cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cash Crop Production, Food Price Volatility, and Rural Market Integration in the Third World

Large farmers in the Third World often devote to cash crops a larger share of their land than do small farmers. This paper suggests a possible explanation: even in the presence of food markets, Third World farmers' food security is best assured by food self‐sufficiency. A model of crop portfolio choice under multivariate risk is used to show that reasonable assumptions regarding risk and preferences reproduce the observed pattern. Simulations further indicate that food market integration reduces the need for food self‐sufficiency. Policy implications are drawn regarding domestic trade liberalization and agricultural technology.
The large non-collagenous domain (NC-1) of type VII collagen is amino-terminal and chimeric. Homology to cartilage matrix protein, the type III domains of fibronectin and the A domains of von Willebrand factor

Type VII collagen, the major component of anchoring fibrils, consists of a central collagenous triple-helical segment flanked by non-collagenous domains, NC-1 and NC-2. In this study, we examined the domain organization of human type VII collagen through analysis of deduced amino acid sequences derived from cloned complementary and genomic DNAs, as compared to peptide segments derived from amniotic membrane type VII collagen. The results revealed that the peptide segments derived from the NC-1 domain of type VII collagen could be assigned to the 5' portion of the composite cDNA, indicating that NC-1 resides at the amino terminal end of the molecule. Several sub-domains with homology to adhesive molecules were also identified within NC-1. These protein domains may confer adhesive properties to NC-1, thereby facilitating the binding of type VII collagen to the lamina densa in the cutaneous basement membrane and the anchoring plaques within the dermis.
Adaptations of the helix-grip fold for ligand binding and catalysis in the START domain superfamily.

With a protein structure comparison, an iterative database search with sequence profiles, and a multiple-alignment analysis, we show that two domains with the helix-grip fold, the star-related lipid-transfer (START) domain of the MLN64 protein and the birch allergen, are homologous. They define a large, previously underappreciated superfamily that we call the START superfamily. In addition to the classical START domains that are primarily involved in eukaryotic signaling mediated by lipid binding and the birch antigen family that consists of plant proteins implicated in stress/pathogen response, the START superfamily includes bacterial polyketide cyclases/aromatases (e.g., TcmN and WhiE VI) and two families of previously uncharacterized proteins. The identification of this domain provides a structural prediction of an important class of enzymes involved in polyketide antibiotic synthesis and allows the prediction of their active site. It is predicted that all START domains contain a similar ligand-binding pocket. Modifications of this pocket determine the ligand-binding specificity and may also be the basis for at least two distinct enzymatic activities, those of a cyclase/aromatase and an RNase. Thus, the START domain superfamily is a rare case of the adaptation of a protein fold with a conserved ligand-binding mode for both a broad variety of catalytic activities and noncatalytic regulatory functions. Proteins 2001;43:134–144. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Combined electric field and gap junctions on propagation of action potentials in cardiac muscle and smooth muscle in PSpice simulation.

Abstract Propagation of action potentials in cardiac muscle and smooth muscle were simulated using the PSpice program. Excitation was transmitted from cell to cell along a strand of 6 cells (cardiac muscle) or 10 cells (smooth muscle) either not connected (control) or connected by low-resistance tunnels (gap-junction connexons). A significant negative cleft potential (V jv ) develops in the narrow junctional cleft when the pre-JM fires. V jc depolarizes the postjunctional membrane (post-JM) to threshold by a patch-clamp action. With few connecting tunnels, cell-to-cell transmission by the EF mechanism was facilitated. With many tunnels, propagation was dominated by the low-resistance mechanism, and propagation velocity (θ) became very fast and nonphysiological. In conclusion, when the 2 mechanisms for cell-to-cell transfer of excitation were combined, the two mechanisms facilitated each other in a synergistic manner. When there were many connecting tunnels, the tunnel mechanism was dominant.
Application of the Electrostatically Embedded Many-Body Expansion to Microsolvation of Ammonia in Water Clusters

The electrostatically embedded many-body expansion (EE-MB), at both the second and third order, that is, the electrostatically embedded pairwise additive (EE-PA) approximation and the electrostatically embed- ded three-body (EE-3B) approximation, are tested for mixed ammonia-water clusters. We examine tetramers, pentamers, and hexamers for three different density functionals and two levels of wave function theory, We compare the many-body results to the results of full calculations performed without many-body expansions. Because of the differing charge distributions in the two kinds of monomers, this provides a different kind of test of the usefulness of the EE-MB method than was provided by previous tests on pure water clusters. We find only small errors due to the truncation of the many- body expansion for the mixed clusters. In particular, for tests on tetramers and pentamers, the mean absolute deviations for truncation at second order are 0.36-0.98 kcal/mol (average: 0.66 kcal/mol), and the mean abso- lute deviations for truncation at third order are 0.04-0.28 (average: 0.16 kcal/mol). These may be compared to a spread of energies as large as 4.24 kcal/mol in the relative energies of various structures of pentamers and to deviations of up to 8.57 kcal/mol of the full calculations of relative energies from the best estimates of the relative energies. When the methods are tested on hexamers, the mean unsigned deviation per monomer remains below 0.10 kcal/mol for EE-PA and below 0.03 kcal/mol for EE-3B. Thus the additional error due to the truncation of the expansion is small compared to the accuracy needed or the other approximations involved in practical calculations. This means that the EE-MB expansion in combination with density functional theory or wave function theory for the oligomers provides a useful practical model chemistry for making electronic structure calculations and simulations more affordable by improving the scaling with respect to system size.
Load balancing policy in a massively parallel semantic database

We are developing a massively parallel semantic database machine. Our basic semantic storage structure insures balanced load for most parts of the database. For the other parts of the database, a load balancing algorithm is proposed herein, which allows inexpensive dynamic rebalancing without substantial negative impact on queries and transactions. >
Semantic memory in object use

We studied five patients with semantic memory disorders, four with semantic dementia and one with herpes simplex virus encephalitis, to investigate the involvement of semantic conceptual knowledge in object use. Comparisons between patients who had semantic deficits of different severity, as well as the follow-up, showed that the ability to use objects was largely preserved when the deficit was mild but progressively decayed as the deficit became more severe. Naming was generally more impaired than object use. Production tasks (pantomime execution and actual object use) and comprehension tasks (pantomime recognition and action recognition) as well as functional knowledge about objects were impaired when the semantic deficit was severe. Semantic and unrelated errors were produced during object use, but actions were always fluent and patients performed normally on a novel tools task in which the semantic demand was minimal. Patients with severe semantic deficits scored borderline on ideational apraxia tasks. Our data indicate that functional semantic knowledge is crucial for using objects in a conventional way and suggest that non-semantic factors, mainly non-declarative components of memory, might compensate to some extent for semantic disorders and guarantee some residual ability to use very common objects independently of semantic knowledge.
A mean-time comparison of algorithms for the all-pairs shortest-path problem with arbitrary arc lengths

A mean-time comparison of the algorithms of Floyd, Dantzig, Tabourier, and of repeated application of several single-source algorithms, for the all-pairs shortest-path problem with arbitrary arc lengths clearly demonstrates the superiority of the Tabourier procedure for networks in which an average of at least 25% of the potential direct arcs are present. For very sparse networks, repeated application of a single-source label-correcting algorithm is found to be preferable.
The development of the physicians' end-of-life care attitude scale

The Physicians' End-of-Life Care Attitude Scale (PEAS) was developed as an outcome measure for palliative care education. PEAS assesses the willingness of medical trainees to care for dying patient...
Effects of drive train stimulus intensity on ventricular refractoriness in humans.

BACKGROUNDThe strength-interval relation between the intensity of premature stimulus and the ventricular effective refractory period (VERP) has been well characterized. The effects of variation in the intensity of the basic drive train stimuli (S1) on VERP are not as well defined. This relation was studied in 44 patients undergoing clinically indicated electrophysiological study.METHODS AND RESULTSThe outputs of two stimulus isolation units were connected in parallel, allowing the intensity of S1 to be varied independently of intensity of the extrastimulus (S2). To prevent confounding effects from cycle length change, continuous overdrive pacing was performed for 3 minutes before each measurement of VERP. The effect of S1 intensity on VERP was assessed in 24 patients with S2 intensity kept constant at twice threshold. VERP shortened from 232 +/- 19 msec at an S1 intensity of 1.5 times threshold to 219 +/- 20 msec at 5 mA and 211 +/- 19 msec at 10 mA (p less than 0.0001 for baseline versus 5 mA and for 5 m...
Utility-based resolution of data inconsistencies

A virtual database system is software that provides unified access to multiple information sources. If the sources are overlapping in their contents and independently maintained, then the likelihood of inconsistent answers is high. Solutions are often based on ranking (which sorts the different answers according to recurrence) and on fusion (which synthesizes a new value from the different alternatives according to a specific formula). In this paper we argue that both methods are flawed, and we offer alternative solutions that are based on knowledge about the performance of the source data; including features such as recentness, availability, accuracy and cost. These features are combined in a flexible utility function that expresses the overall value of a data item to the user. Utility allows us to (1) define meaningful ranking on the inconsistent set of answers, and offer the topranked answer as a preferred answer; (2) determine whether a fusion value is indeed better than the initial values, by calculating its utility and comparing it to the utilities of the initial values; and (3) discover the best fusion: the fusion formula that optimizes the utility. The advantages of such performance-based and utility-driven ranking and fusion are considerable.
Using noninvasive brain measurement to explore the psychological effects of computer malfunctions on users during human-computer interactions

In today's technologically driven world, there is a need to better understand the ways that common computer malfunctions affect computer users. These malfunctions may have measurable influences on computer user's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. An experiment was conducted where participants conducted a series of web search tasks while wearing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and galvanic skin response sensors. Two computer malfunctions were introduced during the sessions which had the potential to influence correlates of user trust and suspicion. Surveys were given after each session to measure user's perceived emotional state, cognitive load, and perceived trust. Results suggest that fNIRS can be used to measure the different cognitive and emotional responses associated with computer malfunctions. These cognitive and emotional changes were correlated with users' self-report levels of suspicion and trust, and they in turn suggest future work that further explores the capability of fNIRS for the measurement of user experience during human-computer interactions.
Approximating information content for active sensing tasks using the unscented transform

This paper presents an approach to approximate information content for active sensing tasks. The unscented transform is used to represent probability distributions by a set of representative sample points that capture the first and second moments of the distribution. Using these sample points, the effects of nonlinear operators on a probability distribution of active sensing costs can be approximated. Simulation results validate the approximation for bearings-only geolocalization of a stationary target and tracking of an uncertain moving target.
Randomized study of probiotics in primary care

Objectives Several studies have demonstrated that probiotics can be helpful in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in hospitalized patients. However, the extent to which probiotics may benefit healthy adults taking a course of antibiotics has not been investigated in primary care. Furthermore, patient willingness to take a probiotic supplement concomitantly with antibiotics has not been explored. We aimed to conduct an exploratory study using probiotics in adults requiring an acute course of antibiotic therapy. Methods Patients prescribed antibiotics for treatment of acute infections in an outpatient family practice setting were randomized to receive either a probiotic or placebo concurrently. Patients completed adherence diaries and daily symptom checklists to assess gastrointestinal and vaginal (women) symptoms and collect information about adherence. Key findings During 179.5 h in which patients were actively recruited, 952 individuals sought care at the family practice clinic. Of these individuals, 124 were prescribed oral antibiotics; ultimately, 51 individuals met eligibility criteria, consented to participate and were randomized. Forty participants (78.4%) returned symptom diaries. No adverse effects were reported from probiotic use; however, adherence was better with the prescribed antibiotic regimen than with the study supplement (P = 0.0033). Conclusion In our pilot study, probiotics were well tolerated, although no differences were detected in any gastrointestinal or vaginal symptoms between probiotic or placebo.
Coilin shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm in Xenopus oocytes.

Coiled bodies are discrete nuclear organelles often identified by the marker protein p80-coilin. Because coilin is not detected in the cytoplasm by immunofluorescence and Western blotting, it has been considered an exclusively nuclear protein. In the Xenopus germinal vesicle (GV), most coilin actually resides in the nucleoplasm, although it is highly concentrated in 50–100 coiled bodies. When affinity-purified anti-coilin antibodies were injected into the cytoplasm of oocytes, they could be detected in coiled bodies within 2–3 h. Coiled bodies were intensely labeled after 18 h, whereas other nuclear organelles remained negative. Because the nuclear envelope does not allow passive diffusion of immunoglobulins, this observation suggests that anti-coilin antibodies are imported into the nucleus as an antigen–antibody complex with coilin. Newly synthesized coilin is not required, because cycloheximide had no effect on nuclear import and subsequent targeting of the antibodies. Additional experiments with myc-tagged coilin and myc-tagged pyruvate kinase confirmed that coilin is a shuttling protein. The shuttling of Nopp140, NO38/B23, and nucleolin was easily demonstrated by the targeting of their respective antibodies to the nucleoli, whereas anti-SC35 did not enter the germinal vesicle. We suggest that coilin, perhaps in association with Nopp140, may function as part of a transport system between the cytoplasm and the coiled bodies.
An Orthogonal Detection Kit to Suppress Common-Channel Interference

A new technique named "rthogonal detection" which suppresses common-channel double sideband interference has been investigated in detail. It is applicable to various types of reception systems without materially affecting the desired signal for most interference situations. To illustrate the principles involved, a modification kit was developed to suppress double sideband interference into a high-frequency SSB communications receiver. It appeared that for certain idealized situations the double sideband interference could be suppressed almost completely. Practical considerations, however, limited the suppression of the unwanted signal to something in the order of 30 db. The amount of suppression was shown to be equal to both a constant and a variable improvement factor. The variable factor converts a negative decibel signal-to-interference ratio into a positive decibel signal-to-interference ratio improvement. Thus, for certain conditions, the weaker the desired signal the greater will be the suppression of the interference. The technique for certain situations is also capable of separating both pulse or CW common-channel waveforms which are simultaneously amplitude and phase modulated. In addition to offering major advantages over other approaches that eliminate common-channel interference, the technique is applicable to suppressing strong adjacent channel in interference.
Evolutionary Pattern Recognition in Incomplete Nonlinear Multithreshold Networks

A pattern recognition network which computes a weighted sum of nonlinear functions of its inputs is considered. An algorithm for training this multithreshold network is presented. The multithreshold device is used for classifying patterns into more than two categories. Experimental results on the recognition of hand-printed characters are shown. In this case, the nonlinear functions consisted of an orthogonal set of property detectors. The network changed its structure by an evolutionary technique which consisted of periodic replacement of the least useful elements by new ones, randomly chosen.
Cancer incidence among Asian American populations in the United States, 2009-2011

Cancer incidence disparities exist among specific Asian American populations. However, the existing reports exclude data from large metropoles like Chicago, Houston and New York. Moreover, incidence rates by subgroup have been underestimated due to the exclusion of Asians with unknown subgroup. Cancer incidence data for 2009 to 2011 for eight states accounting for 68% of the Asian American population were analyzed. Race for cases with unknown subgroup was imputed using stratified proportion models by sex, age, cancer site and geographic regions. Age-standardized incidence rates were calculated for 17 cancer sites for the six largest Asian subgroups. Our analysis comprised 90,709 Asian and 1,327,727 non-Hispanic white cancer cases. Asian Americans had significantly lower overall cancer incidence rates than non-Hispanic whites (336.5 per 100,000 and 541.9 for men, 299.6 and 449.3 for women, respectively). Among specific Asian subgroups, Filipino men (377.4) and Japanese women (342.7) had the highest overall incidence rates while South Asian men (297.7) and Korean women (275.9) had the lowest. In comparison to non-Hispanic whites and other Asian subgroups, significantly higher risks were observed for colorectal cancer among Japanese, stomach cancer among Koreans, nasopharyngeal cancer among Chinese, thyroid cancer among Filipinos, and liver cancer among Vietnamese. South Asians had remarkably low lung cancer risk. Overall, Asian Americans have a lower cancer risk than non-Hispanic whites, except for nasopharyngeal, liver and stomach cancers. The unique portrayal of cancer incidence patterns among specific Asian subgroups in this study provides a new baseline for future cancer surveillance research and health policy.
Excess Corporate Profits: A Bubble, or the New Publicani?

Net corporate profits have persisted at historical highs for almost 10 years. Such levels exceed what can be profitably re-invested, as evidenced by aggregate dividend payouts and buybacks nearing 6% of GDP. We argue that at such levels corporate profits operate effectively as a tax on the consumer feeding an ongoing transfer of wealth to an elite. This state of the economy is self-defeating in that sustaining aggregate demand requires growing levels of consumer and public debt, which causes increasingly-challenging credit crises. At the same time, the markets have become addicted to high asset prices due to record corporate and margin debt levels. The ensuing fragility of the financial system makes it hazardous to return to historically-normal real interest rates and profits. The fear of provoking a market crash and the corrupting power of money increasingly subjugates public policy to the goal of maximizing profits. We compare this situation to the publicani in the last stages of the Roman Republic, whose excess profits from tax farming evolved into corporations (societates) that controlled most aspects of the economy and left senators with no better choices than to continue to protect their privileges. Hoarding by the publicani led to recurrent debt deflation crises, “quantitative easing”, bailouts, and ultimately ended in dictatorship. We discuss policy options that might be available to engineer a smooth return to conditions that are consistent with the long-term sustainability of consumption and stable aggregate debt levels.
Towards a Sustainable Fishery: The Price-Cap Approach

Overfishing is the classic tragedy of the commons. So far, governments have pursued a variety of solutions to incentivize sustainable commercial fishing practices, realizing only mixed results. After describing the costs associated with implementing overfishing controls, I propose a new method of regulating commercial fishing: the price cap. This Article explains the theory of how price caps can incentivize sustainable fishing, analyzes the implementation costs associated with price caps, and compares price caps to existing overfishing regulations. Because each fishery is unique, no single method will produce the greatest benefit at the lowest cost in all fisheries. Accordingly, I analyze the factors that might make a fishery a better or worse candidate for the implementation of price caps.
Portrait-bearing Codicils in the Illustrations of the Notitia Dignitatum?

To judge from written sources, by about the year 300 imperial portraits painted on wooden panels must have been common. Yet only one example has survived to represent them. Portraits of emperors and empresses painted on wooden panels are not the only underrepresented imperial portraits. Imperial portraits were used to decorate an unexpected variety of objects, including consular sceptres, curule chairs, gabled pediments, triumphal togae , reed cases, and shields. That these portrait-bearing objects, many of which served as insignia, are known at all is largely because they are represented in images that decorate official ivory diptychs, mostly consular diptychs, and in some of the surviving copies of the Notitia Dignitatum .
Multiconstituent Synthesis of LiFePO4/C Composites with Hierarchical Porosity as Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Monolithic, three-dimensionally ordered macroporous and meso-/microporous (3DOM/m) LiFePO4/C composite cathodes for lithium ion batteries were synthesized by a multiconstituent, dual templating method. Precursors containing sources for lithium, iron, and phosphate, as well as a phenol-formaldehyde sol and a nonionic surfactant were infiltrated into a colloidal crystal template. Millimeter-sized monolithic composite pieces were obtained, in which LiFePO4 was dispersed in a carbon phase around an interconnected network of ordered macropores. The composite walls themselves contained micropores or small mesopores. The carbon phase enhanced the electrical conductivity of the cathode and maintained LiFePO4 as a highly dispersed phase during the synthesis and during electrochemical cycling. Monoliths containing 30 wt % C were electrochemically cycled in a 3-electrode cell with lithium foil as counter and reference electrodes. No additional binder or conductive agent was used. The capacity was as high as 150 mA h...
Post-processing analysis in sheet-metal forming simulation

This article describes the use of finite-element analysis computer simulation to assess the feasibility of stamping sheet-metal autobody panels at the design stage. Using this methodology, proposed product designs can be tested without the need for expensive and time-consuming prototyping. Post-processing transforms simulation results into stress and strain color-coded or contour plots that can be related to a number of stamping problems and are the key to interpreting product quality and integrity.
Hosts and Seasonal Activity of the Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Tropical and Subtropical Habitats of Northeastern Mexico

The presence and seasonal activity of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, was monitored in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, using pheromone traps during 1985, 1986, and 1987. Weevils were captured primarily during winter months, and weevils were found in virtually all habitats in which traps were placed. Significantly more female weevils (56.1%) were captured than males, although the sex ratio approached 50% in late winter months. The percentage of reproductive females decreased from December through February, whereas reproductive status of male weevils changed little during these months. Results indicate that the presence of weevils in cotton-free areas of Tamaulipas was the result of relatively long-range dispersal of weevils from cultivated cotton in southern Tamaulipas and not due to development on local wild hosts. This evidence included: the total mean number of weevils per trap decreased exponentially with the distance north from known Commercial cotton areas; peak weevil catches for all traps were synchronized with the dates of cotton harvest and destruction during the winters of 1985-1986 and 1986-1987; no alternate boll weevil host plant was found during field collections, or indicated from analysis of pollen isolated from the alimentary tract of trapped weevils; and trapped weevils were found with ingested pollen grains from plant species whose range was at a considerable distance from the trap location. The importance of these findings in understanding the dispersal behavior of the boll weevil and in pest management programs of the boll weevil in southern Texas and northern Mexico is discussed.
Effect of Geomechanical and Geometrical Factors on Soil Arching in Zoned Embankment Dams

Soil arching in zoned embankment dams is a phenomenon where stresses are transferred from the softer core soils to the stiffer shell soils due to differential movements between the core and shell materials. In these structures, excessive stress transfer due to soil arching will lead to hydraulic fracturing occurrence in the low permeability core soils; which can cause significant internal seepage and erosion problems. To prevent hydraulic fracturing from occurring, it is beneficial to minimize the stress transfer that occurs due to the effect of soil arching at the end of construction, as this type of stress transfer reduces the total stresses that are available to resist fracturing of the clay core upon first impoundment of the dam. This paper investigates the effect of different geomechanical and geometrical factors which can influence soil arching at the end of construction and, consequently, can impact the potential for hydraulic fracturing. During this study, a set of finite element analyses was performed to assess the effect of the upstream and downstream dam side slopes, the core width, the thickness of the transition zones (i.e., filter layers), the stiffness ratio between the core and shell, the core inclination, and the foundation compressibility. In the analyses that were conducted, a large zoned embankment dam was simulated and parametric studies were performed to quantify the effect of each input parameter on the soil arching that occurs at the end of construction.
Interpreting verb clusters

We argue for syntactic verb cluster formation in certain restructuring configurations, the result of which is interpreted via function composition. This cluster formation can be diagnosed by its semantic consequences. In particular, we observe that in these configurations all embedded elements must receive a matrix interpretation even if there is no evidence that these elements leave the embedded VP at any stage of the derivation. We show that verb cluster formation and function composition provide a solution to this puzzle. We propose that the process of cluster formation takes place whenever two lexical verbs are part of the same phasal Spell-Out domain, which we relate to Richards’ (2010) distinctness proposal. Our analysis entails that (i) some instances of head movement have semantic effects and hence cannot take place at PF; (ii) the set of rules of semantic composition must include function composition; and (iii) it provides additional support for the notion of distinctness and extends its application to head movement.
Antibody detection in female infertility patients

Objectives: To examine the relationship between immune antibody positiveness and female infertility.Methods: A total of 321 cases of female infertility patients treated in our hospital were selected as the experimental group,and 98 cases of healthy volunteers were randomly selected as the control group.Both the experimental and the control group received the test of AsAb,EMAb,AoAb,HCGAb,ACA,and UU/CT infection.Results: The positive rates in all tests were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group(P0.05);patients with infertility secondary to induced abortion had a significant higher concentration of AsAb,EMAb,AoAb,HCGAb and ACA than those with primary infertility(P0.05).Conclusion: The positive rate of AsAb,EMAb,AoAb,HCGAb,ACA,and UU/CT infection had a significant correlation with female infertility.If necessary,female patients with infertility should receive relative antibody detection to improve the diagnostic effect and to provide a guidance for clinical treatment.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE CHARACTERISTICS AND THERMAL CONVERSION PROPERTY OF SHENMU MACERAL CONCENTRATES

Vitrinite and inertinite separated from Shenmu coal using sinkfloat method combined with handpicking were systematically investigated by ultimate analysis, FTIR,13CNMR and TG/DTG The results showed that the optimum density for separation of vitrinite and inertinite from Shenmu coal was 1320?g/cm3～1324?g/cm3 and1378?g/cm3～1382?g/cm3 respectively The purity of vitrinite and inertinite was 9755% and 9690% at this separation condition Vitrinite had higher hydrogen content, lower aromaticity of 051 and a large amount of hydrogen bonds, while inertinite had higher carbon content and aromaticity of 076, and those of parent coal was in the middle of them with aromaticity of 068 The result of FTIR showed that at the same temperature vitrinite had more hydrogen bonds, higher aliphatic hydrogen content and lower Har/Hal ratio With increasing temperature, the content of aromatic hydrogen and Har/Hal ratio all increased and the aliphatic hydrogen decreased The result of TG/DTG showed that vitrinite had higher thermal stability than inertinite and the remaining volatile matter in vitrinite was lower than that in inertinite at the same Har/Hal ratio, which was consistent with the fact that inertinite had higher aromaticity and lower aliphatic hydrogen content and suggested that the chemical property of maceral affected its reactivity
Comparing rotation curve observations to hydrodynamic {\Lambda}CDM simulations of galaxies

The formation of the disk and feedback from supernova winds impacts the distribution of dark matter in galaxies. Recently, Di Cintio et al. (2014b) characterized the halo response from baryonic processes in hydrodynamical simulations via a dependence on the ratio of stellar-tohalo mass (M?=Mhalo). The (stellar) mass dependent halo profile links together the local and global properties of the halo (e.g. inner slope and Mhalo) which allows for measurements of Mhalo without virial tracers. We compile a large sample of rotation curves from the literature to test this halo profile. We find that this halo profile can explain rotation curve observations over a wide range ofM?. However, the global results from our sample are inconsistent with aL cold dark matter universe. We do not find the expected correlation between the halo concentration and Mhalo and there is significantly larger scatter than expected. Furthermore, a large portion of galaxies below M? 10 9 M are found to be hosted by smaller halos than expectations from the abundance matching technique. We find our results are robust to statistical priors and systematic effects such as inclination angle, asymmetric drift correction, data source, and uncertainties in stellar mass-to-light ratios. This suggests either a mischaracterization of the halo response due to baryonic processes or additional non-standard dark matter physics.
Cigarette Taxes and the Third Law of Demand

Alchian and Allen's "Third Law of Demand" (1967) states that as a fixed cost increases by the same amount for low - and high-quality goods, the ratio of the prices of high - to low-quality goods will fall and the quantity demanded of high quality goods relative to low quality goods will increase. Barzel (1976) notes that the incidence of state cigarette taxes seem to be passed forward to smokers by more than 100%, suggesting that the quality composition of cigarettes in the market becomes more heavily weighted by high quality cigarettes as state taxes rise, as predicted by the Third Law. We examine Barzel's hypothesis using data from the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia from 1970-2010, examining the effects of state tax changes, federal tax changes and the Master Settlement Agreement on the degree to which state taxes are passed forward to smokers.
Airborne Lidar Measurements of Ozone and Aerosols During PEM-West A and PEM-West B

Airborne lidar measurements of aerosol and ozone distributions from the surface to above the tropopause over the Western Pacific Ocean are used to quantify the relative contributions of different ozone sources to the tropospheric ozone budget.
The pathogenesis of transthyretin tissue deposition: lessons from transgenic mice

Attempts to produce animal models of the human transthyretin deposition disorders have not been as successful as investigators would wish. While random genomic insertion of mutant and wild-type human transthyretin genes has, in some instances, produced tissue deposits consisting of the human protein, in no case has a model faithfully reproduced the neuropathic pathology seen in FAP patients. Examining all the available models it appears that overexpression of the human construct is required with a resultant high level of protein production, as measured by the serum concentration. Animals, homo- or heterozygous for a single copy of a naturally occurring mutant human gene, even a thermodynamically unstable allele (leu55pro), do not develop immunohistochemically detectable tissue deposits. If the endogenous murine gene is subjected to targeted disruption, a small proportion of animals will develop tissue deposits of the human protein late in life. The implication of this observation is that the murine protein may stabilize mixed tetramers containing both mutant human and wild-type murine monomers in a manner similar to that seen in humans with the Met119 variant. As in humans with FAP or FAC, parenchymal hepatic deposition of either fibrillar or non-fibrillar deposits is uncommon. When TTR concentrations are similar in liver and kidney extracts, kidneys show evidence of aggregate deposition while livers do not. At least one of the transgenic models shows that non-fibrillar deposits precede the appearance of Congophilic tissue deposition, a circumstance that has also been seen in early neuropathic lesions of FAP patients. While none of the current models is a precise replicant of the human disease, the tissue specificity of deposition, the relationship to age in some models, the apparent sequential nature of the form of the deposits, and the sensitivity to the presence or absence of other gene products all reflect properties shared with FAP, FAC and SSA. They thus represent experimental systems for exploring factors and generally approachable in intact humans and reasonable screening tools for the effectiveness of various therapeutic approaches.
Clinical Implications of the Pharmacokinetics of Crizotinib in Populations of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose:We assessed the effect of baseline patient demographic and disease characteristics on the crizotinib pharmacokinetic parameters oral clearance (CL/F), volume of distribution (V2/F), and area-under-the-curve at steady state (AUCss) following multiple crizotinib 250-mg twice-daily dosing in patients with ALK-positive cancer. Experimental Design:A pharmacokinetic model was fit to data from 1,214 patients. We identified statistically significant covariates (P{less than or equal to}0.001) by evaluating their effects on CL/F and V2/F and estimated their magnitudes. Results:Age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, albumin levels, and smoking status had no effect on CL/F or V2/F. Statistically significant covariates were Asian race and female sex for CL/F and V2/F and body weight, creatinine clearance (CLcr), and total bilirubin for CL/F only. The model predicted that CL/F would be 9% lower or higher in a 40-kg or a 100-kg patient, respectively; 16% lower in patients with CLcr 30 mL/min; 23% lower in Asians; and 11% lower in females than the reference patient (65-kg non-Asian male; baseline CLcr, 91.6 mL/min; total bilirubin, 0.41 mg/dL). The effect of total bilirubin on CL/F was small. V2/F was 23% lower in Asians than non-Asians and females than males. Effects of all significant covariates on AUCss were not predicted to be clinically relevant. Conclusions:Crizotinib at a 250-mg twice-daily starting dose appears to be appropriate for all patients irrespective of age, sex, race, body weight, mild or moderate renal impairment, or hepatic function (in the range evaluated: bilirubin {less than or equal to}2.1 mg/dL or AST {less than or equal to}124 U/L).
Surgical construction of the male external genitalia.

The technical challenge inherent in the construction of functionally and aesthetically acceptable male genitalia is of major interest to plastic surgeons. The author attempts to provide a “blueprint” for the comprehensive management of female transsexual patients seeking surgical sexual reassignment.
Carbonic anhydrase II mRNA is induced in rabbit kidney cortex during chronic metabolic acidosis.

Carbonic anhydrase II (CA II), the predominant isoform of carbonic anhydrase in the kidney, is believed to be localized primarily in the cytoplasm of proximal tubule and collecting duct intercalated cells. Carbonic anhydrase facilitates H+ secretion by catalyzing the formation of HCO3- from OH- in the presence of CO2. We have shown that renal cortical CA II activity is stimulated during 4-6 days of chronic metabolic acidosis [L.P. Brion, B.J. Zavilowitz, O. Rosen, and G.J. Schwartz. Am. J. Physiol. 261 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 30): R1204-R1213, 1991]. The purpose of these studies was to examine under similar conditions the regulation of CA II mRNA. We obtained a major portion of the rabbit CA II cDNA by reverse transcription of total RNA from rabbit kidney followed by amplification using oligonucleotide primers prepared from conserved areas in the coding regions of human, mouse, and chick CA II cDNAs in a polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The 696-bp RT-PCR product was sequenced and found to be 71-86% homologous to CA II cDNAs from the other three species. The deduced amino acid sequence agreed closely (> 97%) with a previous Edman analysis of rabbit erythrocyte CA II. Northern analysis showed expression of a approximately 1.4 kb RNA, with cortex > outer medulla > inner medulla. Steady-state mRNA expression from kidney cortex of acid-treated rabbits was about twice that from controls, when normalized to the expression of beta-actin or malate dehydrogenase. The stimulation of CA II mRNA was greater after 3 days than after 5-6 days of acid treatment. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Automated Extraction of Mode Shapes Using Motion Magnified Video and Blind Source Separation

Traditionally, experimental and operational modal analysis requires wired sensors that are physically attached to the structure of interest for vibration measurements. The instrumentation of these sensors on structures for long-term applications (e.g., structural health monitoring) is costly, time-consuming, and requires significant maintenance. Even if a wireless sensor network is used, there still exist substantial challenges associated with security, available bandwidth, and providing energy to the network. As a non-contact method, optics measurements from digital cameras combined with vision based algorithms have been successfully used for experimental vibration measurement and analysis. This opens the door to replacing physical sensors with remote sensing techniques, which could eliminate many of the problems associated with conventional distributed sensor networks. However, research to date has focused on simple structures that can be represented using a single edge. In this work, we propose a novel phase-based video motion magnification and Blind Source Separation (BSS) based method to perform operational modal analysis in a relatively efficient and automated manner.
Vapor-Deposition Techniques

Prospectus The term vapor deposition encompasses a large palette of techniques essential for both the reproduction of certain structural features of a biotemplate and the replication of a biotemplate. Physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, and molecular beam epitaxy are succinctly described in this chapter in the context of engineered biomimicry.
Learning Multiview Embeddings of Twitter Users

Low-dimensional vector representations are widely used as stand-ins for the text of words, sentences, and entire documents. These embeddings are used to identify similar words or make predictions about documents. In this work, we consider embeddings for social media users and demonstrate that these can be used to identify users who behave similarly or to predict attributes of users. In order to capture information from all aspects of a user’s online life, we take a multiview approach, applying a weighted variant of Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis (GCCA) to a collection of over 100,000 Twitter users. We demonstrate the utility of these multiview embeddings on three downstream tasks: user engagement, friend selection, and demographic attribute prediction.
Father and Son

The explanation of Benito Mussolini’s wild story is to be found, first, in the regional and family roots from which he came, then in the ideas that influenced him, and most broadly in the political, social, and economic crucible that was Italy’s history—and in his own internal demons. Mussolini himself recognized the influence of his early environment on his later development. In the 1920s, when he was the Duce of Fascism and dictator of Italy, he manipulated the image of his parents to feed his own mythology. The Fascist propaganda machine imbued the memory of his mother with saint-like status, and in his Autobiography, ghostwritten by his brother Arnaldo, he is quoted as saying, “My greatest love was for my mother. She was so quiet, so tender, and yet so strong. Her name was Rosa.” Mussolini’s assessment of his father Alessandro, who, because of his radical politics was all but forgotten during the Fascist regime, was more accurate: “If my father had been another kind of man, I would have turned out entirely different.”1
A Distributed Algorithm for Maximizing Linear Tree Density for One to Many Wireless Communication

Reliable and efficient broadcast functions are essential in large, dense, multi-hop low power wireless systems managed by a gateway. Previous approaches addressing this issue rely on centralized and/or solutions requiring complex implementations. This paper describes the {\em Deal} algorithm for minimizing transmissions and hop count while maintaining reliability in a distributed fashion. The algorithm is compatible with and easily integrated into current low power, lossy network protocols.We first present Deal as a centralized algorithm and evaluate using numerical simulations. We then derive a distributed algorithm appropriate for low power, lossy networks. We evaluate the distributed algorithm using a testbed with over 300 nodes. Our results demonstrate that Deal is reliable and energy efficient. The experiments show that Deal significantly reduces the required number of transmissions for network broadcast in large low power, lossy networks.
When to let the fellow do the procedure.

Background and aimsIn complex endoscopies, the initial attempt is often associated with the highest success and subsequent attempts to achieve the same outcome have a higher failure rate. An attending physician needs to decide how the ultimate success may become compromised by letting a fellow start the procedure. A decision analysis is aimed to shed light on this issue.MethodsA formula is derived to calculate the point in time when to switch the instrument between an attending and fellow physician. This time point is determined by the ratio of benefit to the patient over benefit to the fellow, the difference in probability of achieving success by an attending versus a fellow, and the decline in probability of success during consecutive procedural attempts.ResultsThe attending should undertake the first attempts at doing the procedure, if the fellow is inexperienced and the difference in success rate between attending and fellow is still large, if the procedure is risky, and if the benefit of a successful...
Self-Medication for Sleep in College Students: Concurrent and Prospective Associations With Sleep and Alcohol Behavior.

ABSTRACTObjective/Background: College students are at an increased risk for poor sleep and associated sleep problems. Emerging evidence suggests that a substantial subset of college students self-medicate with alcohol, marijuana, or over-the-counter medications to help sleep. The current study identified demographic, psychosocial, and sleep- and alcohol-related correlates of self-medication for sleep, and assessed its concurrent and prospective associations with insomnia symptoms, alcohol drinking, and negative drinking consequences. Participants: Undergraduate students (N = 171; mean age = 19 years [SD = 1.35], 32% male, 74% White) enrolled in a four-year university in the northeastern United States. Methods: Data were drawn from a short-term two-wave longitudinal study. Participants completed two online surveys, separated by an average interval of 68 days (SD = 10.22). Results: At Time 1, 25% of students reported using at least one substance (alcohol, marijuana, or over-the-counter medications) for slee...