cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Habitat Relationships Among Grasshoppers (Orthoptera:Acrididae) at the Western Limit of the Great Plains in Colorado

Abstract We measured grasshopper densities on 66 shortgrass, mixed grass, tallgrass and hayfield plots on Boulder, Colorado, open space in 1995–1996. Grasshoppers as a group, and most species individually, were more abundant on relatively sparse short and mixed grass plots than on lusher hayfields and tallgrass plots—a result consistent with the hypothesis that most species require warm and sunny open ground for survival and reproduction. Bandwinged grasshoppers (Oedipodinae) were particularly associated with open ground in shortgrass vegetation, whereas spur-throated grasshoppers (Melanoplinae) were most abundant in mixed grass plots with a high percentage of forb vs. graminoid cover. Slant-faced grasshoppers (Gomphocerinae) were the most uniformly distributed among habitats, but were generally associated with plots including relatively high proportions of grass vs. forb cover. While 20 of the 25 most common grasshopper species on Boulder open space occurred in all four grassland types, each habitat was ...
New insights into the relationship between myocardial perfusion and lipid-lowering.

An elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a causal risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). In both its native and oxidized forms, LDL-C causes direct endothelial cell injury and dysfunction, predisposing to an inflammatory response in the artery wall that
Regulatory Reality versus Theory

Professor Eli Noam has written a thoughtful piece for the Financial Times entitled "Separating telecoms?" about the "spectre" of forced separation of network infrastructure management from service provisioning that is haunting European incumbent telecommunications companies. Noam suggests that European regulators seek "negotiated compacts," rather than address the discrimination problem (indirectly) through the imposition of various degrees of functional, structural or full separation (divestiture) of the operations of telecommunications companies or (directly) through additional regulation or legislation. In contrast, a recent publication by Free Press, entitled "Dismantling Digital Deregulation: Towards a National Broadband Strategy," cites deregulation as the "root of America's broadband decline." Free Press essentially calls for the reversal of nearly every de-regulatory decision made by the FCC since 1996 and the imposition or re-imposition of pervasive telecommunications regulation, without regard for the costs of such a radical reversal of policy. Professor Noam's suggestions about how to strike a grand regulatory compromise on structural separations deserve serious study and consideration by America's regulators. They may also provide a template for discussion about how to resolve the highly polarized and seemingly never-ending debate over whether we need to impose common carrier or net neutrality mandates on broadband Internet access service providers.
Iron modulates the alpha chain of fibrinogen

Iron-bound fibrinogen has been noted to accelerate plasmatic coagulation in patients with divergent conditions involving upregulation of heme oxygenase activity, including hemodialysis, Alzheimer's disease, sickle cell anemia, and chronic migraine. Our goal was to determine if a site of iron-fibrinogen interaction was on the alpha chain. Using thrombelastography, we compared the coagulation kinetic profiles of plasma exposed to 0-10 µM ferric chloride after activation of coagulation with thrombin generated by contact activation of plasma with the plastic sample cup or by exposure to 1 µg/ml of Calloselasma rhodostoma venom (rich in ancrod activity), which causes coagulation via polymerization of alpha chain monomers. Venom mediated coagulation always occurred before thrombin activated thrombus formation, and ferric chloride always diminished the time of onset of coagulation and increased the velocity of clot growth. Iron enhances plasmatic coagulation kinetics by modulating the alpha chain of fibrinogen.
Personality traits and body mass index: Modifiers and mechanisms

Objective: To identify how demographic factors (sex, age, ethnicity) modify the association between personality traits and body mass index (BMI) and to test the extent that diet and physical activity account for the personality-BMI relations.Design: Cross-sectional study with a diverse sample (N = 5150, 50% female, 19% African American, 15% Hispanic). Participants completed a measure of the five major dimensions of personality and reported on their physical activity, diet and food intake behaviour, and height and weight.Main Outcome Measures: BMI and obesity (BMI ≥ 30).Results: High Neuroticism was associated with higher BMI and risk for obesity, whereas Conscientiousness and, to a lesser extent, Extraversion and Openness were protective. These associations were generally stronger among women and older participants; there was less evidence for ethnicity as a moderator. Personality had similar relations with the behavioural factors, and physical activity, diet and regular meal rhythms accounted for approxi...
Muhtasib's Role: Safeguarding the Public Interest during the Islamic Middle Ages

The paper traces the institutional history of Hisba, one of whose functions was to regulate commercial activity and guard public interest from 7th to the 17th centuries in Islamic countries. This is followed by a description of the functions performed by the Muhtasib - the title of the person who carried out the functions associated with Hisba. It is noteworthy that most Muslim jurists have argued against the appointment of women to serve as Muhtasib, but this exclusion seems to be in contrast to the practice of the Prophet Muhammad himself. The paper shows that search for accountability and the need for guarding the public interest from fraud and exploitation has a long history.
Occurrence of Fatty Livers in Rats Fed a Diet Containing Dried, Whole Liver

Our observation of the presence of an abnormal amount of fat in the livers of rats fed a diet high in protein was first made in a series of rats in which we were attempting to determine the stages of development of chronic nephritis. In rats placed on Liver Diet I and killed from 2 to 3 months later, we found that we could tell from the presence of fatty infiltration of the liver which rats were on the diet and which were not; whereas, we were unable to detect any difference between the kidneys of the rats on the Control or the Liver I diet. This observation led to a search for the cause of the phenomenal difference in the livers of the rats fed the 2 diets.The livers of rats fed Liver Diet I contain very large amounts of cholesterol and fat but less than the normal amount of lecithin. Thevalues for cholesterol have ranged from 2.14 to 5.51% and those for total fatty acids minus lecithin from 9.48 to 11.48%. The values for lecithin have varied from 2.11 to 2.37%.When the liver residue remaining after the ...
Analogies and metaphors in creative design

In our increasingly flat and connected world, skills in innovation and creative design have emerged as key attributes for graduating engineering designers. Metaphors and analogies are commonly voiced as key tools for enhancing creative design yet little research has been performed on their relation to each other and their use within the design process. In this paper we discuss the relationship between metaphor and analogy use in the design process, with a focus on engineering education. We support our discussion with results from interviews and experiments with student designers. Our results highlight that both metaphor and analogy are spontaneously used by student designers and that metaphor dominates as the design tool for early problem-framing design phases whereas analogy dominates as a tool for concept generation. We also present an analysis of the metaphors for our understanding of design in use within Germany, the UK and Mexico. We found an 85 per cent overlap between textbook usages of metaphors in conceptual design in these countries as compared to textbooks authored in the United States, suggesting that cross-cultural differences in design understanding are relatively small in higher education. We close by presenting a design by analogy method to promote and enhance the use of analogy as a skill for graduating engineering designers.
Immature Stages of the Western Corn Rootworm123

In 1963 a study was made of the larval instars and the pupae of the western rom rootworm, Diabetics virgifera Leone, Larvae fed on mature squash fruit and held in the dark at 20°C consistently had 3 in stars. Width of the head capsule was the most constant of the several structures measured and was therefore considered the most valid indicator of the larval instar. Measurements of larvae collected in the field compared favorably with measurements of the 3rd-instar larvae reared in the laboratory. Calculations by Dyar’s method indicated that all in stars had been observed. Female pupae were distinguished by a pair of obvious papillae on the 9th abdominal segment. The average time of development at 20°C was 11 day for the 1st instar, 14 days for the 2nd instar, 27 days for the 3rd instar, and 15 days for the pupa.
A Computer-Graded Examination Technique with a Human Face

(1979). A Computer-Graded Examination Technique with a Human Face. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 86, No. 7, pp. 586-589.
Ganglioside combined with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells transplantation for the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonate rats

Objective To observe the effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells(hUCMSCs)combined with ganglioside(GM1)on the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD)in neonate rats. Methods First,the models of 7-day-old neonate rats with HIBD brain were established.Then,after 72 hours,the same amount hUCMSCs were transplanted into the hUCMSCs transplantation group and the hUCMSCs+GM1group,at the same time,GM1 was injected into the hUCMSCs+GM1group through abdominal cavity.Spatial learning was assessed using a Morris water maze test from 31 to 35days after the transplantation.Finally,after the behavioral tests,brain tissues of rats were removed after 4%paraformaldehyde was perfused in cardiac to fix brain and successive sections were made using a cryomicrotome.Immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the distribution of DiI-labeled hUCMSCs and expression of DCX. ResultsThe hUCMSCs+GM1group showed more significant neurological functions improvement than the hUCMSCs transplantation group as revealed by Morris water maze test.The transplantation descendants of hUCMSCs could migrate to the brain tissue,and could differentiate into neuronal precursor cells,and the hUCMSCs+GM1group showed more DiI-labeled hUCMSCs in brain tissue. Conclusion Transplanted hUCMSCs could improve the recovery of neurological functions after HIBD and promote rats' behavioral function improvement.And GM1 exerts a synergistic effect in this treatment.
Medical device vigilance at FDA.

This overview of medical device vigilance at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discusses the basic reporting regulation and program at FDA. The FDA program has grown to the point where we now receive over 100,000 reports per year. How FDA examines the data patterns in overall reporting, to identify signals in the database, and the potential actions FDA takes to respond to these problems are also presented. New initiatives include, for example, new methods to triage reports and the move developing an internationally harmonised nomenclature.
Monitoring and Coaching the Use of Home Medical Devices

Despite the popularity of home medical devices, serious safety concerns have been raised, because the use-errors of home medical devices have linked to a large number of fatal hazards. To resolve the problem, we introduce a cognitive assistive system to automatically monitor the use of home medical devices. Being able to accurately recognize user operations is one of the most important functionalities of the proposed system. However, even though various action recognition algorithms have been proposed in recent years, it is still unknown whether they are adequate for recognizing operations in using home medical devices. Since the lack of the corresponding database is the main reason causing the situation, at the first part of this paper, we present a database specially designed for studying the use of home medical devices. Then, we evaluate the performance of the existing approaches on the proposed database. Although using state-of-art approaches which have demonstrated near perfect performance in recognizing certain general human actions, we observe significant performance drop when applying it to recognize device operations. We conclude that the tiny actions involved in using devices is one of the most important reasons leading to the performance decrease. To accurately recognize tiny actions, it’s critical to focus on where the target action happens, namely the region of interest (ROI) and have more elaborate action modeling based on the ROI. Therefore, in the second part of this paper, we introduce a simple but effective approach to estimating ROI for recognizing tiny actions. The key idea of this method is to analyze the correlation between an action and the sub-regions of a frame. The estimated ROI is then used as a filter for building more accurate action representations. Experimental results show significant performance improvements over the baseline methods by using the estimated ROI for action recognition. We also introduce an interaction framework, which considers both the confidence of the detection as well as the seriousness of the potential error with messages to the user that take both aspects into account.
Infinitely Divisible Processes

Infinitely divisible stochastic processes form a broad family whose structure is reasonably well understood. A stochastic process \({\bigl (X(t),\,t \in T\bigr )}\) is said to be infinitely divisible if for every n = 1, 2, …, there is a stochastic process \(\bigl( Y(t),\, t\in T\bigr)\) such that
Resilience of the World Wide Web: a longitudinal two-mode network analysis

Daily data on the use of the world’s 425 most frequently visited websites by 118 countries were mined over the 4-month period September 1 to December 31, 2015, to create a longitudinal two-mode network (countries and websites). This paper describes the changes in the international World Wide Web (WWW), as a network, to determine the effects of unanticipated shocks (the terrorist attacks on Paris and San Bernardino) and predictable events [national holidays (Golden Week, Christmas, New Years) and shopping days, Black Friday and 11/11]. The results indicate that while there are changes in the use of individual websites, due to weekly cycles in viewing specific websites, the shocks and other social and cultural events, the overall network is remarkably stable. This resilience is due to the constraints that network ties place on the relationships among the websites, which limits their potential behavior.
Systemic lupus erythematosus biomarkers: the challenging quest

SLE, a multisystem heterogeneous disease, is characterized by production of antibodies to cellular components, with activation of both the innate and the adaptive immune system. Decades of investigation of blood biomarkers has resulted in incremental improvements in the understanding of SLE. Owing to the heterogeneity of immune dysregulation, no single biomarker has emerged as a surrogate for disease activity or prediction of disease. Beyond identification of surrogate biomarkers, a multitude of clinical trials have sought to inhibit elevated SLE biomarkers for therapeutic benefit. Armed with new -omics technologies, the necessary yet daunting quest to identify better surrogate biomarkers and successful therapeutics for SLE continues with tenacity.
ALLELOCHEMICALS AS BIOPESTICIDES FOR MANAGEMENT OF PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODES

Many allelopathic compounds in their native or processed forms have potential for development as viable components of plant-parasitic nematode management strategies. Allelochemicals have been identified that possess differing levels of activity against a wide range of plant-parasitic nematodes. In general, these compounds are less toxic to nontarget species, and less persistent in soil than chemical nematicides. Operative mechanisms for plant-parasitic nematode control with allelopathic compounds include nematicidal activity, nematostatic activity, and nematode behavior modification. Allelochemicals are sometimes produced in large quantities in plant material or as agricultural waste, making the use of rotation crops, cover crops, and organic amendments effective means for production and/or distribution of the active compounds. A greater understanding of the effects of soil microbes and environmental conditions on allelopathic compounds is necessary to improve their efficacy for control of parasitic nematodes. Use of allelochemicals for nematode control will require that growers know specifically what types and population levels of nematodes are present in their production fields. Development of improved production and incorporation methods for rotation and green manure crops, and appropriate application methods for processed allelochemical compounds, will also enhance the efficacy and consistency of these compounds for nematode control.
Investigating Molecular Connections of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with Associated Pathological Conditions in West Virginia for Biomarker Analysis

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disease characterized by a steatosis of the liver that may progress to more serious pathological conditions including: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. As the prevalence of NAFLD has increased worldwide in recent years, pathophysiology and risk factors associated with disease progression of NAFLD are at the focus of many studies. NAFLD is related to and shares common serum biomarkers with cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). West Virginia (WV) is a state with some of the highest rates of CVD, obesity and diabetes mellitus. As NAFLD is closely related to these diseases, it is of particular interest in WV. Currently there is no cost-effective, standardized method used clinically to detect NAFLD prior to the onset of reversible complications. At this time, the diagnosis of NAFLD is made with costly radiologic studies and invasive biopsy. These studies are only diagnostic once changes to hepatic tissue have occurred. The diagnosis of NAFLD by traditional methods may not allow for successful intervention and may not be readily available in areas with already sparse medical resources. In this literature review, we identify a list of biomarkers common among CVD, T2DM, obesity, MetS and NAFLD. From this research we propose the following biomarkers are good candidates for inclusion in a panel of biomarkers for the early detection of NAFLD: adiponectin, AST, ALT, apo-B, CK18, CPS1, CRP, FABP-1, ferritin, GGT, GRP78, HDL-C, IGF-1, IL-1β, 6, 8, 10, IRS-2PAI-1, leptin, lumican, MDA SREBP-1c and TNF- α. Creating and implementing a biomarker panel for the early detection and attenuation of NAFLD, prior to the onset of irreversible complication would provide maximum benefit and decrease the disease burden on the patients and healthcare system of WV.
A CubeSat platform for characterizing the reliability of electronic components

Because the space environment's effect on the operation of affordable, commercially available components is not well characterized, these devices are often ignored as viable candidate parts. This paper presents the design of the Cube-Sat Reliability Experiment (CRX) platform, a 1U customizable CubeSat-compatible system built to test and validate a variety of commercial off-the-shelf electronic components through direct exposure to the space environment. The system reports measurable device under test (DUT) health and environmental characteristics to the spacecraft bus. Data comparisons between shielded and exposed DUTs indicate DUT reliability. This work discusses the CRX system architecture as well as the demonstrated prototype implementation of hardware and software designs for a MOSFET DUT. This mockup establishes the system as an effective, low-cost utility to expand the list of qualified space-ready parts by determining accurate reliabilities of COTS components.
The Future of Academic Promotion for Clinicians

With little current momentum for change in academic promotion, individual schools are likely to continue developing the number and type of tracks for clinicians and to seek adjustments to improve the efficiency of the system. Movements to align regular faculty assessments, faculty development, and academic promotion have the potential to reengage clinical faculty members and increase the perceived value of promotion, but criteria for promotion must be related to faculty roles and activities. Ongoing changes raise basic questions about the definition of a faculty member, eligibility for academic promotion, the definition and role of scholarship, and the use of tenure-based concepts and systems for a predominantly non-tenured and very heterogeneous faculty.
Evaluating Interactive Music Systems: An HCI Approach

In this paper, we discuss a number of issues related to the design of evaluation tests for comparing interactive music systems for improvisation. Our testing procedure covers rehearsal and performance environments, and captures the experiences of a musician/participant as well as an audience member/observer. We attempt to isolate salient components of system behavior, and test whether the musician or audience are able to discern between systems with significantly different behavioral components. We have applied our testing methodology in comparative studies of our London and ARHS improvisation systems [1], with the help of saxophonists John Butcher and James Fei; we report on preliminary experiences and ongoing design refinements.
Eigenfunctions and Harmonic Functions in Convex and Concave Domains

Let Ω be a bounded, convex, open subset of R N . This paper concerns the behavior of positive harmonic functions that vanish on ∂Ω. We will consider both the case in which the function is defined in Ω and the case in which the function is defined in the complement of Ω. We will also discuss eigenfunctions defined in Ω. The theme is to study how the shape of Ω influences the size of solutions to these basic elliptic equations.
Tarred by History: Materiality, Memory, and Protest

The act of defacing public monuments as a form of protest is by no means a new or a U.S.-based phenomenon. Roughly two weeks after white supremacists convened in Charlottesville, Virginia in August...
Diffuse and nonlinear imaging of multiscale vascular parameters for in vivo monitoring of preclinical mammary tumors.

Diffuse optical imaging (DOI) techniques provide a wide-field or macro assessment of the functional tumor state and have shown substantial promise for monitoring treatment efficacy in cancer. Conversely, intravital microscopy provides a high-resolution view of the tumor state and has played a key role in characterizing treatment response in the preclinical setting. There has been little prior work in investigating how the macro and micro spatial scales can be combined to develop a more comprehensive and translational view of treatment response. To address this, a new multiscale preclinical imaging technique called diffuse and nonlinear imaging (DNI) was developed. DNI combines multiphoton microscopy with spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) to provide multiscale data sets of tumor microvascular architecture coregistered within wide-field hemodynamic maps. A novel method was developed to match the imaging depths of both modalities by utilizing informed SFDI spatial frequency selection. An in vivo DNI study of murine mammary tumors revealed multiscale relationships between tumor oxygen saturation and microvessel diameter, and tumor oxygen saturation and microvessel length (|Pearson's ρ| ≥ 0.5, P < 0.05). Going forward, DNI will be uniquely enabling for the investigation of multiscale relationships in tumors during treatment.
Winning the war with iron.

An FDA-approved iron oxide nanoparticle used for the treatment of anaemia can be repurposed for leukaemia therapy.
The Impact of Clinical Pharmacists in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) Outpatient Clinic at an Academic Medical Center

Background Pharmacists are increasingly identified as vital members of the HSCT multidisciplinary team. At our institution, pharmacists recently established roles providing clinical pharmacy services in the outpatient setting focused on performing interventions during the pre-HSCT clinic visit. Objectives The primary objective was to evaluate the number of medication discrepancies identified during pre-HSCT clinic visits performed by pharmacists, defined as addition, removal, or dose adjustment of current medications. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the number of interventions made by pharmacists for drug interactions, chemotherapy dose adjustments, and other medication recommendations for all patients prior to HSCT. Methods A retrospective review of all patients admitted for HSCT from August 2018 to 2019 was performed. Patients are seen by their HSCT provider about 1 week prior to HSCT. At this visit, oncology trained pharmacists specializing in HSCT meet with the patient and provide services such as medication reconciliation, screening for drug interactions, screening for pertinent medication allergies/ intolerances and identifying alternatives, assessing medication adherence, evaluating need for chemotherapy dose adjustments, and identifying barriers to medication access. Patients that are unable to be seen by the pharmacist receive extensive chart review prior to admission to identify medication interventions. Results HSCT pharmacists performed 150 pre-HSCT clinic visits for 88 (59%) autologous, 46 (31%) allogeneic, and 16 (11%) Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapy (CAR- T) recipients. A total of 511 medication discrepancies were identified in 128 (85%) patients seen (Figure 1). In addition to the 150 patients seen, 88 patient charts were reviewed by a pharmacist. A total of 66 significant drug interactions requiring intervention were identified in 52 (22%) patients and 30 chemotherapy dose adjustments were implemented in 29 (12%) patients. Other medication recommendations were made to the provider for 109 (46%) patients. Examples of these interventions include stopping oral chemotherapy prior to HSCT, modifying supportive care medications to reflect patient preference and prior response, modifying hydration due to cardiac history, coordinating steroid tapers before haploidentical HSCT or CAR-T, adjusting prophylactic antimicrobials due to allergies or to meet institutional standards, coordinating refills, and developing a plan for non-formulary medications. Conclusions Pharmacists play a crucial role in providing safe and effective care to HSCT patients, and their involvement in the multidisciplinary team can lead to significant clinical interventions. Future directions include expansion of the role of HSCT pharmacists through Pharmacy Consult Agreements, focusing on HSCT patients post-transplant and within a Survivorship Clinic.
Chapter 2 – Complex Numbers and Exponentials

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces outline the importance of complex numbers and exponentials which are an integral part of digital communications and digital signal processing (DSP). The reason of delving deep into this area leads the readers to two-dimensional number plane which help to understand DSP. The operators such as addition, subtraction, multiplication take people through the complex side of numbers which are explained in two dimensions. The use of complex conjugate and complex exponential—in the number plane—allows readers understand the relationship of basic characteristics of numbers and its treatment. The chapter further looks into measuring angles in radians which leads to the use of pi and the equivalence of the degrees and radians in measuring angles. DSP therefore uses this concept in later stages to understand the clockwise and anticlockwise movement around the circle.
Fis connects two sensory pathways, quorum sensing and surface sensing, to control motility in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

ABSTRACT Fis (Factor for Inversion Stimulation) is a global regulator that is highly expressed during exponential growth and undetectable in stationary growth. Quorum sensing (QS) is a global regulatory mechanism that controls gene expression in response to cell density and growth phase. In V. parahaemolyticus, a marine species and a significant human pathogen, the QS regulatory sRNAs, Qrr1 to Qrr5, negatively regulate the high cell density QS master regulator OpaR. OpaR is a positive regulator of capsule polysaccharide (CPS) formation required for biofilm formation and a repressor of swarming motility. In Vibrio parahaemolyticus, we showed, using genetics and DNA binding assays, that Fis bound directly to the regulatory regions of the qrr genes and was a positive regulator of these genes. In the Δfis mutant, opaR expression was induced and a robust CPS and biofilm was produced, while swarming motility was abolished. Expression analysis and promoter binding assays showed that Fis was a direct activator of both the lateral flagellum laf operon and the surface sensing scrABC operon, both required for swarming motility. In in vitro growth competition assays, Δfis was outcompeted by wild type in minimal media supplemented with intestinal mucus, and we showed that Fis directly modulated catabolism gene expression. In in vivo colonization competition assays, Δfis was outcompeted by wild type, indicating Fis is required for fitness. Overall, these data demonstrate a direct role for Fis in QS, motility, and metabolism in V. parahaemolyticus. IMPORTANCE In this study, we examined the role of Fis in modulating expression of the five-quorum sensing regulatory sRNAs, qrr1 to qrr5, and showed that Fis is a direct positive regulator of QS, which oppositely controls CPS and swarming motility in V. parahaemolyticus. The Δfis deletion mutant was swarming defective due to a requirement for Fis in lateral flagella and surface sensing gene expression. Thus, Fis links QS and surface sensing to control swarming motility and, indirectly, CPS production. Fis was also required for cell metabolism, acting as a direct regulator of several carbon catabolism loci. Both in vitro and in vivo competition assays showed that the Δfis mutant had a significant defect compared to wild type. Overall, our data demonstrates that Fis plays a critical role in V. parahaemolyticus physiology that was previously unexamined.
Better data management, one nudge at a time

How do you help people improve their data management skills? For our team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we decided the answer was "one nudge at a time”. A study conducted by Wiley and Mischo (2016) found that Illinois researchers are aware of data services available but under-utilize them. Many researchers do not consider data management as a concern distinct from researching and producing scholarly work products. In 2017, the RDS piloted the Data Nudge – a monthly, opt-in email service to “nudge” Illinois researchers toward good data management practices, and towards utilizing data services on campus. The aim of the Data Nudge was to address the gap between knowing about a service and using it by highlighting best practices and campus resources. The topics covered in the Data Nudge center around data. Some topics are applicable to everyone, such as data back-up, documentation, and file naming conventions. Other topics are specific to Illinois, like storage options, events, and conferences. After four years, the Data Nudge has accumulated over 400 subscribers through word-of-mouth, marketing channels on campus and inclusion in subject liaisons' instructional workshops. It receives stable open rates averaging at 52% (compared to 19.44% average industry rate for Higher Education*) and many compliments from subscribers. We expect the Data Nudge to continue supplementing workshops and training as an effective means of communication to reach researchers on our campus. In the spirit of re-use, we are in the process of archiving the Data Nudge topics in a reusable format, readily adaptable by other institutions. Data Nudge link: https://go.illinois.edu/past_nudges
The Evolution of Friction Stir Welding Theory at Marshall Space Flight Center

From 1995 to the present the friction stir welding (FSW) process has been under study at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). This is an account of the progressive emergence of a set of conceptual tools beginning with the discovery of the shear surface, wiping metal transfer, and the invention of a kinematic model and making possible a treatment of both metallurgical structure formation and process dynamics in friction stir welding from a unified point of view. It is generally observed that the bulk of the deformation of weld metal around the FSW pin takes place in a very narrow, almost discontinuous zone with high deformation rates characteristic of metal cutting. By 1999 it was realized that this zone could be treated as a shear surface like that in simple metal cutting models. At the shear surface the seam is drawn out and compressed and pressure and flow conditions determine whether or not a sound weld is produced. The discovery of the shear surface was followed by the synthesis of a simple 3- flow kinematic model of the FSW process. Relative to the tool the flow components are: (1) an approaching translational flow at weld speed V, (2) a rotating cylindrical plug flow with the angular velocity of the tool , and (3) a relatively slow ring vortex flow (like a smoke ring) encircling the tool and driven by shoulder scrolls and pin threads. The rotating plug flow picks up an element of weld metal, rotates it around with the tool, and deposits it behind the tool ( wiping metal transfer ); it forms plan section loops in tracers cut through by the tool. Radially inward flow from the ring vortex component retains metal longer in the rotating plug and outward flow expels metal earlier; this interaction forms the looping weld seam trace and the tongue and groove bimetallic weld contour. The radial components of the translational and ring vortex flows introduce parent metal intrusions into the small grained nugget material close to the tool shoulder; if this feature is pronounced, nugget collapse may result. Certain weld features, in particular internal banding seen in transverse section as onion rings and associated surface ridges called tool marks , have long implied an oscillation flow component, but have only recently been attributed in the literature to tool eccentricity. Rotating plug shape, typically a hollow cylinder flared at the end where it sticks to the shoulder, varies as pressure distribution on the tool determines where sticking occurs. Simplified power input estimates balanced against heat loss estimates give reasonable temperature estimates, explain why the power requirement changes hardly at all over a wide range of RPM s, and yield isotherms that seem to fall along boundaries of parameter windows of operation.
What Recruiters Don’t Tell Athletes and Athletes Don’t Think to Ask: A Critique of the NCAA’s Nonacademic Eligibility Rules

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seeks to maintain “amateurism” as the basis for college sports by devising rules that prohibit or severely restrict college athletes from transferring from one institution to another, hiring an agent to assess their professional prospects, declaring themselves eligible for a professional draft while reserving the right to return to college play if not drafted, and be compensated for the commercial use of their names and likenesses. These rules can be traps for the unwary because college coaches and athletic directors, seeking to present their sports and their schools in the best possible light, are unlikely to mention them to recruits.This article discusses the NCAA’s National Letter of Intent, transfer rules, “no-agent” rule, “no-draft” rule, and “no-endorsement” rule, explaining that they are designed primarily with the interests of coaches and athletic directors, not athletes, in mind. It advocates modifying all of these rules in ways that prioritize the academic and career goals of athletes, not the coaches’ need for a stable labor force, while preserving, indeed, enhancing a view of athletic participation as an important component of a college education.
The CEO's Influence on Corporate Foundation Giving

Some scholars have argued that CEOs may have excessive influence on their foundation's trustees to give away a portion of company profits to charitable causes in order to gain access to elite circles or support the CEO's personal causes. This may result in charitable contributions that ultimately serve the personal interests of the CEOs without regard to corporate interests or social needs. We examine the extent that CEOs appear to direct charitable giving to be compatible with their own personal interests, and if CEO participation on the foundation board affects the relationship between CEO personal interests and charitable giving. Using a sample of 160 corporate foundations, our results showed that CEOs' interests, as measured by membership in different non-profit organizations, was associated with foundation charitable giving. This association decreased, but was not eliminated, when CEOs were absent from the foundation board. Implications of these findings for researchers and managers are discussed in regards to both agency theory and stewardship theory.
Modulating the nitric oxide – cyclic GMP pathway in the pressure-overloaded left ventricle and group II pulmonary hypertension

Group II pulmonary hypertension (PH) commonly occurs in the setting of a pressure-overloaded left ventricle (LV) which is also conducive to the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Population trends and a high prevalence of underlying causative conditions, such as essential hypertension or aortic stenosis, have increased the awareness of the pressure-overloaded LV and associated group II pulmonary hypertension. Patients often exhibit poor exercise tolerance and signs of heart failure indistinguishable from systolic heart failure; but effective medical treatments in this area have been lacking. Recent preclinical work has shed light on how the down-regulated nitric oxide - cyclic GMP pathway (within the myocardium and pulmonary vasculature) contributes to the pathophysiology of these associated conditions. This article will discuss the impact of the nitric oxide - cyclic GMP pathway on the pathogenesis of the pressure-overloaded LV and group II pulmonary hypertension, and will also introduce the potential therapeutic value of modulating this pathway.
Duodenal Erosion of a Mesocaval Graft: An Unusual Complication of Mesocaval Shunt Interposition Surgery

Abstract A patient with recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding after having a "C"-shaped mesocaval shunt created is reported. During endoscopic examination, the graft was seen to have eroded into the duodenal lumen. This rare complication of mesocaval shunts may become more common with the increasing use of "C"-shaped grafts.
On the Stability of Input-Output Operators in Nonlinear Systems with Multiple Attractors

We examine the input-output stability of attractors of nonlinear systems to perturbations of finite duration in time. In a low-parameter family of such perturbations, and using techniques from the theory of dynamical systems, we formulate a boundary value problem for the location of critical perturbations, marking the boundary of stability. An intricate pattern of stability and instability is found in a simple illustrative example (the CSTR with a single reaction).
Mentoring NextGen Librarians for Careers in eScience

This poster was presented at the 2012 Research Data Access and Preservation Summit, March 22-23, 2012 New Orleans, LA.
Capturing correct solutions in CFD

Computational simulations and corresponding theoretical analyses have recently led us to the following three issues concerning the relationships of numerical solutions to physical solutions. These are a new concept of numerical rotational release occurring in implicit schemes, a new view of the vorticity condition at the far field boundary which is seen to be grid related, and operator splitting errors as viewed through stencil exponentiations.
Object discovery, identification, and association

Tracking process captures the state of an object. The state of an object is defined in terms of its dynamic and static properties such as location, speed, color, temperature, size, etc. The set of dynamic and static properties for tracking very much depends on the agency who wants to track. For example, police needs different set of properties to tracks people than to track a vehicle than the air force. The tracking scenario also affects the selection of parameters. Tracking is done by a system referred to in this paper as "Tracker." It is a system that consists of a set of input devices such as sensors and a set of algorithms that process the data captured by these input devices. The process of tracking has three distinct steps (a) object discovery, (b) identification of discovered object, and (c) object introduction to the input devices. In this paper we focus mainly on the object discovery part with a brief discussion on introduction and identification parts. We develops a formal tracking framework (model) called "Discover, Identify, and Introduce Model (DIIM)" for building efficient tracking systems. Our approach is heuristic and uses reasoning leading to learning to develop a knowledge base for object discovery. We also develop a tracker for the Air Force system called N-CET.
Optical monitoring of selected quasars, Lacertids, and active galaxies in blue light

Optical photometry in blue light of selected bright quasars, Lacertids, active galaxies, and X-ray sources with a 1-m f/15 Cassegrain reflector is reported. The observed magnitude and amplitude for 3C 273, 3C 351, 3C 454.3, 3C 66A, PKS 2141 + 17, BL Lac, OJ287, and Zw0039.5 + 004 are described. The techniques used to collect and reduce the data are discussed. Tables of observed blue magnitudes for the data are provided.
Pediatricians' Attitudes and Practices on ADHD before and after the Development of ADHD Pediatric Practice Guidelines.

Purpose: The study aims to assess the changes in attitudes and practices about ADHD reported by AAP fellows between 1999 and 2005 during which AAP ADHD guidelines, training, and quality improvement initiatives occurred. Method: The study assesses AAP-initiated surveys that were conducted between 1999 and 2005 and involving a random sample of 1,000 and 1,603 pediatricians, respectively. Results: The findings reveal that significant, although modest, increases occurred in pediatric practitioners’ self-reported adherence to the guidelines. About 81% of respondents reported routine use of formal diagnostic criteria (up from 67%), and 67% of the respondents routinely use ADHD teacher rating scales (compared to 49% in the 1999 survey). Findings further reveal that treatment with stimulant medications was used extensively by pediatricians from both surveys; more pediatricians in the 2005 survey reported use of a second stimulant if the first did not work, and still more reported almost always providing parent tr...
The role of social science in the legitimation of racial hierarchy

Abstract Despite its repudiation of scientific racism, the liberal paradigm on race had two fateful flaws: 1. 1) it conceptualized racism in terms of attitudes rather than conditions, and 2. 2) it failed to specify what elements of “environment” accounted for persistent racial inequalities. The result has been another victim-blaming paradigm that merely substituted culture for genes, deflecting attention away from the crucial role that political and economic institutions play in the production and reproduction of racial inequality.
Neural mechanisms and behaviors for acoustic communication in teleost fish

Sound communication is not unique to humans but rather is a trait shared with most non-mammalian vertebrates. A practical way to address questions of vocal signal encoding has been to identify mechanisms in non-mammalian model systems that use acoustic communication signals in their social behavior. Teleost fishes, the largest group of living vertebrates, include both vocal and non-vocal species that exploit a wide range of acoustic niches. Here, we focus on those vocal species where combined behavioral and neurobiological studies have recently begun to elucidate a suite of adaptations for both the production and the perception of acoustic signals essential to their reproductive success and survival. Studies of these model systems show that teleost fish have the vocal-acoustic behaviors and neural systems both necessary and sufficient to solve acoustic problems common to all vertebrates. In particular, behavioral studies demonstrate that temporal features within a call, including pulse duration, rate and number, can all be important to a call's communicative value. Neurobiological studies have begun to show how these features are produced by a vocal motor system extending from forebrain to hindbrain levels and are encoded by peripheral and central auditory neurons. The abundance and variety of vocal fish present unique opportunities for parallel investigations of neural encoding, perception, and communication across a diversity of natural, acoustic habitats. As such, investigations in teleosts contribute to our delineating the evolution of the vocal and auditory systems of both non-mammalian and mammalian species, including humans.
Climatic Shifts in the Availability of Contested Waters: A Long-Term Perspective from the Headwaters of the North Platte River

Early summer snowmelt from mountains in northern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming supplies the North Platte River, supporting nationally important agriculture, energy production, and urban develop...
STM investigation of hot bromine atom chemistry on Pt(111)

The corrosive adsorption of Br atoms on Pt(111) was studied by variable temperature STM, TPD, and AES. Photoinduced dissociative electron attachment to adsorbed CH3Br at 193 nm was used to dose hot Br anions onto the surface of 90 K. Br formed two ordered structures on Pt(111): (3 X 3) and ((root)3 X (root)3) R30 degree(s). STM images show that both structures coexist at intermediate coverages. Photofragmentation of CH3Br produced monovacancies on the Pt(111) surface which were attributed to abstractive attack by the hot Br anions. The initial monovacancy etching efficiency of the adsorbing Br anions was high, roughly 33%.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Inhibition of DNA synthesis in harding-passey melanoma cells by prostaglandins A1 and A2: Comparison with chemotherapeutic agents

Abstract PGA 1 and PGA 2 significantly depressed melanoma cell DNA synthesis and cell proliferation in a dose related fashion. Inhibition of DNA synthesis was rapid in onset (0.5–1 hr) and sustained (12 hr). This was not due to general cytotoxicity or depression of substrate uptake. Comparison with known cancer chemotherapeutic agent revealed PGA 1 and PGA 2 effectiveness on a molar basis exceeded that of Adriamycin, cyclophosphamide and hydroxyurea. Actinomycin D, Mutamycin and 5-fluorouracil were more potent than PGA 1 and PGA 2 but consideration of their toxicities may outweigh this point. The findings suggest that the A series prostaglandins or their analogs may be efficacious in cancer chemotherapy.