cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the fallacy of averages in project risk management

Managers recognize the presence of uncertainty in the estimates of the various parameters of their projects, but usually circumvent the required analysis (which can be demanding) by replacing the random variables by their averages. This paper argues against such practice. It demonstrates that gross errors can be committed in cost estimates and in the bids based on them.
Prescribing information therapy: opportunity for improved physician-patient communication and patient health literacy.

Background: Recently, experts have included information therapy (Ix) as a method for increasing clinician-patient communication, patient adherence, patient understanding of diagnosis and treatment options, and reduction in hospitalizations. Methods: This study, a secondary, retrospective analysis of survey data, independently examined participating patient perceptions of an Ix program between two Mid-western employers. Surveys were administered through the online platform from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2009 for Employer 1 (N = 4105) and from June 1, 2007 through December 31, 2009 for Employer 2 (N = 8123). Results: Preliminary findings indicate the majority of patients were adherent to recommended treatment(s) and highly rated their physician’s performance. Additionally, patients indicated that their physician’s access to their questionnaire responses motivated them to improve their health literacy and change their health behaviors. Secondary data analysis indicated a positive relationship betw...
Self-testing fault-tolerant real-time systems

We propose a periodic diagnostic algorithm based on the testing model of computation for real-time systems. The diagnostic task runs on every processor of the system. When the task starts execution, all the processors are synchronized and will be doing the same operation at every step of the algorithm. Each processor performs a test of itself and generates a token which contains the test result. Then the token is passed to some neighboring processors to check if a failure has occurred. In our model, a faulty processor does not necessarily stop functioning and it may behave in erratic manners when checking the token of a processor it is assigned to test. We give the conditions under which all processor failures are detected in a torus interconnection network, where each processor is tested by a minimum number of processors.
Are we keeping the people who used to stay? Changes in correlates of panel survey attrition over time

As survey response rates decline, correlates of survey participation may also be changing. Panel studies provide an opportunity to study a rich set of correlates of panel attrition over time. We look at changes in attrition rates in the American National Election Studies from 1964 to 2004, a repeated panel survey with a two-wave pre-post election design implemented over multiple decades. We examine changes in attrition rates by three groups of variables: sociodemographic and ecological characteristics of the respondent and household, party affiliation and political and social attitudes recorded at the first interview, and para data about the first wave interview. We find relatively little overall change in the pre-post election panel attrition rates, but important changes in demographic correlates of panel attrition over time. We also examine contact and cooperation rates from 1988 to 2004.
Experimental & Numerical Study of Ceramic Breeder Pebble Bed Thermal Deformation Behavior

AbstractExperiments on thermomechanics interactions between clad and pebble beds have been performed with overstoichiometric lithium orthosilicate pebbles (pebble diameters between 0.25 and 0.63 mm) at temperatures of 700-800°C. The experimental results show that the thermal deformation of our pebble bed system is nonlinear and when the operating temperature is higher than 600°C, thermal creep deformation is generated. In this paper, constitutive equations of the elastic and creep deformation are derived from the experimental results. Incorporating the effective constitutive equations in finite element method (FEM), numerical investigations presenting the elastic and plastic deformation characteristics of pebble bed system are comparable to the experimental behaviors. In addition, discrete element method (DEM) is underdevelopment to derive constitutive equations for different pebble beds. The preliminary results of DEM show the stress distribution inside the pebble beds at steady or transient states, whic...
Data acquisition and view planning for 3-D modeling tasks

In this paper we address the joint problems of automated data acquisition and view planning for large-scale indoor and outdoor sites. Our method proceeds in two distinct stages. In the initial stage, the system is given a 2-D map with which it plans a minimal set of sufficient covering views. We then use a 3-D laser scanner to take scans at each of these views. When this planning system is combined with our mobile robot, it automatically computes and executes a tour of these viewing locations and acquires the views with the robot's onboard laser scanner. These initial scans serve as an approximate 3-D model of the site. The planning software then enters a second stage in which it updates this model by using a voxel-based occupancy procedure to plan the next best view. This next best view is acquired, and further next best views are sequentially computed and acquired until a complete 3-D model is obtained. Results are shown for Fort Jay on Governors Island in the City of New York and for the church of Saint Menoux in the Bourbonnais region of France.
Timing based LTP and LTD at vertical inputs to layer II/III pyramidal cells in rat barrel cortex

Experience-dependent plasticity in somatosensory (S1) and visual (V1) cortex involves rapid depression of responses to a deprived sensory input (a closed eye or a trimmed whisker). Such depression occurs first in layer II/III and may reflect plasticity at vertical inputs from layer IV to layer II/III pyramids. Here, I describe a timing-based, associative form of long-term potentiation and depression (LTP/LTD) at this synapse in S1. LTP occurred when excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) led single postsynaptic action potentials (APs) within a narrow temporal window, and LTD occurred when APs led EPSPs within a significantly broader window. This long LTD window is unusual among timing-based learning rules and causes EPSPs that are uncorrelated with postsynaptic APs to become depressed. This behavior suggests a simple model for depression of deprived sensory responses in S1 and V1.
Selection of optimal DNA oligos for gene expression arrays

Motivation: High density DNA oligo microarrays are widely used in biomedical research. Selection of optimal DNA oligos that are deposited on the microarrays is critical. Based on sequence information and hybridization free energy, we developed a new algorithm to select optimal short (20–25 bases) or long (50 or 70 bases) oligos from genes or open reading frames (ORFs) and predict their hybridization behavior. Having optimized probes for each gene is valuable for two reasons. By minimizing background hybridization they provide more accurate determinations of true expression levels. Having optimum probes minimizes the number of probes needed per gene, thereby decreasing the cost of each microarray, raising the number of genes on each chip and increasing its usage. Results: In this paper we describe algorithms to optimize the selection of specific probes for each gene in an entire genome. The criteria for truly optimum probes are easily stated but they are not computable at all levels currently. We have developed an heuristic approach that is efficiently computable at all levels and should provide a good approximation to the true optimum set. We have run the program on the complete genomes for several model organisms and deposited the results in a database that is available on-line (http://ural.wustl.edu/∼lif/probe.pl). Availability: The program is available upon request.
Behavioral responses of male lobsters to ecdysone metabolites

A molting hormone metabolite of crustecdysone 4,4‐dimethylbutyrolactone, 4, and six structurally related compounds were tested for their capacity to elicit behavioral responses, especially sexual responses, in the male lobster (Homarus americanus). Of these compounds, 6, 7, 8, and especially 9 provoked alert responses. Moreover, compounds 7 and 9 startled the lobsters, which responded with defensive and perhaps aggressive postures. No feeding or sexual behavior was observed. These results do not support the hypothesis that metabolites of molting hormones act as sex pheromones in the lobster. A comparison of chemical structure with behavioral response between the most active compound 9 and the inactive compound 10 is made.
Affinity for, and localization of, PEG-functionalized silica nanoparticles to sites of damage in an ex vivo spinal cord injury model

Traumatic spinal cord injury ( SCI) leads to serious neurological and functional deficits through a chain of pathophysiological events. At the molecular level, progressive damage is initially revealed by collapse of plasma membrane organization and integrity produced by breaches. Consequently, the loss of its role as a semi-permeable barrier that generally mediates the regulation and transport of ions and molecules eventually results in cell death. In previous studies, we have demonstrated the functional recovery of compromised plasma membranes can be induced by the application of the hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) after both spinal and brain trauma in adult rats and guinea pigs. Additionally, efforts have been directed towards a nanoparticle-based PEG application. The in vivo and ex vivo applications of PEG-decorated silica nanoparticles following CNS injury were able to effectively and efficiently enhance resealing of damaged cell membranes. The possibility for selectivity of tetramethyl rhodamine-dextran (TMR) dye-doped, PEG-functionalized silica nanoparticles (TMR-PSiNPs) to damaged spinal cord was evaluated using an ex vivo model of guinea pig SCI. Crushed and nearby undamaged spinal cord tissues exhibited an obvious difference in both the imbibement and accumulation of the TMR-PSiNPs, revealing selective labeling of compression-injured tissues. These data show that appropriately functionalized nanoparticles can be an efficient means to both 1.) carry drugs, and 2.) apply membrane repair agents where they are needed in focally damaged nervous tissue.
Parasite‐secreted products regulate the host response to larval Taenia crassiceps

Parasite-induced immunosuppression is believed to play a significant role in the pathology of cysticercosis, a disease caused by the larval stage of cestode parasites. The biochemical basis for immunoregulation by Taenia crassiceps in experimental cysicercosis is unknown. In order to determine whether or not excretory/secretory (E/S) products from the parasite have the ability to regulate host immune function, the activity of these products was examined. Excretory/secretory products from larvae early in the infection were found to suppress T cell proliferative responses in vitro as well as the production of IFN-gamma and IL-4. In contrast, E/S products secreted from larvae harvested late in infection were not suppressive. Electrophoretic analysis of E/S products revealed both qualitative and quantitative differences in the pattern of proteins produced by larvae taken from an early infection versus those taken from a chronic infection. The viability of parasites taken from an early infection was greatly reduced compared to those taken from chronically infected mice, suggesting a change in the nature of the host immune response to the parasite during the course of the infection. The proliferative activity and cytokine profiles of host immune cells were examined. Both mesenteric lymph node cells and peritoneal exudate cells were found to produce high levels of both IFN-gamma and IL-4, consistent with the high levels of these cytokines in sera of chronically infected animals. Chronic infection with Taenia crassiceps therefore is characterized by high levels of production of both Th1 and Th2 cytokines by host cells.
Why Mothers Accompany Adolescent and Young Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors to Follow-up Clinic Visits

Purpose. Parents often accompany adolescent and young adult (AYA) pediatric cancer survivors to follow-up oncology clinic visits and remain involved in their care, although little is known about their reasons for doing so. Method. This mixed methods (qualitative–quantitative) study of 76 mothers of AYA survivors of childhood cancer uses content analysis and logistic regression to identify and explore reasons mothers provided for coming to the visit. Demographic and treatment data are examined as potentially explanatory factors. Results. Ten reasons (in decreasing order of frequency) were derived: Concern for Child’s Health and Well-Being, Practical Support, Transportation, Familial Experience, General Support, Companionship, Personal Interest in Follow-up Care, Characteristics of their Child, Emotional Support, and Parental Duty. The reasons were not related to demographic or treatment factors. Conclusion. Mothers accompany AYAs to survivorship clinic for both maternal/family-focused and survivor-focused reasons that can be incorporated in survivorship and transition care to reflect ongoing communications among survivors, parents, and health care teams.
A possible mechanism for aftershocks: time-dependent stress relaxation in a slider-block model

SUMMARY Weproposeatime-dependentslider-blockmodelwhichincorporatesatime-to-failurefunction for each block dependent on the stress. We associate this new time-to-failure mechanism with the property of stress fatigue. We test two failure time functions including a power law and an exponential. Failure times are assigned to ‘damaged’ blocks with stress above a damage threshold, σW and below a static failure threshold, σF. If the stress of a block is below the damage threshold the failure time is infinite. During the aftershock sequence the loader-plate remains fixed and all aftershocks are triggered by stress transfer from previous events. This differsfrom standard slider-blockmodels which initiateeach event bymoving theloader-plate. We show the resulting behaviour of the model produces both the Gutenberg–Richter scaling law for event sizes and the Omori’s scaling law for the rate of aftershocks when we use the power-law failure time function. The exponential function has limited success in producing Omori’s law for the rate of aftershocks. We conclude the shape of the failure time function is key to producing Omori’s law.
Efficient Aggregation Scheduling in Multihop Wireless Sensor Networks with SINR Constraints

We study delay-efficient data aggregation scheduling in wireless sensor networks subject to signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraints. We construct a routing tree and propose two scheduling algorithms that can generate collision-free link schedules for data aggregation. We prove that the delay of each algorithm is O(R + Δ) time slots, where R and Δ are respectively the graph radius and the maximum node degree in a reduced communication graph of the original network; the proposed algorithms are asymptotically optimum on delay in random wireless sensor networks. We evaluate the performances of the proposed algorithms and the simulation results corroborate our theoretical analysis.
Customized optimization of metabolic pathways by combinatorial transcriptional engineering.

A major challenge in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology is to balance the flux of an engineered heterologous metabolic pathway to achieve high yield and productivity in a target organism. Here, we report a simple, efficient and programmable approach named ‘customized optimization of metabolic pathways by combinatorial transcriptional engineering (COMPACTER)’ for rapid tuning of gene expression in a heterologous pathway under distinct metabolic backgrounds. Specifically, a library of mutant pathways is created by de novo assembly of promoter mutants of varying strengths for each pathway gene in a target organism followed by high-throughput screening/selection. To demonstrate this approach, a single round of COMPACTER was used to generate both a xylose utilizing pathway with near-highest efficiency and a cellobiose utilizing pathway with highest efficiency that were ever reported in literature for both laboratory and industrial yeast strains. Interestingly, these engineered xylose and cellobiose utilizing pathways were all host-specific. Therefore, COMPACTER represents a powerful approach to tailor-make metabolic pathways for different strain backgrounds, which is difficult if not impossible to achieve by existing pathway engineering methods.
Conceptualization and alternate operationalizations of the measurement of sponsorship effectiveness in sport

A model that integrates the communication and product adoption processes is developed and is used to evaluate the effectiveness of alternate measures of sponsorship. The further through the communication process an evaluation takes place, the stronger is the evidence of a sponsorship’s contribution to increasing sales. The most frequently used sponsorship measure is media equivalency values. These frequently inflate the real value of media coverage. Further, this approach is fundamentally conceptually flawed because it measures only the extent of media output and offers no insight as to whether people absorbed the message. Studies measuring changes in consumers’ awareness usually rely on people’s recall of a sponsor’s name being associated with an event, but recall is notoriously faulty. Image enhancement is a state closer to assessing impact on sales and is best measured by ‘strength of link’, reflecting the extent to which a brand has borrowed an event’s image. Intent‐to‐purchase studies are the stage i...
Horizontal tooth mobility and the menstrual cycle

Horizontal tooth mobility was determined in 31 females during the course of one complete menstrual cycle. No significant changes in horizontal tooth mobility were observed concomitant with the menstrual cycle. Fourteen females reported the regular use of anovulatory drugs. No significant changes in horizontal tooth mobility were observed. Tooth mobility was significantly less among the anovulatory drug users.
Bilateral Rostral Maxillectomy and Nasal Planectomy for Large Rostral Maxillofacial Neoplasms in Six Dogs and One Cat

This paper describes in detail an aggressive rostral maxillectomy procedure in one cat and six dogs, and the postoperative complications and outcomes are reported. The surgeries were performed to attempt complete excision of large and extensive rostral maxillary fibrosarcomas (n=4), squamous cell carcinomas (n=2), or poorly differentiated mesenchymal neoplasia (n=1). The surgeries involved transection of the maxilla at the level of premolar (PM)1 and PM2 in a cat and two dogs, and between PM2 and PM3 in four dogs. There were no intraoperative complications. Complete margins of resection were obtained in all cases. The postoperative appearance was acceptable to owners. Local recurrence was only observed in one dog (10 months after surgery) during a follow-up period of 11 to 66 months (median, 21.5 months).
Localization of Cloned Unique DNA to Three Different Regions of Chromosome 19: Screen for Linkage Probes for Myotonic Dystrophy

Screening polymorphic DNA probes for linkage to myotonic dystrophy (DM) and to other reported chromosome 19 (CH19) genes will develop a linkage map for human CH19. We report here the assignment of 3 cloned unique DNA sequences to 3 distinct regions of CH19. The novel use of 35S-labeled probes facilitated the rapid localization of the gene for the third complement factor (C3) to 19pl3.2 by in situ hybridization. Metaphase chromosomes were from normal peripheral lymphocytes as well as from a fibroblast line containing a 15;19 translocation which permitted clear identification of CH19 regions of localization. Two random clones isolated from a plasmid library of human F-group enriched chromosomal DNA (D19S5 and D19S6) were in like manner assigned to 19pl.2 and 19ql3.2 to 19qter, respectively.
Changepoint Detection in Climate Time Series with Long-Term Trends

Climate time series often have artificial shifts induced by instrumentation changes, station relocations, observer changes, etc. Climate time series also often exhibit long-term trends. Much of the recent literature has focused on identifying the structural breakpoint time(s) of climate time series—the so-called changepoint problem. Unfortunately, application of rudimentary mean-shift changepoint tests to scenarios with trends oftenleadstotheerroneousconclusionthatameanshiftoccurredneartheseries’center.Thispaperexamines this problem in detail, constructing some simple homogeneity tests for series with trends. The asymptotic distributionoftheproposedstatisticisderived;enroute,anattemptismadetounifytheasymptoticproperties of the changepoint methods used in today’s climate literature. The tests presented here are linked to the ubiquitous t test. Application is made to two temperature records: 1) the continental United States record and 2) a local record from Jacksonville, Illinois.
A preliminary study of how multiple exposures to messages about genetics impact on lay attitudes towards racial and genetic discrimination

Media depictions of genetics have led to concerns that this coverage will lead to increased belief in genetic determinism and increased discrimination, including racism. Previous studies of single exposures to messages about genetics or messages about genetics and race have shown some increases in discrimination and racism. Since attitude change is linked to repeated exposure to many messages, this study aimed to identify the effect of multiple exposures to multiple messages about genetics on attitudes towards determinism, discrimination and racism. Results showed an increase in genetically based racism, no increase in general racist affect and no significant increase in belief in determinism. Based on these results, we suggest that genetically based racism is a combination of racist affect with belief that perceived differences in human characteristics are solely or primarily influenced by genetics and that a move towards genetically based racism has implications for social policy.
Sexual Orientation and Borderline Personality Disorder Features in a Community Sample of Adolescents.

Empirical literature demonstrates that sexual minorities are at an increased risk of developing psychopathology, including borderline personality disorder (BPD). The specific link between sexual orientation and BPD has received significantly less attention in youth, and it remains unclear what drives this relation. Given that there are higher rates of psychopathology in both sexual minorities and individuals with BPD, the present study aimed to determine if sexual orientation uniquely contributes to borderline personality pathology, controlling for other psychopathology. An ethnically diverse sample of 835 adolescents completed self-report measures of borderline features, depression, anxiety, and sexual orientation. Sexual minorities scored higher on borderline features compared to heterosexual adolescents. When controlling for depression and anxiety, sexual orientation remained significantly associated with borderline features. The relation between sexual orientation and BPD cannot fully be explained by other psychopathology. Future research is necessary to understand potential mechanisms underlying this relation. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe psychiatric condition characterized by extreme dysregulation across affective, behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal domains of functioning. Hallmarks of the disorder include intense anger, identity disturbance, stormy interpersonal relationships, impulsive behavior, and frantic efforts to avoid real and perceived abandonment (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Prevalence is relatively high, with estimates of one to two percent in community samples (Grant et al., 2008) and approximately one in ten psychiatric outpatients and one in five inpatients, with a greater proportion being female (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). BPD is a pervasive and lifelong disorder with high traditional Axis I comorbidity (Grant et al., 2008; Zanarini et al., 1998),
Source Headwaters Update: Presidential Beginnings

Presidents of higher education institutions are a major source of vision and direction for their respective universities. Established research has shown that a variety of demographic, psychographic and personal characteristics may impact one’s thoughts and actions. Undoubtedly, for university presidents, their educational background and the source of their terminal degree play roles in their abilities to lead and in developing their visions. For this paper, we examined the educational background of public university presidents to determine the degree of homogeneity across institutions. The question we seek to address is if vision and leadership are overly influenced by a common educational background with little diversity in source and field of terminal degree.
Healthy and diseased corticospinal motor neurons are selectively transduced upon direct AAV2-2 injection into the motor cortex

Direct gene delivery to the neurons of interest, without affecting other neuron populations in the cerebral cortex, represent a challenge owing to the heterogeneity and cellular complexity of the brain. Genetic modulation of corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN) is required for developing effective and long-term treatment strategies for motor neuron diseases, in which voluntary movement is impaired. Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) have been widely used for neuronal transduction studies owing to long-term and stable gene expression as well as low immunoreactivity in humans. Here we report that AAV2-2 transduces CSMN with high efficiency upon direct cortex injection and that transduction efficiencies are similar during presymptomatic and symptomatic stages in hSOD1G93A transgenic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice. Our findings reveal that choice of promoter improves selectivity as AAV2-2 chicken β-actin promoter injection results in about 70% CSMN transduction, the highest percentage reported to date. CSMN transduction in both wild-type and transgenic ALS mice allows detailed analysis of single axon fibers within the corticospinal tract in both cervical and lumbar spinal cord and reveals circuitry defects, which mainly occur between CSMN and spinal motor neurons in hSOD1G93A transgenic ALS mice. Our findings set the stage for CSMN gene therapy in ALS and related motor neuron diseases.
Soliton perturbation theory for complex modified KdV equation in plasmas with full nonlinearity

The complex modied KdV equation is studied in presence of perturbation terms with full nonlinearity. The soliton perturbation theory is applied to obtain the adiabatic dynamics of the soliton amplitude and frequency. The slow change in the soliton velocity is also obtained in presence of these perturbation terms.
OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE HAND: LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

Evaluation of the osteoarthritic grades of the hands of 478 participants of the ongoing Baltimore Longitudinal Study suggests that: 1) Joint degeneration due to osteoarthritis is a relatively slow process. The maximum rate of degeneration is seen in the distal interphalangeal joints where the average increase is about 1 grade per individual in an interval of 12 to 16 years between visits in each age group. The rate of degeneration in the proximal interphalangeal joints is much lower than that of the distal interphalangeal joints. 2) The progress of the degeneration in the distal interphalangeal joints of an individual (longitudinally evaluated) follows closely that which is observed at the population level (cross-sectional joint-digit study). That is, it is directly related to the age and the interval between visits. This is not always seen in the proximal interphalangeal joint data. 3) The rate of change in the osteoarthritic grade of individual hands agrees closely with that of their distal interphalangeal joints. This further supports the conclusions reached in a first report that what has been referred to as osteoarthritic grade of the hand of an individual may actually be the higher grade among the distal interphalangeal joints.
Half-Yield Discharge: Process-Based Predictor of Bankfull Discharge

AbstractThe river management and restoration community has devoted much effort to predicting the bankfull discharge, Qbf, and associated channel geometry at Qbf for the purposes of channel study, classification, and design. Four types Qbf prediction methods predominate: (1) direct estimation based on field indicators of bankfull stage, (2) downstream hydraulic geometry equations, (3) a flood peak discharge with a specified return interval based on the annual maximum flood series (e.g., the 1.5- to 2-year flood) or regional flood peak statistical relations, and (4) process-based approaches that incorporate the magnitude and frequency of sediment transport such as the most effective discharge Qeff. Process-based Qbf predictors are calculated using sediment transport data from 95 gauged sites across the United States including coarse, bed load–dominated channels and fine, suspended load–dominated channels with drainage areas ranging from 6 to 1.4×105 km2. These values are compared with observations of Qbf m...
Electrical Spin Injection and Detection in Silicon Nanowires through Oxide Tunnel Barriers

We demonstrate all-electrical spin injection, transport, and detection in heavily n-type-doped Si nanowires using ferromagnetic Co/Al(2)O(3) tunnel barrier contacts. Analysis of both local and nonlocal spin valve signals at 4 K on the same nanowire device using a standard spin-transport model suggests that high spin injection efficiency (up to ~30%) and long spin diffusion lengths (up to ~6 μm) are achieved. These values exceed those reported for spin transport devices based on comparably doped bulk Si. The spin valve signals are found to be strongly bias and temperature dependent and can invert sign with changes in the dc bias current. The influence of the nanowire morphology on field-dependent switching of the contacts is also discussed. Owing to their nanoscale geometry, ~5 orders of magnitude less current is required to achieve nonlocal spin valve voltages comparable to those attained in planar microscale spin transport devices, suggesting lower power consumption and the potential for applications of Si nanowires in nanospintronics.
IS THE PRODUCTION OF MULTIPLE SPERM TYPES ADAPTIVE

Males of many species concurrently produce more than one sperm type, now called sperm heteromorphism. In the Drosophila obscura group, all species examined to date produce multiple sperm types that differ in sperm length. Short sperm types in at least three obscura group species do not participate in fertilization, leading to questions regarding the adaptive value of sperm heteromorphism. The common and pervasive inheritance of this trait in the obscura group, however, may indicate that sperm heteromorphism is phylogenetically constrained and therefore does not reflect an adaptive response to selection pressures. I measured interspecific variation in sperm length and determined the number of sperm types produced in 10 obscura group species. I subsequently tested if interspecific variation in sperm length is significantly associated with phylogeny by using an autoregressive comparative method. All obscura group species examined produce two visually distinct sperm lengths, short and long. Phylogenetic autoregression analyses indicated that 22% of the interspecific variation in long sperm is related to phylogeny, whereas short sperm are not significantly correlated with phylogeny. These results suggest different selection pressures on the two sperm length types; long sperm have evolved in response to fertilization demands and short sperm have been decoupled from these requirements.
Research on Discharge Characteristics of GIS Basin Insulator Internal Air Gap Based on the Ultrasonic Method

In order to study discharge characteristics of GIS basin insulator internal air gap,the insulators internal air gap defect model is built by three-layer epoxy board,and the partial discharge signals are disclosed by ultrasonic method.The experimental results show that the discharge spectra of the air-gap discharge present a "rabbit ears"-like characteristics with increasing applied voltage,and the discharge amplitude will increase with the increase of air gap size and applied voltage.Three-capacitor model is used in this paper.The test results lay experimental basis for the live detection of GIS partial discharge and fault location and pattern recognition.GIS;ultrasound;partial discharge;air gap
D-Mannitol 1-phosphate dehydrogenase and D-sorbitol 6-phosphate dehydrogenase in Aerobacter aerogenes.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the determination of D-mannitol 1-phosphate dehydrogenase and D-sorbitol 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Aerobacter aerogenes. The assay method depends on the increase in light absorbance at 340 mμ when nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is reduced in the presence of either D-mannitol 1-phosphate or D-sorbitol 6-phosphate. The two enzymes, D-mannitol 1-phosphate dehydrogenase and D-sorbitol 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, are completely different enzymes as determined by their physical, chemical, and catalytic properties. The enzyme unit is that amount, which will produce a change of 0.01 in optical density at 340 mμ during the 30- to 90-second interval. Protein is determined by the biuret phenol method. Specific activity is expressed as units per milligram of protein. In the course of purification procedure for D-mannitol 1-P dehydrogenase, Aerobacter aerogenes ATCC 8724 is grown for approximately 20 hours with vigorous aeration at 30° in a synthetic medium that contained 0.54% KH2PO4, 0.12% (NH4)2SO4, 0.04% MgSO4·7 H2O, and 1.5% D-mannitol. The cells were grown in 25-liter batches. In the course of purification procedure for D-sorbitol 6-P dehydrogenase, cells are grown as described for D-mannitol 1-P dehydrogenase, except that the medium contains 1.5% D-sorbitol as a carbon source for growth.
Conformational study of N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine adducts of recombinant gammaC-crystallin.

N ɛ-(carboxymethyl)lysine, an advanced glycation end product, is present in the human lens. The effects of CML formation on protein conformation and stability were studied using the recombinant γC-crystallin as a model. Conformational change was studied by spectroscopic measurements such as fluorescence and circular dichroism. Conformational stability was determined by unfolding with heat. The results indicated that no conformational change was observed due to CML formation, but conformational stability decreased. These observations can be explained in terms of the relatively stable structure of γ-crystallin, especially when compared with other crystallins. The lens nucleus is rich in γ-crystallin and its stable conformation can assist γ-crystallin sustained insults and remain soluble.
Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer and Elk: a Critique of Current Models and Their Application

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of deer (Odocoileus spp.) and elk (Cervus elaphus), presents a challenge to wildlife managers because little is known about its transmission, yet it could severely threaten wildlife populations if action is not taken rapidly. Published mathematical models predict that CWD could devastate populations of free-living deer and elk, prompting wildlife managers to attempt large-scale eradication of deer in hopes of containing CWD outbreaks. Our objective is to critically examine the theoretical and empirical support for current models of CWD epizootiology, in light of herd health-management actions. We identify a critical, untested premise (i.e., strictly frequency-dependent transmission) that underlies the dire model predictions. We re-evaluate published comparisons of model output with field data and find little support for published model structures. Given the uncertainty surrounding the future effects of chronic wasting disease on deer and elk populations, and the potential costs of unnecessarily culling large numbers of charismatic and valuable animals, we propose that consideration of alternative models and management actions in a decision-theoretic framework is necessary for wildlife management actions to retain their scientific basis.
Relapse to Cocaine Use

Publisher Summary Relapse denotes at least one episode of drug use following a period of no use. Some authors differentiate a lapse from a relapse. Usually, a lapse is defined as a brief episode of drug use quickly followed by a resumption of abstinence. Definitions of relapse are also complicated by emerging definitions of positive cocaine treatment outcomes. Development of definitions of cocaine relapse is hampered by the lack of descriptive data on relapse episodes. There are several models of drug use and relapse, including the conditioning models, many of which have a neurobiological underpinning. Numerous biological, psychological, social, and situational factors may influence relapse to cocaine. Research on most of these factors is still sparse. Epidemiological studies suggest a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among cocaine patients compared to the general population. This chapter reiterates that most drug abuse treatments, both psychological and pharmacological, strive to help patients achieve abstinence. Relapse Prevention (RP) is a relatively recent technology for promoting abstinence from drugs of abuse as well as cessation of nondrug problematic behaviors.
Jehovah’s Witness and the Bleeding Surgical Patient

The religion named Jehovah’s Witness was founded by Charles Russell in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in 1869. Members of this religion do not accept blood transfusions based on passages from the Bible, such as Genesis 9:3-4, Leviticus 17:10-11, and Acts 15:28-29. “As for any man who eats any sort of blood, I shall certainly set my face against the soul that is eating the blood, and I shall in deed cut him off from among ‘his people.’” Interpreting blood transfusions as “eating the blood,” Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that hope for an eternal life would be denied if blood transfusion is allowed. Worldwide, there are approximately 6 million Jehovah’s Witnesses, with approximately 1 million residing in the USA (Ridley in J Med Ethics 25: 469–472, 1999). Many of whom do not accept homologous or autologous whole blood, packed red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets (Singelenberg in Soc Sci Med 31:515–523, 1990). Some will agree to the use of dialysis, heart-lung, or similar technology if the extracorporeal circulation is uninterrupted. Reportedly, the religion’s belief of Jehovah’s Witnesses does not absolutely prohibit the use of all component therapies, such as hemophiliac preparations, albumin, and immune globulins. Unfortunately, a substantial percentage of bleeding surgical patients present in hemorrhagic shock and are in need of multiple transfusions (Pedowitz and Shakford in J Trauma 29:219–223, 1989). This becomes a major impediment if the patient is a Jehovah’s Witness, who abstains from receiving blood transfusions and blood product infusions based on his/her religious beliefs.
The First World War in the Literacy-Focused Classroom: Teaching German through Cultural Themes

This article offers approaches to the topic of the First World War at the intermediate and advanced levels of the German curriculum through thematically diverse WWI-era cultural texts. By situating the texts within a multiliteracies framework, the authors demonstrate how this historical and literary content can provide authentic material for foreign language teaching. A model for “reading diagonally” across textual genres and forms, along with suggested texts for intermediate and upper-level German courses, is presented as a means of building students' literacy skills. The war themes addressed in the texts include the mobilization of children, gender and war, art and propaganda, the discourses of nationalism and patriotism, and war and memory. The article concludes with suggestions for student assessment aligned with literacy learning objectives. The appendix includes an annotated list of useful websites on WWI for German instructors as well as classroom materials for Else Ury's Nesthakchen im Weltkrieg (2015) and a graphic novel version of Erich Maria Remarque's Im Westen Nichts Neues (2014).
The Dover inherently secure processor

The Dover inherently secure processor being developed at Draper extends a conventional CPU (we use an open-source RISC-V implementation) with a Policy EXecution coprocessor (PEX). The PEX maintains metadata at the granularity of every word accessible by the application processor (AP), including registers, and the PEX enforces software-defined policies at the granularity of each instruction executed by the AP CPU. Hardware interlocks enforce strict separation between user-land code & data and policy-related code & data. Dover achieves high performance by using caches for acceptable combinations of instructions and associated metadata. Dover maintains flexibility with respect to the host AP CPU by imposing minimal changes to the AP CPU. A Dover system, in conjunction with a Dover-specialized kernel and modifications to the GCC toolchain, can implement a wide range of security and safety policies on top of existing C-based applications.
Aortic Valve Disease in the 2017 Focused Update: Questions Answered and Questions Raised

The publication of the 2017 Focused Update of the 2014 American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) Guideline for the Management of Patients with Valvular Heart Disease pro...
From Tiananmen to Outsourcing: the Effect of Rising Import Competition on Congressional Voting Towards China

Mounting import competition from China has increased unemployment in manufacturing and suppressed wages in local labor markets around the United States. This article investigates the political effe...
Dilemmas in the Dosing of Heart Failure Drugs: Titrating Diuretics in Chronic Heart Failure

Despite advances in medical therapy over the past few decades, the incidence of heart failure hospitalisation continues to rise. Diuretics are the most common therapy used to treat heart failure as they relieve congestion. However, there is a lack of guidance on how to best use these medications. Guidelines support the use of diuretics at the lowest clinically effective dose but do not specify a diuretic strategy beyond that. Here we review the diuretics available for treatment, potential mechanisms of diuretic resistance and ways to address this in the ambulatory setting, and review tools that have been developed to help guide diuretic use in the treatment of chronic heart failure.
Understanding, Self‐Evidence, and Justification

Self‐evidence is plausibly taken to be a status that marks propositions as capable of being justifiedly believed (and known) on the basis of understanding them. This paper explicates and defends that view. The paper shows that the broadly linguistic kind of understanding implied by basic semantic comprehension of a formulation of a self‐evident proposition does not entail being justified in believing that proposition; that the kind of understanding adequate to yield such justification is multi‐dimensional; and that there are many variables partly constitutive of such understanding—all philosophically interesting in themselves—that a theory of self‐evidence must account for. The paper also shows why self‐evident propositions need not be obvious, need not be unprovable, and, far from being beyond dispute, can be rationally disputed. The concluding section shows how knowledge of self‐evident propositions is possible even if, on the one hand, their elements are abstract and causally inert and, on the other, beliefs constituting knowledge must meet both causal and reliability conditions connected with their truthmakers.
Automated and real-time segmentation of suspicious breast masses using convolutional neural network

In this work, a computer-aided tool for detection was developed to segment breast masses from clinical ultrasound (US) scans. The underlying Multi U-net algorithm is based on convolutional neural networks. Under the Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board protocol, a prospective study of the automatic segmentation of suspicious breast masses was performed. The cohort consisted of 258 female patients who were clinically identified with suspicious breast masses and underwent clinical US scan and breast biopsy. The computer-aided detection tool effectively segmented the breast masses, achieving a mean Dice coefficient of 0.82, a true positive fraction (TPF) of 0.84, and a false positive fraction (FPF) of 0.01. By avoiding positioning of an initial seed, the algorithm is able to segment images in real time (13-55 ms per image), and can have potential clinical applications. The algorithm is at par with a conventional seeded algorithm, which had a mean Dice coefficient of 0.84 and performs significantly better (P< 0.0001) than the original U-net algorithm.
Movement of Cargo in Bacterial Cytoplasm: Bacterial Actin Dynamics Drives Plasmid Segregation

Actin was once considered an exclusive hallmark of eukaryotic cells. In 2001, however, a filament-forming actin homolog was discovered in eubacteria as a regulator of cell shape (Jones, 2001). Since that time, other bacterial actin filaments have been shown to segregate DNA (Moller-Jensen, 2002; Becker, 2006; Derman, 2009) and position organelles (Komelli, 2006). Recent bioinformatic analysis has identified dozens of families of Actin Like Proteins (ALPs) encoded on prokaryotic chromosomes, plasmids, and phages. While the overwhelming majority of these proteins remains uncharacterized, two plasmid-segregating bacterial actins, ParM and AlfA, have been studied in vitro. The architecture and assembly dynamics of these filaments and their mechanisms of force generation and cargo translocation are examined in this chapter.
Competence in knowledge representation

The range of domains and tasks for “knowledgebased systems” has been expanding at a furious pace. As we move away from trivial domains, such as the “blocks world”, the demands on knowledge representation systems used by expert programs are becoming more extreme. For one thing, the domains themselves are getting so complex that specialized technical vocabularies are unavoidable; consequently, the issue of a system talking with un expert in ki8 own ianguage cannot be ignored. For another, tasks such as medical diagnosis, scene analysis, speech understanding, and game playing all have as a central feature an incrementally evolving model representing probably incomplete knowledge of part of the task domain. In this paper, we explore some of the impact of these two critical issues-complexity and incompletenesson knowledge representation systems. We review some aspects of current representation research that offer a foundation for coping with these problems, and finally suggest a way of integrating these ideas into a powerful, practical knowledge representation paradigm.