cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strengths, challenges, and opportunities for hydrothermal pretreatment in lignocellulosic biorefineries

Pretreatment prior to or during biological conversion is required to achieve high sugar yields essential to economic production of fuels and chemicals from low cost, abundant lignocellulosic biomass. Aqueous thermochemical pretreatments achieve this performance objective from pretreatment coupled with subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis, but chemical pretreatment can also suffer from additional costs for exotic materials of construction, the need to recover or neutralize the chemicals, introduction of compounds that inhibit downstream operations, and waste disposal, as well as for the chemicals themselves. The simplicity of hydrothermal pretreatment with just hot water offers the potential to greatly improve the cost of the entire conversion process if sugar degradation during pretreatment, production of un-fermentable oligomers, and the amount of expensive enzymes needed to obtain satisfactory yields from hydrothermally pretreated solids can be reduced. Biorefinery economics would also benefit if value could be generated from lignin and other components that are currently fated to be burned for power. However, achieving these goals will no doubt require development of advanced hydrothermal pretreatment configurations. For example, passing water through a stationary bed of lignocellulosic biomass in a flowthrough configuration achieves very high yields of hemicellulose sugars, removes more than 75% of the lignin for potential valorization, and improves sugar release from the pretreated solids with lower enzyme loadings. Unfortunately, the large quantities of water needed to achieve this performance result in very dilute sugars, high energy costs for pretreatment and product recover, and large amounts of oligomers. Thus, improving our understanding of hydrothermal pretreatment fundamentals is needed to gain insights into R&D opportunities to improve performance, and help identify novel configurations that lower capital and operating costs and achieve higher yields. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
A Holistic Approach to Educational Servicescape: An Abstract

Traditionally, multiple studies have examined the influence of classroom environments on student behavior and academic performance. However, considering that an average student spends 12–15 h a week in a classroom setting, additional environments should also be considered when assessing students’ academic success. Given the service nature of education, this study draws from the servicescape framework to examine the influence of environmental stimuli in the academic learning environment. Specifically, diverging research streams drive the conceptualization of a new framework of the transformative educational servicescape. Thus, we propose four distinct environmental dimensions – physical, social, socially symbolic, and natural – that impact the servicescape and, subsequently, students’ academic success. As such, this article offers educators insights to an optimal educational servicescape beyond classrooms by implementing a holistic approach to student academic performance.
Enhanced Beings: Human Germline Modification and the Law

Today, scientists are using CRISPR/Cas9 and other molecular editing tools to alter human gametes and embryos, a practice known as human germline modification. In the near future, these efforts may lead to the birth of children with better health, improved memories, and extended lifespans. However, critics claim that human germline modification exceeds divine and natural boundaries, transforms reproduction into manufacture, and yields apocalyptic outcomes such as the collapse of democracy. Enhanced Beings: Human Germline Modification and the Law analyzes and critiques these objections on both biological and political grounds. Professor Kerry Lynn Macintosh discusses the hidden psychology behind the objections, and describes the laws that affect this new technology. Provocative and timely, Enhanced Beings argues that bans on human germline modification pose a threat to scientists and science, parents, children, foreigners, and society.
A Simple Student Laboratory on Osmotic Flow, Osmotic Pressure, and the Reflection Coefficient.

Osmosis is usually taught from the point of view of the osmotic pressure developed when solutions of different concentrations of solute are separated by an ideal semipermeable membrane. The osmotic pressure is defined at equilibrium when there is no net flow, and it takes some time to reach this equilibrium. Although the osmotic pressure is certainly important, teaching only this point of view implicitly diminishes the importance of osmotic flow, which begins almost instantaneously across a membrane. A device was constructed with which students could measure the flow across a model membrane (dialysis tubing) as a function of concentration for solutes of different sizes. The device produced flows that were linearly proportional to the concentration, providing a confirmation of van't Hoff's law. Separate student groups repeated these experiments using both different solutes and different dialysis membranes. The combined results of four student groups showed that the flow across these nonideal membranes depends on the solute and membrane as well as the concentration of solute. Given a value for area times filtration coefficient (A x Lp) for the membranes (determined beforehand by their instructor), the students could calculate the reflection coefficient (sigma) for three solutes and two membranes. The results showed that large solutes had large sigma and that less porous membranes had larger sigma. A concurrent demonstration using this device and membranes showed that the osmotic flow can generate large pressures. These experiments and demonstration provide a balanced view of osmotic flow and pressure.
Building Information Infrastructures for Smart Cities: The e-CODEX Infrastructure and API for Justice Project Experiences

The case of the Digital Service Infrastructure, developed by the European Union and its Member States to enable the deployment of trans-European digital judicial services, provides the occasion to investigate from a theoretical and empirical perspective the complex features that pertain the creation of the infrastructures that enable the rise of smart cities. The case explores the heterogeneous nature and emergent, non-linear evolution of large-scale information infrastructures. It helps develop a better understanding of the infrastructural components and dynamics that allow to integrate fast evolving technology into everyday people living environment providing new and smart services and to foster public value creation in Smart Cities. Finally, it exposes the relevance of legal components, helping reflecting on their role in addition to that of the technological, human and governance ones already identified by the smart cities literature.
Identification of a mesenchymal progenitor cell hierarchy in adipose tissue

Metabolic health depends on the capacity of adipose tissue progenitor cells to undergo de novo adipogenesis. The cellular hierarchy and mechanisms governing adipocyte progenitor differentiation are incompletely understood. Through single-cell RNA sequence analyses, we show that the lineage hierarchy of adipocyte progenitors consists of distinct mesenchymal cell types that are present in both mouse and human adipose tissues. Cells marked by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4)/CD26 expression are highly proliferative, multipotent progenitors. During the development of subcutaneous adipose tissue in mice, these progenitor cells give rise to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1)/CD54-expressing (CD54+) committed preadipocytes and a related adipogenic cell population marked by Clec11a and F3/CD142 expression. Transforming growth factor-β maintains DPP4+ cell identity and inhibits adipogenic commitment of DPP4+ and CD142+ cells. Notably, DPP4+ progenitors reside in the reticular interstitium, a recently appreciated fluid-filled space within and between tissues, including adipose depots.
Iso-risk: an analysis of risk-taking in fixed income markets

We test the hypothesis that portfolio managers trade-off variance and kurtosis in asset returns. We find empirical evidence that supports the iso-risk hypothesis using fixed income mutual fund data...
Predictors of preclinical hand skill performance in dental school.

CONTEXT Preclinical dental school instructors often observe some first-year students develop hand skills required for dental procedures more quickly and more easily than their peers. When questioned regarding prior experience, these advanced students often participated in physical activities that seem to predispose them to adapt their previously learned psychomotor hand skills to those required for dentistry. OBJECTIVE This study examines the results of an Institutional Review Board approved 22-question survey of various lifelong predental school activities and correlations to first-year and second-year simulation clinic practical exam performance. DESIGN The survey was taken anonymously at the Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-Arizona by 4 consecutive dental school classes of 2017-2020 composed of 560 students, 552 of which responded. The purpose was to discover associations between lifelong activities and practical exam scores that may act as predictors of preclinical ability to develop visualization and psychomotor hand skills required for dental procedures. RESULTS Higher preclinical practical scores were found to have the most correlation with higher levels of participation in psychomotor, artistic and outdoor physical activities. Participation in computer, musical instrument and culinary activities had no significant correlation, and prior experience in the medical or dental field had a negative correlation. CONCLUSION The lack of participation in these predisposing lifelong activities may predict slower development of dental hand skills and signal the need for more hands-on tutorial instruction in the simulation clinic so these students do not lag behind their peers.
Mechanism of Fission Neutron Emission: New Experimental Arguments

The Scale Method was applied for analysis of experimental and theoretical prompt fission neutron spectra (PFNSs). This approach allowed us to demonstrate evidence from several experiments that had ...
An individual's propensity to disperse is dependent on the behavioral type of its peers but not its own behavioral type.

Intraspecific differences in the dispersal propensity of animals have been linked to interindividual variation in inherent tendencies (i.e., personality or behavioral type) that influence multiple aspects of an individual’s behavior. Studies linking dispersal propensity and personality often (1) focus on defining behavioral tendencies with a single behavioral trait rather than multiple, (2) do not recognize that invertebrates may have behavioral tendencies that influence dispersal, and (3) do not consider how the behavioral type of other individuals affects the dispersal propensity of an individual. We documented multiple foraging behaviors of an aquatic predatory insect (Notonecta irrorata) and found that Notonecta individuals differ in their inherent behavioral tendency (i.e., degree of boldness); all foraging behaviors were correlated such that riskier behaviors were exhibited by the same individuals. We conducted an experiment in which we varied which behavioral types of Notonecta were placed in outdoor pools (passive, bold or both types present) and quantified how long it took for individuals to disperse. Passive and bold individuals had a similar propensity to disperse but the dispersal propensity of each behavioral type was influenced by the behavioral type of other conspecifics present in the pool. Our work reveals that (1) invertebrates have inherent behavioral tendencies that vary among individuals but these tendencies do not necessarily impact all of the behavior displayed by the individual (i.e., impact foraging but not dispersal) and (2) the inherent behavioral tendency of other individuals with which an animal co-occurs can affect habitat patch dynamics such as predation, competition, or colonization.
Nonlinear Charge- and Flux-Tunable Cavity Derived From an Embedded Cooper-Pair Transistor

We introduce the cavity-embedded Cooper-pair transistor (cCPT), a device that behaves as a highly nonlinear microwave cavity whose resonant frequency can be tuned both by charging a gate capacitor and by threading flux through a superconducting loop. We characterize this device and find excellent agreement between theory and experiment. A key difficulty in this characterization is the presence of frequency fluctuations comparable in scale to the cavity linewidth, which deform our measured resonance circles in accordance with recent theoretical predictions [Brock et al., Phys. Rev. Appl. 14, 054026 (2020)]. By measuring the power spectral density of these frequency fluctuations at carefully chosen points in parameter space, we find that they are primarily a result of the $1/f$ charge and flux noise common in solid-state devices. Notably, we also observe key signatures of frequency fluctuations induced by quantum fluctuations in the cavity field via the Kerr nonlinearity.
Fabrication of CA/PEG/MWCNTs composite membranes for enhanced CO2/CH4 separation

Gas separation process through membrane technology has greatly improved greenhouse effect. Membrane technology is considered important for gas separation. The aim of this work was to study the effect of membrane thickness with respect to gas permeance and tensile strength. Single layer flat sheet membrane with thickness of 45 μm and dual layer composite membranes with variable thickness were fabricated by coating cellulose acetate/poly-ethylene glycol/multi-walled carbon nanotubes selective layer on the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) porous support. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was utilised to study the existence of different organic groups in the membranes. The crystal structures of MWCNTs in the membranes were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Tensile testing machine was used to analyse the maximum strength of the prepared membranes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the surface structure and morphology of the composite membranes. The reduction in the thickness of the selective layer up to 8 μm resulted in a maximum CO2 permeance of 0.92 GPU. It was concluded that by reducing the membrane thickness the gas permeance increases.
Toward a holistic view of value and social processing in the amygdala: Insights from primate behavioral neurophysiology.

Abstract Located medially within the temporal lobes, the amygdala is a formation of heterogenous nuclei that has emerged as a target for investigations into the neural bases of both primitive and complex behaviors. Although modern neuroscience has eschewed the practice of assigning broad functions to distinct brain regions, the amygdala has classically been associated with regulating negative emotional processes (such as fear or aggression), primarily through research performed in rodent models. Contemporary studies, particularly those in non-human primate models, have provided evidence for a role of the amygdala in other aspects of cognition such as valuation of stimuli or shaping social behaviors. Consequently, many modern perspectives now also emphasize the amygdala’s role in processing positive affect and social behaviors. Importantly, several recent experiments have examined the intersection of two seemingly autonomous domains; how both valence/value and social stimuli are simultaneously represented in the amygdala. Results from these studies suggest that there is an overlap between valence/value processing and the processing of social behaviors at the level of single neurons. These findings have prompted researchers investigating the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying social interactions to question what contributions reward-related processes in the amygdala make in shaping social behaviors. In this review, we will examine evidence, primarily from primate neurophysiology , suggesting that value-related processes in the amygdala interact with the processing of social stimuli, and explore holistic hypotheses about how these amygdalar interactions might be instantiated.
Communication of food waste messages: The effects of communication modality, presentation order, and mindfulness on food waste reduction intention

Abstract This study investigates how businesses can persuade customers to participate in food waste reduction efforts by using communication strategies. Grounded in information processing and persuasion theories, we conducted two studies. In study 1, a focus group interview was performed to explore how customers process food waste communication from foodservice operations. In study 2, a 2 (communication modality: written vs. verbal) × 2 (presentation order: before meals vs. during meals) × 2 (mindfulness: low vs. high) between-subjects design quasi experiment was conducted to examine these interaction effects on customers’ intention to support the restaurants’ food waste reduction efforts. The findings are consistent across the two studies. The findings indicate that people with low mindfulness have lower intention to participate when the message is delivered verbally (vs. written) and the message is prompted before meals (vs. during meals). Conversely, people with high mindfulness tend to have higher intention to participate regardless of communication modality and presentation order.
Le Temps, Le Droit Et La Construction De La Concurrence: Construire Un Modèle Européen De La Concurrence (Time, Law and the Construction of Competition: Constructing an European Model of Competition)

French Abstract: Dans ce bref article, j’identifie un modele de concurrence qui s’est forme dans le contexte de l’integration europeenne et qui est primordial, non seulement pour les Europeens, mais aussi pour tous ceux qui, reflechissant sur la facon d’apprehender la concurrence, s’en referent au modele europeen. Presentee de la sorte, la question "la concurrence, depuis quand?" occupe l’esprit de la plupart des Europeens, en raison de son caractere fondamental dans le processus d’integration europeenne et dans d’autres debats, tels que la viabilite de l’euro, les obligations reciproques entre les Etats membres et bien d’autres preoccupations essentielles pour l’Europe du XXIst siecle. Par la suite, nous l’appellerons "le modele europeen de la concurrence".English Abstract: In this brief article, I identify a model of competition which has emerged in the context of European integration and which is important not only for Europeans but also for those who seek to understand the role of law in shaping patterns and forms of competition more generally. The evolution of this model is central to many issues in European integration in the 21st century, including, among others, the future of the Euro.
Clinical Applications of Neuromodulation: Spinal Cord Stimulation for Abdominal Pain

Chronic abdominal pain poses significant challenges to patients and physicians alike. For patients, pain can limit both professional and personal quality of life. It results in increased doctor visits, imaging and surgery interventions that frequently fail to find a cause or provide relief. For physicians, identification of etiology is fraught with difficulty, largely due to the fact that visceral pain is frequently diffuse and is poorly localized and referred to somatic structures. Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints for primary care visits and is the leading reason for gastroenterological consultation. These challenges taken together with the high prevalence, frequent office visits and extensive work-up, as well as decreases in productivity, work hours, and socioeconomic status, make chronic abdominal pain a significant burden on the patient, physician, healthcare system, and society as a whole. In the United States alone, between 20 and 45 % of Americans will suffer from chronic visceral pain, of these only 50–70 % will have a definitive etiology of their pain identified. Recent research has provided data helping to better elucidate visceral pain pathways and the dorsal column’s role in not only transmission but also amplification of visceral pain. Exciting data in both animal models and human subjects has demonstrated that spinal cord stimulation of the dorsal horn can provide analgesia for chronic visceral pain and improve both quality of life and functional status.
A comparison of five high resolution PET cameras: GE Discovery ST, RX, STE, CTI HR+ and MDAPET, by scanning Hoffman brain phantom

1496 Objectives: Comparison of the new LYSO based camera GE Discovery PET/CT scanner (DRX) and the new BGO based Discovery PET/CT camera (DSTE) with the BGO based GE Discovery PET/CT camera (DST) and the CTI HR+ camera. The size of each crystal is 4.2x6.2x30 mm3 for DRX camera, and 4.7x6.3x30 mm3 for DSTE in the transaxial, axial, and radial dimensions, respectively; compared to 6.3x6.3x30 mm3 for DST and 4x4.4x30 for HR+. We are also comparing these commercially available cameras with the high resolutions prototype MDAPET scanner with crystal size of 2.7x2.8x15 mm3 and much smaller (3.8 cm) axial field-of-view. Methods: To have a better control of scanning conditions, we used the Hoffman brain phantom for this study. Duration of scan for each of the four clinical cameras was 10 minutes. The total activity in the brain phantom at the scan time was about 1.1 mCi. All data were taken in 3D mode. For GE cameras the CT data were used for attenuation correction, for HR+ the transmission data from rotating Ge-68 rods were used, and for MDAPET attenuation was calculated. For initial results, for each camera we used the default image reconstruction method and parameters. Images were evaluated by: (1) comparing PET image slices with corresponding CT images to see how well the brain phantom structures were reproduced, (2) comparing horizontal and vertical profiles running through similar image slices, and (3) visual comparison of images by human observers. Results: In the Hoffman brain phantom study, all cameras were able to re-produce the general structures of the phantom with no or minimum artifacts; however, there are differences in profiles and in producing the fine structures of the phantom. Conclusions: Initial results suggest that new GE LYSO Discovery RX and new BGO Discovery STE cameras perform better in comparison to Discovery ST and there are no significant differences between their results and HR+ in terms of spatial resolution, and reproduction of the fine structures of the brain phantom. Overall, the fine structures of the brain phantom were best observed in the images obtained with the MDAPET prototype camera. We are currently investigating the effects of image reconstruction algorithms, and corresponding parameters, on the quality of the images and we are also investigating the effect of shorter scanner time (3 minutes compared to 10 minutes).
Separation and Completeness Properties for Amp Chain Graph Markov Models

Pearl ’s well-known $d$-separation criterion for an acyclic directed graph (ADG) is a pathwise separation criterion that can be used to efficiently identify all valid conditional independence relations in the Markov model determined by the graph. This paper introduces $p$-separation, a pathwise separation criterion that efficiently identifies all valid conditional independences under the Andersson–Madigan–Perlman (AMP) alternative Markov property for chain graphs ( = adicyclic graphs), which include both ADGs and undirected graphs as special cases. The equivalence of p-separation to the augmentation criterion occurring in the AMP global Markov property is established, and $p$-separation is applied to prove completeness of the global Markov propertyfor AMP chain graph models. Strong completeness of the AMP Markov property is established, that is, the existence of Markov perfect distributions that satisfy those and only those conditional independences implied by the AMP property (equivalently, by $p$-separation). A linear-time algorithm for determining $p$-separation is presented.
Missing the mark: Sin and potential space in pastoral counseling

Abstract In this article, the idea of sin and a significantly altered version of Winnicott's potential space are brought together to depict the complex relational and psychological dynamics of sin in counseling interactions. From this perspective, sin signifies the total or partial collapse of potential spacesubjugation to the other's constructed representations, which includes the absence of recognition of one's assertions and the concomitant negation of the other's desires and needs, and overwhelming experiences of distrust, betrayal, and hopelessness that attend chaotic disruption and associated hopelessness of repair. In those moments, there is reduced potential subjectivity, spontaneity, agency, communion, value, aliveness, meaning, and continuity unless the other is confronted with his/her sin. It is argued that this perspective accounts for the presence of multiple self-states as well as oft-neglected aspects of the client-counselor interaction. Specifically, this view draws attention to the shifti...
Streambed microstructure predicts evolution of development and life history mode in the plethodontid salamander Eurycea tynerensis

Habitat variation strongly influences the evolution of developmentally flexible traits, and may drive speciation and diversification. The plethodontid salamander Eurycea tynerensis is endemic to the geologically diverse Ozark Plateau of south-central North America, and comprises both strictly aquatic paedomorphic populations (achieving reproductive maturity while remaining in the larval form) and more terrestrial metamorphic populations. The switch between developmental modes has occurred many times, but populations typically exhibit a single life history mode. This unique system offers an opportunity to study the specific ecological circumstances under which alternate developmental and life history modes evolve. We use phylogenetic independent contrasts to test for relationships between a key microhabitat feature (streambed sediment) and this major life history polymorphism. We find streambed microstructure (sediment particle size, type and degree of sorting) to be highly correlated with life-history mode. Eurycea tynerensis is paedomorphic in streams containing large chert gravel, but metamorphoses in nearby streams containing poorly sorted, clastic material such as sandstone or siltstone. Deposits of large chert gravel create loosely associated streambeds, which provide access to subsurface water during dry summer months. Conversely, streambeds composed of more densely packed sandstone and siltstone sediments leave no subterranean refuge when surface water dries, presumably necessitating metamorphosis and use of terrestrial habitats. This represents a clear example of the relationship between microhabitat structure and evolution of a major developmental and life history trait, and has broad implications for the role of localized ecological conditions on larger-scale evolutionary processes.
Fourier Methods in Probability

There is probably no aspect of probability theory that is easier to learn than its Fourier aspect. All of the linear theory [4.1] involving convolutions, Dirac delta functions, transfer theorems, and even sampling theorems has its counterparts in probability theory.
Performance of elastic beam fiber Bragg grating accelerometers

The design and performance characteristics of a series of structural-grade fiber Bragg grating based flexural beam accelerometers is reported. A concentrated mass added to the transducer allows for tailoring of the sensor's performance for specific applications. The sensors reported have sensitivities in the range 2-12.5 μe/g, high resonant frequencies (>300 Hz), very low cross-axis sensitivity (∼40 dB below the main axis response), and low noise (∼1 mg/√Hz near 1 Hz). An array of these accelerometers was used in monitoring ship sub-structure motion, and selected results are presented.
The Impedance of a Tubular Electrode A Model for a Porous Electrode

A cylindrical tube is used as the basis for a two-dimensional mathematical model to calculate the impedance of a flooded porous electrode. The model incorporates charge-transfer, mass-transfer, and ohmic resistances to obtain the axial and radial dependencies of the concentration and potential profiles. A linearized Butler-Volmer kinetic expression for a simple redox reaction O + e yielding R is used, in conjuction with analytical expressions for the surface concentration and overpotential, to compute the open-circuit impedance. The results of the two-dimensional model, which omits double-layer charging, are compared with the results of a more standardly applied one-dimensional model in which radial variations are neglected, with and without double-layer charging. The simpler-to-apply one-dimensional model is found to be satisfactory when mass-transfer and ohmic resistances are small with respect to charge-transfer resistance. The omission of double-layer charging does not introduce error into the two-dimensional model in the frequency range in which capacitive-like effects are caused by mass-transfer limitations.
La macroeconomía de la bonanza económica latinoamericana

Este ensayo argumenta que el auge reciente de las economias latinoamericanas se explica por la coincidencia de dos factores externos que no se daban simultaneamente desde los anos 1970: buenos precios de materias primas (de hidrocarburos y productos mineros, mas que agricolas) y condiciones de financiamiento externo excepcionales. En este ultimo caso, la caracteristica sobresaliente ha sido la entrada masiva de capital durante dos periodos de “exuberancia” en los mercados financieros internacionales (entre mediados de 2004 y abril de 2006, y entre mediados de 2006 y mediados del 2007), particularmente en el segundo. Senala, ademas, la importancia de generalizar y consolidar las dos grandes innovaciones de la politica macroeconomica latinoamericana de los ultimos anos, que se complementan entre si: el manejo fiscal anticiclico (concentrado todavia en pocos paises) y la intervencion activa en los mercados cambiarios. Esta ultima debe evolucionar hacia reconocer que el tipo de cambio real debe ser un objetivo explicito de la politica macroeconomica
Excess Dietary Methionine Markedly Increases the Vitamin B-6 Requirement of Young Chicks

A soy-protein isolate diet that contained essentially no bioavailable vitamin B-6 was used to establish the quantitative effect of excess dietary methionine on the vitamin B-6 requirement of young chicks. When made adequate in vitamin B-6, chicks fed the basal diet required 2 g/kg supplemental DL-methionine to achieve maximal growth, and 10 g/kg additional DL-methionine (total = 12 g/kg) was found to be a tolerable excess level that would not depress voluntary food intake or growth rate. When chicks were fed seven graded doses of supplemental pyridoxine (PN) in diets that contained either adequate (2 g/kg) or excess (12 g/kg) methionine, the vitamin B-6 requirement for maximal growth was found to increase (P: < 0.01) from 0.73 to 1.05 mg/kg, a 44% increase, when 10 g/kg excess methionine was present in the diet. Indeed, this level of excess dietary methionine depressed (P: < 0.01) growth at all PN dose levels < or =1 mg/kg, but not at PN doses of 1.2 or 1.4 mg/kg. Because dietary intakes of both vitamin B-6 and methionine can affect plasma homocysteine levels, dietary methionine (and protein) intake should be considered important factors in setting safe and adequate requirement levels for vitamin B-6.
Who Owns the World’s Media?

This paper summarizes the status of a multi-year, 30-country study of global media market structure. Going beyond previously presented results, this paper analyzes drivers of such trends and projects their implications for future policy. It also compares US media concentration with that of other developed countries, and how market size and market concentration are related.
Effects of forest stand age on the characteristics of logjams in mountainous forest streams

We measured longitudinal spacing and wood volume of channel-spanning logjams along 30 1-km reaches of forest streams in the Colorado Front Range, USA. Study streams flow through old-growth (> 200 year stand age) or younger subalpine conifer forest. Evaluating correlations between the volume and longitudinal spacing of logjams in relation to channel and forest characteristics, we find that old-growth forest streams have greater in-stream wood loads and more jams per kilometer than streams in younger forest. Old-growth forests have a larger basal area close to the stream and correlate with larger piece diameters of in-stream wood. Jam volume correlates inversely with the downstream spacing for ramp and bridge pieces that can act as key pieces in jams. Most importantly, old-growth streams have shorter downstream spacing for ramp and bridge pieces (< 20 m). Our results suggest that management of in-stream wood and associated stream characteristics can be focused most effectively at the reach scale, with an emphasis on preserving old-growth riparian stands along lower gradient stream reaches or mimicking the effects of old growth by manipulating the spacing of ramp and bridge pieces. Our finding that average downstream spacing between jams declines as wood load increases suggests that the most effective way to create and retain jams is to ensure abundant sources of wood recruitment, with a particular emphasis on larger pieces that are less mobile because they have at least one anchor point outside the active channel. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Obesity but not overweight increases the incidence and mortality of leukemia in adults: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

The main objectives of the present meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies were to evaluate the role of obesity on the incidence and mortality of leukemia in adults. Obesity was associated with a relative risk (RR) of 1.26 (95% CI 1.17-1.37; p < 0.001) for leukemia incidence and 1.29 (95% CI 1.11-1.49; p = 0.001) for mortality. Obesity was also associated with an increased incidence of acute myeloid leukemia (RR 1.53, 95% CI 1.26-1.85; p<0.001), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (RR 1.17, 95% CI 1.08-1.27; p < 0.001), chronic myeloid leukemia (RR 1.16, 95% CI 1.04-1.30; p = 0.007) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (RR 1.62, 95% CI 1.12-2.32; p = 0.009). The risk of incidence and mortality of leukemia in adults was consistently higher in obese men.
Invited review of a workshop : Anabolic hormones in bone : Basic research and therapeutic potential

Age-, postmenopause-, and disease-related conditions that result in low bone mass represent important public health issues. Maintenance of bone mass is a balance between bone resorption and formation and is influenced by diet, body composition, activity level, and the interactions between and among a large number of hormones, growth factors, and cytokines. Recent research has emphasized establishing a more complete understanding of the hormonal regulation of bone and developing anabolic agents with therapeutic potential for the treatment of low bone mass. The NIDDK at the NIH recently sponsored a Workshop, entitled Anabolic Hormones in Bone: Basic Research and Therapeutic Potential, that attempted to define the current state of the art knowledge of hormones, growth factors, and cytokines that affect bone mass, with particular emphasis on those that could potentially have a role as anabolic agents in bone. This review presents a condensed proceedings of that workshop along with a summary of the optimal req...
Limit cycle oscillations in a satellite attitude control system

Limit cycle oscillations in an attitude control system using an integral-pulse-frequency modulator are studied. A previous paper showed, through a study of some geometrical properties of the state transition equations, the necessary and sufficient relationships among the physical parameters for the ultimate behavior to be a two-pulse limit cycle for arbitrary initial states [1]. Here it is shown that two-pulse limit cycles can exist if those relationships are not satisfied provided the initial state lies in a certain region near the origin of the state space. The boundaries of this region are established analytically by geometrical means and are verified by simulator experiments. These experiments also show the existence of four-pulse, six-pulse and higher order limit cycles for certain initial states and combinations of physical parameter values.
Cognitive pattern perception and musical performance.

Rejecting the “omnibus” treatment of musical aptitude, the recognition of one general musical factor, this study examines several aspects of musical performance and relates a musical performance score to five measures of pattern perception. First, the sample is separated into high, medium, and low groups on the basis of music scores; then the perceptual data are analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. A statistically significant relationship (P < .01) between means of ability groups for three of the five perceptual variables was found.
Determining under‐ and oversampling of individual particle distributions in microfluidic electrophoresis with orthogonal laser‐induced fluorescence detection

This report investigates the effects of sample size on the separation and analysis of individual biological particles using microfluidic devices equipped with an orthogonal LIF detector. A detection limit of 17 +/- 1 molecules of fluorophore is obtained using this orthogonal LIF detector under a constant flow of fluorescein, which is a significant improvement over epifluorescence, the most common LIF detection scheme used with microfluidic devices. Mitochondria from rat liver tissue and cultured 143B osteosarcoma cells are used as model biological particles. Quantile-quantile (q-q) plots were used to investigate changes in the distributions. When the number of detected mitochondrial events became too large (>72 for rat liver and >98 for 143B mitochondria), oversampling occurs. Statistical overlap theory is used to suggest that the cause of oversampling is that separation power of the microfluidic device presented is not enough to adequately separate large numbers of individual mitochondrial events. Fortunately, q-q plots make it possible to identify and exclude these distributions from data analysis. Additionally, when the number of detected events became too small (<55 for rat liver and <81 for 143B mitochondria) there were not enough events to obtain a statistically relevant mobility distribution, but these distributions can be combined to obtain a statistically relevant electrophoretic mobility distribution.
A field investigation into the effects of a kelp forest (Macrocystis pyrifera) on coastal hydrodynamics and transport

[1] Macrocystis pyrifera (Giant Kelp) forests form important habitats in temperate coastal regions. Hydrodynamics control the transport of nutrients, food particles, larvae and spores at scales ranging from boundary layers around individual blades to entire kelp forests. Our measurements include vertical profiles of current and temperature, and concurrent wave measurements, at a number of different locations in and around a kelp forest at Santa Cruz, California. We find that flow at the site is dominated by variations at diurnal and semidiurnal frequencies. A vertically sheared across-shore flow, consistent with flow driven by an across-shore density gradient, is thought to be important for exchange between the kelp forest and the surrounding coastal ocean. Within the kelp forest, currents are reduced by a factor that correlates with surface canopy coverage, higher frequency internal waves are damped, and onshore transport due to waves (Stokes drift) is estimated to be similar in magnitude to that due to currents. Richardson numbers within the kelp forest are higher than those outside the kelp forest and indicate that the water column within the kelp forest is usually stable to turbulence generation by mean velocity shear.
A Simple Test of the Affine Class of Term Structure Models

Affine term structure models imply an affine relation between yields and factors, and between yields and yields. Hence, a necessary condition for the affine class to hold is that yield changes are linearly related to changes in as many other yields as the number of underlying risk factors. At the same time, yield changes should be unrelated to changes in nonlinear transformations of other yields. We test this hypothesis using weekly data on U.S. Treasury yields for the June 1961–December 2002 sample period. Bootstrap-adjusted tests lead to only weak rejections of the affine class, and a simulation shows that these tests have correct size and high power. Imposing the cross-equation restrictions deriving from a no-arbitrage affine term structure model leads to stronger rejections, but these stronger rejections have more to do with the no-arbitrage restrictions than with the implication of linearity. In an out-of-sample hedging exercise, the constant hedge ratios implied by the affine class generally outperform time-varying hedge ratios implied by nonlinear models.
Estimating Hidden Information for Self-organization and Self-healing in Modern Wireless Networks

Abstract As modern wireless networks grow in size operators are more interested in self-organizing features that ease management of their infrastructure. Modern networks have a higher number of possible failure points compared to legacy ones thus the operators increasing interest in self-organizing, self-healing mechanisms. This paper proposes incorporating public online social network updates to enhance the ability of an autonomous management system to determine the best course of action in case of cell site failures. This approach has not been considered in the past in any fault detection or self-healing mechanism. The proposal discussed in this article expands the author's previous work in the area and employs distributed probabilistic graphical models (PGMs) to successfully learn and predict which network resources are better suited to recover from a fault. The PGMs take into consideration observable processes like cell handovers or data traffic along with external information coming from online vehicular traffic monitoring systems available through social networks. Then the PGMs are used to determine which operating resources are needed to restore operation over an area for which no up to date information is observable. This new approach was successfully studied and tested in a simulation framework.
General Reduced Order Analytical Model for Nonlinear Dynamic Analyses of Beams With or Without Lumped Masses

A set of reduced order differential equations of motion that are suited for analyzing the nonlinear dynamics of beams subjected to external excitations is developed using a variational formulation. The beam may have arbitrary property variations along its span, may carry any number of concentrated masses, and may have multiple supports. It may also be subjected to a base excitation in the form of a prescribed displacement imposed to the supports. The distributed and/or concentrated forces acting on the system may have a nonzero time average so that the equilibrium solution of the system does not necessarily coincide with its undeformed state. Because the first approximation to the elastic deformation of the beam is governed, in general, by partial differential equations with variable coefficients, the solution for the bending displacements at that level is obtained numerically. An analytical methodology is used to formulate, in a mathematically consistent manner, the reduced order nonlinear differential equations explicitly. Specific examples are then used in order to assess the combined effect of the nonlinear terms on the dynamic response of a beam subjected to both static and dynamic loads.
An unsteady adaptation algorithm for discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of the RANS equations

An adaptive method for high-order discretizations of the Reynolds-averaged NavierStokes (RANS) equations is examined. The RANS equations and Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model are discretized with a dual consistent, discontinuous Galerkin discretization. To avoid oscillations in the solution in under-resolved regions, particularly the edge of the boundary layer, artificial dissipation is added to the SA model equation. Two adaptive procedures are examined: a standard output-based adaptation algorithm that requires the steady state solution to estimate the error and a new, unsteady approach that allows the mesh to be adapted without requiring a steady state solution. Results show that the combination of a dual consistent discretization with artificial dissipation and adaptation has significant promise as a practical method for obtaining high-order RANS solutions.
Risk stratification of obesity as a coronary risk factor.

We examined the extent of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factor clustering in overweight persons with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29 and an obesity BMI of ≥30 and the influence of this on the hazard of myocardial infarction and coronary mortality. A total of 1,309 men and 739 women aged 30 to 74 years, initially free of cardiovascular disease, comprised the overweight subject group, and 375 men and 356 women comprised the obese subject group at risk. The sample was derived from the original Framingham Study cohort at the 11th biennial examination, and their offspring at initial examination. During 16 years of follow-up of overweight subjects, 188 men and 44 women had CHD events, indicating an age-adjusted rate that was not much different from the slim subjects. In the obese subject group, 72 men and 37 women developed CHD, corresponding to age-adjusted risk ratios 1.48 times that of lean men, and 2.09 times that of lean women. Risk factors were categorized as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg, total cholesterol ≥240 mg/dl, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol 80 beats/min, history of smoking, history of type 2 diabetes, and electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy. Being overweight occurred in isolation of CHD risk factors in 22% of men and in 16.4% of women. Being obese occurred in isolation in only 12.8% of men and 9% of women. Clusters of ≥2 risk factors occurred in 56% of obese men and in 62.4% of obese women, a frequency substantially exceeding that in slim subjects. Compared with obese men without risk factors, those with ≥3 factors had a 2.07 age-adjusted relative risk of developing CHD, and obese women had a 10.9 relative risk (p <0.05). Being overweight and obese promotes clusters of CHD risk factors that greatly influence their impact. Global risk assessment can identify high-risk overweight candidates for CHD who most urgently need correction of associated risk factors, as well as sustained weight reduction.
Technical communique: On the disturbance response and external stability of a saturating static-feedback-controlled double integrator

In this note, we identify a broad class of small but non-vanishing disturbances for which the state of a saturating static-feedback-controlled double integrator remains bounded.