cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vocal motor control and central auditory impairments in unilateral vocal fold paralysis.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate differences in vocal motor control and central auditory processing between treated unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) and healthy control cohorts. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. METHODS Ten UVFP study patients treated by type I thyroplasty with stable voices were compared to 12 control subjects for vocal motor control using a pitch perturbation response task and central auditory processing performance using a battery of complex sound intelligibility assays that included adverse temporal and noise conditions. Standard clinical evaluations of voice production and peripheral audiometric sensitivity were performed. RESULTS Vocal motor control was impaired in treated UVFP. The UVFP cohort exhibited a 32.5% reduction in the instantaneous, subconscious compensatory response to pitch feedback perturbation in the interval between 150 ms and 550 ms following onset (P < 0.0001, linear mixed effects model). This impairment cannot simply be ascribed to vocal motor capacity insufficiency in the UVFP cohort because both cohorts demonstrated comparable functional capacity to perform the vocal motor task. The UVFP cohort also showed greater propensity for central auditory processing impairment (P < 0.05), notably for temporal compression and added noise challenges. CONCLUSION Combined central vocal motor control and auditory processing impairments in treated UVFP highlight reciprocal interdependency of sensory and motor systems. This pilot study suggests that peripheral motor impairment of the larynx can degrade central auditory processing, which in turn may contribute to vocal motor control impairment. A more complete restoration communicative function in UVFP will require deeper understanding of sensory, motor, and sensorimotor aspects of the human communication loop. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3b Laryngoscope, 129:2112-2117, 2019.
Safety and effectiveness of zero antimicrobial prophylaxis protocol for outpatient cystourethroscopy.

OBJECTIVES To examine compliance and clinical outcomes after implementation of a zero antimicrobial prophylaxis protocol for outpatient cystoscopy in an academic centre. PATIENTS AND METHODS Medical records of all patients who underwent diagnostic cystoscopy in the year preceding and year following protocol implementation were evaluated for urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnosis within 30 days of cystoscopy. Variables compared between groups included age, sex, smoking history, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) diagnosis, diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression, catheter use (indwelling, suprapubic, or intermittent), and previous lower urinary tract reconstruction (augmentation cystoplasty or neobladder). UTI was defined using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program definition. Rates were compared between groups, and statistical analyses were performed using chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests and multivariable logistic regression, with significance defined as α < 0.05. RESULTS In total, 941 patients were included in the analysis (72% men), 513 before protocol initiation, and 427 after. Groups were similar with regard to demographic variables and potential risk factors for infection. After protocol implementation, there was a significant reduction in patients receiving procedural antimicrobial prophylaxis (30% vs 15%; P < 0.001). The incidence of UTI after cystoscopy was slightly higher in the post-protocol group (2.9-3.7%), but the difference was not statistically significant (chi-squared = 0.56, P = 0.45). The incidence of UTI did not significantly differ with procedural antibiotic prophylaxis or with other antibiotic use at time of cystoscopy. Five out of a total of 31 UTIs (16%) over the study period resulted in fever, and four (13%) resulted in urosepsis. The probability of neither complication differed significantly between pre- and post-protocol groups. The only significant patient-level predictor of post-cystoscopy UTI was catheter use (odds ratio 1.48, 95% confidence interval 1.06-2.06). CONCLUSION Protocol implementation led to a significant decrease in procedural antimicrobial prophylaxis, indicating protocols may be effective tools in promoting antibiotic stewardship. UTI incidence did not change significantly under the protocol, and antibiotic prophylaxis did not decrease infection rate. Our results support catheter use as a risk factor for post-cystoscopy infection, but other patient variables, including those present in the American Urological Association Best Practice statement, were not predictive. In total, this analysis suggests that decreasing antibiotic prophylaxis for cystourethroscopy is safe and can be effective in the outpatient setting.
Silver coated magnetic nanoparticles for enhanced nucleic acid detection

Nanoparticle-based fluorescence DNA/RNA sensing offers promising applications in both research and medical diagnosis due to the ease of surface chemical modification and sample handling, allowing detection in complex media. The performance of the conventional fluorescence biosensors is often limited by the insufficient fluorescence signal. To overcome the disadvantage, we advanced silver-coated magnetic nanoparticles with strong plasmon resonance to enhance the molecular beacon (MB)-based nucleic acid nanosensors. The silver-coated magnetic nanoparticles were chemically synthesized to compose of 20 nm iron oxide magnetic nanoparticle core and 60 nm thick Ag coating, forming iron oxide/Ag core-shell nanoparticles. Fluorescently labeled DNA MBs were immobilized on the Ag surface which serves as the quencher for the closed MBs and provides fluorescence enhancement for the unfolded MBs in the presence of the complementary target sequence. More importantly, the improved Ag shell mitigates the strong optical absorbance in the visible range associated with the magnetic nanoparticles increasing the fluorescence intensity. The detection was performed by dispersing the nanosensors in a 20 μl analyte solution for 10 minutes for accelerated target capture through 3D diffusion and concentrating them magnetically for enhanced fluorescence signal acquisition. The rapid, label-free DNA detection resulted in a detection limit of 10 pM target DNA.
Narrowing the Gap Between Serverless and its State with Storage Functions

Serverless computing has gained attention due to its fine-grained provisioning, large-scale multi-tenancy, and on-demand scaling. However, it also forces applications to externalize state in remote storage, adding substantial overheads. To fix this "data shipping problem" we built Shredder, a low-latency multi-tenant cloud store that allows small units of computation to be performed directly within storage nodes. Storage tenants provide Shredder with JavaScript functions (or WebAssembly programs), which can interact directly with data without moving them over the network. The key challenge in Shredder is safely isolating thousands of tenant storage functions while minimizing data interaction costs. Shredder uses a unique approach where its data store and networking paths are implemented in native code to ensure performance, while isolated tenant functions interact with data using a V8-specific intermediate representation that avoids expensive cross-protection-domain calls and data copying. As a result, Shredder can execute 4 million remotely-invoked tenant functions per second spread over thousands of tenants with median and 99th-percentile response latencies of less than 50 μs and 500 μs, respectively. Our evaluation shows that Shredder achieves a 14% to 78% speedup against conventional remote storage when fetching items with just one to three data dependencies between them. We also demonstrate Shredder's effectiveness in accelerating data-intensive applications, including a k-hop query on social graphs that shows orders of magnitude gain.
Are Domestic Incidents Really More Dangerous to Police? Findings from the 2016 National Incident Based Reporting System

It is widely believed among police officers that domestic incidents are among the most dangerous incidents to which they respond. However, most research in this area suffers from the “denominator p...
GABA bouton subpopulations in the human dentate gyrus are differentially altered in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

A state-of-the-art, multilabel immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and custom segmentation algorithm technique, developed previously for studying synapses in the human prefrontal cortex, was mod...
Towards an Operational Definition of Group Network Codes.

Group network codes are a generalization of linear codes that have seen several studies over the last decade. When studying network codes, operations performed at internal network nodes called local encoding functions, are of significant interest. While local encoding functions of linear codes are well understood (and of operational significance), no similar operational definition exists for group network codes. To bridge this gap, we study the connections between group network codes and a family of codes called Coordinate-Wise-Linear (CWL) codes. CWL codes generalize linear codes and, in addition, can be defined locally (i.e., operationally). In this work, we study the connection between CWL codes and group codes from both a local and global encoding perspective. We show that Abelian group codes can be expressed as CWL codes and, as a result, they inherit an operational definition.
Role of orientation of fins in performance enhancement of a latent thermal energy storage unit

Abstract In this paper, the role of orientation of fins in performance enhancement of a horizontal Latent Thermal Energy Storage Unit (LTESU) is investigated. Stearic acid is used as a phase change material (PCM) that is placed in the annulus of isothermal copper tube and adiabatic steel shell. Two-dimensional, transient, buoyancy driven numerical computations based on enthalpy porosity method are performed after validating against experimental results. Five different angular positions of the fins are investigated by varying 0 o ≤ θ ≤ 90 o . The fin angle θ = 90° produces λ-fin arrangement while θ = 30° yields Y-fin arrangement. The melting rate significantly increases in case of Y-fins and substantially reduces in case of λ-fins. The overall melting time of the system is reduced while energy accumulation is increased by Y-fins arrangement. Moreover, the thermophysical effects of fins and shell are studied in detail. The high fin length to thickness ratio and high thermal diffusivity of the shell significantly enhances the melting performance of LTESU. The increase in HTF temperature also increases the heat transfer rate and reduces melting time. Lastly, two important correlations are proposed which can accurately predict the melting and heat transfer performance of LTESU for a large range of HTF temperatures.
Molecular-level behavior of imidazolium-based ionic liquid mixtures

Abstract Understanding the molecular-level organization of anions and cations in a mixture of different ionic liquids (ILs) is challenging, but it can be very important for designing solvents and IL-based membrane materials. Here, we perform all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to understand the intermolecular interactions and structuring of both neat and mixed IL compositions containing 1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium [ZMIM+], 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [BMIM+], bistriflimide [Tf2N−], and tetrafluoroborate [BF4−]. We observe very strong underlying molecular-level migrations in these mixtures, and this tends to mainly involve the anion species. As compared to the systems with a single anion, the mixed anions lead to large increases/decreases in the radial distribution function peak heights, whereas the cation mixing is relatively benign. The [BF4−] anions have a strong tendency to displace the [Tf2N−] anions in the mixtures, and this is seen with respect to both [BMIM+] and [ZMIM+].
Ten Years Later: Would You Recognize Universal Design for Learning If You Saw It?:

This is the third and final column of a special series on the topic of universal design for learning. Interested readers are encouraged to review the previous two articles: Enhancing Executive Func...
WIC Participants' Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers to Shopping With eWIC Compared With Paper Vouchers.

Abstract Objectives (1) To describe facilitators and barriers to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food shopping via electronic benefits transfer (eWIC) compared with paper vouchers. (2) To explore suggestions that WIC participants had for modifying the program to enhance their overall WIC experience. Design Qualitative, semistructured, in-depth interviews. Setting WIC participants in East Tennessee. Participants Twenty-four primary food shoppers of WIC-participating households aged at least 18 years were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy. Phenomenon of Interest Perceived facilitators and barriers to use of eWIC as compared with paper vouchers. Analysis Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to identify emergent themes. Results Participants identified several ways eWIC has improved their food shopping experience, including ad hoc redemption of WIC benefits and a quicker, more discrete checkout. Participants’ chief complaint about eWIC was transaction errors at checkout. Participants identified other barriers to shopping for WIC foods that cannot be addressed by the card alone, such as difficulty identifying WIC items in-store. Participants reported changes to their benefit tracking behaviors and provided suggestions to improve WIC further. Conclusions and Implications The transition to eWIC was viewed favorably among WIC participants, although participants identified a need for additional support in addressing transaction errors. This finding presents an opportunity to modify messages delivered to WIC participants by WIC nutrition educators and enhance collaboration between WIC agencies, retailers, and e-commerce technology providers.
Optimizing thermocouple's ZT through design innovation.

This work demonstrates that in parallel with the one existed at high doping concentration, there also exists an optimal combination of the transport properties of a thermoelectric material at low doping concentration as the curve of the relation between electrical conductivity and doping concentration is rigidly shifted toward that direction without disturbing the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity. Based on this finding, a new thermocouple design that uses low doping legs and high doping semiconductors as the external carrier injectors surrounding the legs is developed. The analytical model developed for the new thermocouple indicated that its efficiency and power output could be more than tripled as compared to those of the original design. A single thermocouple made of Silicon semiconductors was simulated numerically using different sets of input parameters. The results showed that the density of the externally injected carriers played a significant role in enhancing the thermocouple’s efficiency and power output.
Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy

In the words of Etta James, “At Last.”April Baker-Bell’s Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy is, indeed, the book that many of us have been waiting for—not just in ...
Review of The collapse of a pastoral economy: The Datoga of central and northern Tanzania from the 1830s to the 2000s by Samwel Shanga Mhajida: Gottingen University Press 2019

Samwel Shanga Mhajida, 2019. The collapse of a pastoral economy: The Datoga of central and northern Tanzania from the 1830s to the 2000s. Gottingen University Press. Pp. 262. ISBN: 978-3-86395-401-7, doi: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2019-1143 .
Treatment of Recurrent Optic Nerve Sheath Meningioma With a Secondary Course of Radiotherapy.

Optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONSM) are benign neoplasms found surrounding the optic nerve that can affect vision, and potentially lead to blindness. The use of radiotherapy has been advocated to improve visual outcomes and minimize the risk of complications. We present a case of a 58-year-old woman who was treated with a second course of radiotherapy 27-years after initial radiotherapy for recurrent ONSM. The patient responded well to the second course of radiotherapy with good clinical and visual outcomes. This case report supports evidence that treatment with radiotherapy can improve visual outcomes in patients with recurrent ONSM with mild to moderate re-irradiation-related side effects.
COVID-19 and low-dose radiation therapy.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has caused more than 179 million infections and 3.8 million deaths worldwide. Global health authorities working on the COVID-19 outbreak continue to explore methods to reduce the rate of its transmission to healthy individuals. Treatment protocols thus far have focused on social distancing and masking, treatment with antivirals early in infection, and steroids to reduce the inflammatory response. An alternative approach is therapy with low dose radiation (LDR), which has several advantages compared to the current drugs and medicines. To date more than 10 case reports and pilot clinical trial preliminary outcome are available from different countries. These reports cover a wide range of patient conditions and LDR treatment strategies. Although one report showed the failure to observe the improvement of COVID-19 patients after LDR therapy, the majority showed some clinical improvement, and demonstrated the safety of LDR for COVID-19 patients, particularly with 0.5â¯Gy. This review aims to summarize the potential rationales and mechanisms of LDR therapy for COVID-19 patients, and its current clinical status and potential use.
Numerical Methods and Data Analysis Techniques in Particle Physics

Experimental physics is now in the era of big data. Modern experiments are collecting petabytes of data and physicists are trying to extract from these vast data sets information about the nature of the universe. Gone are the days when data analysis was done by eye and where physicists relied on the algorithms hard-coded into the human brain. Modern analyses have replaced brain power with CPU power. From the perspective of the physicist, statistical methods are tools; they are a means to an end. As an analogy, consider the car. People use cars to get from point \(A\) to point \(B\). Most people don’t care how or why a car works. In fact, many people think that car enthusiasts (often referred to as gearheads) are strange. You certainly don’t need to be a gearhead to use a car, but it’s a good idea to learn how to drive properly. The consequences of not doing so can be catastrophic! The same can be said for physicists when it comes to statistical analysis. The point of these lectures is not to make you a statshead. The goal is to teach you how to use statistical methods properly so you don’t metaphorically drive off of a cliff in your analysis. My lectures covered the following list of topics: machine learning; resampling; two-sample testing; parametric and non-parametric regression; multivariate goodness-of-fit tests; Bayesian versus Frequentist statistics; and limit setting. I gave three 1-h lectures covering all of these topics. This was not enough time to go into great detail on any topic. Instead, I chose to try and convey the important aspects of each and have provided references so you can learn more on your own if you desire to.
Information Intensity and Marketing Effectiveness: A Conceptual Framework

The impact of information and information technology on present marketing practice appears to be substantial. Consequently, research is imperative into the linkage between information and information technology, and marketing effectiveness. It is the purpose of this paper to conceptualize the relationship between these variables and to provide direction for further investigation.
The Effectiveness of Institutional Intervention on Minimizing Demographic Inertia and Improving the Representation of Women Faculty in Higher Education

Women remain under-represented among full time tenured/tenure-track science and engineering faculty at research universities in the United States despite their increasing availability in the employment pool. In response, intervention strategies aimed at boosting their participation have been introduced at university and national levels. Efforts to improve women’s representation may be challenged by demographic inertia, the tendency for the maintenance of the entrenched population structure that favors men despite improvements in women’s vital parameters. Here, we investigate the effectiveness of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE institutional intervention program at curtailing demographic inertia at a research university dubbed ‘Snow State University’ (SSU). We found that demographic inertia’s impact on women’s representation was lessened during ADVANCE. Yet to achieve long-lasting improvements in women’s representation, universities will need to increase their recruitment of women at the associate and full professor ranks while maintaining promotion and retention probabilities favorable to women over the long-term.
Periodate-induced lymphocyte transformation: VI. Stimulation of human lymphocytes by periodate-treated allogeneic cells☆☆☆

Abstract Mitomycin C/sodium periodate, (IO4−)-treated lymphocytes and other cells stimulate blastogenic transformation of allogeneic lymphocytes. Peak [3H]TdR incorporation occurs at 2–3 days, as with IO4−-induced autologous mixed lymphocyte reactions, in contrast to the more delayed response that occurs in the usual allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction. IO4−-treated HeLa cells, three T and three B lymphoid cell lines stimulated a rapid response. Another B lymphoid cell line stimulated only a delayed response (peak at 5–6 days) whether or not the cells were exposed to IO4−. IO4−-treated platelets and other cell lines did not stimulate lymphocytes. Glass-adherent cells (GAC) were necessary for direct IO4− stimulation of lymphocytes and for IO4−-induced autologous and allogeneic mixed lymphocytes reactions (MLR), with one exception. IO4−-treated HeLa cells stimulated lymphocytes in the absence of GAC, suggesting that HeLa cells and GAC possess a common helper property.
A Bibliographical Guide to Self-Similar Processes and Long-Range Dependence

Self-similar processes are of interest in probability, statistics, physics, turbulence and in modelling random phenomena with long-range dependence. Since the applications are diverse, references are scattered in the literature. The purpose of this bibliographical guide is to bring together many of the important references to the subject. Relevant references to some related topics are also included. Although this is definitely not a comprehensive bibliography, we hope that it can be a useful tool for researchers in this fast moving area.
Structural analysis of the predicted coiled-coil rod domain of the cytoplasmic bullous pemphigoid antigen (BPAG1). Empirical localization of the N-terminal globular domain-rod boundary.

The bullous pemphigoid antigen BPAG1 is required for keratin filament linkage to the hemidesmosome, an adhesion complex in epithelial basal cells. BPAG1 structural organization is similar to the intermediate filament-associated proteins desmoplakin I (DPI) and plectin. All three proteins have predicted dumbbell-like structure with central α-helical coiled-coil rod and regions of N- and C-terminal homology. To characterize the size of the N-terminal globular domain in BPAG1, two polypeptides spanning possible boundaries with the coiled-coil rod domain of BPAG1 were expressed in Escherichia coli. BP-1 (Mr = 111,000), containing amino acids 663-1581 of BPAG1 (Sawamura, D., Li, K., Chu, M.-L., and Uitto, J.(1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 17784-17790), and BP-1A, with a 186 amino acid N-terminal deletion, were purified. BP-1 and BP-1A behave as highly asymmetric dimers in aqueous solution according to velocity sedimentation and gel filtration. Both have globular heads with rod-like tails of roughly equal length, 55-60 nm, upon rotary shadowing. BP-1A content of α-helix, determined by circular dichroism, is ~90%, consistent with α-helical coiled-coil formation in the rod-like tails. The estimated rod length, 383 ± 57 amino acids (0.15 nm/amino acid), implies that globular folding in the BPAG1 N-terminal extends to the end of N-terminal homology with DPI and plectin. These findings support the existence of a common domain structure in the N-terminal regions of the BPAG1/DPI/plectin family.
Agricultural Contracting in Roman Palestine: Risk Sharing or Moral Hazard?

In many contracts that deal with the division of future quantities, there is a tension between risk-sharing aspects and incentive aspects. Over the last twenty-five there has been relatively more attention paid to these incentive aspects, particularly moral hazard. In this paper, we point out that risk-sharing is, nevertheless, a very important part of such contracts. Furthermore, contract characteristics that seem to be motivated by moral hazard considerations may sometimes turn out to actually be motivated by risk-sharing needs. We investigate the economic rationale for a law pertaining to tenancy in Roman Palestine, found in a Jewish legal text. This law allows for risk-sharing (through rent reduction) between tenant and landlord when the macro-economic situation is severe (makas medina), but not if the particular rental plot has a bad harvest. We consider and reject the possibility that the restriction of risk-sharing to times of makas medina can be explained from a moral hazard perspective. We show, rather, that this feature of the rental contract can be explained as the optimal rental contract in an economy characterized by tenants whose income sources are diversified. We provide empirical evidence supporting this possibility.
Negative Group Delay Circuit Based on Microwave Recursive Filters

This work presents a novel approach to design a maximally flat negative group delay (NGD) circuit based on microwave recursive filters. The proposed NGD circuit is realized by cascading stages of quarter-wavelength stepped-impedance transformer. It is shown that the given circuit can be designed to have any prescribed group delay by changing the characteristic impedance of the quarter-wave transformers (QWTs) cascaded with each other. The proposed approach provides a systematic method to synthesize NGD of arbitrary amount without including any discrete lumped component. For various prescribed NGD, the characteristic impedance of QWT has been tabulated for two and three stages of the circuit. The widths and lengths of microstrip transmission lines can be obtained from characteristic impedance and the frequency of operation of the transmission line. The results are verified in both simulation and measurement, showing a good agreement.
Fault-tolerant replication management in large-scale distributed storage systems

Failures of all forms happen: from losing single network packets to site-wide disasters. Since businesses rely heavily on their data, it is imperative that failures require minimal time and effort to repair and that the service interruption during the failure or repair period should be as short as possible. To this end, the ideal system should repair itself relying on humans only when absolutely necessary in the repair process. This paper describes one component of a self-healing storage system: the component that allows for automatic recovery of access to data when the power comes back on after a large-scale outage. Our failure recovery, protocol is part of a suite of modular protocols that make up the Palladio distributed storage system. This protocol guarantees that service will be repaired quickly and automatically when enough failures are repaired.
The role of play in social organization: Comparative observations on squirrel monkeys (Saimiri)

Various functional theories of play stress that social play is essential for the practice and learning of sex roles, dominance relationships, troop culture, integration of individuals into the troop structure, the control of aggression, etc. Data on squirrel monkeys (Saimiri) in natural environments indicate that social interaction and troop integration can develop in various manners in the absence of social play. Comparative observations were made on squirrel monkeys in a seminatural environment in Florida and 43 natural environments in Panama, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. There was a broad range of variance in the data on ecology, troop size, troop cohesiveness, average individual distances, frequency of play, etc. In some environments, individuals in the infant and juvenile age classes engaged in social play for approximately 1.5 to 3 hours a day. However, in one environment, not a single incidence of social play occurred during 261 hours of close range observation. The troops in which no play occurred were very cohesive (i.e., they seldom fragmented), and the animals traveled at close individual distances. Agonistic interactions were not uncontrolled. Copulations were observed; and 85 percent of the adult females were accompanied by infants, which indicates a normal rate of reproductive success for the species. Data are presented on friendly, aggressive, sexual, and spacing behavior in squirrel monkeys. These data indicate that (1) social play is not necessary for the development and/or learning of an adaptive modicum of social interaction patterns and troop cohesion, but (2) the opportunity to play provides learning experiences in which young animals can develop more complex, varied social interaction patterns and stronger habits for engaging in frequent social exchanges.
X-ray fluorescence analysis of small leaf samples mixed with cellulose or boric acid

Abstract X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) is an effective and rapid technique for the analysis of many mineral elements in plant tissue. Plant samples sometimes are too small to make good pellets and to provide good XRF analyses. Leaf tissue was mixed with cellulose or boric acid at different ratios to assess whether pellets from these mixtures could be analyzed by XRF and to determine the effects of these inert substances on analysis of Al, Ca, Cl, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, S, Si, and Zn. Concentrations of all elements decreased linearly at all leaf/cellulose ratios. Concentrations of Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu decreased linearly at all leaf/boric acid ratios, but concentrations of the other elements decreased linearly only when leaf/boric acid ratios were above about 40/60, and decreases in concentration of these other elements were more pronouned at leaf/boric acid ratios below 40/60. Concentrations of P, S, Cl, K, Mg, Ca, Si, and Al were higher in leaf/boric acid than in leaf/cellulose pellets, and similar concentrations...
Elastohydrodynamic Model of the Rotary Lip Seal

A model of the non-leaking equilibrium behavior of the lip seal has been developed. It consists of an elastohydrodynamic model of the lubricating film and a simplified model of the meniscus on the air-side of the seal. The model predicts the location of the meniscus, the film thickness and pressure distributions, and the locations of cavitation regions. It also predicts the maximum pressure that can be sealed with zero leakage, and the maximum speed, above which the meniscus is ingested into the sealing zone.
The challenges facing CEOS: past, present, and future

Executive Overview If corporate strategies reflect how chief executive officers perceive the world around them, then executives can benefit from what a group of CEOs have to say about what they have experienced as well as what they see on the horizon. Those at the top of today's firms who navigated their enterprises through the Whitewater of the 1980s are quick to point out that the 1990s will be anything but sailing downwind on a placid lake. Chief executives anticipate that the decade of the 1990s will bring multidimensional challenges and perpetual change. Few CEOs believe it will be “business as usual.” While firms will still need to offer goods and services via the efficient use of limited resources: new players are entering the game, the rule book is being re-written each day, expectations from all sides are increasing, and the playing field is no longer just down the street…firms are now having to compete in the global arena. The marketplace will show no mercy to firms that fail to keep pace with t...
Bayesian Analysis for the Poly-Weibull Distribution

Abstract In this article Bayesian analysis for a Poly-Weibull distribution using informative priors is discussed. This distribution typically arises when the data is the minimum of several Weibull failure times from competing risks. To perform the Bayesian computations, simulation using the Gibbs sampler is suggested. This can be used to find posterior moments, the marginal posterior probability density function, and the predictive risk or reliability.
Predictions From the Ranging Hypothesis for the Evolution of Long Distance Signals in Birds

The Ranging Hypothesis (RH) (MORTON, 1982) proposed a form of distance assessment (ranging) based upon perception of signal degradation using memorized signals as a yardstick to distance. The predictions of the RH include distance assessment mechanisms, DAMs; it is proposed that these have opened a new evolutionary process illustrated by the complicated songs and singing behaviour in the oscine passerines ("songbirds"). The RH identifies sources of selection favouring learning, multiple or single song types, song structural complexity not accounted for by species isolating mechanism ideas, and emphasizes the ecological basis for the evolution of long distance communication. New importance is given to the acoustic physical structure of songs. The RH encompasses and contrasts song evolution in warm climate regions with those in cold temperate climates. Three interrelated stages of long distance signal evolution are presented: detectability, threat, and disrupt. A singer/listener role dichotomy in selective pressures is described and the results discussed. Listeners developed distance assessment mechanisms (DAMs) resulting in an evolutionary arms race between listeners and singers. Singers developed methods to use DAMs to their best interest (threat and disrupt). Song learning in passerines developed in response to this arms race to enhance disruption, a situation most prevalent in cold temperate zone regions. The acoustic determinants of effective song distance are described and discussed in relation to the evolution of signal structures. Finally, the RH is discussed in relation to some previous hypotheses on song function and evolution.
Feeding pattern in Peromyscus maniculatus: The response to periodic food deprivation☆

The prairie deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi) is strongly nocturnal on a 12:12 LD-cycle with a bimodal, dusk-dawn feeding pattern. It has been suggested for the rat that the dusk peak is more dependent on the animal's immediate energy needs while the dawn peak has an anticipatory function in storing food. The present study investigates this pattern in terms of the feeding response of deermice following periodic food deprivation. It was found that the response is not uniform within the D-phase; survivability, food intake, and maintenance of body mass were all favored by access to food during the final six hours vs the initial six hours. Deprivation experience enhanced survivability with the early-food, presumably through a reduction in locomotor activity and not by increased food intake. These results suggest a rigid temporal organization of feeding behaviors whereby early-night foraging and hoarding are necessary in allowing for late-night filling in anticipation of the L-phase.
Enzymatic derivatization of saccharides and their chemical polymerization

Abstract The enzymatic synthesis of sugar-based acetylene and ethylene derivatives as precursors to hydrophilic polymers is described. Propargyl and allyl alcohols have been used as glycosyl acceptors in the transglycosylation reactions of glycosidases with various disaccharides including lactose, maltose, and cellobiose. Reaction of propargyl and allyl alcohols with lactose catalyzed by β-galactosidase resulted in the formation of propargyl-β-D-galactopyranoside and allyl-β-D-galactopyranoside in 42 and 13% yields, respectively. Polymerization of propargyl-β-D-galactopyranoside with AlBr 3 in ethanol resulted in the formation of oligomeric poly(acetylenic) species (M w = 1,300). Free radical polymerization of allyl-β-D-galactopyranoside in DMF or water resulted in poly(ethylenic) species with M w > 30,000. The combined enzymatic and chemical reactions inherent in these syntheses provide a unique approach in the preparation of hydrophilic polymers containing sugars and their derivatives.
INO80 meets a fork in the road.

The INO80 chromatin-remodeling complex has roles in transcription, DNA repair and replication. By studying the role of Ino80 in DNA replication, a study now finds that the INO80 complex is essential for replication fork progression under conditions of replicative stress, stabilizes stalled forks and helps ensure proper restart.
Computational facial attractiveness prediction by aesthetics-aware features

In this paper we address a novel topic, i.e., facial attractiveness prediction, which has both theoretic interest and numerous potential applications such as online dating and face beautification. Our focus is a computational model for prediction purpose. To this end, we briefly review existing algorithms and accompanying benchmarks. To overcome the drawbacks of prior study, we introduce a new dataset with high-quality landmark annotations and multiple facial attractiveness ratings. Several features (both appearance or geometric based) and baseline algorithms are validated on the data. Especially, an aesthetics sensitivity test is performed by utilizing the statistical Lasso. Other concerns such as prediction accuracies and personalized regression are also discussed in the evaluation.
MEMORIAL TO THOMAS G. GIBSON (1934–2008)

Our esteemed friend and colleague Thomas G. Gibson died at his home in Boyce, Virginia on 9 July 2008. Tom was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received both his bachelors and Masters degrees in geology from the University of Wisconsin. In 1962, he received a Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University. Immediately thereafter, he began his lifelong career with the U. S. Geological Survey. Although a full time employee of the Survey, Tom was also a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution and adjunct …
Effects of postmortem storage time on color and mitochondria in beef

Abstract To assess the effects of aging time (0, 15, 30, and 45 d) and temperature (0 or 5 °C) on beef mitochondria and steak color, vacuum packaged longissimus (n = 15) and cardiac muscles were assigned to 1 of 6 temperature × time combinations. As time increased, initial red color intensity increased whereas both mitochondrial oxygen consumption and color stability decreased. The decrease in mitochondrial oxygen consumption associated with longer aging times will increase initial color intensity. However, this improvement in color development will be negated by the decreased color stability that results from the effects of storage on mitochondria.
Gamete and larval collection methods and hatchery rearing environments affect levels of genetic diversity in early life stages of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Abstract Hatchery supplementation is widely advocated as an important means to achieve management goals of sustainable populations of lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ). Increasing evidence for negative impacts of hatchery practices has prompted research regarding the efficacy of hatchery prescriptions that have been largely adopted from other well-studied species. Using a well-studied population in the Black River, MI drainage, we evaluated the effects of different gamete and larval collection methods and hatchery rearing environments (streamside and traditional) on measures of offspring genetic diversity estimated based on known or inferred pedigree and multi-locus genotypic data. Offspring produced from direct gamete takes (DGT) were more related (higher mean coancestry (θ) and significantly higher mean relatedness ( r xy )) than were offspring produced from collections of naturally produced eggs (NPE) from stream substrate and larvae collected while dispersing from spawning areas (DL). Pedigree and genotypic data also revealed that greater numbers of adults contributed to offspring (effective number of breeders) from DL and NPE collections than from DGT collections. Comparatively higher levels of inter-family variation in egg and juvenile mortality in the traditional hatchery rearing environment relative to the streamside rearing environment resulted in more pronounced increases in mean coancestry and decreases in effective number of breeders across sequential ontogenetic stages. Methods of gamete and offspring collection and rearing have demonstrable effects on levels of offspring genetic diversity which has significant implications for restoration of numerically depressed populations.
Ovarian function after conservational ovarian surgery: a long-term follow-up study.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine the long-term effects of conservational ovarian surgery on subsequent ovarian function. METHOD: Medical, surgical and menstrual records of 87 reproductive age women who have undergone pelvic surgery for indications including endometriosis, infertility, and pelvic pain between June 1982 and June 1989 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients had ovarian surgery during their procedure; 26 ovarian cystectomies (OC), 19 partial ovarian resections (OR) and 22 ovariolyses (OL). Twenty patients had no ovarian surgery (NOS). The mean follow-up period was comparable in all groups (OL 32 ± 15 months, OR 34 ± 26 months, OC 41 ± 30 months and NOS 37 ± 21 months). The mean time to onset of the first postoperative menses was not significantly different among the four groups (OL 24 ± 7 days, OR 24 ± 13 days, OC 29 ± 26 days and NOS 22 ± 6 days). The cumulative conception rates were not significantly different (OL 23%, OR 37%, OC 19% and NOS 25%). Menstrual disturbances, defined as perceived deviations from preoperative patterns, did not appear to be related to the type or extent of ovarian surgery and occurred in comparable frequencies among patients with or without ovarian surgery (OL 23%, OR 37%, OC 23% and NOS 20%). In the majority of cases, menstrual disturbances occurred either in the early postoperative months and were self-limited, or much later in which case they were related to recurrent endometriosis. Premature ovarian failure has so far occurred in one patient suggesting an incidence comparable to that in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that in this group of patients, conservational ovarian surgery had no significant effects on ovulatory and menstrual function over a prolonged follow-up period.
Prevalence of a History of Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents With Restrictive Eating Disorders

Abstract Purpose Although the relationship between increased body weight and eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder is well established, the relationship between overweight or obesity and eating disorders characterized by dietary restriction and/or weight loss such as anorexia nervosa (AN) is less well known. Methods To understand the prevalence of a history of overweight or obesity among treatment-seeking adolescents with restrictive eating disorders, a retrospective cohort study was conducted on all new patients aged 9–22 years diagnosed with either anorexia nervosa or eating disorder not otherwise specified characterized by weight loss and/or dietary restriction, seen in a specialty eating disorder clinic from January 2007 to July 2013. Results Of 179 adolescents, 36.7% were found to have a body mass index (BMI) history above the 85th percentile. Patients with a BMI history above the 85th percentile had a larger BMI decrease at presentation ( p p Conclusions Findings suggest that adolescents with a history of overweight or obesity represent a substantial portion of treatment-seeking adolescents with restrictive eating disorders, underscoring that extreme weight loss in adolescents is not healthy, regardless of whether the end weight is theoretically within a healthy range. Because eating disorders in adolescents who have history of overweight take longer to be identified, they consequently may have a poorer prognosis.
Rhythm and syntax in sentence perception

Subjects were required to perceive sentences in noise. A set was induced by presenting a series of sentences that had the same syntax and rhythm. On a final test sentence either the rhythm alone or rhythm plus surface structure was changed. Changes in rhythm led to major disruptions in performance, while the effect of syntax alone was not significant. The results point out the fundamental importance of rhythm in speech perception and suggest caution in attributing speech perception effects to syntax without controlling for rhythm.
The effect of filler on the mechanical properties of an elastomer at high strain rates

Results are presented which show the effect of filler size and content on the stress-strain curves of an elastomer at high strain rates. An equation is proposed for the prediction of the apparent increase in modulus of an elastomer due to the addition of rigid spherical particles.
Characteristic individual reactions to preferred and unpreferred environments1

Intercorrelations among measures of various reactions to a large number of situations were factor analyzed and yielded five factors and corresponding measures. Three of the factors are positively intercorrelated and constitute various aspects of approach-avoidance to a situation: approach to the setting itself; approach to tasks in the setting, or desire to work; and approach to persons in the setting, or desire to affiliate. The positive correlation of a fourth, desire to drink alcohol factor with the approach factors suggests that, at least for our sample of average (nonalcoholic) subjects, drinking is more likely to occur in more preferred places. In the context of earlier findings on alcohol use, these results show the decision to drink and the specific choice of a place to drink to be similarly motivated: the consumption of moderate doses of alcohol yields a more preferred emotional state, as does the choice of a preferred setting in which to drink. Additional results relating to characteristic individual reactions showed that Stimulus Screening is useful for assessing differences in individual reactions to unpreferred situations (nonscreeners approach, work, and affiliate less than screeners in such settings). Further, a new questionnaire measure of Arousal Seeking Tendency reported in this study is useful for assessing differences in individual reactions to preferred situations (high-arousal seekers approach, work, and affiliate more than low-arousal seekers in preferred settings).
Instrumented sphere method for measuring thermal pressure in fluids and isotropic stresses and reaction kinetics in thermosetting resins

A novel technique is described for measuring thermal pressure in fluids and for measuring isotropic stress development and reaction kinetics in thermosetting resins during cure and thermal cycling. The method uses a 12.7‐mm‐diam sealed stainless steel spherical pressure vessel to impose three-dimensional isotropic constraints. The vessel is instrumented with strain gauges and thermocouples. Both isotropic stresses and reaction kinetics during cure at cure temperatures as high as 300 °C can be measured. In addition, measurement of the isotropic stress as a function of temperature yields the thermal pressure coefficient in both the glassy and rubbery (or liquid) states. Experimental results are presented for sucrose benzoate, a pressure-transmitting oil di-2-ethylhexylsebacate and an epoxy resin. The method provides reproducible estimates for the thermal pressure coefficient and the stresses are highly isotropic. A suggestion for improved versions of the device is: thicker walled vessels can be used to incr...