cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pathogen frequency in an age-structured population of Plantago lanceolata

Life-history traits can play important roles in determining the course of ecological species interactions. We explored the consequences of host age on a host-pathogen interaction by quantifying pathogen frequency in an age-structured host population. Our project was motivated by an interest in whether the demographic structure of a host population has consequences for species interactions. In 2 successive years, we planted large cohorts of the perennial herb Plantago lanceolata in its natural environment and observed infection by Fusarium moniliforme, a non-lethal floral fungal pathogen, over 3 years. We documented substantial variation of pathogen frequency across years and between cohorts. Logistic regression revealed that pathogen frequency increased with the number of inflorescences produced and with evidence of prior pathogen presence, whereas it decreased with increasing plant longevity. In addition, interannual variation and an age-year interaction contributed to the observed pathogen frequencies. There was a significant positive effect of age on pathogen frequency overall, but this was not consistent over all ages. Pathogen frequency was higher in 2-year-old plants than in 1-year-olds, suggesting that age-structure can influence the host-pathogen interaction. This pattern did not continue into 3-year-old plants. A possible explanation for this is that selective mortality allows only generally robust plants, and consequently the most resistant plants, to survive to the oldest ages.
Particle interaction phenomena

The role of interparticle magnetostatic interactions in magnetic recording is discussed. Three specific examples are examined in detail: the medium coercivity, the structure of a recorded transition, and the noise of an AC erased tape. Two novel calculations will be reviewed for the first two phenomena whereas the discussion of noise will emphasize experimental data that will be compared with simplified models. It is argued that models that neglect or overly simplifiy the magnetostatic interaction energy lead to erroneous results.
Combinatorial construction of logarithmic differential forms

Abstract H. Terao has shown that the structure of the module of (rational) differential forms with at most logarithmic poles at an arrangement of hyperplanes (as defined by K. Saito) is very strongly controlled by the combinatorial structure of the arrangement. In this paper we demonstrate how the existence of rational logarithmic forms with poles of high order depends on the existence of highly degenerate (“special position”) subarrangements. The associated combinatorial structures are studied. First a strong version of K. Saito's “Preparation Lemma” for logarithmic forms leads to a new, simple proof of Terao's celebrated “Addition-Deletion Theorem” for hyperplane arrangements with free module of logarithmic 1-forms (“free arrangements”). Then structural characterizations are developed in two extreme cases for the generation of the module of logarithmic differential 1-forms: this module has a triangular basis iff the arrangement is supersolvable (strictly linearly fibered), and it is generated by forms of degree —1 iff the arrangement is generic in codimension 3. Both conditions on the geometry of the arrangement are combinatorial in a very strong sense (determined by restricted data on the lattice of intersections of the hyperplanes.) However, examples show that the cardinality and degree sequence of a minimal set of generators for the module of logarithmic 1-forms are not in general determined by this intersection lattice.
No-search approach in linguistic geometry: construction of strategies

Linguistic geometry includes mathematical models and tools for knowledge representation and reasoning about multiagent discrete pursuit-evasion games. A new approach to solving a class of search problems without search is shown on example of the aircraft war game. The paper includes the second part of the solution construction. Based on the state space chart a full set of strategies is constructed; one of them is implemented as a solution tree. It is proved that the only optimal strategy in this problem is the draw strategy; implementation of this strategy in the start state is the optimal solution.
ChEpiMod: a knowledgebase for chemical modulators of epigenome reader domains

Context: Epigenome reader domains are rapidly emerging as a new class of drug targets for a wide array of human diseases. To facilitate study of structure–activity relationship and small-molecule ligand design for these domains, we have created ChEpiMod. ChEpiMod is a free knowledgebase of chemical modulators with documented modulatory activity for epigenome reader domains. Methods: ChEpiMod organizes information about chemical modulators and their associated binding-affinity data, as well as available structures of epigenome readers from the Protein Data Bank. The data are gathered from the literature and patents. Entries are supplemented by annotation. The current version of ChEpiMod covers six epigenome reader domain families (Bromodomain, PHD finger, Chromodomain, MBT, PWWP and Tudor). The database can be used to browse existing chemical modulators and bioactivity data, as well as, all available structures of readers and their molecular interactions. The database is updated weekly. Availability: ChEpiMod is freely available at http://chepimod.org Contact: ude.mssm@uohz.gnim-gnim Supplementary information: Supplementary data is available at Bioinformatics online.
Courtship Behavior of the Oriental Fruit Moth (Grapholitha molesta) : Experimental Analysis and Consideration of the Role of Sexual Selection in the Evolution of Courtship Pheromones in the Lepidoptera

Ann Entomol Soc Am 72: 173-1 88 (1979) The courtship behavior of Grapholitha molesta (Busck) (Oriental fruit moth) males, as analyzed by means of conditional probability matrix techniques, consists of a relatively stereotyped sequence of behaviors culminating in an elaborate hairpencil display directed toward and performed 1 or 2 cm from the female The display is comprised of multiple rhythmic extrusions and retractions of the white hairpencil organs and claspers at the end of the abdomen, accompanied by corresponding 45 and 90 cmlsec "puffs" of wind generated by the vibrating wings and directed toward the female The stimuli contained in the display, primarily chemical and anemo-tactile (wind movement), attract the female, who walks to the hairpencils, where contact with the end of the abdomen causes the female to cease walking The tactile stimulus from the female causes the male to turn quickly and attempt copulation The female again walks forward, with the wing nearest the male raised, and copulation follows The visual stimulus of the calling female acts in conjunction with female-emitted pheromone components to release the sequence of male courtship behavior Visual feedback from the attracted female moving toward the male causes the form of the display to be altered, making the 1st extrusion longer Successful courtship sequences last ca. 1 5 sec. The male hairpencils and courtship behavior of this species are hypothesized to have evolved primarily by means of sexual selection involving "female choice", in which a female preference and preferred male trait become linked as a result of the mating advantage conferred upon male offspring of discriminating females Male courtship pheromones of other Lepidoptera and "coyness" in females also may have evolved by this mechanism The hairpencil display is viewed as a form of clasper extension behavior that has become "ritualized" through the process of sexual selection
Impact of the Columbia supercomputer on NASA space and exploration missions

NASA's 10,240-processor Columbia supercomputer gained worldwide recognition in 2004 for increasing the space agency's computing capability ten-fold, and enabling U.S. scientists and engineers to perform significant, breakthrough simulations. Columbia has amply demonstrated its capability to accelerate NASA 's key missions in space operations, exploration systems, science, and aeronautics. Columbia is part of an integrated high-end computing (HEC) environment comprised of massive storage and archive systems, highspeed networking, high-fidelity modeling and simulation tools, application performance optimization, and advanced data analysis and visualization. In this paper, we illustrate the impact Columbia is having on NASA's numerous space and exploration applications, such as the development of the Crew Exploration and Launch Vehicles (CEV/CLV), effects of long-duration human presence in space, and damage assessment and repair recommendations for remaining shuttle flights. We conclude by discussing HEC challenges that must be overcome to solve space-related science problems in the future.
Benevolence: A Minor Virtue

Morality requires us to act for the good of others. This is not the only moral requirement there is, and it is, of course, controversial where the good of others lies. But whatever their good is, there can be no serious doubt that acting so as to bring it about is one crucial obligation morality places on us. Yet the nature of this obligation is unclear, because there are difficult questions about its aim and about the motivational sources required for realizing it. Who are the others for whose good we are obligated to act? Are they only people in our immediate context, or members of our society, or all human beings? And, as a matter of moral psychology, what leads us to honor this obligation? Is it a sense of justice, decency, prudence, benevolence, or some combination of these and perhaps other virtues? The answers we give will shape our understanding of the nature of the obligation. For the character traits which we think should move us will influence the choice of people we aim to benefit and the inclusiveness we attribute to the obligation will affect the motives we wish to cultivate in ourselves and others.
Aromatic hydroxylation and alkyl oxidation in metabolism of mitotane (o,p'-DDD) in humans.

Abstract: Ether extracts of urine from patients treated with mitotane (o,p'-DDD) were methylated with diazomethane. Five derivatives of metabolites were detected and identified by comparison of GLC retention times, mass spectra, and IR spectra with synthetic reference compounds. The derivatives are: methyl o,p'- dichlorodiphenylacetate, methyl l-(2-chloro-4-methoxyphenyl)-l-(4-chlorophenyl)acetate, methyl l-(2-chloro-3-methoxyphenyl)-l-(4-chlorophenyl)acetate, methyl l-(2-chloro-3,4-dimethoxy)-l-(4-chlorophenyl)acetate, and o,p'-dichlorodiphenyl- acetylglycine methyl ester. The synthesis and mass, IR, and NMR spectra of reference compounds are given. Metabolite levels over a period of time in urine samples of two patients were quantitated by GLC.
Asymmetric Spin Torque Transfer in Nano GMR Device With Perpendicular Anisotropy

Spin torque transfer behaviors in giant magnetoresistive (GMR) devices with perpendicular anisotropy were investigated. The critical switching current density could be effectively reduced by an inserted nano-current-channel layer through the current confined effect and the magnetic exchange coupling composite effect. Depending on the location of the nano-current-channel layer inside the device, the reduction of the critical switching current density could be symmetric (or asymmetric) for the switching processes between parallel and anti parallel configurations. With strong current confined and exchange coupling composite effects, the reduction is up to 52% for parallel rarr anti-parallel switching while it is only 31% for anti-parallel rarr parallel switching
A Decentralized Computational Infrastructure for Grid-Based Parallel Asynchronous Iterative Applications

Parallel asynchronous iterative algo- rithms relax synchronization and communication requirements, and can potentially extend Desktop Grids beyond embarrassingly parallel applica- tions to support a broader class of parallel iterative applications. This paper presents the design and implementation of CometG, a decentralized (peer- to-peer) computational infrastructure that extends Desktop Grid environments to support these ap- plications. CometG provides a decentralized and scalable tuple space, efficient communication and coordination support, and application-level ab- stractions that can be used to implement Desktop Grid applications based on parallel asynchronous iterative algorithms using the master-worker/BOT paradigm. The deployment and evaluations of CometG and a CometG-based application in a wide-area environment using the PlanetLab (7) test bed, as well as a campus network are presented.
Micro-concentrator for vanadium nanorods by efficient light-induced convective flow

Avalanche concentration, a rapid long-range accumulation of particles around a laser spot in a liquid sample, is demonstrated and characterized for VO2 nanorods. The effect is found to be driven by a convective flow in the sample, caused by efficient heating of VO2 nanorods that transition from insulator to metal within the laser spot.
Community portals through communitization

Governments wishing to achieve high citizen adoption from electronic services need to provide solutions that are not only technically accessible, but usable and engaging to large numbers of people. Citizen diversity makes this a real challenge. Designing the best user experience for diverse users will require alternative designs on potentially different devices. The cost of doing this may prove prohibitive. One answer is to leverage "the third sector" i.e. voluntary organizations, special interest groups, communities and business related support organizations. Third sector organizations traditionally provide support to disadvantaged and potentially excluded groups and provide a way for government to increase social inclusion and reach a wider audience.To support the delivery of government information and services through multiple providers including but not restricted to the originating government version, this paper proposes to introduce the concept of "Communitization". The principle behind "Communitization" is to enable an interface to be adapted to suit the wants and needs of a community. For government this would provide a way to reach a broader set of citizens with a more tailored set of solutions without incurring any incremental cost. The benefit to citizens would be a custom design, tailored to their needs and integrated into sites they already use.
State and Local Authority to Enforce Immigration Law: A Unified Approach for Stopping Terrorists

Enforcing our nation's immigration laws is one of the most daunting challenges faced by the federal government. With an estimated 8-10 million illegal aliens already present in the United States and fewer than 2,000 interior enforcement agents at its disposal, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) has a Herculean task on its hands - one that it simply cannot accomplish alone. The assistance of state and local law enforcement agencies can mean the difference between success and failure in enforcing immigration laws. The more than 650,000 police officers nation-wide represent a massive force multiplier. This Backgrounder briefly summarizes the legal authority upon which state and local police may act in rendering such asistance and describes the scenarios in which this assistance is most crucial.
Pantaloons&Power: A Nineteenth-Century Dress Reform in the United States. By Gayle V. Fischer. (Kent: Kent State University Press, 2001. xii, 262 pp. Paper, $24.00, ISBN 0-87338-682-5.)

Clothing is often an indication of an individual's status, and gender. By the early nineteenth century clear definitions had developed regarding how American women and men were supposed to appear in public and how they were meant to lead their lives. As men's style of dress moved from the ornate to the moderate, women's fashions continued to be decorative and physically restrictive. This visible separation of the sexes was paralleled in other arenas - social, cultural, and religions. Some women defied this convention and cut their skirts short, abandoned their corsets, and put on trousers. In Pantaloons and Power Gayle V. Fisher shows how the reformers' denouncement of conventional dress highlighted the role of clothing in the struggle of power relations between the sexes.
Regulation of ovarian ornithine decarboxylase by human chorionic gonadotrophin

Treatment of 29-day-old female Sprague-Dawley rats with human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) produced a large and rapid increase in the activity of ornithine decarboxylase. Measurements that use a specific radioimmunoassay showed that the increased activity could be accounted for by a parallel change in the amount of ornithine decarboxylase protein. The increased protein content was caused by an increased rate of synthesis, since the half-life of ornithine decarboxylase was not changed by the hormone treatment. The content of mRNA for ornithine decarboxylase was determined by hybridization with a cDNA probe, and it was found that the increased amount of protein was correlated with a change in the amount of mRNA. These results indicate that treatment with hCG induces ornithine decarboxylase in the rat ovary by increasing the production or the stability of the mRNA for this enzyme. The increased amount of ornithine decarboxylase led to an increase in putrescine in the ovary but did not increase the content of the polyamines spermidine and spermine. These findings show that, despite its rapid and large scale induction, ornithine decarboxylase is not the rate-limiting step that determines the content of these polyamines in this tissue. They also suggest that putrescine itself may play an important role in the ovary.
Using CI to Inform Design Development of an Incision and Drain Packing Device for Use in Emergency Medicine

The goal of this study was to capture the entire clinical procedure of abscesses, termed incision and drainage (IND), from the time of patient presentation to clinical decision-making, treatment, and subsequent gauze removal. This included a detailed description of the equipment used to prepare and complete IND treatment and the exploration of clinician perspectives, contraindications, and variances of procedure across a large clinical team. Data collected in this contextual inquiry study was used to determine design requirements, device cost targets and usability attributes.
Focal complex-dependent edge features characteristically altered in oncogenically transformed cells

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA 2891 Upon oncogenic transformation, respiratory tract epithelial cells show pronounced changes in the prevalence of two edge features. Filopodia are decreased while bulkier protrusions resembling neurites, called massive protrusions (MPs), are increased (Exp. Cell Res. 246:69-82, 1999). Although treating cells with certain drugs (H-7, dihydrocytochalasin B, 7-deoxytaxol) affected both of the features, the combination of decreased filopodia and increased MPs could not be duplicated. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether cytoskeletal components could work together with adhesive specializations to reduce filopodia while increasing MPs. Duplicating this outcome would give the investigators an idea of how the transformed phenotype was functionally produced. To this end, genetic constructs for various GTPases dictating actin architecture were microinjected into cells, and the edge features were solved. The samples were prepared for scanning electron microscopy. Digital images of the injected cells were acquired. The edge of each cell was extracted and analyzed by software developed for this purpose. In cells overexpressing p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) along with constitutively active constructs of the GTPases, Cdc42 and Rac1, both edge features were eliminated. These cells showed significantly increased ruffling compared to all other samples analyzed. If PAK1 was prevented from binding its partner on the focal complex (FC), PAK-interacting exchange factor (PIX), by expression of the domain mediating PIX binding, both edge features were eliminated. Since the margin of these cells was not adherent, this treatment reduced cell adhesion. That treatments affecting adhesion abrogated both edge features suggested that traction on peripheral FCs was essential for their formation. The prevalence of MPs was increased by a number of different GTPase effectors. While it was known that RhoA activity must be low for cells to form neurites, dominant negative RhoA (dnRho) itself had no significant effect. dnRho in combination with ACK (activated by Cdc42-kinase) or dominant positive Rac increased the prevalence of MPs. The adaptors, Nck1 and 2, enhanced MPs without requiring any coactivators, and Nck1 failed to synergize with ACK and dnRho. Since ACK and dnRho were thought to prevent the integration of FCs with actin filaments to create actin stress fibers, Nck1 appeared to have the same effect. On the contrary, filopodia were completely eliminated by the ACK-RhoA-Nck1 combination. Thus, the transformed phenotype, which was characterized by reduced filopodia and enhanced MPs, was replicated by the ACK-RhoA-Nck1 combination. Moreover, since ACK and dnRho probably affected integration of FCs with the cytoskeleton, the role of Nck was pivotal in dictating whether the integration augmented or counteracted the format of cytoskeleton and FCs essential for forming the respective features.
Potential for low-value palliative care of patients with recurrent head and neck cancer

Summary Curative treatment for patients with advanced head and neck cancer can be associated with many side-effects, and many patients suffer from persistent treatment-related side-effects. Patients with recurrent cancer bear the burden of these effects along with additional symptoms attributed to the recurrent tumour. To better understand the benefits and burden of palliative treatments for patients with recurrent head and neck cancer, we reviewed the evidence on commonly used palliative treatments and their effect on quality of life. When used for palliative care purposes, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have limited effectiveness in improving quality of life. Moreover, if these treatments are not congruent with a patient's end-of-life goals, they could constitute low-value care. We recommend that patients with advanced and recurrent cancer should be offered early, comprehensive palliative and supportive services to maximise benefit. The principles of beneficence and respect for patients in the context of shared decision making must prevail if the trust of this vulnerable patient population is to be honoured.
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE AND ADAPTATION TO BEREAVEMENT

Circumstances surrounding the death of a loved one can affect surviving family members’ bereavement experience. Those who believe their loved one had a ‘good death’ (e.g., death was a relief, expected) may experience better bereavement outcomes than those who were dissatisfied with their loved one’s death experience. This study examined: (1) pre-death factors associated with caregivers’ perceptions about the circumstances surrounding their care recipients’ death; and (2) whether a better perception of death is associated with indicators of adaptation to bereavement. Participants included 89 informal caregivers (CG) aged 32 - 87 years (M = 63 years) who experienced the death of their care recipient shortly after placing him/her in a long-term care facility. Pre-death measurements included sociodemographic characteristics, depression, and preparedness for death. Post-death measurements (approximately 3 months post-death) included circumstances surrounding death, restorative health behaviors, and complicated grief. A multivariate regression model showed that CGs who were White and CGs who felt more prepared prior to death perceived better circumstances surrounding their loved one’s death. CGs who perceived better circumstances surrounding their loved one’s death engaged in more restorative health behaviors post-death and reported fewer symptoms of complicated grief. These findings suggest that a better perception of death facilitates behavioral and psychological adaptation to bereavement. These findings raise questions about the specific circumstances surrounding death that may facilitate adaption to bereavement and whether healthcare providers can improve CGs perceptions of a ‘good death’, possibly by preparing them for the death of their loved one.
Racial Differences in Geographic Access to Medical Care as Measured by Patient Report and Geographic Information Systems.

Background:Geographic access—the travel burden required to reach medical care—is an important aspect of care. Studies, which typically rely on geographic information system (GIS) calculated travel times, have found some evidence of racial disparities in spatial access to care. However, the validity
Hearing Loss in Adults

Half of adults in their seventh decade and 80% who are at least 85 years old have hearing loss. Understanding the auditory system and the diseases affecting each component of it allows clinicians to address the problem and refer patients to appropriate personnel.
Automated lexical adaptation and speaker clustering based on pronunciation habits for non-native speech recognition.

This paper describes a method to improve speech recognition for non-native speech in a spoken dialogue system. Based on very general rules about possible vocalic substitutions, the frequency of occurrence of each substitution in different phonetic contexts is estimated on a small set of recordings. The most frequently observed substitutions are applied to the lexicon of the recognizer. Speakers in the training set are automatically clustered according to their preferred phonetic variants, and a specific lexicon is built for each cluster. Acoustic adaptation is also performed on each cluster. Experiments show that lexical adaptation provides a relative WER reduction over acoustic adaptation alone. Lexical clustering can further reduce WER if the system can reliably select the cluster best matching each input utterance.
Microfluidic cell sorting by stiffness to examine heterogenic responses of cancer cells to chemotherapy

Cancers consist of a heterogeneous populations of cells that may respond differently to treatment through drug-resistant sub-populations. The scarcity of these resistant sub-populations makes it challenging to understand how to counter their resistance. We report a label-free microfluidic approach to separate cancer cells treated with chemotherapy into sub-populations enriched in chemoresistant and chemosensitive cells based on the differences in cellular stiffness. The sorting approach enabled analysis of the molecular distinctions between resistant and sensitive cells. Consequently, the role of multiple mechanisms of drug resistance was identified, including decreased sensitivity to apoptosis, enhanced metabolism, and extrusion of drugs, and, for the first time, the role of estrogen receptor in drug resistance of leukemia cells. To validate these findings, several inhibitors for the identified resistance pathways were tested with chemotherapy to increase cytotoxicity sevenfold. Thus, microfluidic sorting can identify molecular mechanisms of drug resistance to examine heterogeneous responses of cancers to therapies.
The Relaxation of Residual Stresses During Fatigue

Microplastic deformation during fatigue of aluminum alloys permits relaxation of residual surface stresses at peak external stress amplitudes that are appreciably less than the yield strength. A review of the literature reveals that this process has not been adequately modeled. We propose and evaluate a model of relaxation which is based upon consideration of the nature of the microplastic deformation process. Residual surface stresses measured during fatigue of an Al 2219-T851 alloy are predicted from the cyclic stress amplitude, the initial magnitude of the residual stress and the ambient humidity during fatigue. It is shown that the rate of relaxation is greatest for those surface preparation processes which produce the steepest residual stress gradient normal to the surface. The rapid relaxation of surface residual stresses in aluminum alloys is an important effect that must be quantitatively understood before adequate prediction of the effect of such stresses on fatigue life can be made.
Semisimplicity in Positive Characteristic

The purpose of this note is to provide a description of some recent results concerning semisimple modules in the representation theory of groups over fields of positive characteristic p. These results share some common features. Each gives conditions for representations to be semisimple, or completely reducible. In each case, the conditions are somehow related to the vector space dimension of the representation.
Block-Sparse Compressive Sensing for High-Fidelity Recording of Photoplethysmogram

This paper presents a novel compressive sensing (CS) framework for photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal recording. Exploiting the concept of block sparsity in CS, the proposed framework trains a block-sparsifying dictionary for the PPG signal using the block K-SVD (BK-SVD) algorithm. Next, the block sparse Bayesian learning (BSBL) algorithm is employed to utilize the block-sparsity information and recover the PPG signal from its compressively sampled counterpart. Using different PPG datasets prerecorded from the fingertip of a healthy human volunteer under normal and post-exercise conditions, our results demonstrate that the proposed CS framework based on BK-SVD + BSBL can achieve signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) values of >10dB for compression ratios as high as 10, outperforming the previous approaches for compressive sensing of PPG that do not utilize the block-sparsity information.
Chapter 3 - Aquatic Feeding in Salamanders

The fundamental structure, function, and natural history of feeding in salamanders are well known. Studies of foraging behavior have been conducted on a number of species, and diet is known for many more taxa. Cranial anatomy has been described for many species from most of the major groups, although more detailed morphological studies are needed for a number of taxa, including the Sirenidae (especially Pseudobranchus ), Dicamptodontidae, and Rhyacotritonidae. The Rhyacotritonidae, which possesses a generalized and perhaps ancestral morphology, is particularly interesting because of its phylogenetic position. There are some groups for which scant morphological information is available, such as the Hynobiidae. The basic function of the suction-feeding system common to most aquatic salamanders is fairly well understood, but the functional significance, if any, of the great morphological diversity of salamanders remains largely uninvestigated. Taxonomic and developmental diversity among salamanders remain to be exploited by researchers of biomechanics, physiology, development, and neuro-ethology. As long as representatives of most of the major groups of salamanders can be obtained, technological advances in high-speed imaging, electromyography, muscle physiology, and neurophysiology will continue to provide opportunities to explore the form and function of the feeding systems of salamanders at multiple levels.
Antarctic Relic Microbial Mat Community Revealed by Metagenomics and Metatranscriptomics

Buried upslope from the modern lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are relict lake deposits embedded in valley walls. Within these relict deposits, ancient microbial mats, or paleomats, have been preserved under extremely arid and cold conditions since the receding of larger paleolakes thousands of years ago and now serve as a sheltered niche for microbes in a highly challenging oligotrophic environment. To explore whether paleomats could be repositories for ancient lake cells or were later colonized by soil microbes, determine what types of metabolic pathways might be present, analyze potential gene expression, and explore whether the cells are in a vegetative or dormant state, we collected paleomat samples from ancient lake facies on the northern slopes of Lake Vanda in Wright Valley in December 2016. Using a gentle lysis technique optimized to preserve longer molecules, combined with a polyenzymatic treatment to maximize yields from different cell types, we isolated high-molecular weight DNA and RNA from ancient paleomat samples. Community composition analysis suggests that the paleomat community may retain a population of indigenous mat cells that may flourish once more favorable conditions are met. In addition to harboring a diverse microbial community, paleomats appear to host heterotrophs in surrounding soils utilizing the deposits as a carbon source. Whole genome long-read PacBio sequencing of native DNA and Illumina metagenomic sequencing of size-sorted DNA (>2,500 nt) indicated possible cell viability, with mat community composed of bacterial taxa. Metagenome assemblies identified genes with predicted roles in nitrogen cycling and complex carbohydrate degradation, and we identified key metabolic pathways such as stress response, DNA repair, and sporulation. Metatranscriptomic data revealed that the most abundant transcripts code for products involved in genetic information processing pathways, particularly translation, DNA replication, and DNA repair. Our results lend new insight into the functional ecology of paleomat deposits, with implications for our understanding of cell biology, Antarctic microbiology and biogeography, and the limits of life in extremely harsh environments.
Exercise induces region‐specific remodeling of astrocyte morphology and reactive astrocyte gene expression patterns in male mice

Astrocytes are essential mediators of many aspects of synaptic transmission and neuroplasticity. Exercise has been demonstrated to induce neuroplasticity and synaptic remodeling, such as through mediating neurorehabilitation in animal models of neurodegeneration. However, the effects of exercise on astrocytic function, and how such changes may be relevant to neuroplasticity remain unclear. Here, we show that exercise remodels astrocytes in an exercise- and region-dependent manner as measured by GFAP and SOX9 immunohistochemistry and morphological analysis in male mice. Additionally, qRT-PCR analysis of reactive astrocyte gene expression showed an exercise-induced elevation in brain regions known to be activated by exercise. Taken together, these data demonstrate that exercise actively modifies astrocyte morphology and drives changes in astrocyte gene expression and suggest that astrocytes may be a central component to exercise-induced neuroplasticity and neurorehabilitation.
Geminivirus Resistance: A Minireview.

A continuing challenge to crop production worldwide is the spectrum of diseases caused by geminiviruses, a large family of small circular single-stranded DNA viruses. These viruses are quite diverse, some containing mono- or bi-partite genomes, and infecting a multitude of monocot and dicot plants. There are currently many efforts directed at controlling these diseases. While some of the methods include controlling the insect vector using pesticides or genetic insect resistance (Rodriguez-Lopez et al., 2011), this review will focus on the generation of plants that are resistant to geminiviruses themselves. Genetic resistance was traditionally found by surveying the wild relatives of modern crops for resistance loci; this method is still widely used and successful. However, the quick rate of virus evolution demands a rapid turnover of resistance genes. With better information about virus-host interactions, scientists are now able to target early stages of geminivirus infection in the host, preventing symptom development and viral DNA accumulation.
Spacing Out! Manipulating Spatial Features in Mathematical Expressions Affects Performance

The current study explores the effects of physical spacing within mathematical expressions on student performance. A total of 2,152 students in 5th-12th grade were randomly assigned to one of four conditions within an online problem set, with terms in algebraic expressions spaced 1) neutrally, with no spaces in the expression, 2) congruent with the order of precedence through grouping terms, 3) incongruent with the order of precedence, or 4) mixed, a combination of the previous conditions. Results show that students who viewed incongruent problems made more errors and had to solve more problems to complete the assignment than those who viewed congruent or neutrally spaced problems. Additionally, students who viewed problems with mixed spacing had to solve more problems to complete the assignment than students who viewed congruent problems. These findings suggest that viewing expressions with spacing that is incongruent with the order of precedence presents challenges for students. Overall, these results replicate prior research in perceptual learning in a natural homework environment and support the claim that physical spacing between terms does influence student performance on order of precedence problems.
Change in the Context of Relationships: The Effect of Visitation on Dynamic Risk Change Among Incarcerated Youth:

The consequences of incarceration for juveniles are vast and well-documented. There is some evidence, though, that youth can experience positive transformations, including improvements in dynamic r...
Optimal Sensor Placement in Lithium-Ion Battery Pack for Fault Detection and Isolation

Energy storage systems for transportation and grid applications, and in the future for aeronautical applications, require the ability of providing accurate diagnosis to insure system availability and reliability. In such applications, battery packs may consist of hundreds or thousands of interconnected cells, and of the associated electrical/electronic hardware. This paper presents a systematic methodology for approaching some aspects of the design of battery packs, and in particular understanding the degree of analytical redundancy (AR) in the system that can be used for diagnostic strategies. First, the degree of AR that is intrinsic in the battery system is determined. Then, structural analysis tools are used to study how different measurements (current, voltage, and temperature) may improve the ability of monitoring and diagnosis of a battery system. Possible sensor placement strategies that would enable the diagnosis of individual sensor faults and individual cell faults for different battery pack topologies are analyzed as well. The work presented in this paper illustrates how to achieve the required fault detection and isolation (FDI) capabilities using a minimal or optimal sensor set, which is a critical step in the design of a large battery pack.
Insulin Action, Glucose Homeostasis and Free Fatty Acid Metabolism: Insights From a Novel Model.

Glucose and free fatty acids (FFA) are essential nutrients that are both partly regulated by insulin. Impaired insulin secretion and insulin resistance are hallmarks of aberrant glucose disposal, and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In the current study, a novel model of FFA kinetics is proposed to estimate the role insulin action on FFA lipolysis and oxidation allowing estimation of adipose tissue insulin sensitivity (SIFFA ). Twenty-five normal volunteers were recruited for the current study. To participate, volunteers had to be less than 40 years of age and have a body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2, and be free of medical comorbidity. The proposed model of FFA kinetics was used to analyze the data derived from the insulin-modified FSIGT. Mean fractional standard deviations of the parameter estimates were all less than 20%. Standardized residuals of the fit of the model to the FFA temporal data were randomly distributed, with only one estimated point lying outside the 2-standard deviation range, suggesting an acceptable fit of the model to the FFA data. The current study describes a novel one-compartment non-linear model of FFA kinetics during an FSIGT that provides an FFA metabolism insulin sensitivity parameter (SIFFA ). Furthermore, the models suggest a new role of glucose as the modulator of FFA disposal. Estimates of SIFFA confirmed previous findings that FFA metabolism is more sensitive to changes in insulin than glucose metabolism. Novel derived indices of insulin sensitivity of FFA (SIFFA ) were correlated with minimal model indices. These associations suggest a cooperative rather than competitive interplay between the two primary nutrients (glucose and FFA) and allude to the FFA acting as the buffer, such that glucose homeostasis is maintained.
Weyl formulae for Schrödinger operators with critically singular potentials

We obtain generalizations of classical versions of the Weyl formula involving Schrodinger operators HV=−Δg+V(x) on compact boundaryless Riemannian manifolds with critically singular potentials V. I...
Organizational Support and Citizenship Behaviors: A Comparative Cross-Cultural Meta-Analysis

We integrate and extend the literatures on perceived organizational support (POS), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and comparative cross-cultural management by examining whether the POS–OCB relationship is contingent on national culture. In social exchanges between the organization and its employees, employees are likely to act as good citizens in reciprocity to the support provided by their organization. At the same time, it is possible that national culture couches and hence modifies the strength of these exchanges. We use meta-analysis to test the hypotheses. To test national culture as moderator, we use country-level cultural dimensions from Hofstede. Results suggest that the POS–OCB relationship can vary across cultures. While perceived organizational support has a positive influence on citizenship, the influence is stronger in some cultural settings. Higher levels of collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and femininity strengthen the POS–OCB relationship. Hence, the POS–OCB relationship is embedded within—and therefore moderated by—the cultural aspects of the larger society.
Post-Viability Abortion Bans and the Limits of the Health Exception

From Roe v. Wade in 1973 to Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 to Stenberg u. Carhart in 2000 the Supreme Court has consistently held that the states have more power to regulate abortions subsequent to viability than prior to viability. Once the child is potentially able to live outside the womb a state may even ban abortions so long as it provides an exception for situations in which an abortion protects a mothers life or health. Bur what does it mean to have a health exception? Some circuits interpret this health exception so broadly as to include mental health. Recent Supreme Court cases imply however that mental health is not a constitutionally mandated component of the health exception. (excerpt)
Immunological Methods in the Diagnostic Allergy Clinical and Research Laboratory

This chapter overviews clinically used and research methods for the quantification of total and allergen-specific IgE antibodies and allergen-specific IgG antibodies. The performance of immunoassays for these analytes has continued to improve with the availability of new solid-phase matrices, conjugate labeling technology, standardized reference reagents, and data processing methods. One monoclonal antibody-based noncompetitive solid-phase two-site immunoenzymetric assay (IEMA) is described here as the procedure of choice for research investigations of total serum IgE. Because total serum IgE is a regulated analyte as defined by the amended Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1988, licensed clinical laboratories providing this analytical measurement must demonstrate proficiency in an external proficiency survey such as the Diagnostic Allergy (SE) survey conducted by the College of American Pathologists. A modification of the total serum IEMA described above allows the quantification of the level of "free" or non-omalizumab-bound IgE in serum. A 1992 study highlighted that venom-specific IgG levels of <3.5 μg/ml are associated with an increased risk of allergic reactions upon a resting during the first 4 years of immunotherapy with yellow jacket or mixed vespid venoms. In summary, the diagnostic allergy laboratory uses a number of immunoassay methods to measure IgE and IgG antibodies that aid the clinician in the diagnosis and management of individuals with allergic disease. As more is learned about genetic polymorphisms that predispose individuals to allergic disease, molecular biology methods may also be employed in the diagnostic allergy laboratory of the future.
Conservative Christianity, the Military, and American War Culture

This article describes the fundamentalist Christian movement in America and how it is closely linked to a strong support of military action and power. This article is available in Constructing the Past: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/constructing/vol5/iss1/7
Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self

Preface ix CHAPTER ONE: Surviving Sexual Violence 1 CHAPTER TWO: On the Personal as Philosophical 23 CHAPTER THREE: Outliving Oneself 37 CHAPTER FOUR: Acts of Memory 67 CHAPTER FIVE: The Politics of Forgetting 85 CHAPTER SIX: Retellings 101 Afterword 119 Acknowledgments 125 Notes 129 Bibliography 147 Index 157
Measurement and Tax Depreciation Policy: The Case of Short-Term Assets

Depreciation is difficult and expensive to measure yet central to measuring capital income. This paper considers whether measurement resources should be allocated to longer-term assets on the theory that depreciation matters more for long-term than for short-term assets. This paper argues that accuracy in depreciation is equally or more important for short-term as for long-term assets. Nevertheless, measurement costs are likely to be higher for short-term assets than for long-term assets, which means we might expect less accuracy, all else equal, for short-term assets.
Should blood lead screening recommendations be revised

In October 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended blood lead (BPb) screening for virtually all 1-year-old children and, preferably, for all 2-year-old children as well.1 In April 1993, the US Department of Health and Human Services distributed guidelines recommending that all newborns, regardless of race or ethnicity, be screened for sickle cell anemia.2 In June 1993, the National Institutes of Health issued a consensus conference recommendation that all infants be tested for hearing impairment within the first 3 months of life, preferably before newborns leave the hospital.3 In each instance, these screening recommendations were developed because a group of experts, after identifying a child health problem within its area of interest, believed that universal screening was indicated.
Expressing Personal Interpretations of Music Collections in Spatial Hypertext

Managing music collections often involves prioritizing explicit metadata fields, e.g. artist, album, year, in order to structure the collection on a storage device or display it in an interface. These metadata values are used because they are independent of one's interpretation of the music and, thus, equally recognizable for all users. This paper presents a study of how people develop interpretive organizations for music in spatial hypertext. The resulting organizations included a variety of personal interpretations that drew from participants' knowledge of songs, memories associated with songs, and assessment of the mood of songs. Participants valued the expressive capabilities of spatial hypertext but missed the metadata-based tree views of the music collections for locating music.