cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optical scintillation methods of measuring atmospheric surface fluxes of heat and momentum

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses optical scintillation methods of measuring atmospheric surface fluxes of heat and momentum. Optical scintillation has been used to remotely sense many environmental parameters, such as (1) the wind component across the propagation path, (2) rain rates and drop-size distributions, and (3) the refractive-index structure parameter. Recent progress has been made on optical scintillation methods of measuring the inner scale of turbulence. The refractive-index structure parameter is important for quantifying optical scintillation and deriving the fluxes. Optical scintillation methods of measuring the surface fluxes of heat, momentum, and humidity are reviewed in this chapter. Future progress is possible, and directions of future developments are mentioned. Recent progress in measuring inner scale has led to unprecedented accuracy and has resulted in optical scintillation measurements of heat and momentum fluxes, which show great promise for future micrometeorological applications. Currently, there are measurement programmes underway in New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States. The availability of a commercial scintillometer that measures inner scale and refractive-index structure parameter has encouraged these applications.
Abstract A53: Treatment for elderly prostate cancer patients: Disparities in a southern state

Background: An important aspect of quality cancer care is receipt and completion of recommended therapy. In previous studies, black prostate cancer patients were reported to be less likely to receive treatment for prostate cancer than white patients. In the Southern US, minorities may be more at risk of not receiving treatment. This study describes treatment for elderly prostate cancer patients in Alabama. Study Design: This is a retrospective analysis of Medicare administrative claims data. We linked Medicare claims and Alabama Statewide Cancer Registry records for black and white men diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000–2003. Treatment was identified in the 365 days post diagnosis using International Classification of Disease-v.9 procedure and Current Procedure Terminology codes. Logistic regression models were constructed to investigate the association between race and the likelihood of receiving: 1) definitive therapy (prostatectomy or XRT or brachytherapy) and 2) hormone therapy for individuals who survived at least 9 months post diagnosis. Similarly, models were constructed to examine the association between race and receiving less than 30 days of XRT and less than 6 months of hormone therapy in individuals who survived ≥ 1 month after their last treatment. In all analyses, we adjusted for age, tumor grade, comorbid conditions, and proportion of persons living below poverty level and with less than high school education in the Census track of residence. Results: Among 4130 men, 35.7% were 75 or older, 21.7% were black, 25.5% had ≥ 1 comorbid condition, 3.1% had well differentiated tumors, 63.3% moderately differentiated, 20.7% poorly differentiated, and the remainder did not have tumor grade information. Compared to whites, blacks lived in Census tracts with a higher proportion of persons living below poverty level (22.9% vs 12.9, P vs 35.2%, P vs 73.8%, adj. OR 0.59, P vs 40.4%, adj. OR 1.18, P = 0.057). Among those who survived ≥ one month after the last treatment (N =3924), XRT lasted on average 42.7 ±1.32 days and hormone therapy lasted on average 207.5 ± 4.91 days. There were no difference in the likelihood of receiving less than 30 days of XRT (30.8% vs 32.1%, adj. OR 0.98, P = 0.90) and less than 180 days of hormone treatment (46.6% vs 52.3%, adj. OR 0.81, P = 0.11) between black and white men. Conclusions: Treatment rates in Alabama elderly prostate cancer patients are comparable to those found in other parts of the US, particularly the SEER areas. We found that black men were less likely to received definitive therapy. This difference persisted after adjusting for socio-economic variables. However, once the treatment was started, there were no differences in duration of radiation or hormone treatment. Further research is needed to establish reasons why disparities in type of treatment exist in elderly Alabamians with prostate cancer.
Planning Clinical Research

Planning a clinical study is much more than determining the basic study design. Who will you be studying? How do you plan to recruit your study subjects? How do you plan to retain them in the study? What data do you plan to collect? How will you obtain this data? How will you minimize bias? All these decisions must be consistent with the ethical considerations of studying people. This book teaches how to choose the best design for your question. Drawing on their many years working in clinical research, Nancy G. Berman and Robert A. Parker guide readers through the essential elements of study planning to help get them started. The authors offer numerous examples to illustrate the key decisions needed, describing what works, what does not work, and why. Written specifically for junior investigators beginning their research careers, this guide will also be useful to senior investigators needing to review specific topics.
Post-truth: a guide for the perplexed.

If politicians can lie without condemnation, what are scientists to do? Kathleen Higgins offers some explanation.
Colonic Polyps: Diagnosis and Surveillance.

Colorectal cancer begins as a polyp that is a benign growth on the mucosal surface of the colon or rectum. Over a period of 5 to 15 years, polyps can degenerate into a cancer, thus invading the colonic wall. Colorectal screening methods are designed to diagnose and remove polyps before they acquire invasive potential and develop into cancer. Screening for colorectal cancer can prevent and reduce mortality. Given the benefits and effectiveness of screening, guidelines exist from multiple organizations. These guidelines risk-stratify patients to determine the age of screening initiation and the interval for repeat screening. Categories of colorectal cancer risk include average risk, increased risk, and high risk based on individual and family medical history. Screening methods vary widely in the ability to diagnose and treat polyps and in the degree of invasiveness or risk of complication to the patient. Colonoscopy is held as the “gold standard” by which all other methods are compared; however, less-invasive modalities including computed tomographic colonography are increasing in popularity.
Resource Partitioning by Ungulates in Central Texas: A Simulation Approach

A simulation model was developed to evaluate potential patterns of resource partitioning among sympatric wild and domestic ruminants in central Texas. Empirical evidence relative to body size, physiological and morphological adaptations, and nutritional requirements were combined with information of environmental conditions to predict patterns of foraging behavior and animal performance. Predictions of nutrient ingestion rates and weight dynamics were used to identify feeding niches and habitat conditions which resulted in optimal performance for each herbivore species. Spatial overlap in habitat use and patterns of resource depletion were used to evaluate the potential for forage competition among herbivore species. Model predictions were used to generate hypotheses regarding factors limiting animal performance during different seasons.
Nonvoting Shares and Efficient Corporate Governance

A growing number of technology companies, including Google, Facebook, and Snapchat, have chosen to issue stock that does not allow their investors to vote on corporate decisions. But scholars and investors are in fundamental disagreement about whether nonvoting stock is a benefit or a curse. Critics argue that nonvoting shares perpetually insulate corporate insiders from influence and oversight and therefore increase management agency costs. By contrast, proponents contend that even in spite of increased agency costs, nonvoting shares may provide benefits that exceed these costs, such as enabling corporate insiders to pursue their long-term vision for the company without interference from outside shareholders. This paper offers a novel perspective on this debate. It demonstrates an important and previously unrecognized benefit of nonvoting stock: it can be used to make corporate governance more efficient. This is because nonvoting stock allows companies to divide voting power between shareholders who are informed about the company and its performance and those who are not. When this efficient sorting happens, the company will lower its cost of capital by reducing agency and transaction costs. Specifically, informed investors will pay more for voting stock that is not diluted by uninformed investor voting; indeed, a company may even entice informed investors to invest by offering two classes of shares. Likewise, uninformed investors will more highly value shares that do not require them to incur costs associated with voting. In other words, the company that issues nonvoting shares for its uninformed shareholders to buy will make itself more valuable. And because nonvoting stock trades at a discount to voting stock, uninformed shareholders will have another reason to purchase nonvoting shares, obviating the need for legal intervention. This insight has several implications for law. Most important, this paper contends that recent proposals to restrict or deter companies from issuing nonvoting shares should be rejected because they may impede efficient corporate structuring.
A 3D-printed modular device for imaging the brain of small birds.

Abstract Background One potential barrier to using in vivo imaging in any new animal species is solving the basic problem of how to hold animals safely and securely during scans. New method In this paper, we describe the design, fabrication, use, and positional reproducibility of a 3D-printed plastic device (the Avian Imaging Device, or AID) for imaging the brain of 1 or 2 small songbirds. We designed two different types of head cones to use with this device: one that was not contoured and designed for anesthesia induction, and one contoured to the shape of a house sparrow head, designed to be used with a pre-anesthetized animal. Results Compared to no holder, using the AID with both contoured and non-contoured head cones significantly reduced the amount of translation necessary to align the head in pairs of CT scans (by 78% and 90%, respectively); using the contoured head cone also significantly reduced the amount of rotation necessary for head alignment in registering pairs of scans (by 90%). Comparison with existing method(s) Using an animal holder that can not only securely hold animals but which has high positional reproducibility is essential to take advantage of the maximum resolution possible with small animal imaging. 3D-printed materials are also compatible with PET and CT, environmentally stable, and fast and inexpensive to make. Conclusions Researchers can learn from the design of the AID and use our CAD models as a starting point for fabricating devices for multiple small-animal imaging needs.
Autonomous Ex Novo Chemical Assembly with Blebbing and Division of Functional Polymer Vesicles from a "Homogeneous Mixture".

The chemical energy and radicals from an oscillating chemical reaction are used to synthesize a polymer vesicle from a homogeneous solution of monomeric units. Periodically formed radicals from the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (B–Z) reaction initiate radical polymerization between a polyethylene glycol based chain transfer agent (PEG-CTA) and hydrophilic acrylonitrile monomers in water. The growth of a hydrophobic chain on the hydrophilic PEG chain induces self-assembly of polymeric amphiphiles to form micrometer-sized vesicles entrapping an active oscillating B–Z reaction. In our experimental conditions, the different chemical environments inside and outside the vesicles contribute to enlarge the area and diameter of the resulting self-assembled vesicles and, in some cases, promote blebbing and division.
The Three Scourges and Zhou Chu

Most scholars consider Zhou Chu's story of eliminating the three scourges—killing a flood-dragon and a man-eating tiger, as well as reforming himself—to be well-nigh impossible. In particular, the ...
The Dilemma of Spare Embryos After IVF Success: Social Workers’ Role in Helping Clients Consider Disposition Options

Social work services for persons undergoing the in vitro fertilization process(IVF) has greatly lagged behind the medical technology opportunities provided to these clients. Advocacy for social work services for persons undergoing IVF was advanced upon the procedure’s initial development, but there has been a stark lack of recent scholarship regarding social work in fertility health services. The existing literature suggests several talking points regarding the IVF process to be discussed with persons considering IVF, especially the medical and psychological risks of failure. This article discusses a newer and necessary topic to cover in pre-IVF counseling: the possibility of too much success in the form of excess embryos. Although the topic must be covered with sensitivity to the relatively low rate of IVF success, persons receiving care through assisted reproductivetechnology (ART) need to be prepared for the difficult moral questions raised when IVF procedures result in even more embryos than intended. Social workers need to be prepared to explore the pros and cons of each disposition option with IVF clients.
Accelerated Soil erosion as a source of atmospheric CO2

Abstract Soil erosion, physical transport of soil over the landscape by alluvial and aeolian processes as source of energy, has a strong impact on the global carbon cycle (GCC). Being a light fraction (bulk density of 0.6–0.8 Mg/m 3 ) and concentrated in vicinity of soil surface, soil organic carbon (SOC) is preferentially removed by water and wind erosion. The process of erosion and the attendant transport of SOC are accelerated by conversion of natural to agroecosystems. Whereas the human-induced acceleration of soil erosion has depleted the SOC stock of agroecosystems, the fate of SOC transported over the landscape and that deposited in depressional sites is not understood. While a fraction of SOC transported to and buried under aquatic ecosystems (e.g., flood plains, lakes, ocean) may be protected because of limited microbial activity, labile fractions of SOC being transported over the landscape enroute to the depositional site are vulnerable to decomposition. Depending on the site-specific conditions with regards to the hydrothermal regimes and the degree of aeration, the decomposition may lead to emission of CO 2 under aerobic environments, CH 4 under anaerobic conditions, and N 2 O under both situations. The process of soil erosion, especially that by water, is a 4-stage process: (i) detachment, (ii) splash, (iii) transport and redistribution, and (iv) deposition. Breakdown of aggregates, during the first three stages, exposes the hitherto encapsulated SOC to microbial processes and exacerbates its vulnerability to decomposition. Thus, the fate of SOC subject to erosion must be assessed for all landscape positions and integrated over the watershed. Lack of credible data regarding the fate of SOC at different erosional stages is a major cause of uncertainties. Thus, well-planned research at a watershed-level is needed to assess the impacts of erosional processes on decomposition of SOC, gaseous emission, and the soil/ecosystem C budget for diverse soils and management systems in global biomes/ecoregions. The data on global C budget is incomplete without consideration of the impact of erosion on SOC and the attendant gaseous emissions.
Learning from the Tea Party: The US Indivisible Movement as Countermovement in the Era of Trump:

In this article, I chart the origins of the Indivisible movement in the United States, which began online as a response to the election of Donald Trump to the presidency in November of 2016. The In...
Foregrounding Women in the Doctoral Classroom: Mainstreaming and Single-Sex Approaches to Graduate Education.

ABSTRACTAn increasing number of published studies have drawn attention to gender disparities in various dimensions of Christian higher education. Although the majority of students on the campuses of member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) are women, and the percentage of women holding faculty and administrative roles has increased, the male-normed environment of the academy continues to be evident in various ways, particularly in these Christian institutions. At the same time, higher education—and doctoral education in particular—is an important pathway to prepare future leaders and professors for Christian organizations. One potential way to begin to shift toward a more welcoming climate that benefits both men and women on CCCU campuses is to “foreground,” or make central, women's issues and concerns as part of regular classroom teaching. Such foregrounding can help counter the historic tendency to treat men's experience and concerns as normative for the human race...
The Effects of Strategy Instruction for Writing and Revising Persuasive Quick Writes for Middle School Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

A multiple baseline alternating treatment (A-B-C-D) design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a writing and peer revision intervention. Eight middle school students enrolled in an alternative program for students with emotional and behavioral disorders received Self- Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) for 10-minute quick writing and revision during planning. Assessment occurred across baseline, writing, and revision phases, and the last phase alternated between individual and peer revision. Measures included quality; number of traits and words; the ability of participants to identify, evaluate, and make revisions during planning; and the degree to which participants incorporated revision recommendations. Positive effects for writing and promise for peer revision were indicated. Implications for future research practice are discussed.
Interactive learning of relation extractors with weak supervision

The ability to automatically convert natural language text into a knowledge base may open the door to great new opportunities, including question-answering on the Web, detection of trends and sentiments in social media, and perhaps even intelligent agents which understand our language. Today, however, there does not exist a system that can reliably convert text into a knowledge base, and the task turns out to be far more difficult than it appears. A key challenge is relation extraction – detecting semantic relationships between entities mentioned in text. Most successful approaches use supervised machine learning, but creating the required labeled training examples has proven too expensive for constructing Web-scale knowledge bases. This dissertation shows that we can greatly reduce the amount of human effort necessary to create relation extractors by leveraging a richer set of user interactions, some of which use more accurate models of weak supervision from a database. Specifically, this dissertation presents (1) a weakly supervised technique based on multi-instance learning which allows relations to overlap, (2) a weakly supervised technique that allows learning from only a few instances per relation by dynamically inducing relation-specific lexicons, (3) an approach for developing extraction rules interactively, and (4) a technique which synergistically pairs weakly supervised relation extraction with extraction validation by an online community. Our proposed techniques make it possible to create a high-quality relation extractor in under one hour, moving us closer towards automatically constructing Web-scale knowledge-bases.
Effect of Lawyer-Submitted Reports on Signals of Disproportional Reporting in the Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System

Lawyer-submitted reports may have unintended consequences on safety signal detection in spontaneous adverse event reporting systems. Our objective was to assess the impact of lawyer-submitted reports primarily for one adverse event (AE) on the ability to detect a signal of disproportional reporting for another AE for the same drug in the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). FAERS reports from January 2004 to September 2015 were used to estimate yearly cumulative proportional reporting ratios (PRRs) for three known drug–AE pairs—isotretinoin–birth defects, atorvastatin–rhabdomyolysis, and rosuvastatin–rhabdomyolysis—with and without lawyer-submitted reports. Isotretinoin and atorvastatin have been the subject of high-profile tort litigation regarding other AEs. A lower bound of the 95% confidence interval (CI) of one or more based on three or more reports defined a signal. Cumulative PRRs met signaling criteria in all analyses. For isotretinoin, lawyer-submitted reports increased PRRs for birth defects before 2008, with the largest increase in 2006 (2.9 [95% CI 2.4–3.5] to 3.3 [95% CI 2.8–3.9]); lawyer-submitted reports decreased PRRs for birth defects after 2011, with the largest decrease in 2013 (2.2 [95% CI 2.0–2.5] to 1.9 [95% CI 1.7–2.1]). For atorvastatin, lawyer-submitted reports reduced PRRs for rhabdomyolysis after 2013, with the largest decrease in 2015 (18.0 [95% CI 17.1–19.1] to 15.4 [95% CI 14.5–16.2]). Lawyer-submitted reports had little impact on PRRs for rosuvastatin and rhabdomyolysis. Inclusion of lawyer-submitted reports in FAERS did not meaningfully distort known safety signals for two drugs subject to high-profile tort litigation for other AEs.
Near-Infrared Photoactivatable Nitric Oxide Donors with Integrated Photoacoustic Monitoring.

Photoacoustic (PA) tomography is a noninvasive technology that utilizes near-infrared (NIR) excitation and ultrasonic detection to image biological tissue at centimeter depths. While several activatable small-molecule PA sensors have been developed for various analytes, the use of PA molecules for deep-tissue analyte delivery and monitoring remains an underexplored area of research. Herein, we describe the synthesis, characterization, and in vivo validation of photoNOD-1 and photoNOD-2, the first organic, NIR-photocontrolled nitric oxide (NO) donors that incorporate a PA readout of analyte release. These molecules consist of an aza-BODIPY dye appended with an aryl N-nitrosamine NO-donating moiety. The photoNODs exhibit chemostability to various biological stimuli, including redox-active metals and CYP450 enzymes, and demonstrate negligible cytotoxicity in the absence of irradiation. Upon single-photon NIR irradiation, photoNOD-1 and photoNOD-2 release NO as well as rNOD-1 or rNOD-2, PA-active products tha...
Biliary Atresia-associated Cholangitis: The Central Role and Effective Management of Bile Lakes.

ABSTRACTObjectives:Cholangitis and bile lakes are incompletely understood complications after portoenterostomy (PE). We investigated relationships between recurrent cholangitis, bile lakes, and clinical outcomes as well as surgical management of bile lakes.Methods:In this retrospective observational
Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase (MELK), a Potential Therapeutic Target for Neuroblastoma

Maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) activates pathways that mediate aggressive tumor growth and therapy resistance in many types of adult cancers. Pharmacologic and genomic inhibition of MELK impairs tumor growth and increases sensitivity to radiation and chemotherapy. On the basis of these promising preclinical studies, early-phase adult clinical trials testing the MELK inhibitor OTS167 are ongoing. To investigate whether MELK is also a therapeutic target in neuroblastoma, we analyzed MELK expression in primary tumors and cell lines, and examined the effects of OTS167 on neuroblastoma growth. In primary tumors, high levels of MELK were associated with advanced stage disease and inferior survival. Higher levels of MELK were also detected in tumorigenic versus nontumorigenic neuroblastoma cell lines, and cells with higher levels of MELK expression were more sensitive to OTS167 than low-MELK expressing cells. OTS167 suppressed the growth of neuroblastoma xenografts, and in a preclinical model of minimal residual disease, survival was prolonged with MELK inhibition. OTS167 treatment downregulated MELK and its target enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a component of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) that is known to modulate the DNA damage response. We also show that OTS167 reduced the formation of collapsed replication forks induced by camptothecin or radiation. Taken together, our results indicate that MELK indirectly mediates efficient processing of replication-associated DNA lesions in neuroblastoma, and that OTS167 sensitizes cells to DNA-damaging agents by abrogating this process. Further studies evaluating the activity of combination treatment regimens with OTS167 in neuroblastoma are warranted.
New OTC Drugs and Devices 2001: A Selective Review

Objectives To create a heightened awareness of two important issues that arose over the past year with respect to over-the-counter (OTC) drugs the possible switching of nonsedating second-generation antihistamines to OTC status and the continuing need for pharmacists to learn about dietary supplements and herbal products—and to educate pharmacists about newly introduced nonprescription products, devices, and diagnostic products. Data Sources Recently published clinical and pharmaceutical industry literature. Data Synthesis In a historical precedent, a third party insurer rather than a pharmaceutical company is attempting to force the switching of several prescription nonsedating antihistamines to OTC status. In addition, several developments related to the manufacture and use of dietary supplements have created concern for consumers and the pharmacists who advise them. It is critical for pharmacists to become knowledgeable about dietary supplements so they can appropriately counsel patients on the benefits and risks associated with supplement selection and use. In addition, numerous nonprescription products, including home diagnostic products and accessories, will continue to become available on the U.S. market. It is important that pharmacists become as knowledgeable as possible about these and be capable of educating the consuming public about their appropriate use. Conclusion Patients will continue to place an increasing emphasis on self-care. To assist them, pharmacists must remain up-to-date on trends and have a balanced understanding of new nonprescription products and dietary supplements. The new nonprescription medications and diagnostic products discussed in this review article represent valuable additions to the growing array of self-care products.
Differential outcomes of patients with thyroid FNA diagnoses of AUS/FLUS with and without nuclear atypia: The potential need for separation in the Bethesda System.

Background In the current version of The Bethesda System (TBS) for thyroid cytopathology, the atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) category has an estimated risk of malignancy of 10% to 30%. Diagnostic criteria include presence of nuclear atypia, suggestive of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), as well as other types of atypia, which can be seen with non-malignant entities. Aim of this study was to investigate differential outcomes of AUS/FLUS, based on specific morphologic criteria, and assess their respective malignancy risks. Methods From a total of 1233 patients undergoing thyroid FNAs between 2010 and 2014 at the University of Washington, 119 had AUS/FLUS without nuclear atypia, and 64 with nuclear atypia. Outcomes for patients with and without nuclear atypia (with the exception of 24 patients lost to follow-up) were evaluated and results were compared. Results 16/57 (28.1%) patients with AUS/FLUS and nuclear atypia subsequently had carcinomas on thyroidectomy, statistically higher than the 8/102 patients (7.8%, P = .001) without nuclear atypia. When comparing only patients who underwent surgery (n = 63), again those with AUS/FLUS and nuclear atypia had statistically higher rates of carcinoma (16/31, 51.6%), compared to those without (8/32, 25%; P = .0394). Overall, 24/159 (15.1%) of patients with AUS/FLUS had carcinoma on subsequent histology. Conclusion Malignancy rates for AUS/FLUS were in line with TBS estimated risks. However, our data demonstrate that the presence or absence of nuclear atypia is associated with different malignancy rates, suggesting the possibility that the AUS/FLUS category may best be split into two subcategories with different implied risks of malignancy.
Adaptive Feedback Protocol for Underwater Vehicles via Software-Defined Acoustic Modems

Underwater acoustic communication provides great potential through aquatic robots that have use in scientific research, pollution monitoring, and maintenance of underwater facilities. However, the underwater channel poses a unique array of difficulties for acoustic communication, including path attenuation, colored noise, Doppler shifting, multipath propagation, and bandwidth limitations. Bidirectional communication utilizing a feedback channel can mitigate some of the impact of these challenges, but this feedback channel must be highly robust and reliable. This research proposes a new protocol for feedback transmissions that employs a software-defined, adaptive communication technique to achieve acceptable transmission rates without sacrificing the integrity of the data transmitted over this feedback link. The trade-off between transmission rate and accuracy is quantified via simulations to determine the most effective form of the proposed protocol.
Spontaneous succession on road verges—An effective approach with minimum effort

Road verges represent new habitats providing an opportunity for enhancing biodiversity in human‐altered landscapes. However, it is common practice to plant trees or sow species‐poor seed mixtures regardless of their geographical origin. We assessed the effectiveness of spontaneous restoration to fulfil the requirements for both functions, the formation of vegetation cover to prevent erosion and native species‐rich vegetation, which may provide conservation benefits. We sampled 113 vegetation plots on road verges in the Czech Republic, central Europe. The sampling plots were 25 m² in size and differed in age (1–42 years). We recorded surrounding landscape (land‐cover categories, landscape heterogeneity, and length of roads and railways in a 1‐km radius zone) and site factors (altitude, substrate texture, slope, aspect, and potential solar radiation) and analysed the data using multivariate methods. Species composition was significantly explained by successional age, altitude, substrate texture, and surrounding forest area. The total herb cover reached on average 30% already in the first 2 years, and later shrub and tree layers developed. Out of 320 identified vascular plant species, almost 5% (15 species) were endangered and 6% (19 species) were invasive aliens. Early successional stages were characterised by a high cover of insect‐pollinated species, which can serve as important food sources for insects. Despite some limitations (poor seed sources and inconvenient site conditions), our results showed that spontaneous succession could be used more often in the restoration of road verges because this approach may provide an alternative, cost‐effective solution of reasonable conservation value.
A model of active transcription hubs that unifies the roles of active promoters and enhancers

An essential questions of gene regulation is how large number of enhancers and promoters organize into gene regulatory loops. Using transcription-factor binding enrichment as an indicator of enhancer strength, we identified a portion of H3K27ac peaks as potentially strong enhancers and found a universal pattern of promoter and enhancer distribution: At actively transcribed regions of length of ∼200-300 kb, the numbers of active promoters and enhancers are inversely related. Enhancer clusters are associated with isolated active promoters, regardless of the gene's cell-type specificity. As the number of nearby active promoters increases, the number of enhancers decreases. At regions where multiple active genes are closely located, there are few distant enhancers. With Hi-C analysis, we demonstrate that the interactions among the regulatory elements (active promoters and enhancers) occur predominantly in clusters and multiway among linearly close elements and the distance between adjacent elements shows a preference of ∼30 kb. We propose a simple rule of spatial organization of active promoters and enhancers: Gene transcriptions and regulations mainly occur at local active transcription hubs contributed dynamically by multiple elements from linearly close enhancers and/or active promoters. The hub model can be represented with a flower-shaped structure and implies an enhancer-like role of active promoters.
Sampling forests with terrestrial laser scanning.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs) have successfully captured various properties of individual trees and have potential to further increase the quality and efficiency of forest surveys. However, TLSs are limited to line of sight observations, and forests are complex structural environments that can occlude TLS beams and thereby cause incomplete TLS samples. We evaluate the prevalence and sources of occlusion that limit line of sight to forest stems for TLS scans, assess the impacts of TLS sample incompleteness, and evaluate sampling strategies and data analysis techniques aimed at improving sample quality and representativeness. METHODS We use a large number of TLS scans (761), taken across a 255 650-m2 area of forest with detailed field survey data: the Harvard Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) (MA, USA). Sets of TLS returns are matched to stem positions in the field surveys to derive TLS-observed stem sets, which are compared with two additional stem sets derived solely from the field survey data: a set of stems within a fixed range from the TLS and a set of stems based on 2-D modelling of line of sight. Stem counts and densities are compared between the stem sets, and four alternative derivations of area to correct stem densities for the effects of occlusion are evaluated. Representation of diameter at breast height and species, drawn from the field survey data, are also compared between the stem sets. KEY RESULTS Occlusion from non-stem sources was the major influence on TLS line of sight. Transect and point TLS samples demonstrated better representativeness of some stem properties than did plots. Deriving sampled area from TLS scans improved estimates of stem density. CONCLUSIONS TLS sampling efforts should consider alternative sampling strategies and move towards in-progress assessment of sample quality and dynamic adaptation of sampling.
Overexpression Models: Lentiviral Modeling of Brain Cancer

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common and most malignant of the brain tumors. Gliomas can be classified into four different grades according to their histologic characteristics; the most aggressive of the gliomas is glioblastoma multiforme (grade IV). Despite optimal treatment, the median survival is only 12 to 15 months. In the past few years, important advances were made in understanding the biology and pathology of malignant gliomas. A mouse model of brain tumors using inducible lentiviral vectors is described here. In this approach, a lenti-vector with loxP sites flanking the gene of interest (oncogene) is injected into mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of a brain-specific promoter. The steps to perform cell-type/region-specific injection of Cre-loxP-controlled lentiviral vectors in the brain of adult mice are described here in detail. Curr. Protoc. Mouse Biol. 3:121-139 © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: gliomas; lentivirus gene transfer; genetic alterations; Cre-loxP system; gene delivery
Part‐time faculty: Competent and committed

This chapter focuses on similarities and differences between part- and full-time faculty demographics, work profiles, attitudes and motives, and opinions about teaching and learning.
Zur Unterkomplexität der Differenzierungstheorie : empirische Anfragen an die Systemtheorie

Zusammenfassung: Diese empirische Anfrage an die Differenzierungstheorie, insbesondere diejenige Luh mann'scher Pragung, gesteht dieser eine zwar analytisch lose, aber nichts destotrotz treffende Interpretation institu tioneller Spezialisierung in modernen Gesellschaften zu. Was sie nicht zugesteht, ist eine adaquate Rekonstruktion der internen Umwelt bzw. des internen Funktionierens der in Frage stehenden Funktionsbereiche. Entgegen Cha rakterisierungen in den Termini einer endogenen Logik und selbstbezogenen Autopoiesis wird auf die Heterogeni tat der Sprachspiele und Praktiken hingewiesen, die sich in diesen Bereichen findet. Die Differenzierungstheorie ignoriert, wie spezialisierte Bereiche durch Strukturierungsformen, die Funktionsdifferenzierungsgrenzen unter laufen, sowohl ermoglicht als auch immer wieder ersetzt werden. Damit verbunden ist eine Kritik der ,ontologi schen' Realitatskonzeption der Differenzierungstheorie, die zwar Selbstorganisation postuliert, aber nicht zulast, das realzeitliche Bereiche sich sowohl differenziert als auch undifferenziert, sowohl selbst-organisiert als auch nicht selbst-organisiert, oder weder in den einen noch in den anderen Kategorien konstituieren konnten. Alternativen zu dieser Vorgehensweise sind theoretische Reflexivitat sowie eine Theorie der Praxis. Die Kritikpunkte werden durch Beispiele aus dem Bereich der Wissenschaft illustriert.
A comparison of MBE- and MOCVD-grown InGaAsN

InGaAsN is a leading candidate for use as a third junction in high-efficiency solar cells, and as a light emitter in the 1.3-1.55 /spl mu/m wavelength range. Despite concentrated effort from many groups over the last several years, material quality continues to be lacking.
Wind Capture and Diversion Through Pneumatic Energy Recovery with Large Capacity Aerogenerators

An investigation of a novel design approach to capturing and containing wind in a useable energy form in a 1.5 to 2.5 megawatt power range. Rotor blade, air entrainment and transmission, and tower design are graphically described. Methods of energy conversion and output reliability are discussed, followed by concluding remarks concerning research and development needs relative to anticipated application of the large capacity aerogenerator.
Simulation of Chemical Kinetics Transport in the Stratosphere

It is well known that the chemical rate equations are often very stiff and their numerical solutions must be treated quite carefully. At the present this does not present any major difficulty due to the class of special methods for stiff ordinary differential equations. However, in the simulation of chemical kinetics transport in the stratosphere and related fields we are faced with a large system of stiff partial differential equations. Abstractly we may write the equations as $$ \frac{{\partial y}}{{\partial t}} = T\left( y \right) + C\left( y \right), $$ (1) where y is a vector representing the concentrations of the chemical species and t is simply time. T is a linear partial differential operator describing the mass transfer of the chemical species [Colgrove (1965A), Gudiksen (1968A)]†. C is a highly nonlinear chemical kinetics operator involving not only the concentrations of these species but also some complicated integrals of these concentrations [Crutzen (1971A), Johnston (1971A)]. The physical problem is usually formulated either as an initial-boundary value problem or simply as a boundary value problem \(\left( {i.e.\frac{{\partial y}} {{\partial t}} = 0} \right).\).
Seeking Knowledge Through Global Media

What can be known about the world through global media? This study explores student responses to media that depicts world issues and events in two focus groups. We examine the use of dynamic visual texts in particular, or those that are accessible, interactive, and fluid, as a way of understanding what knowledge students derive from viewing the world. Qualitative data suggests that three areas of knowledge are most salient for students in this study, namely personal/cultural, testimonial/scientific, and deliberative/action. We draw from this analysis that while dynamic visual texts have certain advantages over traditional texts in expanding student knowledge of the world, they alone do not constitute comprehensive global learning. Pedagogical suggestions are offered that parallel the insights gained from the data of this study.
Solid-State Laser Sources for Remote Sensing

Remote sensing with laser sources has made tremendous strides during the past decade. The progress has been paced, however, by the slow development of the high power, narrow bandwidth, tunable laser sources required as transmitters for DIAL and coherent detection methods. Only recently, with the development of Nd:YAG pumped dye and parametric oscillator sources has near infrared and ultraviolet measurement systems been demonstrated.
Lessons from the DREAM2 Challenges

Regardless of how creative, innovative, and elegant our computational methods, the ultimate proof of an algorithm's worth is the experimentally validated quality of its predictions. Unfortunately, this truism is hard to reduce to practice. Usually, modelers produce hundreds to hundreds of thousands of predictions, most (if not all) of which go untested. In a best-case scenario, a small subsample of predictions (three to ten usually) is experimentally validated, as a quality control step to attest to the global soundness of the full set of predictions. However, whether this small set is even representative of the global algorithm's performance is a question usually left unaddressed. Thus, a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of an algorithm most often remains elusive, especially to the experimental biologists who must decide which tool to use to address a specific problem. In this chapter, we describe the first systematic set of challenges posed to the systems biology community in the framework of the DREAM (Dialogue for Reverse Engineering Assessments and Methods) project. These tests, which came to be known as the DREAM2 challenges, consist of data generously donated by participants to the DREAM project and curated in such a way as to become problems of network reconstruction and whose solutions, the actual networks behind the data, were withheld from the participants. The explanation of the resulting five challenges, a global comparison of the submissions, and a discussion of the best performing strategies are the main topics discussed.
Parental perceptions of Rhode Island EFNEP (LB464)

Parental perceptions of Rhode Island EFNEP Patrick van Asch, Kathleen Gorman, Kathleen Melanson, Linda Sebelia, Alison Tovar Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Rhode Island Childhood obesit...
Bombesin inhibits apoptosis in developing fetal rat lung.

We have shown recently that apoptosis occurs during fetal and postnatal lung development. Our hypothesis that branching morphogenesis occurs through a delicate balance of cell proliferation and apoptosis predicts that substances that enhance branching of the airways would affect both cell proliferation and apoptosis in the lung. Bombesin-like peptides have a mitogenic effect on bronchial epithelium and fibroblasts, and bombesin has been shown to enhance branching morphogenesis in fetal lung. We used organ cultures of 16-day gestation fetal rat lung to study the effects of bombesin on apoptosis. Cultures were incubated in serumless medium alone or exposed to 1μM bombesin for 0–48 h. Levels of apoptosis were quantified using the TUNEL assay and expressed as percentage of apoptotic cells in paraffin sections of explants. Bombesin significantly inhibited apoptosis in fetal lung mesenchyme 48 h in culture by more than 50% (p < 0.05). The effects of bombesin on apoptosis were prevented completely if explants were exposed to the specific bombesin receptor antagonist, [d-Phe12]bombesin. To examine if the absence of serum in the media could have accounted for some of these effects, explants were cultured for 48 h in serumless medium, medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, serumless medium with 1 μM bombesin, or medium containing both 10% fetal bovine serum and 1 μM bombesin. The addition of fetal bovine serum to the media reduced apoptosis significantly. The effect of fetal bovine serum on apoptosis was additive with bombesin. We conclude that bombesin inhibits apoptosis in developing fetal rat lung mesenchyme through its interaction with the bombesin receptor.
Periodic solutions of a quasilinear parabolic differential equation

Abstract This paper treats the quasilinear, parabolic boundary value problem u xx − u t = −ƒ(x, t, u) u (0, t ) = ϑ 1 ( t ); u ( l , t ) = ϑ 2 ( t ) on an infinite strip {(x, t) ¦ 0 with the functions ƒ(x, t, u), ϑ 1 (t), ϑ 2 (t) being periodic in t . The major theorem of the paper gives sufficient conditions on ƒ(x, t, u) for this problem to have a periodic solution u ( x , t ) which may be constructed by successive approximations with an integral operator. Some corollaries to this theorem offer more explicit conditions on ƒ(x, t, u) and indicate a method for determining the initial estimate at which the iteration may begin.
Subaltern strategies and development practice: urban water privatization in Ghana

This paper is concerned with subaltern actions providing alternatives to development practice. I use Ghana's attempt at urban water privatization to illustrate that Ghana's development practice is characterized by a dependence on foreign sources of capital and expertise that illustrates a psyche and mindset of Eurocentrism associated with the elite and decisionmakers of the country. The rationale for water privatization, the how of privatization, and the anti-development opposition to privatization not only demonstrate this dependency but also the extent to which decisionmakers are willing to sacrifice sovereignty and culturally sensitive ways of doing things, to global capital, in exchange for development funds. In the state's zeal for Western or Occidental development, subalterns in Ghana have devised hybridities that are post-traditional and Oriental in nature to solve their water problems. These development solutions are couched within structures provided to human agency and suggest that development practice should therefore listen to subalterns in terms of how they imagine and solve their problems. The concern with subaltern voices shows the relationship between postcolonial studies and development practice.
Rapid phosphorus triester hydrolysis catalyzed by bimetallic tetrabenzimidazole complexes

Bimetallic complexes based on the binucleating ligand N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis[(2-benzimidazolyl)methyl]-2-hydroxy-1,3-diaminopropane (1L) and its new toluoyl ester derivative (2L) catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphorus triesters at ambient temperature with activities rivalling the fastest known systems.