cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Burning and Mowing Treatments in a Remnant Willamette Valley Wet Prairie, Oregon, 2001–2007

Abstract Wet prairies dominated by the perennial bunchgrass Deschampsia cespitosa occurred extensively in the Willamette Valley at the time of Euro-American settlement. Historical evidence and recent habitat changes suggest that late summer fires set by Native Americans suppressed woody vegetation and promoted vegetative growth, seed production and seedling recruitment of herbaceous species. Using prescribed fire for prairie management is challenging; dry season mowing is often the preferred alternative in wet prairies. We initiated a seven year experiment to compare the effects of late summer/fall mowing and burning on native and non-native vascular plants in a remnant Willamette Valley wet prairie. We analyzed change in percent frequency from pre-treatment to the first two post-treatment years (and over all years) with ANOVA for a randomized complete block design. Twenty-five of 61 species or life stages showed treatment effects from burning or mowing. Ordination and MRBP tests indicated small treatment...
The sources and accuracy of job applicants' beliefs about organizational culture.

We focus on the beliefs that applicants develop about organizational culture during the anticipatory stage of socialization. Data from 240 job applicants suggested that an organization used product...
Optimal design of suspended silica on-chip splitter

Abstract: Photonic splitters and couplers are one of the fundamental elements in integrated optical circuits. As such, over the past decade significant research efforts have been dedicated to the development of low loss, wide bandwidth devices. While silica-based devices have clear advantages in terms of bandwidth, silicon and silicon nitride devices have lead the field in terms of ease of integration. In the present work, we provide design parameters for a novel splitter based on a suspended silica device. Unlike previous coupler devices which have smooth transition regions, the proposed device has a small defect which enables coupling across a large membrane. The designs are based on 3D FDTD models, and incorporate wavelength, refractive index and polarization dependence. The model is experimentally verified at select wavelengths from the visible through the near-IR. For comparison, we have also modeled the splitting ratio for several materials which are commonly used as waveguiding devices.
Phase Transformation of MgAlON-SiAlON Powders Synthesized by Carbothermal Reduction-Nitridation from Ludwigite Tailings

This paper focuses on the influence of temperature and holding time on synthesizing MgAlON-SiAlON powders applying CRN method. The results were analyzed by chemical and XRD analysis technology. The experimental results revealed that β-SiAlON, as an intermediate phase, appeared in the synthesized products at 1200°C. With the increase of synthesis temperature, β-SiAlON was translated into Mg-SiAlON polytypoid (Mg1.25Si1.25Al2.5O3N3) and reached the maximum at 1450°C. Increasing synthesis temperature was beneficial to generate MgAlON, and the optimal condition of temperature for powders synthesis was 1500°C. β-SiAlON disappeared with the increase of holding time. MgAlON and Mg-SiAlON polytypoid became the main crystalline phases with a holding time of 4h. Whats more, the phase compositions had no evident change with longer holding time. Flaky MgAlON grains and elongated Mg-SiAlON grains were observed in synthesized powders.
STABILITY OF CHOLINESTERASE IN FROZEN PLASMA.

Specimens of plasma from 51 agricultural workers were divided into several portions for freezing and storage. Periodic assays (in duplicate) for cholinesterase activity in each specimen were compared with the initial values obtained on each fresh, unfrozen specimen. Freezing and/or thawing results in loss of approximately 30% of the plasma cholinesterase activity. It is not possible to use divided frozen portions of an initial specimen of plasma as controls for repeated testing of a subject.
Application of upconversion detection to pulsed CO 2 lidar

In this paper the application of an upconversion detector to pulsed CO2 lidar is investigated. In this device a nonlinear IR crystal would be used to convert 10-micron lidar radiation into the visible region for conventional detection with a photomultiplier tube. A pulsed CO2 lidar can be substantially improved with an upconversion detector configured for rejection of thermal background radiation using a narrowband filter for the upconverted signal or a cold filter front end. The sensitivity of the upconversion detector with the narrowband visible wavelength filter is estimated to be 2 orders of magnitude better than that of the usual direct detection diode. The cold filter can improve upconversion detection to nearly the signal-shot limit. These upconversion detectors are not limited by speckle noise as is a pulsed heterodyne detector.
Isometric Stochastic Flows on Spheres

We consider isometric stochastic flows on the sphere Sn−1 with the same one point motion. In particular, we will show that when n>3, the set of such flows with Brownian motion as one point motion can be represented by a cube in some Euclidean space.
The Shaping of Postcollege Colorblind Orientation Among Whites: Residential Segregation and Campus Diversity Experiences

In this article, Uma M. Jayakumar investigates the cumulative impact of experiences with segregation or racial diversity prior to and during college on colorblind ideological orientation among white adults. An analysis of longitudinal data spanning ten years reveals that, for whites from segregated and diverse childhood neighborhoods, some experiences in college may increase colorblind thinking, while others may facilitate a greater understanding of the racial context of US society. Segregated white environments, or white habitus, before, during, and after college are associated with whites' colorblind ideological orientations, with negative implications for racial justice. Campus racial diversity experiences can play a role in diminishing the influence of white habitus but are not necessarily doing so. In other words, the challenges of addressing colorblind orientation are greater for white students from segregated neighborhoods and high schools who also tend to choose segregated white campus environment...
Postdiapause development and mating status of pear psylla (Homoptera: Psyllidae) affected by pear and nonhost species

Large numbers of winterform pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola Foerster, leave the pear orchard in the fall, overwinter in diapause in nonpear habitats, and return to pear orchards the following spring. Postdiapause development of overwintering forms, including oogenesis and mating (indicated by spermatophore numbers in females), was more advanced in early spring for insects collected from pear than for those collected from apple, a nonhost but an important species for overwintering. These results were confirmed by caging psylla on pear and apple in the field and laboratory. Psylla were also caged on a number of ornamental species in fall, and mortality and postdiapause development were monitored. Some insects, with the exception of those placed on a dead pear tree, survived the winter on all plant species. Postdiapause development on most species lagged behind that on pear. Psylla collected from pear trees on the orchard perimeter were often less advanced than those collected from the orchard interior, suggesting that psylla tended to colonize orchard edges. These effects were most pronounced in orchards and during years in which reentry rates were highest. Ovarian development of psylla was similar in insects removed from yellow sticky traps and from clear sticky traps. Females removed from yellow traps had more spermatophores than those removed from clear traps on two sampling dates.
Adaptive x-ray optics at Lawrence Livermore

Lawrence Livermore's adaptive x-ray optics program is building a 45-actuator, 45-cm long, x-ray DM, as well as analyzing WFS and DM designs with use of a new wave optics simulation.
Change of D/Tc, Ratio During Heat Treatment of Fe90-xSixB10 Amorphous Alloy

The ferromagnetic transition temperature Tc for Fe-Si-B amorphous alloys with iron concentration exceeding 75 atomic percent changes monotonically with the annealing time. This change of Tc is accompanied by a drastic change of the magnetic excitation spectrum measured by means of low angle neutron inelastic scattering. It was observed that a small amount of α-Fe(Si) precipitated in an amorphous matrix during the heat treatment even at relatively low temperatures, leading to a decrease of the spin-wave stiffness constant D. Because at the same time T, increases, the D/Tc ratio (which is about 0.3 for “as quenched” Fe-Si-B system) decreases abruptly.
Integration of Data Envelopment Analysis-Based Preference Aggregation Method and α Particle Swarm Optimization Technique into Group Decision Model

AbstractThe design of sustainable infrastructure is a complex process because it involves various fields of expertise such as engineering, economy, environment, social, etc. To make sure experts from various fields are part of decision-making, a heterogeneous group is typically formed and the individual decisions of the group are combined simply by using an arithmetic mean, geometric mean, or by altering individual decisions to meet group consensus to generate a group decision. The drawbacks with these methods are inconsistency, dissatisfaction, and delayed decision process. This study proposes to use the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-based preference aggregation method (commonly used by the business community) to combine the individual inputs into a group decision in conjunction with α constrained particle swarm optimization technique to generate consistent results in minimal time without altering individual decision-maker inputs. The proposed approach was evaluated by computing group decision weights ...
Rousseau plays the beggar: the last words of citizen subject

Of the features of Rousseau's corpus that compel a resurgent recognition of his critical and philosophical importance, none is as crucial nor as problematic as the imaginary fault line that separates his “political” or “public” writing from the autobiographical or ostensibly “private” documents. On the one hand, Rousseau's “literary” reputation appears to rest on the Confessions , regarded by many as marking the emergence of the modern (liberal) subject. On the other, the Social Contract is a crucial text for political theorists now engaged in rethinking the relation between the political subject of democracy and the private subject of liberalism. But the very nature of Rousseau's texts complicates any attempt so to “discipline” or separate into private and public spheres the question of the subject and the question of the citizen, the confession and the contract. Both the subject and the citizen owe their preeminence as essential units of thought in the regime of liberalism to a metaphorical logic by which one derives its justification from the other. If we are now at a point where we wish to ask, with Jean-Luc Nancy, Who Comes After the Subject ?, we may wish, with Etienne Balibar, to use Rousseau to ground our response: “After the subject comes the citizen” (38). What does it mean to “return” to Rousseau, and the citizen, in this manner? How does such a return promise to escape or at least to criticize the metaphorical interchangeability of citizen and subject? At first, such a return to Rousseau might seem to identify a postmodern critical agenda with the logic of infinite circulation. If we recognize certain ideological limitations in the category of the (epistemological) subject, nonetheless the subject of liberalism has been regarded as an improvement upon the citizen.
Preoperative Nasal Evaluation and Surgical Planning

To obtain a satisfactory surgical result in the eyes of both the surgeon and the patient, one needs a broad base of knowledge. My goal is to provide some basics that apply to standard rhinoplasties as well as to the more difficult ethnic nose.
Apolipoprotein E4 causes early olfactory network abnormalities and short-term olfactory memory impairments.

Abstract While apolipoprotein (Apo) E4 is linked to increased incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there is growing evidence that it plays a role in functional brain irregularities that are independent of AD pathology. However, ApoE4-driven functional differences within olfactory processing regions have yet to be examined. Utilizing knock-in mice humanized to ApoE4 versus the more common ApoE3, we examined a simple olfactory perceptual memory that relies on the transfer of information from the olfactory bulb (OB) to the piriform cortex (PCX), the primary cortical region involved in higher order olfaction. In addition, we have recorded in vivo resting and odor-evoked local field potentials (LPF) from both brain regions and measured corresponding odor response magnitudes in anesthetized young (6-month-old) and middle-aged (12-month-old) ApoE mice. Young ApoE4 compared to ApoE3 mice exhibited a behavioral olfactory deficit coinciding with hyperactive odor-evoked response magnitudes within the OB that were not observed in older ApoE4 mice. Meanwhile, middle-aged ApoE4 compared to ApoE3 mice exhibited heightened response magnitudes in the PCX without a corresponding olfactory deficit, suggesting a shift with aging in ApoE4-driven effects from OB to PCX. Interestingly, the increased ApoE4-specific response in the PCX at middle-age was primarily due to a dampening of baseline spontaneous activity rather than an increase in evoked response power. Our findings indicate that early ApoE4-driven olfactory memory impairments and OB network abnormalities may be a precursor to later network dysfunction in the PCX, a region that not only is targeted early in AD, but may be selectively vulnerable to ApoE4 genotype.
Characterization of a new oda3 allele, oda3-6, defective in assembly of the outer dynein arm-docking complex in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

We have used an insertional mutagenesis approach to generate new C. reinhardtii motility mutants. Of 56 mutants isolated, one is a new allele at the ODA3 locus, called oda3-6. Similar to the previously characterized oda3 alleles, oda3-6 has a slow-jerky swimming phenotype and reduced swimming speed. The oda3-6 mutant fails to assemble the outer dynein arm motor and outer dynein arm-docking complex (ODA-DC) in the ciliary axoneme due to an insertion in the 5' end of the DCC1 gene, which encodes the DC1 subunit of the ODA-DC. Transformation of oda3-6 with the wild-type DCC1 gene rescues the mutant swimming phenotype and restores assembly of the ODA-DC and the outer dynein arm in the cilium. This is the first oda3 mutant to be characterized at the molecular level and is likely to be very useful for further analysis of DC1 function.
On 2-Angular-Coverage in Wireless Visual Sensor Network Deployment for 3D Indoor Monitoring

Extensive efforts have been devoted to achieve k-coverage for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) deployed in the sensing area by considering omni-directional sensing ranges as seen in scalar temperature sensors, where the larger k is, fault tolerance and monitoring quality is better. However, in wireless visual sensor networks (WVSNs), the sensing range of a visual sensor is often directional and modeled as a convex triangular shape in 2D and a pyramid-shape in 3D, which renders the k-coverage solutions proposed for WSNs incapable of solving the problem in WVSNs. Moreover, a number of WVSN applications consider 3D indoor space monitoring, which makes previous solutions proposed for 2D WVSN coverage less effective. In this paper, we take an initial step to tackle this challenging problem by considering 2-coverage for WVSNs in 3D indoor space monitoring. To maximize the information that can be captured by 2 visual sensors covering a 3D location, we propose to deploy the visual sensors from different directional angles and further extend 2-coverage to "2-angular-coverage" to denote such unique requirements in WVSNs. We demonstrate our simulated WVSN testing platform which emulates a 3D space and highlights our objective to provide efficient 2-angular-coverage in the indoor environment by minimizing the number of visual sensors required to cover the full regions through precision angle view monitoring. We formulate the general problem in a continuous space and then discretize our model via a lattice based approach. In addition, we also create a strategy to determine the degree of coverage for the WVSN, where a given location needs to be covered by at least 2 visual sensors that fulfill the angular-coverage requirement. We design an efficient greedy heuristic and an enhanced-Depth First Search algorithm to solve the discrete version problem, where the latter, if given enough time can return an optimal solution. By extensive simulations, we demonstrate that both our solutions can achieve superior performance on minimizing the number of required visual sensors for 2-angular-coverage in 3D indoor space monitoring.
The universality of boolean algebras with the Härtig quantifier

By using the universality of the theory of irreflexive symmetric graphs the universality of the theory of Boolean algebras with the Hartig quantifier is shown. Let b be any Boolean algebra with infinitely many atoms. Then the theory of b with the Hartig quantifier is undecidable.
Provider-Prioritized Domains of Quality in Pediatric Home-Based Hospice and Palliative Care: A Study of the Ohio Pediatric Palliative Care and End-of-Life Network

Abstract Background: Children receiving hospice and palliative care (HPC) differ from adults in important ways. Children are more likely to have rare diagnoses, less likely to have cancer, have longer lengths of stay on hospice, and are more likely to be technology dependent than adults. The National Consensus Project (NCP) in Palliative Care established domains of quality for HPC, but these domains have not been evaluated for applicability in children. Objectives: This study aims to establish consensus stakeholder-prioritized domains of high-quality pediatric home-based hospice and palliative care (HBHPC). Design: Mixed methods design. Setting/Subjects: Providers from the Ohio Pediatric Palliative Care and End-of-life Network. Measurements: Using a modified Delphi technique, providers were surveyed regarding the NCP quality domains for HPC. Results: There was strong consensus on the applicability of each domain to the participants' practices (median scores ranged from 0.97 to 1.0 with interquartile range...
A 77-Year-Old Woman With Acute Shortness of Breath and Chest Pain.

Case Presentation A 77-year-old woman presented to the hospital with symptoms of progressive shortness of breath with associated right-sided pleuritic pain. The patient had begun noting dyspnea on exertion, limiting her ability to go on hikes over the few days prior to admission. Her medical history is significant for carcinoid tumor status postresection in 2012 without recurrence. She has no history of thromboembolism or clotting disorders, and she has no history of smoking or drug abuse. Current medications include amlodipine, celecoxib, hydrochlorothiazide, and rosuvastatin.
Direct Access to Versatile Electrophiles via Catalytic Oxidative Cyanation of Alkenes.

Nucleophilic attack on carbon-based electrophiles is a central reactivity paradigm in chemistry and biology. The steric and electronic properties of the electrophile dictate its reactivity with different nucleophiles of interest, allowing the opportunity to fine-tune electrophiles for use as coupling partners in multistep organic synthesis or for covalent modification of proteins in drug discovery. Reactions that directly transform inexpensive chemical feedstocks into versatile carbon electrophiles would therefore be highly enabling. Herein, we report the catalytic, regioselective oxidative cyanation of conjugated and nonconjugated alkenes using a homogeneous copper catalyst and a bystanding N–F oxidant to furnish branched alkenyl nitriles that are difficult to prepare using existing methods. We show that the alkenyl nitrile products serve as electrophilic reaction partners for both organic synthesis and the chemical proteomic discovery of covalent protein ligands.
TruePIE: Discovering Reliable Patterns in Pattern-Based Information Extraction

Pattern-based methods have been successful in information extraction and NLP research. Previous approaches learn the quality of a textual pattern as relatedness to a certain task based on statistics of its individual content (e.g., length, frequency) and hundreds of carefully-annotated labels. However, patterns of good content-quality may generate heavily conflicting information due to the big gap between relatedness and correctness. Evaluating the correctness of information is critical in (entity, attribute, value)-tuple extraction. In this work, we propose a novel method, called TruePIE, that finds reliable patterns which can extract not only related but also correct information. TruePIE adopts the self-training framework and repeats the training-predicting-extracting process to gradually discover more and more reliable patterns. To better represent the textual patterns, pattern embeddings are formulated so that patterns with similar semantic meanings are embedded closely to each other. The embeddings jointly consider the local pattern information and the distributional information of the extractions. To conquer the challenge of lacking supervision on patterns' reliability, TruePIE can automatically generate high quality training patterns based on a couple of seed patterns by applying the arity-constraints to distinguish highly reliable patterns (i.e., positive patterns) and highly unreliable patterns (i.e., negative patterns). Experiments on a huge news dataset (over 25GB) demonstrate that the proposed TruePIE significantly outperforms baseline methods on each of the three tasks: reliable tuple extraction, reliable pattern extraction, and negative pattern extraction.
Effectiveness and Safety of High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Delivery during Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Acute Respiratory Failure Patients.

Background: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a necessary procedure for diagnosis of various lung diseases. Highflow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen delivery was recently introduced. This study aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of HFNC oxygen supply during BAL procedure in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). Methods: Patients who underwent BAL while using HFNC at a partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood/fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2; PF) ratio of 300 or below among patients who had been admitted from March 2013 to May 2017 were retrospectively investigated. Results: Thirty-three BAL procedures were confirmed. Their baseline PF ratio was 166.1±46.7. FiO2 values before, during, and after BAL were 0.45±0.12, 0.74±0.19, and 0.57±0.14, respectively. Flow (L/min) values before, during, and after BAL were 26.5±20.3, 49.0±7.2, and 40.8±14.2, respectively. Both FiO2 and flow during and after the procedure were significantly different from those before the procedure (both p<0.001). Oxygen saturation levels before, during, and after BAL measured by pulse oximeter were 94.8±2.9, 94.6±3.5, and 95.2±2.8%, respectively. There were no significant differences in oxygen saturation among the three groups. Complications of BAL procedure included transient hypoxemia, hypotension, and fever. However, there was no endotracheal intubation within 24 hours. Baseline PF ratio in “without HFNC” group was significantly higher than that in “with HFNC” group. There were no differences in complications between the two groups. Conclusion: The use of HFNC during BAL procedure in ARF patients was effective and safe. However, there were no significant differences in oxygen saturation level and complications comparing “without HFNC” group in mild ARF. More studies are needed for moderate to severe ARF patients.
Biochemical Characterization of Posttranslational Processing Enzymes

Many biologically active peptides are initially synthesized as precursors which undergo a variety of different posttranslational modifications before attaining their final physiologically active form (for review see Noe 1985). We are currently investigating three different enzymes involved in the maturation of neuropeptides. Two of these enzymes are responsible for the liberation of somatostatin-14 (SS-14) and somatostatin-28 (SS-28)from their precursor, prosomatostatin (PSS) (Mackin and Noe 1987). These enzymes have been termed propeptide converting enzymes (PCE’s). We are also characterizing glutaminyl cyclase (QC), an enzyme which catalyzes the cyclization of N-terminal glutamine residues to form pyroglutamyl peptides (Fischer and Spiess 1987).
Soil Organic Matter Dynamics in the North American Corn Belt: The Arlington Plots

The plots are located at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Agricultural Research Station in south central Wisconsin, USA, approximately 25 km north of Madison (43°18′N; 89°21′W). The climate is cool temperate and arable crops form the present ecosystem. Monthly mean temperatures are -9.1 and 21.8°C for January and July, respectively. Mean annual precipitation totals 79.1 cm. The climate of this area normally provides 47.2 cm of precipitation and 2,570 growing degree days (50°F base) from May 1 to September 30, which closely matches the normal frost-free period of 172 days (data for 1961–1990). Meteorological data from the site (1958–1991) includes daily rain and air temperature. Daily records containing solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity, dew point and potential ET data are provided from Madison.
The neuropsychological phenotype of Chediak-Higashi disease

Chediak-Higashi Disease (CHD) is a rare autosomal disorder, purported to have cognitive and neurological impairments. Prior descriptions of cognitive impairment, however, are solely based on subjective, unstructured observations rather than on formal neuropsychological measures. Four pediatric and 14 adult patients with diagnostically confirmed CHD were administered a neuropsychological battery assessing memory, attention, processing speed, psychomotor speed, language fluency, executive function, and general intelligence. Nine of the adult patients received follow-up evaluations to elucidate the longitudinal progression or stability of cognition over time. Pediatric CHD patients performed within the average range. Adult patients, however, performed below average on nearly all measures administered, and endorsed subjective reports of learning difficulties and poor academic performance in childhood. In particular, patients struggled with memory and psychomotor speed tasks, with 75% or more of patients scoring in the bottom 2.3 percentile in these two domains. No significant declines in cognition were observed among the patients who completed follow-up evaluations (M = 39.90, SD = 8.03 months between visits). Exploratory analyses suggested that adult patients who had classic CHD and previously received bone marrow transplants (BMTs; n = 3) exhibited moderately greater cognitive impairment than adult patients who had atypical CHD and had not received BMTs (n = 10). Adult patients with CHD uniformly exhibit deficits in multiple domains, but in psychomotor speed and memory, in particular. Based on their neuropsychological profile, their ability to hold jobs and succeed in school may require support and special accommodations. The source of cognitive deficits is probably multifactorial including central nervous system involvement in CHD, and, for those transplanted, BMT-related side effects and complications. Absence of cognitive decline at three-year follow-up is encouraging but does not exclude progression at a slower time-scale. Future work should elucidate the possible effects and timing of BMT on cognition, as well as the mechanisms driving neuropsychological impairment in CHD.
Population, Mobility and Belonging: Understanding Population Concepts in Media, Culture and Society

In a world of increasing mobility and migration, population size and composition come under persistent scrutiny across public policy, public debate, and ﬁlm and television. Drawing on media, cultural and social theory approaches, this book takes a fresh look at the concept of ‘population’ as a term that circulates outside the traditional disciplinary areas of demography, governance and statistics—a term that gives coherence to notions such as community, nation, the world and global humanity itself. It focuses on understanding how the concept of population governs ways of thinking about our own identities and forms of belonging at local, national and international levels; on the manner in which television genres ﬁxate on depictions of overpopulation and underpopulation; on the emergence of questions of ethics of belonging and migration in relation to cities; on attitudes towards otherness; and on the use by an emergent ‘alt-right’ politics of population in ‘forgotten people’ concepts. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, geography and media and cultural studies with interests in questions of belonging, citizenship and population.
Stabilizing defects in metal-organic frameworks: pendant Lewis basic sites as capping agents in UiO-66-type MOFs toward highly stable and defective porous materials.

An isostructural series of zirconium-based metal–organic frameworks (ZrMOFs) with UiO-66-type structure (including three previously unreported materials) have been successfully synthesized from combination of mono- and di-substituted terephthalic acids (H2BDC-R, -R = -2OH: 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid; -2SH: 2,5-dimercaptoterephthalic acid; -SMe: 2-methylsulfanyl-terephthalic acid; -2SEtSMe: 2,5-bis[[2-(methylthio)ethyl]thio]-terephthalic acid; -2OEtOMe: 2,5-bis[[2-(methyloxy)ethyl]oxy]terephthalic acid) and ZrCl4 to produce the MOFs termed UiO-66-R. UiO-66-2SEtSMe is found to be highly defective, with approximately half the expected number of ligands missing (as compared to nondefective structure), and exhibiting mesoporosity. Thioether functionalities are shown to stabilize UiO-66-type MOFs in acidic (pH = 2) and basic (pH = 12) aqueous environments. In preparation of UiO-66-type MOFs with sterically demanding pendant groups (such as in -2SEtSMe and -2OEtOMe), pendant Lewis basic sites serve to stabilize the formation of highly defective MOFs, whereas removal of such pendant Lewis basic sites results in formation of amorphous material. UiO-66-2SH and -2SEtSMe both effectively adsorb Ag+ and Hg2+ from acidic aqueous solutions (up to >99% removal, Kd > 104), whereas UiO-66-SMe shows potential to separate Ag+ from Hg2+ in acidic aqueous solutions.
Phased Array Bandwidth Defined by Beam Squint and Pulse Dispersion

Antenna arrays were originally designed for a single frequency. The term phased array implies a narrow band approach to beam steering and adaptive nulling. This paper takes a look at the beam squint and dispersion problems associated with high data rate phased array antennas. This paper is a tribute to R.C. Hansen who spent a career investigating antenna effects on wide band signals. He advocated the use of time delay in addition to phase shifters in a high data rate antenna array.
Molecular anisotropy and rearrangement as mechanisms of toughness and extensibility in entangled physical gels

Dynamic networks formed by physically crosslinked, entangled polymers have emerged as self-healing, stretchable, and functional materials. Entangled associative gels with remarkable toughness and extensibility have been produced by several distinct chemical approaches, suggesting that these enhanced mechanical properties result from molecular-scale topology. Previously, artificially engineered associative proteins were designed to provide an ideal model system to investigate the role of entanglement on gel mechanics via well-defined entangled or unentangled physical gels. Herein, uniaxial strain-induced structural changes in these model gels were observed using in situ small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and in situ polarized optical microscopy (POM) up to 2000% engineering strain. Anisotropic optical responses to uniaxial strain at the nano-, micro-, and macroscales suggest that stress dissipation mechanisms enable high extensibility and toughness. Nano- and microscopic anisotropy observed by SAXS indicate stretching and alignment of flexible polymer strands along the straining axis, and nonmonotonic macroscopic anisotropy observed by POM suggests relaxation within the hydrogel due to rearrangement of associative network junctions. Unentangled hydrogels exhibit low toughness and a strain-rate-dependent transition from ductile to brittle tensile behavior, which is typical for associative polymer solutions. These findings indicate that topological entanglements and the freedom of individual chains to align at the nanoscale due to junction relaxation are both critical to achieving high toughness and elongation in entangled physical gels.
82Rubidium chloride PET discrimination of recurrent intracranial malignancy from radiation necrosis.

Background Accurate identification and discrimination of post treatment changes from recurrent disease remains a challenge for patients with intracranial malignancies despite advances in molecular and magnetic resonance imaging. We have explored the ability of readily available Rubidium-82 chloride (82RbCl) PET to identify and distinguish progressive intracranial disease from radiation necrosis in patients previously treated with radiation therapy. Methods Six patients with a total of 9 lesions of either primary (n=3) or metastatic (n=6) intracranial malignancies previously treated with stereotactic radiation surgery (SRS) and persistent contrast enhancement on MRI underwent brain 82RbCl PET imaging. Two patients with arteriovenous malformations previously treated with SRS, also had brain 82RbCl PET imaging for a total of 11 lesions studied. Histological confirmation via stereotactic biopsy/excisional resection was obtained for 9 lesions with the remaining 2 classified as either recurrent tumor or radiation necrosis based on subsequent MRI examinations. 82RbCl PET time activity curve analysis was performed which comprised lesion SUVmax, contralateral normal brain SUVmax, and tumor to background ratios (TBmax). Results 82RbCl demonstrates uptake greater than normal brain parenchyma in all lesions studied. Time activity curves demonstrated progressive uptake of 82RbCl in all lesions without evidence of washout. While recurrent disease demonstrated a greater mean SUVmax compared to radiation necrosis, no statistically significant difference between lesion SUVmax nor TBmax was found (p>0.05). Conclusions 82RbCl PET produces high-contrast uptake of both recurrent disease and radiation necrosis compared to normal brain. However, no statistically significant difference was found between recurrent tumor and radiation necrosis.
Change in Hen Sciatic Nerve Calcium after a Single Oral Dose of Tri-o-tolyl Phosphate12

Six trace elements were monitored in neural tissue homogenates from White Leghorn hens orally dosed with tri-o-tolyl phosphate (TOTP) or tri-m-tolyl phosphate (TMTP) (200 mg/kg). Treated birds were monitored daily for development of delayed neurotoxicity, and concentrations of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc were measured with atomic absorption spectroscopy at the time of maximal locomotor impairment (27–35 days postdosing). TOTP-treated birds manifested motor deficit by 15 days postdosing, while hens administered TMTP exhibited no signs of delayed neurotoxicity. Total calcium content in the sciatic nerve homogenates from TOTP-dosed hens was significantly less (P < 0.05) at the time of maximal locomotor impairment, while no shifts in the other trace elements were found. Therefore, the ortho isomer of tritolylphosphate ilicited symptoms of delayed neurotoxicity in the hen (i.e., organophosphorus ester-induced delayed neurotoxicity or OPIDN) and caused a decrease in total calcium content in the sciatic nerve homogenates, in contrast to effects of the meta isomer. Analysis of neural homogenates at time of maximal locomotor impairment reflected secondary events in the degradative processes, since the initial assault of TOTP happens early after administration. Therefore, at fully developed OPIDN alteration of calcium balance in sciatic nerves is an indicator of axonopathy in a degenerated nerve following chemical injury. © 1993 Academic Press, Inc.
Mixed consequences of divorce on reproductive success of songbirds nesting in agricultural hayfields

Agricultural management, particularly haying, can cause synchronous nest failure of ground-nesting songbirds. As a consequence, these birds may subsequently renest and choose a new social mate (divorce). This study (1) quantified within-year and between-year divorce rates of grassland songbirds, and (2) determined if divorce rates differed after haying or predation-caused nest failure, and if so, whether divorce influenced reproductive success. From 2002 to 2017, we monitored 121 Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) pairs and 436 Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) pairs in an agricultural region of Vermont, USA. Within-year and between-year divorce rates were 0–84.9% for Bobolinks and 17–69.1% for Savannah Sparrows. Between years, Bobolinks, but not Savannah Sparrows, were more likely to divorce after nest failure, but haying did not influence divorce rates. Within years, Savannah Sparrows were more likely to divorce after nest failure, but as with Bobolinks, divorce rates in Savannah Sparrows were not different between nests that failed due to haying or predation. Across all Savannah Sparrow renests, divorce had no influence on the number of young fledged per female. However, between years, female Bobolinks that divorced fledged more young in their first attempt while those that did not divorce fledged more young in their second attempt. This study showed that pairing decisions were not differentially affected by cause of nest failure. Further, we identified no reproductive benefit to divorce. Our results indicate no adaptive benefit and potentially a significant reproductive cost to divorce, and that these effects vary between species.
Information Reuse and Stochastic Search: Managing Uncertainty in Self- * Systems

Many software systems operate in environments of change and uncertainty. Techniques for self-adaptation allow these systems to automatically respond to environmental changes, yet they do not handle changes to the adaptive system itself, such as the addition or removal of adaptation tactics. Instead, changes in a self-adaptive system often require a human planner to redo an expensive planning process to allow the system to continue satisfying its quality requirements under different conditions; automated techniques must replan from scratch. We propose to address this problem by reusing prior planning knowledge to adapt to unexpected situations. We present a planner based on genetic programming that reuses existing plans and evaluate this planner on two case-study systems: a cloud-based web server and a team of autonomous aircraft. While reusing material in genetic algorithms has been recently applied successfully in the area of automated program repair, we find that naively reusing existing plans for self-* planning can actually result in a utility loss. Furthermore, we propose a series of techniques to lower the costs of reuse, allowing genetic techniques to leverage existing information to improve utility when replanning for unexpected changes, and we find that coarsely shaped search-spaces present profitable opportunities for reuse.
Mapping kidney tubule diameter ex vivo by diffusion MRI

Tubular pathologies are a common feature of kidney disease. Current metrics to assess kidney health, in vivo or in transplant, are generally based on urinary or serum biomarkers and pathological fi...
An Empirical Study of User Perception of Audio Stimuli in Relation to a Cartesian Space

The field of Sonification has led to a variety of projects aimed at conveying graphical information via audition. Most of these projects are aimed at specific domains or contexts, and few have studied general audio presentation techniques empirically. This paper details the results of a multipart study of user perception of selected audio stimuli as users are asked to interpret those stimuli as points in a generic Cartesian space. Results will be used in future work designing methods of portraying technical drawings such as flowcharts and UML via audio.
Brief Announcement: A Randomness-efficient Massively Parallel Algorithm for Connectivity

We give a randomness-efficient Massively Parallel Computation (MPC) algorithm for deciding whether an undirected graph is connected. For Connectivity on n-vertex, m-edge graphs whose components have diameter at most D = 2o(log n/ log log n), our algorithm runs in R = O(log D + log logm/n,.n) rounds and uses a total of (log n)O(R) random bits, O(m) machines, and n1-Ω(1) space per machine with good probability.1 With good probability means with probability at least 1 - 1/poly ((m log n)/n), which is the same as in Liu, Tarjan, and Zhong (SPAA '20). Our algorithm achieves a super-polynomial saving in randomness complexity as compared to the breakthrough algorithm of Andoni et al. (FOCS '18) and the subsequent improvement by Behnezhad et al. (FOCS '19). Our algorithm has the same round complexity as that of Behnezhad et al., but uses more total space. Our Connectivity algorithm is an instantiation of a general method we develop for converting randomized algorithms in the PRAM model to highly randomness-efficient MPC algorithms. We show that for k = o(log n/log log n) and p = nO(1), any time-k p-processor randomized PRAM algorithm computing a function on n input bits can be converted to an equivalent strongly sublinear MPC algorithm with O(k) rounds and only a total of (log n)O(k) random bits. Our Connectivity algorithm follows from applying this method to the recent CRCW PRAM algorithm of Liu, Tarjan, and Zhong (SPAA '20). Our approach is based on the design of a pseudorandom generator for PRAM algorithms. The analysis of our generator is built on classic and influential results in circuit complexity (Ha stad '86; Nisan and Wigderson '88), which we generalize from the setting of small-depth circuits to the more powerful setting of PRAM algorithms. The parameters that we achieve are optimal given the current state of the art in complexity theory, in the sense that further improvements will imply ≠ NC1.
Small Bowel Volvulus as Delayed Presentation of Undiagnosed Crohn’s Disease: A Case Report

Author(s): Nguyen, Minh Thu T.; Ali, Amir; Bodkin, Ryan P. | Abstract: Introduction: Emergency department (ED) visits related to flare-ups of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are becoming more prevalent. There are many potentially dangerous complications and sequelae of uncontrolled IBD. Case Report: We report a case of a middle-aged woman who presented with a few hours of severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Given her hemodynamic instability, she was sent urgently for computed tomography, which showed an incomplete small bowel malrotation, mesenteric volvulus, and high-grade small bowel obstruction with evolving ischemia. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy to resect most of her small intestines. Biopsies later revealed active Crohn’s disease. Conclusion: Patients with flare-ups of IBD are common in the ED, but very few present with a midgut volvulus later in life. Our case is unique and adds to the literature due to the dramatic consequences of undiagnosed Crohn’s disease in a patient with intermittent symptoms and extensive workup spanning over two decades.
Label-free imaging of collagen fibers in tissue slices using phase imaging with computational specificity

Evaluating the tissue collagen content in addition to the epithelial morphology has been proven to offer complementary information in histopathology, especially in disease stratification and patient survivability prediction. One imaging modality widely used for this purpose is second harmonic generation microscopy (SHGM), which reports on the nonlinear susceptibility associated with the collagen fibers. Another method is polarization light microscopy (PLM) combined with picrosirius-red (PSR) tissue staining. However, SHGM requires expensive equipment and provides limited throughput, while PLM and PSR staining are not part of the routine pathology workflow. Here, we advance phase imaging with computational specificity (PICS) to computationally infer the collagen distribution of unlabeled tissue, with high specificity. PICS utilizes deep learning to translate quantitative phase images (QPI) into corresponding PSR images with high accuracy and speed. Our results indicate that the distributions of collagen fiber orientation, length, and straightness reported by PICS closely match the ones from ground truth.
FDG PET/CT in pediatric osteosarcoma: Comparison of standard & delayed scanning

478 Objectives To determine the change in primary tumor uptake of FDG between routine & delayed imaging times. Methods Serial (baseline, 5 & 10 weeks after start of therapy) FDG PET/CT imaging was obtained in newly diagnosed pts with OS enrolled on a therapeutic trial. ~ 1 hr after injection of 0.15 mCi/kg FDG, whole body images were obtained from the top of the skull, & of the tumor bed only ~ 3 hrs after injection. SUV comparisons were performed using the exact Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results 34 patients(17♂, median age 12.2 yrs, range 6.8-19.1) were treated. Both early & delayed imaging were acquired in 27, 29, & 27 patients at baseline, 5, & 10 weeks respectively. At diagnosis, 25(74%) had localized & 9 (26%) metastatic disease. Primary tumor locations were femur (n=17, 50%), tibia (n=9, 26%), humerus (n=5, 15%), & one each (n=1, 3%) fibula, mandible, radius. At diagnosis, tumor SUVs on initial imaging (98±25 min) were 11.7±5.5 (n=34); on delayed imaging (208±42 min) 10.8±5.3 (n=27). For the 27 patients with both early & delayed imaging, SUVdelay - SUVearly = -0.24±1.38 (p=0.23). After 5 weeks of chemotherapy, SUVs on initial imaging (97±32 min) were 5.4±2.7 (n=34); on delayed imaging (213±41 min) 5.4±2.7 (n=29). For the 29 patients with both early & delayed imaging, SUVdelay - SUVearly = 0±1.0 (p=0.63). After 10 weeks of chemotherapy, SUVs on initial imaging (98±26 min) were 4.8±3.2 (n=32); on delayed imaging (203±34 min) 5.4±3.6 (n=27). For the 27 patients with both early & delayed imaging, SUVdelay - SUVearly = 0.28±0.8 (p=0.07). Conclusions Unlike the findings in many adult tumor types, the uptake of FDG in pediatric OS does not vary significantly between standard & delayed imaging times. SUVs also did not vary significantly between 5 & 10 weeks, suggesting that the maximal effect on tumor metabolism may be achieved by 5 weeks. Research Support Award Number 5R25CA023944 from the National Cancer Institute (JCD) and ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities)