvae of Prosimulium sp. (Diptera: Simuliidae). Egg incubation period averaged 20.7 d, and the five stadia averaged 11.0, 11.7, 19.0, 20.6, and 31.3 d, respectively. The immature stages are described and illustrated.
Effect of band structure on the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction in the heavy rare earths

Abstract The indirect exchange interaction between near-neighbor spins has been calculated for Gd metal near T = 0 using electronic energy bands computed by means of the non-relativistic augmented-plane-wave method. The results show that the present accuracy of band-structure calculations does not permit a realistic determination of indirect exchange energies.
Investigation of a Synchronized Flattop AWG Using a Low Coherence Interferometric Method

We present a new measurement scheme that investigates the synchronized flattop AWG waveguide design using low coherent interferometric method. It is a powerful diagnosis tool that measures spectral dependence of mode profiles.
The tumor microenvironment: key to early detection.

The tumor microenvironment plays an important role equal to the tumor cell population in the progression of cancer. Consisting of stromal fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, components of the vasculature, normal epithelia, and extracellular matrix, the surrounding environment interacts or “cross-talks” with tumor cells through the release of growth factors, cytokines, proteases, and other bioactive molecules. Tumor growth, formation of new vascular networks, evasion of the host immune system, and invasion and metastasis are processes that co-evolve and become finely optimized and regulated within the tumor microenvironment. However, relatively recent reports on three areas of study have come together to add new levels of complexity to the tumor microenvironment. These include ectodomain shedding of proteins, shedding of membrane-derived vesicles, and novel roles for phospholipids. These dynamic changes that take place in the tumor microenvironment provide new avenues for study and for the early detection of ...
Foreign direct investment and institutional quality: Some empirical evidence

Abstract Based on a panel data analysis of 164 countries from 1996 to 2006, we examine the impact of institutional quality on foreign direct investment (FDI) levels and volatility. We find that good institutional quality matters to FDI. We provide evidence that institutional quality has a positive and significant effect on FDI. More specifically, we find that a one standard deviation change in institutional quality improves FDI by a factor of 1.69. Ceteris paribus, institutional quality is negatively and significantly associated with FDI volatility which may have an adverse effect on economic growth per Lensink and Morrisey (2006). Thus, our results suggest that if there are institutional determinants of FDI volatility and if such volatility is associated with lower economic growth, then the usual policy prescription of attracting FDI into countries by offering the “correct” macroeconomic environment would be ineffective without an equal emphasis on institutional reform.
Training the next generation of protein scientists.

Carl Branden made significant contributions in areas of protein X-ray crystallography and science education. As the 2011 recipient of the Protein Society award honoring Carl's contributions, I had the opportunity to reflect on the undergraduate educational activities that have been practiced in my own laboratory over the past 24 years at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, an institution that emphasizes both research and undergraduate education. A system has been developed that attempts to minimize the tension that can exist between conflicting graduate research and undergraduate mentoring goals. The outcomes, as measured not only by subsequent activities of the participating undergraduates, but also by the activities of the graduate students and postdocs that worked with the undergraduates, indicate a general overall benefit for all participants, particularly for women and underrepresented minorities who are traditionally poorly retained in the sciences. Greater participation of undergraduates in research activities of active scientists who often focus primarily on graduate and postdoctoral training could have a positive impact on the leaky undergraduate science pipeline.
Application-specific power-efficient approach for reducing register file vulnerability

This paper introduces a power efficient approach for improving reliability of heterogeneous register files in embedded processors. The approach is based on the fact that control applications have high demands in reliability, while many special-purpose register are unused in a considerable portion of execution. The paper proposes a static application binary analysis which is applied at function-level granularity and offers a systematic way to manage the RF's protection by mirroring the content of used registers into unused ones. The simulation results on an enhanced Blackfin processor demonstrate that Register File Vulnerability Factor (RFVF) is reduced from 35% to 6.9% in cost of 1% performance lost on average for control applications from Mibench suite.
The Use of Thermal Imagery for Intrusion Detection in a Public Transit Environment

Thermal imagery (or thermography) was once only used in military, scienfitic and industrial applications due to the cost and complexity of the equipment involved. Not anymore. Thermal imagery is now used in an ever growing range of applications. This paper will focus on the use of thermal imagery in public transit as a means for detecting intrusion into the train way. This paper will review the basics of thermal imagery, examine why its use is expanding, and assess its utility for public transit. A pilot demonstration program using thermal imagery for track intrusion detected will also be discussed.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
An Assessment Of Business Schools Student Retention, Accreditation, And Faculty Scholarship Challenges

Business schools’ curriculum, faculty and graduates have become a target for many critics as they link the ethical lapses of senior executives to major scandals that have partially led to the financial challenges that the world is facing today. Some claim that business faculty research is not practical and mainly theoretical. This paper discusses the current state of affairs in business education, business school quality control through accreditation guidelines, and faculty scholarship in order to consistently keep faculty up-to-date on the latest research. The paper also offers reflections, suggestions, and practical tips for student recruitment and retention.
A university without departments and colleges -A new structure to strengthen disciplinary and interdisciplinary education and research

A 21st century workforce must be trained to solve not only major national and global challenges but to fit into the current complex work environment. The challenges cannot be solved by a single discipline and require interdisciplinary solutions only possible through the collaboration of physical, biological, and social scientists along with engineers. The 21st century student needs to be educated so they can combine disciplinary depth with the ability to reach out to other disciplines. Such training requires a cost-effective higher education structure that promotes and sustains interdisciplinary research and education (IDRE). The current structure has failed to achieve this. In response to this failure, some private universities like Dartmouth and Olin and public institutions like the University of California Merced (UC Merced) are experimenting with giving up traditional department silos and majors in favor of an interdisciplinary organization. These programs can serve as models for what is to be done in U.S. higher education and may also serve as models for emerging universities in the developing world.
Properties of Hot Press Moulded Wheat Gluten Plate

The mechanical and water-resistant properties of the hot press moulded wheat gluten under various moulding temperature,pressure and time were studied. The research on the effects of moulding process on the mechanical properties of the wheat gluten material found that the optimal hot press moulding process is as follows: 140 ℃/6.5 MPa for 5 minutes and 10.0 MPa for 15 minutes.The tensile strength of the moulded wheat gluten is 64 MPa,the bending strength 82 MPa.The study on the electrical property shows that its dielectric property decreases with the slowly increase of frequency in dry state;in hygrometric state(52.9%),the dielectric property grows obviously and declines swiftly with the increase of frequency;and it tends to be stable when the frequency is over 104 Hz.The specific resistance decreases linearly with the increase of the frequency.The results indicate that the electric properties of the hot press moulded wheat gluten are subject to the compaction rate of the material structure.
Study on the Dynamic Relationship Between Economic Growth and Water Resources-Use Based on the VAR Model

Based on the VAR model,the long term dynamic relationship between Chinese economic growth and water resources use is analyzed by using the variable stationary test and co-integration analysis,impulse response and variance decomposition analysis,and the related data of water resources and GDP indices in China from 1980 to 2007.The results show that economic growth is extendedly and dynamically related to total water resources consumption,industrial water consumption and domestic water consumption,but it is not the case with agricultural water consumption.This accords with the fact that China is in the mid-term of industrialization.Moreover,the lag phase of the shock response of economic growth to water resources-use is short and non-asymptotic,whereas the lag phase of the impact of water resources-use on economic growth is long and non-asymptotic.With the development of Chinese economy,industrial and living water consumption is obviously increasing while agricultural water consumption shows the trends of zero growth and negative growth.Additionally,variance decomposition analysis indicates that economic growth is the main variable to the forecasting mean square error of water resources while it is not so vice versa.Therefore,water-saving measures of industrial and living consumption should be strengthened so as to reduce water consumption and achieve sustainable use of water resources.
Multi-pass Gaussian Contact-hardening Soft Shadows

Real-time soft shadows have seen numerous improvements over the years. Post-process blurring of shadow edges are commonly used to hide aliasing artifacts, but in some cases, such as ours, it is used to mimic physical processes. Instead of generating penumbra regions uniformly, we scale key algorithmic components in screen space to allow the penumbra region to grow in accordance with occluder/receiver distance. This form of soft shadowing is known to some as contact-hardening and has been explored in various ways. We present an algorithm that explores three ways of achieving contact-hardening soft shadows. Two of those ways are similar in nature to previous works while the third is a novel approach that utilizes occluder distance as a counter for multiple Gaussian passes. Our main contributions are fast occluder approximation and the use of occluder distance to control the number of Gaussian passes. Multiple Gaussian passes create better results than a single Gaussian pass for several scenes, and we explore various ways of improving the performance of the multi-pass approach.
PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING IN INDIA: A HISTORICAL REVIEW AND AN ANALYSIS SINCE INDEPENDENCE TO THE ECONOMIC REFORMS OF THE NINETIES

This study provides a history and an inventory and analysis of existing public sector accounting principles in India from the time of independence from the British in 1947 through the economic reforms of the nineties. It also analyses the factors that are affecting the current evolution in governmental accounting from an ineffective bureaucratic system to an informative decision making tool, utilizing Luder’s Contingency Model of Public Sector Accounting.
Interspecific aggressive behavior of the polyandrous northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa)

Les adultes de J.s., observes a Costa Rica, defendent leur nichee contre les intrus qui sont sur leur territoire. Ils attaquent ainsi 15 especes, le plus souvent Porphyrula martinica. Divers facteurs influencent la probabilite d'attaque qui sont precises
Phosphorus GABA Analogues as Potential Prodrugs.

Analogues of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), wherein a P=O moiety is separated by three carbon atoms from an amino group, were incorporated into Schiff bases as potential acid-labile carrier molecules. These include 3-aminophenylphosphonic acid, its dimethyl ester and its previously unreported N,N′-diisopropylphosphonodiamide. A benzophenone derivative of GABA was also synthesized.A study of the degrees of in vitro hydrolysis of four Schiff bases indicated that lability of the C=N bond is determined by electronic influences of ring substituents.All new products were tested for abilities to inhibit maximal electroshock- and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol (Metrazol)-induced seizures in mice.Activity was found only in the former system with moderate inhibition displayed by two dimethyl ester and the GABA Schiff bases.
A Refined Electrofishing Technique for Collecting Silver Carp: Implications for Management

AbstractDetecting nuisance species at low abundance or in newly established areas is critical to developing pest management strategies. Due to their sensitivity to disturbance and erratic jumping behavior, Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix can be difficult to collect with traditional sampling methods. We compared catch per unit effort (CPUE) of all species from a Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) electrofishing protocol to an experimental electrofishing technique designed to minimize Silver Carp evasion through tactical boat maneuvering and selective application of power. Differences in CPUE between electrofishing methods were detected for 2 of 41 species collected across 2 years of sampling at 20 sites along the Illinois River. The mean catch rate of Silver Carp using the experimental technique was 2.2 times the mean catch rate of the LTRM electrofishing technique; the increased capture efficiency at low relative abundance emphasizes the utility of this method for early detection. The experiment...
Antimicrobial efficacy of liposomes containing d-limonene and its effect on the storage life of blueberries

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of unilamellar nano vesicles (liposome) containing d -limonene against selected fruit rotting fungi (Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium chrysogenum) and food borne illness causing bacteria (Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes). Furthermore, the research evaluated the extended shelf life and enhanced food safety of blueberries treated with d -limonene and liposomes. Liposomal nanoparticles were created by thin lipid film hydration followed by sonication. Mean liposome radius was 100.2 ± 3.1 nm. The antibacterial activity against E. coli showed 0.99 and 1.6 log10 reductions in CFU mL−1 at 10 μM and 50 μM, respectively, within 48 h. The log10 reduction was 1.6 at 10 μM and 3.4 at 50 μM for L. monocytogenes. Germination of B. cinerea conidia was completely suppressed over 48 h by a 50 μM concentration of limonene. Liposomes exhibited 2.2 and 2.8 log10 reductions for P. chrysogenum, whereas 3.7 and 4.6 log10 reductions were observed for B. cinerea with 10 μM and 50 μM limonene, respectively. The in vivo study of liposome coatings on blueberries also revealed protection against microbial growth even after nine weeks of storage at 4 °C with liposomes reducing blueberry spoilage by more than 60% at the end of nine weeks. The results of this study can benefit the produce industry through both enhancement of food safety and extending the shelf life of blueberries, further highlighting the commercial applications of liposomes.
INFLUENCE OF INFLATION ON BOND PRICES: A SURVEY OF BONDS LISTED AT THE NAIROBI SECURITIES

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of inflation on bond price. Methodology: The research used an explanatory research design. 65 bonds listed in 23 categories at the NSE. The study used secondary data collected from NSE and the (KNBS) Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. A sample of 10 bonds was selected as these bonds were issued in the January 2008 and were still not mature by the 31 st December 2012. Standard deviations were calculated for all the variables in the study. Further statistical analysis was carried out by use of correlation and regression analysis where bond prices were regressed against inflation, exchange rates and economic growth measured using the Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product growth. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was used to conduct the analysis. The findings were presented in form of tables and figures. Results: The study found out that inflation had negative and significant relationship on the bond prices. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This study recommends that investors who are looking to buy into bonds should factor in inflation as this determines the bond prices. Since inflation has a negative impact on bond prices, the government policy making organ mandated with the control of inflation should pursue measures to reduce the inflation rate. These measures should include monetary policies such as reduce the interest rates, open market operations geared at reducing the amount of money supply in the economy. The government may also pursue contractionary fiscal policy aimed at reducing inflation. These polices would include reducing government spending.
Accelerated differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells to blood–brain barrier endothelial cells

Due to their ability to limitlessly proliferate and specialize into almost any cell type, human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer an unprecedented opportunity to generate human brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), which compose the blood–brain barrier (BBB), for research purposes. Unfortunately, the time, expense, and expertise required to differentiate iPSCs to purified BMECs precludes their widespread use. Here, we report the use of a defined medium that accelerates the differentiation of iPSCs to BMECs while achieving comparable performance to BMECs produced by established methods. Induced pluripotent stem cells were seeded at defined densities and differentiated to BMECs using defined medium termed E6. Resultant purified BMEC phenotypes were assessed through trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER), fluorescein permeability, and P-glycoprotein and MRP family efflux transporter activity. Expression of endothelial markers and their signature tight junction proteins were confirmed using immunocytochemistry. The influence of co-culture with astrocytes and pericytes on purified BMECs was assessed via TEER measurements. The robustness of the differentiation method was confirmed across independent iPSC lines. The use of E6 medium, coupled with updated culture methods, reduced the differentiation time of iPSCs to BMECs from thirteen to 8 days. E6-derived BMECs expressed GLUT-1, claudin-5, occludin, PECAM-1, and VE-cadherin and consistently achieved TEER values exceeding 2500 Ω × cm2 across multiple iPSC lines, with a maximum TEER value of 4678 ± 49 Ω × cm2 and fluorescein permeability below 1.95 × 10−7 cm/s. E6-derived BMECs maintained TEER above 1000 Ω × cm2 for a minimum of 8 days and showed no statistical difference in efflux transporter activity compared to BMECs differentiated by conventional means. The method was also found to support long-term stability of BMECs harboring biallelic PARK2 mutations associated with Parkinson’s Disease. Finally, BMECs differentiated using E6 medium responded to inductive cues from astrocytes and pericytes and achieved a maximum TEER value of 6635 ± 315 Ω × cm2, which to our knowledge is the highest reported in vitro TEER value to date. Given the accelerated differentiation, equivalent performance, and reduced cost to produce BMECs, our updated methods should make iPSC-derived in vitro BBB models more accessible for a wide variety of applications.
Separation of photoreceptor cell compartments in mouse retina for protein analysis

Light exposure triggers movement of certain signaling proteins within the cellular compartments of the highly polarized rod photoreceptor cell. This redistribution of proteins between the inner and outer segment compartments affects the performance and physiology of the rod cell. In addition, newly synthesized phototransduction proteins traverse from the site of their synthesis in the inner segment, through the thin connecting cilium, to reach their destination in the outer segment. Processes that impede normal trafficking of these abundant proteins lead to cell death. The study of movement and unique localization of biomolecules within the different compartments of the rod cell would be greatly facilitated by techniques that reliably separate these compartments. Ideally, these methods can be applied to the mouse retina due to the widespread usage of transgenic mouse models in the investigation of basic visual processes and disease mechanisms that affect vision. Although the retina is organized in distinct layers, the small and highly curved mouse retina makes physical separation of retinal layers a challenge. We introduce two peeling methods that efficiently and reliably isolate the rod outer segment and other cell compartments for Western blots to examine protein movement across these compartments. The first separation method employs Whatman® filter paper to successively remove the rod outer segments from isolated, live mouse retinas. The second method utilizes ScotchTM tape to peel the rod outer segment layer and the rod inner segment layer from lyophilized mouse retinas. Both procedures can be completed within one hour. We utilize these two protocols on dark-adapted and light-exposed retinas of C57BL/6 mice and subject the isolated tissue layers to Western blots to demonstrate their effectiveness in detecting light-induced translocation of transducin (GNAT1) and rod arrestin (ARR1). Furthermore, we provide evidence that RGS9 does not undergo light-induced translocation. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the two different peeling protocols for the separation of the layered compartments of the mouse retina and their utility for investigations of protein compositions within these compartments.
Human Airway Epithelial Cell Cultures for Modeling Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important human respiratory pathogen with narrow species tropism. Limited availability of human pathologic specimens during early RSV-induced lung disease and ethical restrictions for RSV challenge studies in the lower airways of human volunteers has slowed our understanding of how RSV causes airway disease and greatly limited the development of therapeutic strategies for reducing RSV disease burden. Our current knowledge of RSV infection and pathology is largely based on in vitro studies using nonpolarized epithelial cell-lines grown on plastic or in vivo studies using animal models semipermissive for RSV infection. Although these models have revealed important aspects of RSV infection, replication, and associated inflammatory responses, these models do not broadly recapitulate the early interactions and potential consequences of RSV infection of the human columnar airway epithelium in vivo. In this chapter, the pro et contra of in vitro models of human columnar airway epithelium and their usefulness in respiratory virus pathogenesis and vaccine development studies will be discussed. The use of such culture models to predict characteristics of RSV infection and the correlation of these findings to the human in vivo situation will likely accelerate our understanding of RSV pathogenesis potentially identifying novel strategies for limiting the severity of RSV-associated airway disease.
A review of Legal Issues in Clinical Practice with Victims of Violence: Legal Issues in Clinical Practice with Victims of Violence, by John E. B. Myers, New York, NY, The Guilford Press, 2017, 300 pp., $39.69 (hardcover), ISBN-13: 978-1462528592

Legal Issues in Clinical Practice with Victims of Violence is a mental health professional’s guide to the legal system and the crucial role they play. The author writes from years of experience and...
Salinity stress results in differential Hsp70 expression in the Exaiptasia pallida and Symbiodinium symbiosis.

Abiotic factors affect cnidarian-algal symbiosis and, if severe enough, can result in bleaching. Increased temperature and light are well characterized causes of bleaching, but other factors like salinity can also stress the holobiont. In cnidarian-dinoflagellate systems, the expression of host genes, including heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), changes due to thermal and light stress. In this experiment, we characterized to what extent salinity stress affects Hsp70 expression in the holobiont by simultaneously measuring host and symbiont Hsp70 expression in response to up to 8 h of hypo- and hypersaline conditions in the sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida and its intracellular symbiont Symbiodinium minutum. We show that E. pallida Hsp70 expression increases (6-11-fold) at high salinities whereas Symbiodinium Hsp70 expression shows little change (1.4-2.6-fold). These data suggest that cnidarian Hsp70 response is similar across multiple abiotic stressors further validating the Hsp70 gene as a biomarker for abiotic stress.
Correction: Geophysical constraints on the reliability of solar and wind power in the United States

Correction for ‘Geophysical constraints on the reliability of solar and wind power in the United States’ by Matthew R. Shaner et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2018, DOI: 10.1039/c7ee03029k.
Developmental Regulation of Variability

Publisher Summary Phenotypic variability is often taken for granted by evolutionary biologists even though variability is generally regarded as limited and nonrandom. Efforts to understand processes limiting and structuring variation have tended to focus on evolutionary mechanisms, especially stabilizing selection. In theory, stabilizing selection leads to the evolution of developmental regulatory systems that buffer phenotypes against environmental or genetic perturbations. Recent theoretical investigations find that such developmental buffering (i.e., canalization) can arise as an emergent property of complex coregulatory systems. This chapter focuses on the variability of mammalian craniofacial morphology, a model system for studies of the developmental basis of complex morphologies and their integration. One important characteristic of skull morphology is that it is dynamic, changing continually over the lifetime of an individual. The chapter aims to summarize and reconcile patterns found in the empirical literature, allaying the suspicion that the reduction in variance of skull shape might be just an artifact of measuring fragile, malleable infant skulls. After documenting the same pattern in another case, it considers what the magnitude and structure of variation indicates regarding candidate mechanisms.
Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Injection Pain Using a Computer-Controlled Local Anesthetic Device (CCLAD): A Prospective, Randomized Study

There is evidence that the Computer-Controlled Local Anesthetic Device (CCLAD) decreases the pain of oral injections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate injection pain of the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) using the CCLAD in an upright position versus a supine position. Additionally, we evaluated solution deposition pain with the CCLAD when compared to previous studies using a traditional syringe. One hundred ten asymptomatic subjects were randomly given IANBs using 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine while in an upright sitting position and supine position, at 2 different appointments, spaced at least 2 weeks apart. Each subject rated the pain for needle insertion, needle placement, and solution deposition on a Heft-Parker visual analogue scale. Pain ratings were compared between the upright and supine positions using a repeated-measures analysis of variance with post hoc testing using the Tukey-Kramer procedure. Moderate to severe pain was reported by 10% to 13% of the patients for needle insertion, 74% to 75% for full needle placement, and 8% to 10% for solution deposition. There was no significant difference between groups for phases of the injection. When comparing the injection phases within the groups, the needle placement phase of the injection was statistically more painful than both the needle insertion phase and solution deposition phase ( p = .0001). Using the CCLAD, IANB injection pain of the supine and upright positions was not statistically different. Needle placement was the most painful phase of the injection. Solution deposition pain was less with the CCLAD when compared to other studies of the IANB using a traditional syringe.
Analyzing the feasibility of fracking in the U.S. using macro level life cycle cost analysis and assessment approaches — A foundational study

Abstract Meeting energy demands and achieving energy independence is one of the highest goals on any nation’s priority list. The increase in energy demands in the U.S. and the need for affordable energy have caused substantial developments in the fracking arena over the last two decades. Although the fracking process has dominated the last decade because of its contribution to more affordable energy, the negative environmental impacts have certainly been questioned. Therefore, it is imperative to calculate the real net cost of fracking by weighing its benefits against its negative environmental impacts as well. This research study is a foundational study that identifies the major cost centers and the impacts needs assessment for the fracking process across its different life cycle phases through an extensive literature review, a comprehensive Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), and dynamic cost modeling. Datasets were analyzed at a macro-level to find the life cycle cost of fracking using several data sources and implementing life cycle analysis and assessment approaches. A Monte-Carlo simulation was used during the analysis to account for the range of values at the macro-level, rendering this model to be dynamic in nature, and the costs to be more reliable. The results demonstrated that air and water pollution are some of the highest impacting factors in the fracking process, and the most expensive. It was duly noted in the study that dependence on depletable energy sources like shale gas is very costly and economically and environmentally unsustainable, which urge a sustainable calculated transition towards more renewable energy in the imminent future. Finally, this study provides a major platform as a fracking LCC framework for different future studies.
Implementing a web-based master's degree in instructional technology: a progress report

At Northwest Missouri State University, graduate computer education has existed since 1980 with the establishment of a Master of Science degree in School Computer Studies. This degree was designed specifically for teachers who were either currently teaching high school computer classes or were planning to implement computer classes in their schools. Now at the start of the 21st century, the interest in distance learning, Internet availability, curriculum topics, and modified student expectations have each forced Northwest to redesign that original degree into a Master's degree in Instructional Technology. This paper will examine the current issues associated with offering such a program as an online masters degree.
Show me your friends, and I will tell you whom you vote for: Predicting voting behavior in social networks

Increasing use of social media in campaigns raises the question of whether one can predict the voting behavior of social-network users who do not disclose their political preferences in their online profiles. Prior work on this task only considered users who generate politically oriented content or voluntarily disclose their political preferences online. We avoid this bias by using a novel Bayesian-network model that combines demographic, behavioral, and social features; we apply this novel approach to the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Our model is highly extensible and facilitates the use of incomplete datasets. Furthermore, our work is the first to apply a semi-supervised approach for this task: Using the EM algorithm, we combine labeled survey data with unlabeled Facebook data, thus obtaining larger datasets as well as addressing self-selection bias.
Two undescribed paradol-related specialized metabolites from Aframomum melegueta.

Aframomum melegueta seeds are widely used as a spice in Africa. Two undescribed paradol-related compounds, (S)−9-hydroxy-[6]-paradol (1) and (9S)−3,9-dihydroxydihydro-[6]-paradol (2) together with ...
Hippocampal CA2 ripples recruit social replay and promote social memory

The consolidation of spatial memory depends on the reactivation (replay) of hippocampal place cells that were active during recent behavior. These reactivations are observed during sharp wave-ripples (SWRs), synchronous oscillatory events that occur during slow-wave sleep1-9 and whose disruption impairs spatial memory consolidation 4,6,7,9. Although the hippocampus encodes a wide range of non-spatial forms of declarative memory, it is not yet known whether SWRs are necessary for non-spatial memory. Moreover, although SWRs can arise from either the hippocampal CA38 or CA210 regions, the relative importance of these sources for memory consolidation is unknown. Here we examined the role of SWRs during the consolidation of social memory, the ability of an animal to recognize and remember a conspecific, focusing on CA2 because of its critical role in social memory11,12,13. We found that ensembles of CA2 pyramidal neurons that were active during social exploration of novel conspecifics were reactivated during SWRs. Importantly, disruption or enhancement of CA2 SWRs suppressed or prolonged social memory, respectively. Thus, SWR reactivation of hippocampal firing related to recent experience appears to be a general mechanism for binding spatial, temporal and sensory information into high-order memory representations.
DIAGNOSING STIFF LEFT ATRIAL SYNDROME IN THE SETTING OF MITRAL STENOSIS

Stiff left atrial (LA) syndrome and pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) are potential complications of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. In patients with mitral stenosis (MS) and prior AF ablation, identifying the cause of dyspnea is vital for management. A 74-year-old male with AF ablation a decade
Designing human-centered user experiences and user interfaces

Abstract Thoughtfully designing user experiences (UXs) and user interfaces (UIs) is an important factor in achieving better health outcomes for people with diabetes and enabling health professionals, innovators, and companies to create solutions that support people effectively. Five principles to employ in the design of UXs and UIs to improve the lives of patients and help them benefit from the digital experiences provided in the context of their care are included in this chapter. These principles immediately apply to the current context and also point toward questions facing the health-care industry in the future.
Not so motivated after all? Three replication attempts and a theoretical challenge to a morally motivated belief in free will.

Free will is often appraised as a necessary input to for holding others morally or legally responsible for misdeeds. Recently, however, Clark and colleagues (2014) argued for the opposite causal relationship. They assert that moral judgments and the desire to punish motivate people's belief in free will. Three replication experiments (Studies 1-2b) attempt to reproduce these findings. Additionally, a novel experiment (Study 3) tests a theoretical challenge derived from attribution theory, which suggests that immoral behaviors do not uniquely influence free will judgments. Instead, our nonviolation model argues that norm deviations of any kind-good, bad, or strange-cause people to attribute more free will to agents. Across replication experiments we found no consistent evidence for the claim that witnessing immoral behavior causes people to increase their general belief in free will. By contrast, we replicated the finding that people attribute more free will to agents who behave immorally compared to a neutral control (Studies 2a and 3). Finally, our novel experiment demonstrated broad support for our norm-violation account, suggesting that people's willingness to attribute free will to others is malleable, but not because people are motivated to blame. Instead, this experiment shows that attributions of free will are best explained by people's expectations for norm adherence, and when these expectations are violated, people infer that an agent expressed their free will to do so. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Editorial: A Retrospective from the Editors-in-Chief on the History of Interfaces/INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics

As the INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics (formerly Interfaces) reaches its 50th year, the current editor-in-chief (EiC) and each of the five former (surviving) EiCs recount the major events and ...
Asymptotic simplification for solutions of the energy critical nonlinear wave equation

In this article, we survey recent results (with Duyckaerts and Merle) on the long-time behavior of radial solutions of the energy critical nonlinear wave equation in odd dimensions.
Transgender Clients' Travel Distance to Preferred Health Care: A Clinic-Specific Study

Purpose: To examine distance traveled to an urban community health center by gender-expansive and cis-gender participants. Methods: Client-reported zip code of residence from archival data (N=2677)...
Emotion matters: The effect of hand gesture on emotionally valenced sentences

Abstract Recent theories and neural models of co-speech gesture have extensively considered its cognitive role in language comprehension but have ignored the emotional function. We investigated the integration of speech and co-speech gestures in memory for verbal information with different emotional connotations (either positive, negative, or neutral). In a surprise cued-recall task, gesture boosted memory for speech with all three emotional valences. Interestingly, gesture was more likely to become integrated into memory of neutrally and positively valenced speech than negatively valenced speech. The results suggest that gesture-speech integration is modulated by emotional valence of speech, which has implications for the emotional function of gesture in language comprehension.
Estimating Open Ocean Vertical Current Velocity from Glider Flight Characteristics: application to mixing processes in the Gulf of Mexico

Understanding the physical processes that control deep water mixing of the open ocean is fundamentally important to ventilation, carbon sequestration, and hurricane intensification research. The Loop Current and associated eddies are the most energetic meso-scale circulation features of the Gulf of Mexico. For this study, we estimate the vertical current velocity from anomalies in the vertical ascent and descent rates of two Slocum ocean buoyancy glider missions in the northern Gulf of Mexico in fall 2015. The vertical current velocity estimates are related to mixing processes of the open ocean. The gliders collected upper ocean (surface to 1000m; 1 Hz sampling, vertical and horizontal velocities ~20 cm/s) data, e.g., CTD, fluorometer, dissolved oxygen. During the ~80-day mission, the gliders transited multiple current features; analyses shows strong gradients and deepening of the Temperature, Salinity, and density isolines at the boundary of the Loop Current and warm core eddy structures. Vertical sections of estimated vertical water velocity shows coherent horizontal structure aligned with the density gradients at the base of the Loop Current velocity core and intensification between the eddies, likely the result of internal wave generation. Vertical and horizontal variability of Brunt-Vaisala (stability) frequency indicates enhanced vertical mixing in the upper 600 meters and marked contrasts between the slope waters, open ocean and at the periphery of eddies. Although satellite observations reveal the large scale presence of oceanic features, the glider-derived geostrophic velocities smaller spatial scale current structures on the periphery of the eddies that are not resolvable by satellite altimeter observations alone.
A Smart City Stakeholder Online Meeting Interface

We propose an online meeting interface aimed for smart city projects and which can be extended/modified for other types of online meetings. The interface will be connected to the central data storage for the smart city project, and there will be processing software tools behind the interface to analyze/format the data collected from the interface.
Together But Alone: Atomization and Peer Support among Gig Workers

The individualistic nature of gig work allows workers to have high levels of flexibility, but it also leads to atomization, leaving them isolated from peer workers. In this paper, we employed a qualitative approach to understand how online social media groups provide informational and emotional support to physical gig workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that social media groups alleviate the atomization effect, as workers use these groups to obtain experiential knowledge from their peers, build connections, and organize collective action. However, we noted a reluctance among workers to share strategic information where there was a perceived risk of being competitively disadvantaged. In addition, we found that the diversity among gig workers has also led to limited empathy for one another, which further impedes the provision of emotional support. While social media groups could potentially become places where workers organize collective efforts, several factors, including the uncertainty of other workers' activities and the understanding of the independent contractor status, have diminished the effectiveness of efforts at collective action.
Presentation of Numerical Data in the Primary Literature

CODATA (Committee on Data for Science and Technology) has devised a “Guide for the Presentation in the Primary Literature of Numerical Data Derived from Experiments”. This report is concerned with the presentation of numerical data capable of verification by repetition such as those on the physical and chemical properties and behavior of material systems. General recommendations that apply to all branches of the physical sciences are made concerning the information that should be reported so that the data may be compared and correlated with those obtained from other studies. Some existing specialized guides that expand upon these recommendations are listed in the bibliography; others are under preparation.
Inclusion of flagellin increases antibody responses in nonhuman primate neonates following influenza vaccination (VAC8P.1002)

Influenza virus can cause life-threatening infections in neonates and young infants. Although vaccination is a major countermeasure against influenza, current vaccines are not approved for use in infants less than 6 months of age, in part due to the weak immune response to vaccination. Thus, there is a strong need to develop new vaccines with improved efficacy for use in this vulnerable population. To address this issue we developed an African Green Monkey model that could be used to identify effective influenza vaccine approaches for use in young infants. We assessed the ability of flagellin, a TLR5 agonist, to serve as an effective adjuvant for vaccination of neonates. Animals were primed and boosted with inactivated PR8 influenza virus in the presence of either flagellin or an inactive form of the protein. Inclusion of flagellin significantly increased the level of influenza-specific serum IgG present following boosting as well as at early times after virus challenge. Animals receiving flagellin adjuvanted vaccination also exhibited higher levels of respiratory influenza-specific IgG at early times post challenge. Interestingly, there was no flagellin mediated increase in IgM. The presence of flagellin also resulted in an increase in neutralizing antibody. This study supports further exploration of flagellin as an effective adjuvant for inducing vaccine responses against influenza in neonates.
Microwave Thermoradiotherapy for Uveal Melanoma: Results of a 10-year Study

Abstract Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate clinically the use of microwaveheating (hyperthermia) as an adjuvant to ophthalmic plaque irradiation for treatment of patients with uveal melanoma. Hyperthermia was also used as a radiation sensitizer, allowing for significant dose reductions during ophthalmic plaque radiation therapy. Participants: In this case series, 48 patients were treated with microwave plaque thermotherapy for uveal melanoma. Intervention: Microwave treatment, which involved affixing a miniature microwave dish antenna on the sclera beneath the tumor after completion of plaque brachytherapy, was performed. During hyperthermia treatment, the tumor's apex was targeted to receive a minimum of 42 °C for a 45-minute duration. A subset of 38 (79%) were given reduced apical doses of ophthalmic plaque radiation (radioactive isotope of iodine [ 125 I] or palladium-103 [ 103 Pd]) to an average of 52.6 Gy. Main Outcome Parameters: Patients were evaluated for visual function, microwave toxicity, radiation oculopathy, eye retention, local tumor control, and metastatic disease. Results: Patients have been observed for up to 10 years and for an average of 60 months (5 years). To date, there have been 3 cases of postoperative tumor enlargement (growth) for a 93.8% local control rate. Two patients were lost to followup. Seven eyes have been enucleated: three due to neovascular glaucoma, one due to uveitic neovascular glaucoma, and three due to progressive tumor enlargement. Although 15 patients have died, only 4 deaths were because of metastatic choroidal melanoma. Of the original 48 patients, 33 (69%) have maintained within 2 lines or have better than their preoperative visual acuity. Side effects attributable to heating have included decreased intraocular pressure without hypotony as well as chorioretinal scar formation within and around the targeted zone. Conclusions: The results of this series suggest that adjuvant microwave thermotherapy can be used with reduced doses of ophthalmic plaque radiation therapy to control the growth of uveal melanomas. Although the incidence of neovascular glaucoma, enucleation, and tumor regrowth is comparable to that of other series evaluating radiation alone, the visual acuities of microwave plaque the rmotherapy-treated eyes were found to be superior.