cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using input process indicators for dynamic decision making

In a continually changing environment, a simulation study that integrates the activities of data collection, model analysis and decision making has some distinct advantages. In this paper, we look at simulation project dynamics from a high level, and we examine some ways to integrate these activities. From this perspective, the processes used to drive a simulation model are forecasts of environmental changes, and the parameters for the models of these processes are viewed as leading indicators. A simple decision-making scenario having some of the characteristics of semiconductor manufacturing is used to illustrate the ideas.
A role of calcium ions in chemical induction of mating in Paramecium tetraurelia

SYNOPSIS. Conjugation in Paramecium tetraurelia can be induced within mating-reactive cultures of a single mating type by treating the cells with solutions of KC1 + acriflavine in culture medium low in Ca2+. Gene mutations with known physiologic effect were used as selective inhibitors of cell surface membrane function to see which functions are necessary for chemical induction of conjugation. The results strongly suggest that a transient increase in the internal concentration of calcium at the very beginning of chemical induction is a necessary but not sufficient step.
Technology Usage Among Community College Faculty

Community colleges are increasing their use of part-time faculty who are taking a leading role in utilizing technology for instructional purposes. Part-time faculty are less likely than their full-time counterparts to use technology for instructional purposes and are less likely to teach non-face-to-face classes. For community colleges to be successful in expanding technology-based education, they must promote technology use by all faculty. This quantitative, national study reports factors found to predict faculty use of technology for instructional purposes.
Mapping prairie remnants on the Hempstead Plains, Long Island, New York

The Hempstead Plains, located in Nassau County, New York, contains remnants of the only naturally occurring prairie east of the Appalachian Mountains. It originally encompassed approximately 12,500 ha. Although the area receives higher amounts of rainfall for a typical tall-grass prairie ecosystem, approximately 114 cm of precipitation per year, its well-drained, dark-colored soil sited above glacial outwash, available natural seed bank, and history of fires enabled development of a tall-grass prairie. This study identified prairie remnants within the historical extent of the Hempstead Plains delineated by the 1928 soil survey from the United States Department of Agriculture. Image analysis of infrared color 8-bit orthophotographs was used for an unsupervised classification on a 156-ha primary study area containing a known prairie remnant, centered on the Red Golf Course at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. The resulting 16 classes were combined into six more general classes before undergoing an error assessment based on field and orthoimagery ground-truthing of 1,000 random points. As confirmed by site visits, analysis was generally able to distinguish prairie grass from non-native grasses using remote sensing, as native warm-season prairie grasses are dormant from late fall to early spring. Overall accuracy for the six classes was 89 %. Accuracy of the warm-season grass class was 81 % for producer’s accuracy and 83 % for user’s accuracy. This study identified additional sites containing warm-season grasses and potential prairie remnants in Nassau County.
Cognitive improvement following benzodiazepine discontinuation in elderly nursing home residents

In a controlled study, benzodiazepine treatment was gradually discontinued from a group of elderly nursing home residents. In comparison with similar residents who continued on benzodiazepines, measures of memory and cognitive functioning showed significant improvement following discontinuance. There was no associated increase in anxiety, agitation, or sleeplessness. These data are consistent with previous observations suggesting that benzodiazepines impair cognitive function in the elderly and further indicate that such impairment is reversible upon benzodiazepine discontinuance.
Adverse Childhood Exposures and Reported Child Health at Age 12

Objective The relationship between adverse childhood exposures and poor health, illness, and somatic complaints at age 12 was examined. Methods LONGSCAN (Consortium for Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect) tracks a group of children with variable risk for maltreatment. Of the participating child-caregiver dyads, 805 completed an interview when the child was age 4 or age 6, as well as interviews at age 8 and 12. The relationships between 8 categories of childhood adversity (psychological maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, child neglect, caregiver's substance/alcohol use, caregiver's depressive symptoms, caregiver's being treated violently, and criminal behavior in the household) and child health at age 12 were analyzed. The impact of adversity in the first 6 years of life and adversity in the second 6 years of life on child health were compared. Results Only 10% of the children had experienced no adversity, while more than 20% had experienced 5 or more types of childhood adversity. At age 12, 37% of the children sampled had some health complaint. Exposure to 5 or more adversities, particularly exposure in the second 6 years of life, was significantly associated with increased risks of any health complaint (odds ratio [OR] 2.24, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.02–4.96), an illness requiring a doctor (OR 3.69, 95% CI 1.02–15.1), and caregivers' reports of child's somatic complaints (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.14–1.0). There was no association between adverse exposures and self-rated poor health or self-rated somatic complaints. Conclusions A comprehensive assessment of children's health should include a careful history of their past exposure to adverse conditions and maltreatment. Interventions aimed at reducing these exposures may result in better child health.
Taken to School: An Interview with the Honorable Judge John E. Jones, III

I once had a post-doctoral fellow who, upon discovering we had grown up a quarter mile from each other in a small town in Pennsylvania, commented on our shared experience with, “Well, you know what they say about Pennsylvania? There's Philadelphia, there's Pittsburgh, and there's the state of Alabama in between.” That blunt assessment (attributable to James Carville) certainly resonated when I first read about the Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District case in late 2004.
Investigation of mammographic breast density as a risk factor for ovarian cancer.

Results Compared with women with scattered fibroglandular densities, women with heterogeneously dense and extremely dense breast tissue had 20% and 18% increased 5-year risk of incident epithelial ovarian cancer (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06 to 1.36; HR = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.93 to 1.50, respectively; Ptrend = .01). Among women aged 50 to 59 years, we observed a trend in elevated risk associated with increased breast density (Ptrend = .02); women with heterogeneously and extremely dense breast tissue had 30% (HR = 1.30; 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.64) and 65% (HR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.12 to 2.44) increased risk, respectively, compared with women with scattered fibroglandular densities. The pattern was similar but not statistically significant at age 40 to 49 years. There were no consistent patterns of breast density and ovarian cancer risk at age 60 to 79 years. Conclusions Dense breast tissue was associated with a modest increase in 5-year ovarian cancer risk in women aged 50 to 59 years but was not associated with ovarian cancer at ages 40 to 49 or 60 to 79 years.
Halothane hepatitis patients have serum antibodies that react with protein disulfide isomerase

Clinical and laboratory evidence suggests that the fulminant liver failure sometimes associated with the inhalation anesthetic halothane may be an immunemediated toxicity. Most importantly, the vast majority of patients with a clinical diagnosis of halothane hepatitis have serum antibodies, which react with one or more specific liver microsomal proteins that have been covalently altered by the trifluoroacetyl chloride metabolite of halothane. The serum antibodies are specific to halothane hepatitis patients and are not seen in sera of patients with other types of liver pathology. In this study, a 57-kD trifluoroacetylated liver microsomal neoantigen associated with halothane hepatitis and native 57-kD protein were purified from liver microsomes of halothane-treated and -untreated rats, respectively. When the purified trifluoroacetylated 57-kD and native 57-kD proteins were used as test antigens in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum antibodies from halothane hepatitis patients (n = 40) reacted with both of these proteins to a significantly greater extent than did serum antibodies from control patients (n = 32). On the basis of its apparent monomeric molecular mass, isoelectric point and NH2-terminal amino acid and tryptic peptide sequences, the 57-kD protein has been identified as rat liver protein disulfide isomerase. Antibodies raised against rat liver protein disulfide isomerase also reacted with a protein of approximately 58-kD in human liver microsomes. The results of this investigation suggest that trifluoroacetylated protein disulfide isomerase is one of the immunogens associated with halothane hepatitis. In certain patients it might lead either to specific antibodies or, possibly, to specific T cells, which could be responsible for halothane hepatitis. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;18:858-863).
TAPHONOMIC VARIATION DESPITE CATASTROPHIC MORTALITY: ANALYSIS OF A MASS STRANDING OF FALSE KILLER WHALES (PSEUDORCA CRASSIDENS), GULF OF CALIFORNIA, MEXICO

A concentration of Pseudorca crassidens remains resulting from a mass stranding on the tidal flats of the Colorado River Delta, Baja California, Mexico, was analyzed to determine how bone and individual density and variation in taphonomic condition differs from a time-averaged assemblage of marine mammals. Five hundred and thirty seven skeletal elements, including 26 whole skulls, were found among 204 bone sites in a 13,000 m2 area. Skulls provide the best estimate of minimum number of individuals; all other skeletal elements are underrepresented. Twenty bones per individual, one bone per 26 m2, and one individual per 536 m2 characterize this the mass-stranding locality. Bone density and individual density are greater at this locality than in a previously studied time-averaged assemblage from the Colorado Delta. Although the lack of variation in taphonomic condition is sometimes used as one criterion for a mass-death assemblage, the condition of the remains in this mass stranding varies both within and among skeletal elements. Teeth tend to be in good condition, earbones in fair condition, and vertebrae in poor condition. The taphonomic differences are a result of variation in the density and size of the skeletal element, variation in associated sediment (sand or mud), and variation in exposure (surface or buried). Despite the fact that all the individuals died at the same time, the taphonomic condition of their skeletal elements varies greatly.
The declining exceptionalism of agriculture: identifying the domestic politics and foreign policy of agricultural trade protectionism

This paper explores the similarity of agricultural and industrial protectionist foreign policies through an analysis of the political determinants of agricultural producer support in OECD countries. While most qualitative studies of agricultural protectionism assume that it is exceptional or at least in some ways still different, this paper builds on an emerging quantitative literature that finds evidence of similarity with industrial protectionism. The paper enhances first-generation general statistical models of agricultural protectionism in the political science literature by considering political-institutional variables central to the industrial protectionism literature. The results of several cross-sectional time-series analyses suggest that the politics of agricultural producer support conform to general patterns of protectionism in other areas of industry.
The effects of individual time urgency on group polychronicity

Recent work concerning the effects of time on group behavior suggests that individuals’ time‐oriented behaviors may act as a catalyst or pacing mechanism for subsequent group behaviors. Other work suggests that group polychronic behavior (the group’s performance of multiple tasks simultaneously) has significant effects on both individual and group outcomes. In this paper, we examine the relationship between individuals’ time‐oriented behavior and group‐level polychronic behavior. Based on results from a laboratory simulation involving 26 small groups, we conclude that the presence of time‐urgent group members increases group‐level monochronic (versus polychronic) behavior and has a positive effect on groups’ primary task activity.
Current trends and innovations in porometry and porosimetry applicable to battery separator testing and development: introducing the Micro-Flow Porometer

Pore structure of separators is a critical property for efficiency of batteries and fuel cells. As such, porosity characterization is of great interest to those developing, as well as those manufacturing, these materials. This paper discusses the two most frequently used techniques for porosity characterization: porosimetry and porometry. The strengths and limitations of both testing techniques are discussed with a focus on appropriate test selection to obtain optimal results. This paper also describes the new user-friendly instruments now available from Porous Materials Inc. (PMI) and the advances that have made these techniques more useful for those involved with product development, product improvement, and quality control in the battery separator industry. This paper introduces the new Micro-Flow Porometer, which is capable of testing flow rates as low as 0.0001 cc/min. The usefulness of the Micro-Flow Porometer for battery separator testing is discussed and additional advances in porosimetry are introduced.
Teaching with Autoharps in the 21st Century

The excitement of playing an instrument is one of the greatest motivating forces in teaching general music to students. The autoharp, which may be long forgotten in the general music classrooms of the 21st century, is an ideal instrument to “re-introduce” to students. The teaching of a traditional folk instrument provides advantages for connecting students with music and fostering performance-based music making. The author explores beginning instruction of the autoharp for general music, emphasizing the simplicity of use and the benefits of immediate success. The connection to American culture and folk song repertoire is advocated in addition to recommendations for purchase, care, and tuning of the instrument specifically for student use. Teaching strategies are given, including references to the standards and informal, formal, and peer assessments. A recommended resource list comprising online references, instruction books, and beginning folk song repertoire is included, with a listing of suggested two- ...
Structure-based prediction of DNA-binding proteins by structural alignment and a volume-fraction corrected DFIRE-based energy function

Motivation: Template-based prediction of DNA binding proteins requires not only structural similarity between target and template structures but also prediction of binding affinity between the target and DNA to ensure binding. Here, we propose to predict protein–DNA binding affinity by introducing a new volume-fraction correction to a statistical energy function based on a distance-scaled, finite, ideal-gas reference (DFIRE) state. Results: We showed that this energy function together with the structural alignment program TM-align achieves the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.76 with an accuracy of 98%, a precision of 93% and a sensitivity of 64%, for predicting DNA binding proteins in a benchmark of 179 DNA binding proteins and 3797 non-binding proteins. The MCC value is substantially higher than the best MCC value of 0.69 given by previous methods. Application of this method to 2235 structural genomics targets uncovered 37 as DNA binding proteins, 27 (73%) of which are putatively DNA binding and only 1 protein whose annotated functions do not contain DNA binding, while the remaining proteins have unknown function. The method provides a highly accurate and sensitive technique for structure-based prediction of DNA binding proteins. Availability: The method is implemented as a part of the Structure-based function-Prediction On-line Tools (SPOT) package available at http://sparks.informatics.iupui.edu/spot Contact: yqzhou@iupui.edu
The organization of route knowledge

Advances in the study of how children and adults acquire knowledge of large-scale environments also provide insight into the course of cognitive development in general.
Adults with Meningitis Caused by Oxacillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Since 1995, 11 adult patients with oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) meningitis have been identified at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The 11 patients were 8 men and 3 women, aged 17-78 years. A postneurosurgical state was an underlying condition for all, and fever and disturbances in consciousness were the most common clinical manifestations. Infection with S. aureus only was found in 8 patients, and mixed infection was found in the other 3. The 8 patients with meningitis caused by S. aureus only were mainly treated with intravenous vancomycin, 2-4 g/day; 4 of these patients died. Although ORSA meningitis is uncommon among adults with culture-proven bacterial meningitis, its incidence has been increasing in recent years. The diagnosis of adult ORSA meningitis can be confirmed only with a positive culture of cerebrospinal fluid, and the choice of initial empirical antibiotics must be guided by the accumulated data concerning the relative frequency of the implicated pathogens found at each institution. Despite the high rate of mortality associated with ORSA meningitis, intravenous vancomycin therapy seems to be one of the best choices for management of this condition in adults.
Loss of cooperative function of transforming growth factor‐β signaling proteins, smad3 with embryonic liver fodrin, a β‐spectrin, in primary biliary cirrhosis

UNLABELLED: Modulation of fibrogenesis, epithelial, and mesenchymal cell fates are prominent effects of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling by Smad proteins. We have previously shown that Smad2 and Smad3 insufficiency leads to a loss of bile ducts. In addition, Smad3/4 activity is mediated by embryonic liver fodrin (ELF), a beta-Spectrin. In mouse elf(-/-) mutants and in liver explant cultures, loss of ELF function results in T lymphocytic proliferation and absent intrahepatic bile ducts. A similar phenotype is seen in a number of cholestatic diseases with progressive loss of intrahepatic bile ducts and fibrosis. However, the expression patterns of Smads or role of ELF in cholestatic and fibrotic liver diseases are not yet known. METHODS/RESULTS: We investigated the role of ELF in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis C, chronic viral hepatitis and in livers from mice deficient in Smad2/Smad3. We generated elf(+/-) mutant mice and analyzed for chronic liver disease and hepatocellular cancer (HCC) from 6 to 12 months. Perturbations in ELF expression were consistently seen only in PBC tissues. ELF expression was similarly aberrant in tissues from Smad2(+/-)/Smad3(+/-) mutant mice. Further studies indicated that ELF mislocalization is correlated with aberrant localization of Smad3 in some PBC tissues. Thirteen of 17 elf(+/-) mutant mice developed steatosis, fibrosis, hepatic dysplasia, with HCC in two mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a compromised cytoarchitecture and polarized trafficking of TGF-beta signaling molecules, ELF and Smad3 are involved in the pathogenesis of PBC as well as HCC.
SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING IN SOUTH FLORIDA

The ecosystems of South Florida are unique and highly valued by society. Explosive population growth this century has made the Everglades one of our nation’s most endangered ecosystems. The dominant anthropogenic stressor is hydrological modifications instituted to provide flood protection for land selected for agriculture and urban development. Thus, major redesign of the hydrologic system is essential if the Everglades and associated coastal ecosystems of South Florida are to be restored and sustained. Following conceptual frameworks developed for ecological risk assessment, ecological sustainability, and ecosystem management, the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Human-Dominated Systems Directorate has conducted a project on ecosystem management in South Florida. An extremely complex hierarchy of federal, state, and local governmental activities presently underway is directed toward a sustainable South Florida. The scientific community is playing a significant role in this process, but the success or failure ...
In vitro evaluation of antimicrobial compounds for cysticidal activity against Acanthamoeba.

Antiinfective agents possessing in vitro cysticidal activity include paromomycin, noemycin, ketoconazole, natamycin, and ciclopirox olamine, but no agent has been shown to be uniformly effective against all isolates of Acanthamoeba. Treatment of amebic cysts with propamidine isethionate plus either paromomyci or neomycin has produced slightly additive cysticidal effects
Time-domain reconstruction algorithms and numerical simulations for thermoacoustic tomography in various geometries

In this paper, we present time-domain reconstruction algorithms for the thermoacoustic imaging of biological tissues. The algorithm for a spherical measurement configuration has recently been reported in another paper. Here, we extend the reconstruction algorithms to planar and cylindrical measurement configurations. First, we generalize the rigorous reconstruction formulas by employing Green's function technique. Then, in order to detect small (compared with the measurement geometry) but deeply buried objects, we can simplify the formulas when two practical conditions exist: 1) that the high-frequency components of the thermoacoustic signals contribute more to the spatial resolution than the low-frequency ones, and 2) that the detecting distances between the thermoacoustic sources and the detecting transducers are much greater than the wavelengths of the high-frequency thermoacoustic signals (i.e., those that are useful for imaging). The simplified formulas are computed with temporal back projections and coherent summations over spherical surfaces using certain spatial weighting factors. We refer to these reconstruction formulas as modified back projections. Numerical results are given to illustrate the validity of these algorithms.
Characterization of human atherosclerotic plaques by intravascular magnetic resonance imaging.

Background— Development and validation of novel imaging modalities to assess the composition of human atherosclerotic plaques will improve the understanding of atheroma evolution and could facilitate evaluation of therapeutic strategies for plaque modification. Surface MRI can characterize tissue content of carotid but not deeper arteries. This study evaluated the usefulness of intravascular MRI (IVMRI) to discern the composition of human iliac arteries in vivo. Methods and Results— Initial studies validated IVMRI against histopathology of human atherosclerotic arteries ex vivo. A 0.030-inch-diameter IVMRI detector coil was advanced into isolated human aortoiliac arteries and coupled to a 1.5-T scanner. Information from combined T1-, moderate T2-, and proton-density–weighted images differentiated lipid, fibrous, and calcified components with favorable sensitivity and specificity and allowed accurate quantification of plaque size. The validated approach was then applied to image iliac arteries of 25 human ...
PHOSPHORUS CONCENTRATIONS IN PLANTS RESPONSIBLE FOR INHIBITION OF MYCORRHIZAL INFECTION

SUMMARY Using a ‘split root’ technique, it was found that phosphorus fertilization of half of the root system of sudangrass could significantly reduce the number of chlamydospores of the mycorrhizal fungus Glomus fasciculatus in the unfertilized half of the root system. In a second experiment, vials of soil containing different concentrations of phosphorus were inserted into pots of sudangrass which were fertilized with different amounts of phosphorus and inoculated with G. fasciculatus. The numbers of chlamydospores, vesicles and arbuscles and the amount of hyphae produced by G. fasciculatus on roots within the vials were not influenced by the soil P in the vials but were inversely correlated with the concentration of P in roots outside the vial. All evidence indicates that it is the concentration of P within the plant and not the soil P which leads to a reduction in colonization, infection, and spore production of G. fasciculatus.
Eliciting expert knowledge to inform landscape modeling of conservation scenarios.

Conservation and land management organizations such as The Nature Conservancy are developing strategies to distribute conservation efforts over larger areas. Relative to fee-simple protection efforts, strategies that allow ecologically sustainable timber harvest and recreation activities, such as working forest conservation easements, should yield greater socioeconomic benefits (ecosystem services) with less investment per area without significantly compromising the conservation of biodiversity (ecological targets). At the same time, climate change may profoundly influence forest resilience to management strategies in the coming century. As a result, there are many possible scenarios for the future of our forests and significant uncertainty for practitioners and decision makers. Yet, monitoring efforts aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of conservation strategies span decades or longer, leading to a lag in knowledge transfer and delayed adaptive management. To explore potential outcomes for biodiversity, provisioning of ecosystem services, and resilience of our forests resulting from various management strategies and climate change projections, we developed an approach that integrates quantitative, spatially explicit landscape modeling with scenario-building informed by expert knowledge. In this paper, we present our experiences applying this approach to two conservation project areas in the western Great Lakes region of the U.S. For each project area, spatially explicit landscape simulations were performed using the VDDT©/TELSA© software suite (ESSA Technologies, Ltd.). At key points in the process, we infused the modeling efforts with expert knowledge via interactive in-person or web-based workshops and an online collaborative tool. Here, we capture our experiences applying the scenario building and modeling approach to forests in the western Great Lakes region and our efforts to make the process transparent and responsive to local and regional experts. It is our intent that this approach be transferable and implemented in future landscape scale conservation projects.
Effect of age on cost-effectiveness of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty compared with total knee arthroplasty in the U.S.

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, which replaces only the knee compartment affected by osteoarthritis, is an alternative to total knee arthroplasty, a procedure that replaces the entire knee joint. Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty preserves bone tissue that will be valuable if prosthetic revision is needed1,2. In addition, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty has fewer complications, requires less rehabilitation, and may provide a better range of motion and superior function compared with total knee arthroplasty3. Because it is associated with a higher risk of revision compared with that of total knee arthroplasty, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty remains a controversial procedure that may be underutilized. Retrospective studies indicate that 12.0% to 21.0% of patients who undergo total knee arthroplasty were candidates for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty4, whereas <8.0% of knee arthroplasties are unicompartmental5. Trade-offs between upfront benefits and later risk of revision of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty compared with those of total knee arthroplasty are poorly understood. The few available cost-effectiveness studies of which we are aware were limited to older populations (sixty-five years of age or older)6-8. By 2020, total knee arthroplasty utilization is expected to exceed one million annually9 and, unlike today, approximately half of these procedures will be performed in patients younger than sixty-five years of age10. With changing utilization trends, we compared the cost-effectiveness of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty with that of total knee arthroplasty in patients forty-five through eighty-five years of age in the U.S.
ORCHID–FUNGUS FIDELITY: A MARRIAGE MEANT TO LAST?

The characteristics of plant-mycorrhizae associations are known to vary in both time and space, but the ecological consequences of variation in the dynamics of plant-fungus interactions are poorly understood. For example, do plants associate with single fungi or multiple fungi simultaneously, and do the associations persist through a plant's lifetime or do plants support a succession of different fungi? We investigated these and other questions related to plant-fungus interactions in Goodyera pubescens, an evergreen terrestrial orchid of the eastern United States, that interacts with closely related fungi in the genus Tulasnella. Unlike the mycorrhizal associations of other plants, orchid-mycorrhizal associations only benefit the orchid, based on current evidence. Many terrestrial orchids have been found to associate with specific groups of fungi. This characteristic could potentially limit orchids to relatively narrow ranges of environmental conditions and may be a contributing factor in the decline of many orchids in the face of changing environmental conditions. We found that G. pubescens protocorms (developing embryos prior to leaf production) and adults associated with only one fungal individual at a time. The orchid-fungus association persists for years, but during a drought period that was associated with the death of many plants, surviving plants were able to switch to new fungal individuals. These results suggest that G. pubescens interacts with the same fungal partner during periods of modest environmental variation but is able to switch to a different fungal partner. We hypothesize that the ability to switch fungi allows G. pubescens to survive more extreme environmental perturbations. However, laboratory experiments suggest that switching fungi has potential costs, as it increases the risk of mortality, especially for smaller individuals. Our findings indicate that it is unlikely that switching fungi is a common way to improve tolerance of less severe environmental fluctuations and disturbances. These findings may have important implications for plant responses to severe climatic events or to more gradual environmental changes such as global warming.
Hospitalizations and Prognosis in Elderly Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction: Time to Treat the Whole Patient∗

In the comic strip Peanuts , Charlie Brown allows his optimism and narrow focus to override his repeated objective experiences. He rushes at the football, only to have Lucy yank it away while he is in perfect midkick. Charlie launches into the air and falls, defeated again. This could be an
The Public Health Impact of Pediatric Deep Neck Space Infections.

ObjectiveThere is little consensus about the best management of pediatric deep neck space infections (DNSIs) and limited information about the national disease burden. The purpose of this study is ...
Discussion: The Structure and Productivity of Brazilian Agriculture

One of the principal sources of intense interest and intrigue is the title of the paper itself. For all who are concerned about the agricultural sector of the Brazilian economy and generally interested in questions of resource productivity and development in agriculture, a title of this nature cannot help but be intriguing and arouse interest. However, the findings presented in the body of the paper give rise to an undeniable feeling of unfulfilled expectations. For it is clear that this paper tells us considerably less about the structure and productivity of Brazilian agriculture, as an economic sector, than the title would lead us to expect. There are a number of reasons for this-let me mention a few. First, as the authors take care to point out, the study was restricted to seven small, widely-dispersed geographic regions and to an extremely small number of "hand-picked" observations within each region. While the practical reasons for these methodological decisions are completely understandable, they do not mitigate the restricted nature of the study nor lessen the let-down" that is experienced in moving from title to content. Similarly, these reasons do not alter the fact that the methodology employed severely limits the possibilities of generalizing from the study to questions of structure and productivity in the broader aspects of the agricultural sector of the Brazilian economy. Second, the study deals almost exclusively with empirical data relating to the internal structure, organization and operation of some 99 management units at the primary production level. Thus, it appears to have little potential for providing insights into the more comprehensive aspects of structure and productivity of the particular segments of the agricultural economy within which farms in the seven sample areas exist. Third, the empirical results presented tend to be quite gross descriptive measures that seem to contribute less than that which might have been possible to true understanding of the structure and productivity of the sample farms.
DIP Test Socket Characterization for 300°C

Demonstrating functional reliability testing of high temperature electronic devices for long lifetime at 300°C requires electrical test fixtures with even better reliability. Advances in complexity of SiC devices and the need for increased accelerated tests motivate the need for a reliable test fixture at high temperature. The design, fabrication and testing of a prototype test board using commercially available materials shows stability beyond 2000 hours. The approach uses an alumina circuit board with thick film conductors interconnecting an array of BeNi contacts to surface pads. The pads are connected to high temperature wires using spring loaded contacts so that the circuit board may be removed.
Systematic resolution of Crossobothrium Linton, 1889, and taxonomic information on four species allocated to that genus.

The systematic status of the tetraphyllidean genus Crossobothrium is resolved. The description of the type species Crossobothrium laciniatum is emended to include new information from light and electron microscopy. Orygmatobothrium dohrnii is transferred to Crossobothrium and its its description is emended. Crossobothrium dohrnii n. comb. differs from C. laciniatum in the morphology of large microtriches on the distal bothridial surface, the presence of irregular papillose projections on the distal bothridial surface, the possession of irregular, incomplete loculi on the bothridial margin morphology, and exhibiting oblong testes. The genital pore position of C. dohrnii also differs from C. laciniatum. Species of Crossobothrium differ from species in other sampled tetraphyllidean genera in apical sucker tegumentary surface morphology. The 2 species differ from species in all tetraphyllidean genera in possessing a field of deep longitudinal muscles and a greater number of follicles in the vitelline field at the level of the ovary. Two species formerly allocated to Crossobothrium, Phyllobothrium filiforme, and Phyllobothrium triacis, are transferred to Paraorygmatobothrium, and their descriptions are emended. Three other species previously allocated to Crossobothrium, namely Orygmatobothrium angustum, Phyllobothrium squali, and Tetrabothrius longicolle, are considered incertae sedis. As a taxonomic entity, Crossobothrium has suffered from a case of mistaken identity with tetraphyllidean species consistent in morphology with the genus Paraorygmatobothrium.
The Federalist Trope: Power and Passion in Abolitionist Rhetoric

On New Year's Day 1831, William Lloyd Garrison launched the Liberator. With that first edition-four hundred copies printed in the middle of the night using borrowed type-Garrison promised a new era in the American antislavery movement. In now familiar words, Garrison proclaimed, "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language, but is there not cause for severity?" Continuing, he announced a new abolitionist strategy:
On the existence and qualitative theory of stratified solitary water waves

Abstract In this note, we announce new results on the existence of two-dimensional solitary waves moving through a body of density stratified water lying beneath air. The fluid domain is assumed to lie above an impenetrable flat ocean bed, while the interface between the air and water is a free boundary where the pressure is constant. We prove that, for any smooth choice of upstream velocity and density distribution, there exists a continuous curve of such solutions that includes large-amplitude waves that come arbitrarily close to having a (horizontal) stagnation point. Additionally, we provide several results characterizing the qualitative features of solitary stratified waves. In part, these include: estimates on the Froude number, velocity, and pressure, some of which are new, even for the constant density case; a proof of the nonexistence of monotone bores in this physical regime; and a theorem ensuring that all supercritical stratified solitary waves of elevation have an axis of even symmetry.
Bound Tightening for the Alternating Current Optimal Power Flow Problem

We consider the Alternating Current Optimal Power Flow (ACOPF) problem, formulated as a nonconvex Quadratically-Constrained Quadratic Program (QCQP) with complex variables. ACOPF may be solved to global optimality with a semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation in cases where its QCQP formulation attains zero duality gap. However, when there is positive duality gap, no optimal solution to the SDP relaxation is feasible for ACOPF. One way to find a global optimum is to partition the problem using a spatial branch-and-bound method. Tightening upper and lower variable bounds can improve solution times in spatial branching by potentially reducing the number of partitions needed. We propose special-purpose closed-form bound tightening methods to tighten limits on nodal powers, line flows, phase angle differences, and voltage magnitudes. Computational experiments are conducted using a spatial branch-and-cut solver. We construct variants of IEEE test cases with high duality gaps to demonstrate the effectiveness of the bound tightening procedures.
Study on Longitudinal Deformation of River-Crossing Shield-bored Tunnel Caused by Riverbed Scouring and Siltation

One of the main reasons for the longitudinal deformation of river-crossing tunnels is riverbed scouring and siltation.Taking the construction of Qiantang River Crossing Tunnel on No.2 line of Hangzhou Metro as an example,the authors present the mechanisms of the longitudinal deformation of river-crossing tunnels caused by riverbed scouring and siltation by means of numerical simulation and theoretical calculation.Furthermore,they educe the longitudinal deformation curve of the tunnel by means of cross-section calculation,demonstrate the relation between the connection stiffness of the lining segments and the longitudinal deformation of the tunnel,and finally make some advice to control the longitudinal deformation of the tunnel.
On the taxonomic status of Monstrilla leucopis Sars (Crustacea: Copepoda: Monstrilloida) from Norway, with comments on the male of M. longiremis Giesbrecht

Specimens of monstrilloid copepods collected and described in the early 20 th century by G.O. Sars from the coasts of Norway and deposited in the Sars Collection (University of Oslo) were re-examined. Monstrilla leucopis Sars, 1921 was described based on female and male specimens, but the species was later synonymized with M. conjunctiva Giesbrecht, 1902 by several authors. Females of this species were analyzed and compared with closely related congeners, particularly with M. conjunctiva. This analysis includes the description of previously unknown morphological details following upgraded descriptive standards in this group. Evidence was found to support the notion that the female type specimens from Kvalo, Norway represent a distinct species; thus, M. leucopis is redescribed and reinstated as a valid taxon. Previous tropical records of female M. conjunctiva are questionable, but differences with M. leucopis can be found in body and antennule proportions, the structure of the genital spines and fifth legs, and most probably, their geographical ranges. Furthermore, M. leucopis has a modified thick-walled seta on the endopods of legs 2–4, so far a unique character among monstrilloids. The single male specimen labeled as M. leucopis in the Sars Collection was also examined and it is not the male of this species as depicted by G.O. Sars (1921). It is in fact a male of M. longiremis Giesbrecht, 1893, a species for which a short supplementary description and taxonomic comments are also provided herein. The male of M. leucopis also shares some important characters with that of M. conjunctiva, but also with another male specimen that was questionably assigned to the latter species; this male probably represents an undescribed species.
Two Cases of Ureteroscopy and Attempted Stone Disintegration Complicated by Disruption of the Burr Tip of the Ultrasonic Probe

AbstractUreteroscopy with endoscopic stone removal or stone disintegration has become an established technique for removal of ureteral stones. This rapidly advancing technology has not been without problems. We report 2 cases in which defects in the instruments led to failure of the endoscopic technique, and the stones and broken parts of the ultrasound probe were removed by an open operation. Convalescence was uneventful.
A sub-wavelength scale acoustoelastic sonic crystal for harvesting energies at very low frequencies (<∼1 kHz) using controlled geometric configurations

Predictive design to control the geometric configurations of a novel sub-wavelength scale energy scavenger to harvest energy at lower sonic frequencies (<∼1 kHz) is presented. In this work, defying...
Understanding and Utilizing Patient Preferences in Cancer Treatment Decisions

Shared decision-making is a complex endeavor that should take into account the patient's personal preferences regarding treatment options. To truly empower patients to be partners in decision-making, especially in situations in which their preferences are important, physicians must learn to communicate better and to distinguish between what is "medical fact" versus a "value judgement." Knowing what are, when to ask, and how to ask the right questions will help physicians be effective in guiding patients toward the right treatments.
Should a history section be included on the National Youth Sports Program preparticipation physical examination

The National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) is an annual event sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association that provides structured sports and enrichment programs to youth of low socioeconomic status. As part of the program, youths undergo a free medical examination that uses a physical examination checklist but does not include a section on medical history. To determine what additional information a medical history would provide, a history form was used in conjunction with the regular preparticipation examination for participants in the 1996 NYSP at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The history form provided information such as family history of sudden death, personal history of asthma or bone injury, and whether participants took medications or used corrective lenses. Seventy-nine percent of the completed history forms documented a positive response to at least one question. Of these, only 5% had physical findings on examination. Conversely, 15% of participants had physical findings that were not reported on the history form. Because much of what is discovered by a medical history often is not found on physical examination and because history information can be used to prevent the occurrence of an accident or illness, this study suggests that the use of such a form is beneficial in providing a more comprehensive screening.
Steroid Hormone Receptor Coregulators in Endocrine Cancers

Coregulators span a broad and extensive domain in modulating cellular transcriptional activity. Studies have established a dynamic role for such coregulators in various endocrine cancers. Steroid hormone receptors (SHRs) play a pivotal role in such endocrine cancers, and interact abundantly with transcriptional coregulators in altering gene expression. Several families of coregulators have implications in propagating the development, progression and invasion of breast, prostate, and other hormone-responsive cancers. This mini-review aims to discuss different classes of coregulators involved in endocrine cancers and highlight unique information regarding each family with relevance to mechanism, intervention, and novel directions being investigated. © 2016 IUBMB Life, 68(7):504-515, 2016.
An Extension of the Rigorous Pole Representation of Cross Sections for Reactor Applications

A simplified method based on an extension of the rigorous pole representation of cross sections has been developed to facilitate the utilization of the newly released Reich-Moore parameters in reac...
Some interesting properties of a connectionist inductive learning system

We present a connectionist inductive system that displays the following behavior: i) as information in test examples increases, the system's categorization time decreases, ii) with amount of information held constant, the system categorizes examples with partially–specified feature values faster than examples with completely-specified feature values, iii) the system detects novel features of objects that deviate from its expectations. Our system's performance on test examples can be evaluated in terms of both categorization accuracy and certainty. We discuss these properties (and previously demonstrated properties of the system) in terms of their psychological plausibility and their desirability for a system functioning in real-world domains.