cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Manufacturing Cottage Cheese with Pairs of Single-Strain Cultures of Lactic Streptococci

Summary Twenty single-strain cultures of lactic streptococci, with different bacteriophage sensitivities, were isolated, studied, and used successfully in manufacturing cottage cheese commercially. Three considerations in arranging the cultures in pairs for use in manufacturing cheese were acid production, antibiotic resistance, and strain compatibility. Four pairs (eight cultures) were used successively in a four-day rotation; each week one pair was replaced by fresh samples of the same cultures. The six reserve pairs (12 cultures) were held in lyophilized form for substitution when examination of composite samples of whey at 2-wk. intervals indicated the presence of a bacteriophage active against one of the cultures in use. The following advantages resulted from using the pairs of single-strain cultures as described: (1) Bacteriophage action was avoided; (3) floating curd was eliminated; (3) losses in labor and skimmilk from retarded production of acid were decreased; (4) cottage cheese quality was more uniform, and (5) yield of cottage cheese from skimmilk was increased slightly.
The role of prefrontal cortex in working-memory capacity, executive attention, and general fluid intelligence: An individual-differences perspective

We provide an “executive-attention” framework for organizing the cognitive neuroscience research on the constructs of working-memory capacity (WMC), general fluid intelligence, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) function. Rather than provide a novel theory of PFC function, we synthesize a wealth of singlecell, brain-imaging, and neuropsychological research through the lens of our theory of normal individual differences in WMC and attention control (Engle, Kane, & Tuholski, 1999; Engle, Tuholski, Laughlin, & Conway, 1999). Our critical review confirms the prevalent view that dorsolateral PFC circuitry is critical to executive-attention functions. Moreover, although the dorsolateral PFC is but one critical structure in a network of anterior and posterior “attention control” areas, it does have a unique executiveattention role in actively maintaining access to stimulus representations and goals in interference-rich contexts. Our review suggests the utility of an executive-attention framework for guiding future research on both PFC function and cognitive control.
Optimizing Distributed Application Performance Using Dynamic Grid Topology-Aware Load Balancing

Grid computing offers a model for solving large-scale scientific problems by uniting computational resources owned by multiple organizations to form a single cohesive resource for the duration of individual jobs. Despite the appeal of using grid computing to solve large problems, its use has been hindered by the challenges involved in developing applications that can run efficiently in grid environments. One substantial obstacle to deploying grid applications across geographically distributed resources is cross-site latency. While certain classes of applications, such as master-slave style or functional decomposition type applications, lend themselves well to running in grid environments due to inherent latency tolerance, other classes of applications, such as tightly-coupled applications in which each processor regularly communicates with its neighboring processors, represent a significant challenge to deployment on grids. In this paper, we present a dynamic load balancing technique for grid applications based on graph partitioning. This technique exploits knowledge of the topology of the grid environment to partition the computation's communication graph in such a way as to reduce the volume of cross-site communication, thus improving the performance of tightly-coupled applications that are co-allocated across distributed resources. Our technique is particularly well suited to codes from disciplines like molecular dynamics or cosmology due to the non-uniform structure of communication in these types of applications. We evaluate the effectiveness of our technique when used to optimize the execution of a tightly-coupled classical molecular dynamics code called LeanMD deployed in a grid environment.
Control-relevant curvefitting for plant-friendly multivariable system identification

A control-relevant parameter estimation algorithm is developed in this paper for curvefitting empirical transfer function estimates (ETFEs) with orthogonal (i.e., zippered) frequency grids to discrete-time parametric matrix fraction description models. Such ETFEs arise from DFT analysis of identification data generated from constrained, plant-friendly multisine inputs as developed by the authors' previous work. This curvefitter minimizes model estimation error using pre/post frequency-dependent weighting matrices as functions of the closed-loop dynamics. The control-relevant multivariable parameter estimation procedure is illustrated with an example case study based on the Shell heavy oil fractionator problem.
The Impact of Terrorism Fears on Downtown Real Estate Chicago Office Market Cycles

Executive Summary. This paper identifies the cyclical patterns of an office market under potential terrorism threat by comparing vacancy rates and rent per square foot trends before and after September 11, 2001. This study goes beyond identifying general market trends and focuses specifically on office trends among trophy, Class A, and Class B buildings in Chicago. The findings indicate that trophy buildings were severely impacted by 9/11 and did not recover until the end of 2005. Class A buildings were also significantly impacted, although less than the trophy buildings, while Class B experienced even less of an impact. In general, the Chicago office market cycles were estimated to be between 6.4 (sublease vacancy of Class B buildings) and 13 years (total vacancy of Class A buildings).
The struggle for the future of public housing in Memphis, Tennessee: Reflections on HUD's choice neighborhoods planning program

Abstract This paper critically examines the Choice Neighborhoods Planning Initiative that was carried out in the Vance Avenue Neighborhood in Memphis Tennessee (USA). It tells the story of the involvements of a coalition of 25 neighborhood organizations in partnership with the City and Regional Planning (CRP) Department at the University of Memphis – called the Vance Avenue Collaborative (VAC) – in the CN Planning Initiative. Launched in 2011 with significant community support, the CN Planning Initiative ended in 2013 with a resident-led oppositional planning effort that challenged the institutional plan. The VAC story explores some of the pitfalls that might arise in institutionally-created spaces for citizen participation, by revealing the broad range of tactics used by public officials to marginalize democratic citizen participation. Based on the issues that emerged during the CN Planning Initiative, the VAC created alternative strategies to respond to those generated through institutional planning. These counter-strategies, framed in Advocacy Planning and Action Research approaches were able to secure some important achievements along the way and might be useful for communities within publicly sponsored urban revitalization efforts.
Thresholds for /sup 116/Sn(p,n) and /sup 118/Sn(p,n)

The /sup 116/Sn(p,n) and /sup 118/Sn(p,n) thick-target integrated cross sections were measured up to about 100 keV above the thresholds and fitted by the Hauser--Feshbach statistical theory. It is shown for these nuclei that the familiar plot of the thick-target yield to the two-thirds power is not valid, except for an impractical region very near threshold. It is also shown that ..gamma..-ray emission dominates over neutron and proton emission for more than 100 keV above each threshold. The deduced thresholds are 5531 +- 6 keV for /sup 116/Sn and 4477 +- 3 keV for /sup 118/Sn. The corresponding Q values, 5483 +- 6 keV and 4439 +- 3 keV, disagree with values from the literature.
The Promoting Psychological Well-Being Globally Project: Approach to Data Collection and Analysis

This chapter presents the research methodology of the Promoting Psychological Well-Being Globally project. The project was initiated as a joint effort of the International School Psychology Association and Society for the Study of School Psychology and through collaboration among school and educational psychologists from 12 countries: Brazil, Estonia, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the USA. Each country included one local community with the exception of the USA where three sites representing different ethnic/racial populations were included Boston, Massachusetts; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; New Orleans, Louisiana. Each research partner collected data within their respective local sites, using a standard set of procedures for recruitment, data collection, and data analysis. Student participants in each site numbered between 48 and 64, with a minimum of 16 students for each of primary, middle, and secondary school levels. Data collection methods for students included focus groups, ecomaps (graphic representation of stress–support networks), and narratives of stressful and supportive experiences. Data also were collected from adult stakeholders (parents, teachers, school administrators, and support staff) through focus groups or individual interviews. However, the focus of the book is on data collected from children and adolescent samples, so only few chapters include adult findings. We describe the study objectives, participants across sites, and procedures for negotiating partnerships in local contexts, recruiting participants, and securing institutional approval and informed consents. Procedures for data collection, analysis, and trustworthiness also are detailed. Unless indicated in respective chapters (Chaps. 3–16), all sites followed the procedures outlined in this chapter.
The Analysis and Study of Premarital Rate and Disease Detection

Objective To analyze the antemarital examination data of Guangzhou city Panyu District in 2008-2012 years,and the rate of premarital medical examination were discussed and disease prevalence of premarital examination,increase the propaganda dynamics,paving the way for the premarital examination work further,increase checkups,so as to reduce deformity rate of perinatal infants.Methods Statistical analysis was done on the Panyu District 2008-2012 years of premarital examination results.Results Since the Guangzhou City Hall in April 1,2007 began to premarital examination included in the public health service system,since the introduction of free premarital check-ups rate,Panyu District has a rising trend year by year,the total rate of premarital medical examination in 22.81% from 2008 to 2012,the total check-ups rate reached 54.53%.Several kinds of diseases were found have regularity,from 2008 to 2012 since the reproductive system disease detection rate declined,and the specified number of infectious patients increased,the rest of the system based on stable disease.Perinatal malformation is slightly increasing trend.Conclusion The pre-marital examination included in the public health service system,free checkups since the premarital examination rate has increased,but not ideal,must take effective measures,strengthen the premarital examination work,further improve the premarital examination rate,reduce deformity rate of perinatal infants.
RF channelizer architectures using 3-way iterative down conversion for concurrent or fast-switching spectrum analysis

A wide-band RF channelizer architecture using the concept of 3-way iterative down-conversion is introduced. An example RF channelizer implementation splits the input spectrum of 0.6---9 GHz into 7 channels each with a 1.2 GHz bandwidth. This RF channelizer implementation has the ability of concurrently down-converting 3 channels enabling multi-Gbps aggregate data reception. It further demonstrates the ability to rapidly switch from receiving one channel to another which is crucial for rapid spectrum analysis. A prototype of the RF channelizer has been fabricated in a 65 nm standard CMOS process. A 400 Mbps (BPSK) data reception has been demonstrated by down-converting two channels concurrently. Channel switching can be as fast as 8 ns and is always faster than $$1\,\upmu s$$1μs. The chip occupies an area of 2 mm $$\times$$? 1 mm and consumes an average power of 435 mW while offering a dynamic range between 58 and 63 dB.
Magnus-induced dynamics of driven skyrmions on a quasi-one-dimensional periodic substrate

We numerically examine driven skyrmions interacting with a periodic quasi-one-dimensional substrate where the driving force is applied either parallel or perpendicular to the substrate periodicity direction. For perpendicular driving, the particles in a purely overdamped system simply slide along the substrate minima; however, for skyrmions where the Magnus force is relevant, we find that a rich variety of dynamics can arise. In the single skyrmion limit, the skyrmion motion is locked along the driving or longitudinal direction for low drives, while at higher drives a transition occurs to a state in which the skyrmion moves both transverse and longitudinal to the driving direction. Within the longitudinally locked phase we find a pronounced speedup effect that occurs when the Magnus force aligns with the external driving force, while at the transition to transverse and longitudinal motion, the skyrmion velocity drops, producing negative differential conductivity. For collectively interacting skyrmion assemblies, the speedup effect is still present and we observe a number of distinct dynamical phases, including a sliding smectic phase, a disordered or moving liquid phase, a moving hexatic phase, and a moving crystal phase. The transitions between the dynamic phases produce distinct features in the structure of the skyrmion lattice and in the velocity-force curves. We map these different phases as a function of the ratio of the Magnus term to the dissipative term, the substrate strength, the commensurability ratio, and the magnitude of the driving force.
Stigmatizing Reactions Versus General Negative Reactions to Partner Violence Disclosure as Predictors of Avoidance Coping and Depression

Despite increased attention to the relation between negative social reactions to intimate partner violence (IPV) disclosure and poorer mental health outcomes for victims, research has yet to examine whether certain types of negative social reactions are associated with poorer mental health outcomes more so than others. Furthermore, research is scarce on potential mediators of this relationship. To fill these gaps, the current study examines whether stigmatizing reactions to IPV disclosure, such as victim-blaming responses and minimizing experiences of IPV, are a specific type of negative social reaction that exerts greater influence on women's depressive symptoms than general negative reactions, such as being angry at the perpetrators of IPV. We also examine avoidance coping as a key mediator of this relationship. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted to examine these relationships. Participants were 212 women from an urban northeast community who indicated being physically victimized by their male partner in the past 6 months. Findings from a multiple regression analysis showed that stigmatizing reactions, not general negative reactions, predicted women's depressive symptoms. In addition, a multiple mediation analysis revealed that avoidance coping strategies, but not approach coping strategies, significantly accounted for the relationship between stigmatizing social reactions and women's depressive symptoms. Findings have implications for improving support from informal and formal sources and subsequently, IPV-exposed women's psychological well-being.
Semiclassical Transition-State Theory Based on Fourth-Order Vibrational Perturbation Theory: The Symmetrical Eckart Barrier.

Semiclassical transition-state theory based on fourth-order vibrational perturbation theory (VPT4-SCTST) is applied to compute the barrier transmission coefficient for the symmetric Eckart potential. For a barrier parametrized to mimic the H2 + H exchange reaction, the results obtained are in excellent agreement with exact quantum calculations over a range of energy that extends down to roughly 1% of the barrier height, V0, where tunneling is negligible. The VPT2-SCTST treatment, which is commonly used in chemical kinetics studies, also performs quite well but already shows an error of a few percent at ca. 0.8 V0 where tunneling is still important. This suggests that VPT4-SCTST could offer an improvement over VPT2-SCTST in applications studies. However, the computational effort for VPT4-SCTST treatments of molecules is excessive, and any improvement gained is unlikely to warrant the increased effort. Nevertheless, the treatment of the symmetric Eckart barrier problem here suggests a simple modification of...
Gerätespezifische und geräteübergreifende Authentifizierung

Verschiedene geratespezifische Sensoren bedingen unterschiedliche Daten und Datenqualitat. In diesem Kapitel wird analysiert, wie geratespezifisch das Authentifizierungsverfahren ist und ob es eine gerateubergreifende Authentifizierung, d. h. die Erkennung auf verschiedenen Geraten, ermoglicht.
Subband EEG complexity after global hypoxic-ischemic brain injury

Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury after cardiac arrest (CA) causes the main morbidity and mortality of the patients. The mechanism of HI neurological injury and its real time detection and monitoring have been extensively studied in the past years. The electroencephalogram (EEG) following CA has been investigated to provide a noninvasive monitoring strategy. In this present work, we studied the complexity of the EEG signal after HI injury. Sample entropy (SampEn) is applied to analyze the EEG in different frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha and beta). The "alpha vulnerability" in rhythmic complexity is observed, which indicated that among different EEG rhythmic subbands, alpha wave shows a distinct SampEn decrease during the early recovery period after HI injury. The alpha vulnerability is confirmed by our previous research on the vulnerability in thalamic somatosensory pathway. The results may help us develop means to restore electrical function recovery after HI.
The Mediating Roles of Coping, Sleep, and Anxiety Motives in Cannabis Use and Problems Among Returning Veterans With PTSD and MDD

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), the 2 most prevalent mental health disorders in the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, are at increased risk for cannabis use and problems including cannabis use disorder (CUD). The present study examined the relationship of PTSD and MDD with cannabis use frequency, cannabis problems, and CUD as well as the role of 3 coping-oriented cannabis use motives (coping with negative affect, situational anxiety, and sleep) that might underlie this relationship. Participants were veterans (N = 301) deployed post-9/11/2001 recruited from a Veterans Health Administration facility in the Northeast United States based on self-reported lifetime cannabis use. There were strong unique associations between PTSD and MDD and cannabis use frequency, cannabis problems, and CUD. Mediation analyses revealed the 3 motives accounted, in part, for the relationship between PTSD and MDD with 3 outcomes in all cases but for PTSD with cannabis problems. When modeled concurrently, sleep motives, but not situational anxiety or coping with negative affect motives, significantly mediated the association between PTSD and MDD with use. Together with coping motives, sleep motives also fully mediated the effects of PTSD and MDD on CUD and in part the effect of MDD on cannabis problems. Findings indicate the important role of certain motives for better understanding the relation between PTSD and MDD with cannabis use and misuse. Future work is needed to explore the clinical utility in targeting specific cannabis use motives in the context of clinical care for mental health and CUD. (PsycINFO Database Record
Neuropeptides: general characteristics and neuropharmaceutical potential in treating CNS disorders.

Earlier concepts of the neuroendocrine system integrated the regulatory functions of the nervous and endocrine systems, a concept that was developed from the understanding of hypothalamic control over the secretions of the anterior pituitary gland and pituitary control of its target endocrine organs. Demonstration of feedback controls, chiefly negative, furthered the argument for an intimate relationship between the nervous and endocrine systems. However, the role of the hypothalamic and pituitary hormones, all of which are peptides, is not restricted to their classical endocrine actions but extends to profound effects on the CNS. Experiments showing that adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) affects complex behavioral processes such as learning and memory in adrenalectomized rats, demonstrated clearly that this peptide was acting directly on CNS neurons, bypassing its endocrine target, the adrenal cortex. This concept of a direct action was extended to learning and memory in humans, as well as to the peripheral neuromuscular system through the use of synthetic fragments of ACTH devoid of adrenocortical-stimulating activity [1-4] (see sections 5.1.2 and 5.4).
Review: East LA Interchange

East LA Interchange Betsy Kalin, director Bluewater Media, Clearwater, Florida, 2015, 57 min. > The spirit in Boyle Heights cannot be broken by California planners. > > —tagline for East LA Interchange In her documentary film East LA Interchange , Betsy Kalin relates the litany of exclusionary federal laws and local planning decisions that over the past seventy-five years have had negative impacts on the people of Boyle Heights, a multiethnic working-class Los Angeles neighborhood just east of downtown. Told through archival images and interviews with current and previous residents and urban historians, the film in many ways presents a sweeping love story of a community that, before World War II, was considered the “Ellis Island of the West Coast” (Figure 1). Kalin positions Boyle Heights within the narrative of immigration and migration that fostered Los Angeles's complex social fabric. As the city witnessed remarkable population growth at the start of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights became a landing point for people from dozens of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. While some people found camaraderie with those most like themselves, others settled on city blocks in ways that were more likely to reflect multiplicity than homogeneity. Figure 1 Xavi Moreno in East LA Interchange (photo by Chris Chew/Bluewater Media © 2016). As the documentary makes clear, however, the community's historic integration was less a happenstance of American diversity than it was a direct result of racially restrictive covenants that barred members of most of the ethnic groups in Boyle Heights from buying or renting property in other parts of the city. These included African Americans and Latinos, often Asians, and sometimes Jewish, Italian, Armenian, Russian, and Polish populations, among others. With little choice regarding where to settle, these groups found their way to Boyle Heights. The result was in no way an example of “melting …
Organotin Piezo- and Pyroelectric Polymer Films

Since the early work on the piezoelectric effect in polymeric materials, many types of polymers have been shown to be piezoelectrically active. Of the synthetic polymers, poly-(vinylidene fluoride) (PVF2) in s and γ crystal forms, has the highest piezoelectric constant, d31 = (2 – 5) × 10-11 CN-1. The piezoelectricity in polymers may also be roughly related to the dielectric constant.2 The dielectric constant for PVF2 is 8.0 for the s and γ crystal forms. In the s and γ crystal forms the dipoles can be oriented to a sufficiently high degree, whereas in the α crystal form the chain has a small dipole moment, the overall dipole moment in a unit cell is zero, and no piezoelectric activity is found.
Cardiovascular Diseases, Obesity, and Lifestyle Changes

Abstract Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for about one in four deaths with coronary heart disease (CHD) being responsible for over a third of a million deaths per year. While physical inactivity has been reported as a leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the United States, only about 20% of adults meet the minimum aerobic physical activity guidelines. This coupled with the consumption of high-caloric and dense fatty diets and sugary juices and soda has resulted in increase in obesity and related metabolic syndrome and ardent risk factors of heart diseases. In this chapter, we provide an overview of obesity and associated conditions and examined the cross-sectional distribution and correlates of major cardiovascular disease risk factors. In addition, we report the effect of preventive measures including physical activity and low-salt, low-fat diet on coronary heart disease risk reduction in a high-risk population.
Annotating picture description task responses for content analysis.

Given that all users of a language can be creative in their language usage, the overarching goal of this work is to investigate issues of variability and acceptability in written text, for both non-native speakers (NNSs) and native speakers (NSs). We control for meaning by collecting a dataset of picture description task (PDT) responses from a number of NSs and NNSs, and we define and annotate a handful of features pertaining to form and meaning, to capture the multi-dimensional ways in which responses can vary and can be acceptable. By examining the decisions made in this corpus development, we highlight the questions facing anyone working with learner language properties like variability, acceptability and native-likeness. We find reliable inter-annotator agreement, though disagreements point to difficult areas for establishing a link between form and meaning.
1,2,5-Oxadiazines and 1,2,5-Thiadiazines

This chapter covers aspects of the chemistry of 1-oxa-2,5-diazines and 1-thia-2,5-diazines and their benzo analogs. Included are some limited examples of application of computational methods and X-ray analysis, and selected IR, UV, and NMR spectroscopic data. Reaction coverage includes examples of acylations and nitrosations at ring nitrogen, acid-induced ring cleavage of oxadiazinanes to the corresponding aminohydroxylamines, zinc reductions of oxadiazinanes to 1,3-diamines, electrochemical S–N bond cleavage of anhydro-2-azacephams to give azetidine derivatives, and some examples of base-induced isomerizations of benzo-1-thia-2,5-diazines to benzo-1,2,4-triazines. Synthetic methods covered include syntheses of oxadiazinanes via cycloaddition of nitrones and allylic amines, preparation of benzothiadiazines via intramolecular cyclizations of hydroxamic acids and oxidative cyclization of thiocarbamides, and preparation of oxadiazines via condensation of 2,3-dione oximes with ketones and ring expansion reactions of N-methyloxadiazolium salts.
Adolescent Attraction to Cults.

This article details the reasons behind adolescents' attraction to cults. It is recommended that parents, teachers, and counselors familiarize themselves with the warning signs. Suggestions are offered on how to make adolescents less vulnerable to cult overtures.
Iterator-Based Optimization of Imperfectly-Nested Loops

Effective optimization of dense array codes often depends upon the selection of the appropriate execution order for the iterations of nested loops. Tools based on the Polyhedral Model have demonstrated dramatic success in performing such optimizations on many such codes, but others remain an area of active research, leaving programmers to optimize code in other ways. Bertolacci et. al demonstrated that programmer-defined iterators can be used to explore iteration-space reorderings, and that Cray's compiler for the Chapel language can optimize such codes to be competitive with polyhedral tools. This "iterator-based" approach allows programmers to explore iteration orderings not identified by automatic optimizers, but was only demonstrated for perfectly-nested loops, and lacked any system for warning about an iterator that would produce an incorrect result. We have now addressed these shortcomings of iterator-based loop optimization, and explored the use of our improved techniques to optimize the imperfectly-nested loops that form the core of Nussinov's algorithm for RNA secondary-structure prediction. Our C++ iterator provides performance that equals the fastest C code, several times faster than was achieved by using the same C compiler on the code with the original iteration ordering, or the code produced by the Pluto loop optimizer. Our Chapel iterators produce run-time that is competitive with the equivalent iterator-free Chapel code, though the Chapel performance does not equal that of the C/C++ code. We have also implemented an iterator that produces an incorrect-but-fast version of Nussinov's algorithm, and used this iterator to illustrate our approaches to error-detection. Manual application of our compile-time error-detection algorithm (which has yet to be integrated into a compiler) identifies this error, as does the run-time approach that we use for codes on which the static test proves inconclusive.
An Ensemble Learning Approach to the Predictive Stability of Echo State Networks

This paper demonstrates the inherent capacity of the ensemble learning approach to stabilize the notoriously difficult to tune echo state network (ESN) learning machines. ESN learning machines belong to a class of recurrent neural networks made popular because of their ability to perform predictively well on time series data. However, for any given task, building the corresponding optimal ESN is notoriously hard because of the instability of the tuning process. In this paper, we harness the high predictive variance by building ensembles made up of lightly tuned ESNs, and then combining those ESNs (base learners) rather than seeking the daunting task of selecting a single one. Throughout this paper, all our examples consistently demonstrate substantial reductions in average prediction error as a result of using the aggregate learning machine in place of the single one.
Burrowing fishes: Kinematics, morphology and phylogeny of sand‐diving wrasses (Labridae)

Burrowing through the substrate is a common behaviour in many organisms, both invertebrate and vertebrate. Sand-diving, a burrowing behaviour in the fish family Labridae, consists of a quick and forceful headfirst plunge into the sediment followed by undulatory axial body movements until the fish is completely concealed beneath the surface. This study determined that sand-diving of the slippery dick wrasse Halichoeres bivittatus is composed of two distinct phases of undulatory axial body movements. In the first phase, body undulations occur at high frequencies and wave speeds and low amplitudes, while in the second phase, frequencies and wave speeds decrease while amplitude increases. Furthermore, this study examined several morphological features of sand-diving labrids, including narrow, elongated bodies and lengthened neural spines that overlap with the dorsal pterygiophores, that may be anatomical traits that contribute to burrowing ability. Finally, ancestral state reconstruction showed that sand-diving occurs exclusively in the upper half of the labrid phylogenetic tree with an evolutionary history indicating that sand-diving may have evolved once and then been lost three to five times or may have evolved independently at least three times in family Labridae.
Plumage Changes in Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) within the Breeding Season: The Risks of Aging by Plumage

Scant attention has been given to the molting patterns of known-age Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). In general, subadult individuals are identified with a tan, buffy or mottled chest, and adults are identified with a black chest. While studying Double-crested Cormorant population dynamics in Ontario, Canada, with known-age birds, it was noted that the plumage of many (> 75%) breeding adults changed from black to heavily mottled during the course of the breeding season. No pattern with age was observed; plumage changed in equal proportions for all ages from 2-year-olds to 7-year-olds. A similar but reverse pattern has been observed with Double-crested Cormorants roosting at sites in the southeastern USA during fall migration. Whereas the majority of the roost had juvenile/subadult plumage in September, by mid-January the roost had shifted to 75% adult black plumage. The mechanism behind the plumage change is unknown, but extreme caution is advised when using plumage to age cormorants, especially during the winter months. By describing our observations with Double-crested Cormorants, we hope to encourage future formal research on within-season plumage changes.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia presenting as branch retinal artery occlusion and optic disc infiltration.

A previously healthy 52-year-old man presented to the emergency department with acute painless vision loss in the inferior visual field of his left eye. Review of systems was positive for daily headaches over the past 3 months but otherwise negative for neurological symptoms. Bedside examination was notable for a visual acuity of 20/40 in addition to a relative afferent pupillary defect in the left eye. Initial fundus examination revealed optic disc oedema, which appeared infiltrative, in addition to superior retinal whitening (figure 1). Subsequent fluorescein angiography showed a superior branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO, figure 2A). Optical coherence tomography angiography confirmed superior retinal capillary non-perfusion with arteriolar narrowing at the optic disc border (figure 2B). Figure 1 Fundus photograph of the left eye showing superior and nasal optic disc oedema with apparent leukaemic infiltration, peripapillary haemorrhages and superior retinal whitening. Figure 2 (A) Arteriovenous phase fluorescein …
Design and Preliminary Assessment of Lightweight Swing-Assist Knee Prosthesis

This paper presents the design and control of a lightweight swing assist (SA) knee prosthesis. The SA knee relies on passive stability to provide support during the stance phase of walking and incorporates a small motor and battery to actively assist the knee motion during the swing phase. A prototype SA knee was constructed and experimentally evaluated on a single transfemoral amputee. The experiments consisted of treadmill walking at three speeds, first on a dailyuse passive prosthesis and subsequently on the SA prosthesis prototype, while recording motion capture and ground reaction force data from which prosthesis knee kinematics and affectedside hip torque were computed. A comparison of the passive daily-use prosthesis and the SA prosthesis indicates that the SA prosthesis provides more consistent and repeatable knee motion and reduces pre-swing peak hip torque across all walking speeds.
Leon A. Pastalan (1930–2018)

Leon (Lee) Pastalan, the founder and the first editor of Journal of Housing for the Elderly, died on May 8, 2018, in Hambourg Township, Michigan. This Special Issue is dedicated to his memory.Dr. P...
National and landscape parks as a part of sustainable regional development in Northern Poland

Sustainable development at a local and regional level depends on many factors. One of them, strictly related to biodiversity conservation and proper ecosystem functioning, is the presence of such protected areas as national (NP) and landscape (LP) parks in the region. Such forms of nature conservation are established in places of high environmental values. However, this also means restrictions and prohibitions that may limit possibility of local development. The main aim of the research is an attempt to study an influence of LP and NP on socio-economic development of communes in three provinces in the north of Poland (Western Pomerania, Pomerania, Warmia and Mazury). The results of examination survey sent to local authorities were used in the research. The results are ambiguous and may depend on the location of a particular park. Moreover, the majority of research respondents did not believe that the presence of such protected areas have a strong negative impact on communes, the local development and also pointed to some benefits related to NP and LP, like enhancing tourist attractiveness of the area.
20 Organizational, Product and Corporate Demography

This chapter reviews and explores the use of demographic ideas, models and data in the study of organizations, products and corporations. The chapter discusses four different frameworks analysts use to study these topics, but concentrates on internal organizational demography and corporate demography, as these are more active areas. Within corporate demography, attention is focused on theoretical models of inertia/change, age-dependent mortality, density dependence, resource partitioning and competition. Contributions have been both theoretical and empirical and show notable cumulativity over time. The domains of organization, products and corporations show many opportunities for demographers to apply and extend their analyses of populations and life events.
Unbiased Metabolic Profiling Uncovers a Crucial Role for the Microbial Metabolite Butyrate in Modulating GI Epithelial Cell Damage from Gvhd

Alterations in the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota have recently been implicated in the severity of graft versus host disease (GVHD). While most studies are focused on annotating the distinct microbial taxonomic compositions and/or the recognition of bacterial molecules by the immune system, little is known about the microbial metabolite composition (crucial for achieving the effects of the microbiota) on the GI epithelium and immune responses after allogeneic BMT. In order to profile the microbial metabolite composition in an unbiased way following allogeneic BMT, weutilized a clinically relevant MHC disparate (B6→BALB/c) model of GVHD and determined the metabolites by performing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) in a blinded manner. The syngeneic (BALB/c→BALB/c) animals and the naive untransplanted, age-matched BALB/c animals treated with similar diet, served as controls. We made the surprising observation that on day +7 (relative to transplant) there were no statistically significant differences in either the luminal contents of the small bowel or large bowel or in the plasma and spleens of the allogeneic animals when compared to the control animals. However, the short chain fatty acids (SCFA) derived from the microbiota, specifically butyrate, was significantly less only in the intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) of allo-recipients (P Further, immunophenotype analyses of the donor T cells in the GI tract and the spleen on day +7 and +21 demonstrated a significant decrease in the total number of activated donor T cells (CD4+CD69+ & CD4+CD44hi) and an increase in the ratio of donor T regulatory cells (FoxP3+/CD44hi+) only on day +21 and not day +7, suggesting that this could be an indirect consequence of the reduction of IEC damage by butyrate observed at earlier time-point, day +7. Consistent with these observations, butyrate treatment resulted in the increased survival of the allogeneic animals (P Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Pet Ownership Protects Against Recurrence of Clostridioides difficile Infection.

Background Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated and health care-associated diarrhea in humans. Recurrent CDI (R-CDI) occurs in ~20%-30% of patients with CDI and results in increased morbidity, mortality, and hospital costs. Genomic analyses have shown overlap of C. difficile isolates from animals and people, suggesting that a zoonotic reservoir may contribute to recurrence. The objective of this study was to determine whether pet ownership is a risk factor for recurrence of CDI. Methods We conducted a case-control study among patients with recurrent CDI (cases; n = 86) and patients with nonrecurrent CDI (controls; n = 146). Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to determine the association between recurrence of CDI and pet ownership while accounting for patient-level risk factors. Results Pet ownership was not significantly associated with recurrence of CDI (odds ratio [OR], 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-2.72; P = 0.965) among all patients (n = 232). However, among the subset of patients with community-associated or community-onset health care facility-acquired CDI (n = 127), increasing contact with pets was increasingly protective against recurrence: for every point increase in a pet contact score (out of 7 possible points), the odds of recurrence decreased by 14% (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.74-1.00; P = 0.051). Conclusions Close interactions with pets appear protective against the recurrence of community-acquired CDI. A potential mechanism may involve beneficial contributions to the microbiota of pet owners afflicted with CDI, as has been observed for other conditions such as atopy, obesity, and food allergies. However, more research is needed to understand the interactions between pets, owners, and their microbiota.
Using “Big Data” to Capture Overall Health Status: Properties and Predictive Value of a Claims-Based Health Risk Score

BACKGROUND: Investigators across many fields often struggle with how best to capture an individual's overall health status, with options including both subjective and objective measures. With the increasing availability of "big data," researchers can now take advantage of novel metrics of health status. These predictive algorithms were initially developed to forecast and manage expenditures, yet they represent an underutilized tool that could contribute significantly to health research. In this paper, we describe the properties and possible applications of one such "health risk score," the DxCG Intelligence tool. METHODS: We link claims and administrative datasets on a cohort of U.S. workers during the period 1996-2011 (N = 14,161). We examine the risk score's association with incident diagnoses of five disease conditions, and we link employee data with the National Death Index to characterize its relationship with mortality. We review prior studies documenting the risk score's association with other health and non-health outcomes, including healthcare utilization, early retirement, and occupational injury. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We find that the risk score is associated with outcomes across a variety of health and non-health domains. These examples demonstrate the broad applicability of this tool in multiple fields of research and illustrate its utility as a measure of overall health status for epidemiologists and other health researchers. Language: en
μ Problem, SO(10) Susy Gut and Heavy Gluino LSP

we present a solution to the μ problem in an SO(10) supersymmetric grand unified (SUSY GUT) model with gauge mediated (GMSB) and D-term supersymmetry breaking. A Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is broken at the messenger scale and enables the generation of the μ term. The invisible axion (Goldstone boson of PQ symmetry breaking) is a cold dark matter candidate. At low energy, our model leads to a phenomenologically acceptable version of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) with novel particle phenomenology. Either the gluino or the gravitino is the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). The phenomenological constraints on the model result in a Higgs with mass ~ 86 – 91 GeV and tan β ~ 9 – 14.
Role of Maternal Laparoscopy in Fetal Surgery

Abstract Introduction: Fetal surgery is an evolving field that includes fetoscopic entry into the uterus for conditions such as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, severe congenital diaphragmatic he...
Circulating osteopontin released by injured kidneys causes pulmonary inflammation and edema

Abstract Multiorgan failure is devastating, and its mechanisms and mediators are not clear. Tissue injury in one organ appears to trigger disease in remote organs. Kidney and lung are frequently affected, such as when acute kidney injury (AKI) causes acute lung injury (ALI), a frequent clinical condition with high mortality. Here we identify factors secreted from the injured kidney that cause acute lung injury. We developed a murine model mimicking the generation of respiratory failure following acute kidney injury. To identify interorgan crosstalk mediators involved, we performed scRNAseq of mouse kidneys and lungs after AKI. We then applied ligand-receptor (L-R) pairing analysis across cells residing in kidney (ligands) or lung (receptors) to identify kidney-released circulating osteopontin (OPN) as a novel mediator of AKI-induced ALI (AKI-ALI). OPN release very early after AKI largely from tubule cells triggered neutrophil and macrophage infiltration into lungs associated with endothelial leakage, interstitial edema, and functional impairment. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of OPN prevented AKI-ALI. Transplantation of ischemic wt kidneys into wt mice caused AKI-ALI, while transplantation of ischemic OPN-global-knockout kidneys failed to induce lung endothelial leakage and AKI-ALI, identifying circulating kidney-released OPN as sufficient to cause AKI-ALI in vivo. We show that AKI in humans results in elevations in OPN levels in the serum. Increased serum OPN levels in patients with multiorgan failure have been shown to positively correlate with reduced kidney function, respiratory failure, and mortality. Thus, our results identifying OPN as a mediator of AKI-ALI may have important therapeutic implications in human AKI-ALI and multiorgan failure.
Bouncing Out of the Banking System: An Empirical Analysis of Involuntary Bank Account Closures

Banks closed over 30 million debit/checking consumer accounts involuntarily in 2001-2005 for excessive overdrafts, with these former bank customers having limited or no subsequent access to the formal banking system. Using a new county-level database, we analyze the determinants of these involuntary account closures, focusing on explanations relating to household economics and financial decision making ability, social capital, bank policies, and credit access through payday lending. Involuntary closures are more frequent in counties with a larger fraction of single mothers, lower education levels, lower wealth, and higher rates of unemployment. Social capital also matters, with closures higher in counties with higher rates of property crime and lower rates of electoral participation. Bank policies relate to closures, with more closures in counties with more competitive banking markets and more multi-market banks. Finally, using national data and a natural experiment, we find that access to payday lending leads to higher rates of involuntary account closure.
The Hormonal Control of the Directional Growth of Pollen Tubes

Publisher Summary In flowering plants the pollen tube serves as the vehicle for transporting the sperm to the egg. Prior to fertilization, a pollen tube grows through as much as 50 cm of tissue and then discharges from its tip two nonmotile sperm in the immediate vicinity of an unfertilized egg. The research reviewed in this paper is directed to the question “How does the pollen tube grow unerringly to its destination?”. Pollen tube chemotropism is related to a second kind of reaction system found throughout the plant kingdom. The chapter attempts to consider all reports directly pertinent to pollen tube chemotropism. The chapter is concerned mainly with the evidence that the pollen tube is directed in its growth by u hormone present in the gynoecium.