cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Z-dol Versus Z-tetraol: Bonding and Durability in Magnetic Hard Disk Application

A component-level study has revealed that the durability of magnetic hard disks coated with Z-dol improved with increasing level of relative humidity, while the durability of disks coated with Z-tetraol was generally superior and not affected by the humidity within the range investigated (8–80%). It has been shown earlier that water molecules effectively passivate the catalytic centers responsible for the lubricant degradation. The Z-dol molecular chain has a hydroxyl group at each end, while the Z-tetraol molecular chain has two hydroxyl groups at each end. Having surmised that the superior performance of Z-tetraol can be ascribed to its ability to retain water molecules at its multiply hydroxylated ends, the solubility of water in Z-dol, Z-tetraol, and Z-TX were investigated using proton NMR spectroscopy. The study revealed that Z-tetraol is not only able to retain a much larger number of water molecules at its ends, but also is able to form stronger hydrogen bonds. Z-tetraol would then bond more tightly to the carbon overcoat (via hydrogen bonding with the surface hydroxyl groups), and be more resistant against catalytic degradation owing to its affinity to, and retention of water molecules.
Identification of protein radicals formed in the human neuroglobin-H2O2 reaction using immuno-spin trapping and mass spectrometry.

Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a recently discovered protein that shows only minor sequence similarity with myoglobin and hemoglobin but conforms to the typical 3-over-3 α-helical fold characteristic of vertebrate globins. An intriguing feature of Ngb is its heme hexacoordination in the absence of external ligands, observed both in the ferrous and in the ferric (met) forms. In Ngb, the imidazole of a histidine residue (His-64) in the distal position, above the heme plane, provides the sixth coordination bond. In this work, a valine residue was introduced at position 64 (H64V variant) to clarify the possible role(s) of the distal residue in protecting the heme iron of Ngb from attack by strong oxidants. SDS-PAGE analyses revealed that the oxidation of the H64V variant of metNgb by H 2 O 2 resulted in the formation of dimeric and trimeric products in contrast to the native protein. Dityrosine cross-links were shown by their fluorescence to be present in the oligomeric products. When the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1 -pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) was included in the reaction mixture, nitrone adducts were detected by immuno-spin trapping. The specific location of the DMPO adducts on the H64V variant protein was determined by a mass spectrometry method that combines off-line immuno-spin trapping and chromatographic procedures. This method revealed Tyr-88 to be the site of modification by DMPO. The presence of His-64 in the wild-type protein results in the nearly complete loss of detectable radical adducts. Together, the data support the argument that wild-type Ngb is protected from attack by H 2 O 2 by the coordinated distal His.
Studies on the supression of normal B-cell maturation by peripheral blood cells from patients with acquired hypogammaglobulinemia and from normal neonates

Abstract The lack of fetal allograft rejection by the mother during pregnancy is unexplained. The possibility that fetal cells may suppress maternal lymphocytes has been recently introduced. In the present study, cord lymphocytes from 16 newborn human infants were co-cultured in control and pokeweed-stimulated conditions with unrelated adult normal or maternal lymphocytes. Terminal B-cell maturation as reflected by proportions of cells with cytoplasmic immunoglobulin was not suppressed under these conditions. However, marked supression of terminal B-cell maturation as expressed by diminished cytoplasmic immunofluorescence was noted when lymphocytes from patients with acquired hypogammaglobulinemia were cultured under similar conditions with normal lymphocytes.
Experimental proof: Residence time distribution in cascadography

Abstract By applying the principles of residence time distribution, the fundamental theorem of Cascadography states that a set of particles with identical residence times with exit a Cascadograph in a cluster. Since the validity of all Cascadographs depends on the accuracy of this theorem, it must be experimentally verified. This theorem was experimentally proven for the first time in a working Cascadograph.
Malaria Protection of the International Traveler

Although isolated cases of malaria still may be acquired in the United States,’ imported cases in international travelers are primarily responsible for approximately 1,000 cases reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the decade ending in 1988, more than 50 malaria-associated deaths were reported, most of them theoretically preventable. Moreover, it is estimated that only 30% to 60% of malaria cases are actually reported to the CDC. In recent years, an increase in infections due to Plasmodium falciparum, which accounts for the most severe form of malaria, has been noted. This increase is multifactorial in origin and is associated with an increase in travel to malarious areas, difficulties with chemoprophylaxis (including compliance and adverse effects), and increasing resistance to multiple antimalarial agents. Thus, careful counseling of the traveler and appropriate chemoprophylaxis remain vitally important.
Theory of electron emission stimulated by charged particle reflection from simple metals; glancing incidence

Abstract Recent experiments by Rau and his colleagues [Phys. Rev. Lett. 64 (1990) 1441; DIET V (Springer, New York, 1992); Ionization of Solids by Heavy Particles (Plenum, New York, 1992)] explore the energy spectrum of electrons emitted from metal surfaces, in response to the reflection of positive ions reflected from the surface, at grazing incidence. We develop a theory of the emission process wherein the Coulomb field of the ion excites particle-hole pairs in the substrate, taken here to be jellium. We obtain a general expression for the energy and angle variation of the emitted electrons, for an ion trajectory which may penetrate into the substrate before reflecting off the planes of substrate nuclei. The result is expressed as an integral over the density-density response functions χ ( zz '; Q ∥ ω ) of the substrate. Special limits are explored, with emphasis on glancing incidence. We do not consider Auger processes, in which the ion is neutralized through acquisition of a substrate electron.
Global tyrosine kinome profiling of human thyroid tumors identifies Src as a promising target for invasive cancers.

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Kinome profiling is a novel technique for identifying activated kinases in human cancers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Src activity is increased in invasive thyroid cancers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Inhibition of Src activity decreased proliferation and invasion in vitro. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Further investigation of Src targeted therapies in thyroid cancer is warranted. -- Abstract: Background: Novel therapies are needed for the treatment of invasive thyroid cancers. Aberrant activation of tyrosine kinases plays an important role in thyroid oncogenesis. Because current targeted therapies are biased toward a small subset of tyrosine kinases, we conducted a study to reveal novel therapeutic targets for thyroid cancer using a bead-based, high-throughput system. Methods: Thyroid tumors and matched normal tissues were harvested from twenty-six patients in the operating room. Protein lysates were analyzed using the Luminex immunosandwich, a bead-based kinase phosphorylation assay. Data was analyzed using GenePattern 3.0 software and clustered according to histology, demographic factors, and tumor status regarding capsular invasion, size, lymphovascular invasion, and extrathyroidal extension. Survival and invasion assays were performed to determine the effect of Src inhibition in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells. Results: Tyrosine kinome profiling demonstrated upregulation of nine tyrosine kinases in tumors relative to matched normal thyroid tissue: EGFR, PTK6, BTK, HCK, ABL1,more » TNK1, GRB2, ERK, and SRC. Supervised clustering of well-differentiated tumors by histology, gender, age, or size did not reveal significant differences in tyrosine kinase activity. However, supervised clustering by the presence of invasive disease showed increased Src activity in invasive tumors relative to non-invasive tumors (60% v. 0%, p < 0.05). In vitro, we found that Src inhibition in PTC cells decreased cell invasion and proliferation. Conclusion: Global kinome analysis enables the discovery of novel targets for thyroid cancer therapy. Further investigation of Src targeted therapy for advanced thyroid cancer is warranted.« less
Activation energies of intermetallic growth of Sn-Ag eutectic solder on copper substrates

Intermetallic phases formed along a Sn-Ag eutectic solder/Cu interface during solid-state aging have been characterized and the activation energies of Cu3Sn and Cu6Sn5 growth have been calculated. Diffusion couples consisting of Cu/ 96.5Sn-3.5Ag/Cu were aged at 110 to 208°C for 0 to 32 days. After aging, the Cu/ solder interfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The growth rate constants for each intermetallic layer were calculated assuming a simple parabolic diffusion-controlled growth model. The activation energy for Cu3Sn growth is 0.73 eV/atom and the activa-tion energy for Cu6Sn5 growth is 1.11 eV/atom.
The Effects of Seed Dispersal on the Simulation of Long-Term Forest Landscape Change

The study of forest landscape change requires an understanding of the complex interactions of both spatial and temporal factors. Traditionally, forest gap models have been used to simulate change on small and independent plots. While gap models are useful in examining forest ecological dynamics across temporal scales, large, spatial processes, such as seed dispersal, cannot be realistically simulated across large landscapes. To simulate seed dispersal, spatially explicit landscape models that track individual species distribution are needed. We used such a model, LANDIS, to illustrate the implications of seed dispersal for simulating forest landscape change. On an artificial open landscape with a uniform environment, circular-shaped tree species establishment patterns resulted from the simulations, with areas near seed sources more densely covered than areas further from seed sources. Because LANDIS simulates at 10-y time steps, this pattern reflects an integration of various possible dispersal shapes and establishment that are caused by the annual variations in climate and other environmental variables. On real landscapes, these patterns driven only by species dispersal radii are obscured by other factors, such as species competition, disturbance, and landscape structure. To further demonstrate the effects of seed dispersal, we chose a fairly disturbed and fragmented forest landscape (approximately 500,000 ha) in northern Wisconsin. We compared the simulation results of a map with tree species (seed source locations) realistically parameterized (the real scenario) against a randomly parameterized species map (the random scenario). Differences in the initial seed source distribution lead to different simulation results of species abundance with species abundance starting at identical levels under the two scenarios. This is particularly true for the first half of the model run (0-250 y). Under the random scenario, infrequently occurring and shade tolerant species tend to be overestimated, while midabundant and midshade tolerant species tend to be underestimated. The over- and underestimation of species abundance diminish when examining longterm (500 y) landscape dynamics, because stochastic factors, such as fire, tend to make the landscapes under both scenarios converge. However, differences in spatial patterns, and especially species age-cohort distributions, can persist under the two scenarios for several hundred years.
CRA-E Panel on Undergraduate Research

This panel seeks to help faculty and other research mentors engage undergraduates in their research. The panel addresses the benefits of working with undergraduates, funding opportunities, best practices in supervising undergraduate research, and finding additional resources.
Co-teaching: Enhancing the Student Teaching Experience

AbstractFind out how co-teaching can be used as a vehicle for effective professional development during preservice teacher education.
Social resources and disordered living conditions: evidence from a national sample of community-residing older adults

For older adults aging in the community, living conditions can promote health, enhance coping, and reduce disablement--but they can also create stress and increase risks of illness, accidents, and decline. Although socioeconomic disparities in housing likely contribute to inequalities in interior conditions, I argue that living conditions are also shaped by social resources such as coresidential relationships, social network ties, and social support. In this article, I examine the distribution of a set of risky or stressful physical and ambient living conditions including structural disrepair, clutter, lack of cleanliness, noise, and odor. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), I find that low-income and African American older adults have more disordered living conditions as do those with poorer physical and mental health. In addition, older adults who have a coresident partner, more nonresidential network ties, and more sources of instrumental support are exposed to fewer risky or harmful living conditions. This suggests that living conditions are an important, though overlooked, mechanism through which household composition, social networks, and social support affect health and well-being in later life.
Metallic hydrogen: The most powerful rocket fuel yet to exist

Wigner and Huntington first predicted that pressures of order 25 GPa were required for the transition of solid molecular hydrogen to the atomic metallic phase. Later it was predicted that metallic hydrogen might be a metastable material so that it remains metallic when pressure is released. Experimental pressures achieved on hydrogen have been more than an order of magnitude higher than the predicted transition pressure and yet it remains an insulator. We discuss the applications of metastable metallic hydrogen to rocketry. Metastable metallic hydrogen would be a very light-weight, low volume, powerful rocket propellant. One of the characteristics of a propellant is its specific impulse, Isp. Liquid (molecular) hydrogen-oxygen used in modern rockets has an Isp of ~460s; metallic hydrogen has a theoretical Isp of 1700s! Detailed analysis shows that such a fuel would allow single-stage rockets to enter into orbit or carry economical payloads to the moon. If pure metallic hydrogen is used as a propellant, the reaction chamber temperature is calculated to be greater than 6000 K, too high for currently known rocket engine materials. By diluting metallic hydrogen with liquid hydrogen or water, the reaction temperature can be reduced, yet there is still a significant performance improvement for the diluted mixture.
EXPORT PERFORMANCE AND ITS DETERMINANTS: SUPPLY AND DEMAND CONSTRAINTS

What are the major determinants of export performance? Does the importance of these determinants vary with export performance itself? Using quantile regression techniques this study investigates the contribution towards the performance of the external sector of linkages to international markets relative to internal supply-side conditions. Results indicate that, while trade barriers continue to be of concern, poor supply-side conditions have often been the more important constraint on export performance in various regions, in particular in Africa and the Middle East, despite a generalized deepening of international trade integration. Beside strong linkages to international markets, good transport infrastructures, macroeconomic soundness and good quality institutions appear to be major determinants in the development process of the external sector.
Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from water supplies: comparison of methods based on the guinea-pig and culture media

The detection of Legionella pneumophila in water via guinea-pig intraperitoneal injection has been compared with direct isolation of these organisms on semiselective BCYE alpha media. Both techniques were of similar sensitivity, detecting as few as 10(2) L. pneumophila in 10 ml of water. However, at this concentration, detection using guinea-pig intraperitoneal injection was via the indirect parameters of antibody production and immunofluorescent microscopy. Isolation of L. pneumophila from guinea-pig tissue for further investigation required greater than 10(7) organisms injected and in this respect is relatively much less sensitive than direct isolation on semiselective BCYE alpha media. Since L. micdadei and L. longbeachae are inhibited by one of the selective supplements used, other supplements and techniques need to be developed in order to avoid possible inhibition of other Legionella species. This work is based on simulated water samples containing strains of L. pneumophila defined in terms of pneumonic Legionnaires' disease in the guinea-pig. As such, this work serves as a guide to technique and the need to test large numbers of naturally infected water samples in parallel by techniques outlined in this work is emphasized.
“Liquor before beer, you're in the clear”: binge drinking and other risk behaviours among fraternity/sorority members and their non-Greek peers

Objective: To examine “college drinking culture” and explore alcohol use and other variables among a sample of US college students.Methods: Bivariate crosstabulation and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between alcohol use, gender, Greek membership and risk behaviours among a random sample of 823 undergraduates who completed a health behaviour survey.Results: Respondents who binged were significantly more likely to be male and belong to a fraternity/sorority. Fraternity bingers were significantly more likely to engage in physical fights (p < 0.05) than non-Greek male bingers. Sorority bingers were significantly more likely to be injured (p < 0.01), drive under the influence of alcohol (DUI) (p < 0.001), be sexually victimised (p < 0.01) and engage in unwanted sex (p < 0.05) than non-Greek female bingers. Fraternity members who binged frequently (≥3 times in 2 weeks) were significantly more likely to DUI (p < 0.01) and engage in unprotected sex (p < 0.05) than were those who b...
Dissociative Electron Attachment on Surfaces and in Bulk Media

A theory of dissociative electron attachment to molecules condensed at surfaces and embedded within bulk media is developed. The theory of low-energy electron diffraction is used to obtain the width for electron-molecule resonance scattering in the condensed phase from the width for the gas phase. It is then employed for the calculation of dissociative attachment in the framework of the nonlocal complex potential theory. Specific calculations using the effective mass approximation are carried out for electron attachment to $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{H}}_{3}\mathrm{Cl}$ and $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{F}}_{3}\mathrm{Cl}$ molecules physisorbed on the surface of a Kr film. The role of image states and image-potential resonances is analyzed. The results show an increase by several orders of magnitude in the cross section for physisorbed molecules as compared with gas-phase molecules. This is in general agreement with the measured cross sections. However, the position of the peak in the cross section for $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{H}}_{3}\mathrm{Cl}$ is significantly shifted towards higher energies as compared to experiment [K. Nagesha et al., J. Chem. Phys. 114, 4934 (2001)], and the magnitude of the calculated cross section for $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{F}}_{3}\mathrm{Cl}$ at the surface is significantly higher than the measured value. Possible reasons for disagreements are analyzed.
The performance of cache-based error recovery in multiprocessors

Several variations of cache-based checkpointing for rollback error recovery from transient errors in shared-memory multiprocessors have been recently developed. By modifying the cache replacement policy, these techniques use the inherent redundancy in the memory hierarchy to periodically checkpoint the computation state. Three schemes, different in the manner in which they avoid rollback propagation, are evaluated in this paper. By simulation with address traces from parallel applications running on an Encore Multimax shared-memory multiprocessor, we evaluate the performance effect of integrating the recovery schemes in the cache coherence protocol. Our results indicate that the cache-based schemes can provide checkpointing capability with low performance overhead, but with uncontrollable high variability in the checkpoint interval. >
Response to “Chemistry misconceptions associated with understanding calcium and phosphate homeostasis”

I enjoyed Dr. Cliff's “conceptual diagnostic test” regarding calcium phosphate equilibrium and was relieved that I chose the correct answers ([1][1]). Question 2 was the more difficult one, and I hesitated before almost answering it incorrectly. Dr. Cliff asks what would happen if more calcium
Magnetic design of a superconducting AGS snake

Brookhaven National Laboratory plans to build a partial helical snake for polarized proton acceleration in the AGS. It will be a 3 Tesla superconducting magnet having a magnetic length of 1.9 meter. AGS needs only one magnet and currently there is no plan to build a prototype. Therefore, the first magnet itself must function at the design operating field and provide the required field quality, spin rotation and deflections on the particle beam. New software have been developed that exchanges input/output between the OPERA3d field design program, the Pro-Engineering CAD model and the software that drives the machine to make slots in aluminum cylinders where blocks of 6-around-1 NbTi wires are placed. This new software have been used to carry out a number of iterations to satisfy various design requirements and to assure that the profile that is used in making field computations is the same that is used in cutting metal. The optimized coil cross-section is based on a two-layer design with both inner and outer layers having five current blocks per quadrant. The ends are based on a design concept that will be used for the first time in accelerator magnets.
State-Level Impact of Mandated Referrals from Child Welfare to Part C Early Intervention.

New federal legislation requires states to develop policies to refer children younger than age 3 with substantiated cases of abuse or neglect to state Early Intervention (EI) systems. This article presents state-by-state estimates of potential referral and enrollment increases for EI. Many states could experience a significant increase in referrals (average 44%) and enrollment (average 22%). For effective implementation, states' EI systems will need to (a) increase EI system capacity, (b) identify additional funding, (c) find ways to successfully engage potentially resistant families, and (d) forge new interagency linkages. The state-by-state estimates provide both an indication of the potential impact in each state as well as goals that would reflect effective implementation of the referral mandate.
Influence of Hypophysectomy and Growth Hormone on Cartilage Sulfate Metabolism.

SummaryHypophysectomy of immature growing rats results in a markedly diminished sulfate uptake of costal cartilage as judged from the cartilage to plasma inorganic sulfate specific activity ratios. The injection of growth hormone partially restore this ratio to normal under the conditions employed. The plasma inorganic sulfate specific activities of hypophysectomized rats are several fold higher than those of normal rats.
Preferential concentration of azithromycin in an infected mouse thigh model

The possibility of augmentation of azithromycin delivery to infection loci was evaluated by the use of Staphylococcus aureus thigh infection models with CD-1 mice. The intramuscular infections that developed were characterized by rapid growth of bacteria and induction of a localized oedema that was assessed gravimetrically. Microscopic examination of infected thighs showed massive infiltration of polymorphonuclear leucocytes (viable and degranulated), when compared to saline-injected thighs, from 24 to > or = 72 h after infection. Azithromycin concentrations were enhanced significantly (P < or = 0.02) in infected thigh tissues compared with contralateral non-infected tissues, and correlated with oedema from 24-72 h after challenge and dosing. The azithromycin levels in infected tissue after a 5 mg/kg dose were sufficient to cause a significant reduction in the number of cfu. If azithromycin administration was delayed until inflammation was more severe, the result was an even greater preferential concentration of azithromycin into the infected thigh. Preferential concentration of azithromycin was not observed when extensive oedema was produced by injection of histamine. However, this oedema was not associated with a significant influx of polymorphonuclear leucocytes. In comparative studies, macrolide antibiotics known to be concentrated in phagocytes, such as erythromycin, roxithromycin, and clarithromycin, were not concentrated preferentially in infected tissues under the experimental conditions used; tissue levels were above or at the in-vitro MIC level for < or = 24 h. The data indicate that delivery of biologically available azithromycin to infected tissues is enhanced by cellular inflammatory processes.
Adolescent Head and Neck Trauma

Head injuries in adolescents, which often result from motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, falls, burns, or trauma due to violence, may range from mild to severe to fatal. One of the most useful initial scoring systems is the Glasgow Coma Scale. Proper care of the injured adolescent begins at the scene of the incident, with an emphasis on management of the airways, breathing, and circulation (the ABCs) and prevention of secondary injury, which may result from hypoxia, hypercarbia, rapid swings in blood pressure, hypovolemia, seizures, and poor or improper immobilization. Monitoring and management of intracranial pressure become a priority on arrival at the emergency department. Imaging techniques, such as CT scan, may be necessary. Injuries to the neck (cervical spine), which may result in quadriplegia, should be suspected in the presence of neurologic deficits. Language: en
Interdiffusion in the TiO2 oxidation product of Ti3Al

Oxidation experiments have been conducted on Ti3Al in the temperature range 1023 to 1273 K in a one-atmosphere pure oxygen environment. The oxidation products were analyzed using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques and found to be predominantly TiO2 (rutile). The oxidation rate was observed to obey the parabolic rate law. Diffusivity data were obtained using the parabolic rate constant for interdiffusion of Ti and O in the oxide layer. Parabolic rate constants were calculated from oxidation rate data, and Valenci equations for flat sheets were used to calculate diffusion coefficients. The activation energy, Q, was found to be 295.43±5.90 kJ/mol, and the frequency factor, D 0, was calculated to be 0.68±0.01 m2/s for oxygen in the TiO2. The activation energy obtained in this study matches closely with that of oxygen diffusion in TiO2 reported in the literature.
Data-driven iconification

Pictograms (icons) are ubiquitous in visual communication, but creating the best icon is not easy: users may wish to see a variety of possibilities before settling on a final form, and they might lack the ability to draw attractive and effective pictograms by themselves. We describe a system that synthesizes novel pictograms by remixing portions of icons retrieved from a large online repository. Depending on the user's needs, the synthesis can be controlled by a number of interfaces ranging from sketch-based modeling and editing to fully-automatic hybrid generation and scribble-guided montage. Our system combines icon-specific algorithms for salient-region detection, shape matching, and multi-label graph-cut stitching to produce results in styles ranging from line drawings to solid shapes with interior structure.
The Epistemological Study to Market Mechanism

It contains a change of cognition model and mechanism from planed economy to market economy. The main hypotheses of epistemology in market mechanism are: the action of economy is in a condition of incomplete information all along; its order comes into being in evolution; and its movement of information needs impelling effectively. The mail problems about cognition in market economy include the significance of a price in epistemology, market decision in an incomplete condition, market forecasting and risk, market cognition in game, the divergence of epistemology between ideal and real model, and mutually complementary cognition between government and market.
Sounds of the New Deal: The Federal Music Project in the West . By Peter Gough.

Sounds of the New Deal: The Federal Music Project in the West . Music in American Life Series. By Peter Gough. Foreword by Peggy Seeger. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2015. xvii + 267 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $50.00.) From 1933 until the onset of World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal aimed to reverse the economic downturn of the Great Depression through work programs administered by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). While these programs failed to end the Depression, they left a colorful history of early progressive experiments in a mixed economy. Of particular note here are the New Deal’s efforts to create work for unemployed artists, writers, poets, moviemakers, and musicians. Peter Gough’s book traces the origins and development of the … magician{at}uw.edu
The Carswell Affair: The Politics of a Supreme Court Nomination in the Nixon Administration

Recent efforts to revive the reputation of the late Richard M. Nixon have understandably omitted mention of the legacy he had intended to bestow upon the nation's highest court. When Nixon nominated Judge G. Harrold Carswell to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1970, a howl of protest erupted over the judge's competence to sit on the High Bench. The Dean of Yale Law School remarked that the judge possessed "more slender credentials than any other nominee put forth this century."I Spurned by fellow Republican Judge Elbert P. Tuttle, his widely-respected colleague on the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals,2 and regarded by Judge John Minor Wisdom, another colleague and also another Republican, as a "lightweight,"3 Carswell was the only Supreme Court nominee in decades whose confirmation turned to a considerable extent on whether or not he
Shallow and deep controls on lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano

Abstract Lava lakes provide a rare window into magmatic behavior, and lake surface motion has been used to infer deeper properties of the magmatic system. At Halema'uma'u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, multidisciplinary observations for the past several years indicate that lava lake surface motion can be broadly divided into two regimes: 1) stable and 2) unstable. Stable behavior is driven by lava upwelling from deeper in the lake (presumably directly from the conduit) and is an intrinsic process that drives lava lake surface motion most of the time. This stable behavior can be interrupted by periods of unstable flow (often reversals) driven by spattering – a shallowly-rooted process often extrinsically triggered by small rockfalls from the crater wall. The bursting bubbles at spatter sources create void spaces and a localized surface depression which draws and consumes surrounding surface crust. Spattering is therefore a location of lava downwelling, not upwelling. Stable (i.e. deep, upwelling-driven) and unstable (i.e. shallow, spattering-driven) behavior often alternate through time, have characteristic surface velocities, flow directions and surface temperature regimes, and also correspond to changes in spattering intensity, outgassing rates, lava level and seismic tremor. These results highlight that several processes, originating at different depths, can control the motion of the lava lake surface, and long-term interdisciplinary monitoring is required to separate these influences. These observations indicate that lake surface motion is not always a reliable proxy for deeper lake or magmatic processes. From these observations, we suggest that shallow outgassing (spattering), not lake convection, drives the variations in lake motion reported at Erta 'Ale lava lake.
Cropland expansion and grassland loss in the eastern Dakotas: New insights from a farm-level survey

The western Corn Belt region of the United States has become a hotspot for agricultural extensification and consequent land use and land cover changes. The goals of this research were to characterize geographic patterns of grassland loss resulting from cropland expansion in the eastern Dakotas, and to understand how these changes were associated with characteristics of individual farms and farm operators. We collected data on grassland conversion and other land use decisions through a mail survey of farm operators in North and South Dakota. Overall, 40% of respondents converted at least some grassland to cropland between 2004 and 2014, and the total acreage of converted grassland was equivalent to 5.1% of the surveyed farm acreage. Although most converted grassland acres (3.2% of farm acreage) were from land enrolled in the conservation reserve program (CRP), there were also substantial amounts of native grassland conversion (1.0%) and tame grassland conversion (0.9%). The total acreage of grassland conversion was more than four times larger than the acreage enrolled in CRP and other conservation programs. Different types of grassland conversion (e.g., native grassland versus CRP) were concentrated in different parts of the study region, and were spatially disjunct from the areas of highest conservation program enrollment. Larger farms were more likely than smaller farms to expand their cropland acreage and accounted for a disproportionate share of grassland conversion. Younger farm operators, higher levels of farm income, higher proportions of rented croplands, and marginal yields were also associated with cropland expansion and grassland conversion. Although CRP and other land retirement programs will remain important policy mechanisms for conservation in this region, they are not sufficient to maintain current levels of grassland cover and do not provide protection for native grasslands. Alternative conservation strategies and new agricultural policies are thus critically needed to maintain the ecosystem services provided by grasslands.
Power loss analysis in single-step, single-inductor energy-harvesting-based power supplies

All types of losses in single-step, single-inductor power supplies for energy-harvesting applications are derived. The single-step energy-harvesting-based power supplies rely on delivering input power to the load using a single power conversion stage. Thus, it alleviates the problem of employing two cascaded power converter stages that exist in the conventional energy-harvesting power supplies. Therefore, the single-step power supplies offer a significant reduction in the overall losses compared to the conventional supplies. In this work, a breakdown of all losses in the single-step power supplies that operate in the CCM mode is proposed to help determining the dominant loss, which leads to achieving an optimum design with a high efficiency.
Analysis and Evaluation of Decision Aids in Organizations 1

Abstract A methodology for the modeling and evaluation of decision aids is presented. Petri Net models of human decisionmakers and decision aids are described that can be interconnected to represent organizations. The approach is illustrated by modeling and analyzing the effects of a class of decision aids that is based on artificial intelligence and especially expert systems. This paper presents a procedure for assessing to what extent the measures of performance of an organization are modified when an expert system is introduced. First, a model of symbolic computation with fuzzy logic, using Predicate Transition Nets, is presented to model the most common kind of expert systems: the consultant expert systems. This model allows to evaluate its response time for a given input. An example problem involving a hierarchical two decisionmaker organization, where the expert system is used as an aid in the fusion of inconsistent information, is then presented. A strategy involving the use of the expert system is compared to two other strategies expected to be used by a decisionmaker responsible for this task. Measures of performance (workload, timeliness and accuracy) are evaluated for each of these strategies. The results show that the strategy involving the use of the expert system improves significantly the accuracy of the organization, but requires more time and increases the workload of the decisionmaker using it.
A New Method for the Group Testing of Blind Persons.

Because most testing of blind persons is now done on a one-to-one basis, the problems involved in the more efficient group testing of the blind were investigated. Two main problems were isolated—pr...
Maximising hotel profits with pricing and room allocation strategies

Hotels play an important role in the tourism supply chain by supplying essential accommodations. In today's dynamic and highly competitive market, a hotel's sales strategy significantly influences its profit. This study uses a theoretical modelling approach to help hotel owners make an optimal joint decision of pricing and room allocation strategy to maximise profits when facing new phenomena in the e-tourism era including various distribution channels, promotion programs, and contracts with travel agents. Our study provides optimal solutions for each scenario and discusses the influential factors. Managerial implications are provided.
GLAST goes for blast-off

The universe appears remarkably varied when viewed at different wavelengths. The eye's sensitivity to the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum allows us to resolve thousands of stars, individual planets moving slowly across the sky, and even the faint diffuse glow from our own galaxy. Almost all of these photons are produced by hot, glowing objects, and by tuning instruments to higher-frequency electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light and X-rays, we can explore hotter regions of the universe.
A novel text message-based motivational interviewing intervention for college students who smoke cigarettes

INTRODUCTION Tobacco use disorder is critical among people aged 16 to 25 years. College campuses are prime locations for smoking cessation interventions for young adults. The vast majority of the smoking research with college students has been epidemiological in nature. This study examined a novel motivational interviewing intervention designed for college students, and explored predictors of smoking behavior change. METHODS A quasi-experimental one group pretest-posttest design with repeated measures was used to evaluate a novel text message-based brief motivational interviewing intervention. The data were collected from undergraduate students (N=33) who smoked cigarettes in Fall 2015. RESULTS Students' level of autonomy and relatedness needs satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and smoking cessation self-efficacy increased (p < 0.05), and their rate of daily smoking declined (p <0 .05) over time. However, competence need satisfaction, readiness to quit smoking and severity of nicotine addiction remained unchanged. Smoking cessation self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of smoking behavior change in college students. CONCLUSIONS This study adds to the knowledge on smoking behavior among college students. Preliminary evidence indicates that text message-based motivational interviewing and smoking cessation self-efficacy may help guide successful smoking behavior interventions for college students.
Postprocessing Algorithm for Driving Conventional Scanning Tunneling Microscope at Fast Scan Rates.

We present an image postprocessing framework for Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) to reduce the strong spurious oscillations and scan line noise at fast scan rates and preserve the features, allowing an order of magnitude increase in the scan rate without upgrading the hardware. The proposed method consists of two steps for large scale images and four steps for atomic scale images. For large scale images, we first apply for each line an image registration method to align the forward and backward scans of the same line. In the second step we apply a “rubber band” model which is solved by a novel Constrained Adaptive and Iterative Filtering Algorithm (CIAFA). The numerical results on measurement from copper(111) surface indicate the processed images are comparable in accuracy to data obtained with a slow scan rate, but are free of the scan drift error commonly seen in slow scan data. For atomic scale images, an additional first step to remove line-by-line strong background fluctuations and a fourth step of replacing the postprocessed image by its ranking map as the final atomic resolution image are required. The resulting image restores the lattice image that is nearly undetectable in the original fast scan data.
Prevention of heterologous Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSv) infection using an antibody-virus complex vaccine

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSv) continues to cause critical issues for the swine industry worldwide, with an estimated loss of $1billion annually in the United States. PRRSv is a genetically diverse RNA Arterivirus with up to 20% variability. Available vaccines, mainly modified-live and autogenous, provide limited protection against divergent strains. Additionally, PRRSv immune dysregulation, and immune evasion strategies pose huge challenges in the successful development of cross-protective vaccines. A vital immune evasion strategy utilized is termed deceptive imprinting. Many pathogens contain highly immunodominant, commonly variable, non-protective or partially protective antigenic determinants termed “decoys”. Decoys subvert host immune responses away from conserved, cross protective and critical viral determinants leading to poor vaccine performance. In attempt to subvert immunodominance of decoys, by masking decoys with PRRSv specific antibodies, we hypothesize virus-antibody complex vaccine can improve vaccine performance. We present efficacy of preliminary and primary vaccine trials utilizing antibodyvirus complex (Ab-virus) vaccines in prevention of homologous and heterologous PRRSv infection through assessment of viral loads as determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and PRRSv associated pathology in the lung. Additionally, we determined the safety and immunogenicity of the Ab-virus complex. Antibody-virus complex vaccines were compared to autogenous and commercially available PRRSv vaccines. An initial study utilizing Ab-virus complex vaccine and heterologous
Relationship between neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and MDSC concentration in localized and metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients.

338Background: Human Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSCs) have gained recognition as a significant population of cells that arise in cancer patients to mediate immune tolerance. MDSCs have been validated as a prognostic factor in several tumor types. The Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) is an easily obtained marker of inflammation that has also been validated as a prognostic marker in tumors including prostate cancer. We measured and compared MDSC concentrations and NLR in a cohort of patients with prostate cancer and also examined thier relationship with PSA Progression, a validated marker of overall survival. Methods: Blood was collected from patients with localized prostate cancer (n = 14) and mCRPC (n = 44) at 0 and 6 months. The percent CD33+ HLA-DRlow HIF1a+, CD33+ HLADRlow C/EBPb+, CD11b+ HLA-DRlow HIF1a+, and CD11b+ HLA-DRlow C/EBPb+cells as a fraction of PBMC were determined and reported. NLRs were obtained within 4 weeks of MDSC measurements. Patients were followed for a period of 2 years; ...
Machine Learning Reveals Cyclic Changes in Seismic Source Spectra in Geysers Geothermal Field

The earthquake rupture process comprises complex interactions of stress, fracture, and frictional properties. New machine learning methods demonstrate great potential to reveal patterns in time-dependent spectral properties of seismic signals and enable identification of changes in faulting processes. Clustering of 46,000 earthquakes of 0.3 < ML < 1.5 from the Geysers geothermal field (CA) yields groupings that have no reservoir-scale spatial patterns but clear temporal patterns. Events with similar spectral properties repeat on annual cycles within each cluster and track changes in the water injection rates into the Geysers reservoir, indicating that changes in acoustic properties and faulting processes accompany changes in thermomechanical state. The methods open new means to identify and characterize subtle changes in seismic source properties, with applications to tectonic and geothermal seismicity.
Urban and Spatial Demography

The spectacular growth of urban areas and the rise of large scale urban systems are prominent features of the contemporary spatial distribution of population. A century ago few individual countries were majority urban; in the past decade the world’s population crossed that threshold and is trending toward even higher levels of urbanization. This chapter reviews the macro-level features of urban systems and the micro-level spatial patterns of land use and residential distributions within urban areas. It addresses macro-level questions such as: Why do cities exist?, Why are cities located where they are found?, Why do cities vary in size and direction and magnitude of growth?, Why are cities embedded in hierarchically organized systems? It also addresses micro-level questions such as: How does land use vary spatially within urban areas and why? and What are the patterns and determinants of differential residential distribution and segregation of social groups in urban space?
The Perinodal Astrocyte: Functional and Developmental Considerations

Since perinodal astrocytes were first described more than two decades ago (Hildebrand 1971a,b), the presence of astrocyte processes which contact the node of Ranvier has been documented in numerous CNS tracts and in many species (Waxman and Black 1984; Hildebrand and Waxman 1984; Raine 1984; Sims et al. 1985; Bodega et al. 1987; Sims et al. 1991). Perinodal astrocytes are associated with myelinated axons in a highly specific manner at the nodes of Ranvier. Thus, each myelinated axon in the CNS is contacted by numerous perinodal astrocytes. Despite the ubiquity of these specialized cells, however, their functions remain obscure. Over the past few years, our laboratory has carried out ultrastructural, immunocytochemical, electrophysiological, and biophysical studies on astrocytes in white matter (see e.g., Black et al. 1989a,b; Minturn et al. 1990, 1992; Sontheimer et al. 1991a,b,c) which have begun to delineate the properties of these cells. Several other laboratories have also provided new information that may be relevant to the properties of perinodal astrocytes (e.g., Nowak et al. 1987; Barres et al. 1988, 1989, 1990; Bevan et al. 1985; Gray and Ritchie 1986; Ransom and Carlini 1986). The present chapter will briefly review some of the more recent studies from these laboratories which provide information about astrocyte properties, and will examine the question, What do perinodal astrocytes do?