cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding Climate-Vegetation Interactions in Global Rainforests Through a GP-Tree Analysis

The tropical rainforests are the largest reserves of terrestrial carbon and therefore, the future of these rainforests is a question that is of immense importance in the geoscience research community. With the recent severe Amazonian droughts in 2005 and 2010 and on-going drought in the Congo region for more than two decades, there is growing concern that these forests could succumb to precipitation reduction, causing extensive carbon release and feedback to the carbon cycle. However, there is no single ecosystem model that quantifies the relationship between vegetation health in these rainforests and climatic factors. Small scale studies have used statistical correlation measure and simple linear regression to model climate-vegetation interactions, but suffer from the lack of comprehensive data representation as well as simplistic assumptions about dependency of the target on the covariates. In this paper we use genetic programming (GP) based symbolic regression for discovering equations that govern the vegetation climate dynamics in the rainforests. Expecting micro-regions within the rainforests to have unique characteristics compared to the overall general characteristics, we use a modified regression-tree based hierarchical partitioning of the space to build individual models for each partition. The discovery of these equations reveal very interesting characteristics about the Amazon and the Congo rainforests. Our method GP-tree shows that the rainforests exhibit tremendous resiliency in the face of extreme climatic events by adapting to changing conditions.
Spectral analysis of ultrasound radiofrequency backscatter for the identification of five tissue types found in and around the paravertebral space

In a pilot study, radiofrequency backscatter data was collected in the paravertebral (PV) spaces of 4 healthy individuals. Using the associated gray scale ultrasound and Doppler data as guidance, regions-of-interest (ROIs) were chosen to represent five tissue types found in and around the PV space – rib shadow, pleura, superior costotransverse ligament, intercostal vessel (artery or vein), and the PV space away from the vessel. ROI sizes of 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, and 2.0 mm square were examined for auto-regressive (AR) orders of 10, 20, 30, and 40 and bandwidths of 3dB, 6dB, 20dB. Spectral estimations were performed for each ROI size, AR order, and bandwidth over the A-lines of the ultrasound radiofrequency data. The spectra were averaged and normalized using data collected from a tissue phantom. Eight spectral parameters – Y-intercept, slope, and mid-band fit of the regression line, maximum dB of the spectra, frequency at maximum dB, minimum dB of the spectra, frequency at minimum dB, and integrated backscatter were calculated for each spectral estimate and used to create ensembles of bagged tree classifiers. An ROI size of 2.0 mm, bandwidth of 20 dB, and AR order 10 had the lowest out-of-bag error at 0.315, and averaged across all tissue types, an accuracy of 89.15p, sensitivity of 0.70, specificity of 0.93, and Youden’s Index (YI) of 0.62. These results show that the identification of the five tissues types in radiofrequency backscatter from intercostal ultrasound is feasible.
Incommensurable or inexorable?: Comparing the economic, ecological, and social values of exchanged multiple use lands

Abstract Land exchanges are a process increasingly being used by state government and private industry to facilitate extractive development on lands bounded within or contiguous to federal public lands. These swaps were originally intended as a legal tool to reconfigure property ownership in a contiguous pattern and thereby align land use, management, and conservation priorities. However, in doing so access to locally significant multiple use activities, like hunting as is the case here, end up redistributed to properties that have different levels of ecological and social value that are not necessarily integrated into the economic value of exchanged lands. The Bearlodge land exchange, occurred between state and private lands in two different areas of the Black Hills National Forest and was undertaken by Rare Element Resources Ltd. in coordination with the State of Wyoming to obtain ownership of a state section adjacent to the mine's lease on U.S. Forest Service land. The acquisition of the adjacent section was deemed necessary by the mining corporation to collocate a waste tailing pile next to the mine. In this case, the different types of value - economic, social, and ecological - are individually assessed and collectively compared between exchanged lands using a mixed methods approach. Findings demonstrate that while exchanges may be roughly equivalent in constructed economic value, the social and ecological components underpinning assessed property value in the trade are inequivalent due to differences in place-based connections of recreational amenities and the ecological composition unique to each parcel.
Philip Starr Wolfe

In the early 1950s, even though there were few university departments of operations research(OR), some students found the subject attractive due to the influence of a faculty advisor, specific work experience, or the intellectual challenges OR presented. In Phil Wolfe’s case, all played a role.
Probabilistic Analysis of Memory Repair and Reconfiguration Heuristics

Random graph theory is used in this paper to study the average-case time complexities of several existing heuristics for reconfiguring memory arrays with spare rows and columns. By studying the probability of successful application of these heuristics, we are able to make statements about their average performance. Finally, an algorithm which almost always runs in polynomial time based on an appropriate failure rate is presented.
Structural Determinants of Arrestin Functions

Arrestins are a small protein family with only four members in mammals. Arrestins demonstrate an amazing versatility, interacting with hundreds of different G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) subtypes, numerous nonreceptor signaling proteins, and components of the internalization machinery, as well as cytoskeletal elements, including regular microtubules and centrosomes. Here, we focus on the structural determinants that mediate various arrestin functions. The receptor-binding elements in arrestins were mapped fairly comprehensively, which set the stage for the construction of mutants targeting particular GPCRs. The elements engaged by other binding partners are only now being elucidated and in most cases we have more questions than answers. Interestingly, even very limited and imprecise identification of structural requirements for the interaction with very few other proteins has enabled the development of signaling-biased arrestin mutants. More comprehensive understanding of the structural underpinning of different arrestin functions will pave the way for the construction of arrestins that can link the receptor we want to the signaling pathway of our choosing.
Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Do Investors Underreact to Systemic Events?

We examine whether investors efficiently incorporate the effect of financial sector shocks into the equity prices of non-financial firms. Shocks to the financial sector are complex macroeconomic events affecting many firms to varying degrees. Prices may adjust slowly in response to financial sector shocks if information processing capabilities are constrained. We test this hypothesis by examining the ability of systemic risk shocks to predict future returns of financially constrained firms. We find that in the month following the month of large systemic events, large debt constrained firms exhibit significantly lower returns than unconstrained firms with an average relative risk-adjusted return of -3.5% (-42% annualized). More generally, innovations in systemic risk exhibit significant predictability for returns of constrained firms in excess of unconstrained firms. To identify financially constrained firms we introduce a new classification method using random decision forests, a machine learning technique. This method allows us to extend the measures based on textual analysis of firm filings both in the cross-section and time series using only financial information. Overall, the results provide evidence that the market is slow to incorporate the effects of financial sector shocks into equity prices.
Interpreting Behavior Genetic Models: Seven Developmental Processes to Understand

Behavior genetic findings figure in debates ranging from urgent public policy matters to perennial questions about the nature of human agency. Despite a common set of methodological tools, behavior genetic studies approach scientific questions with potentially divergent goals. Some studies may be interested in identifying a complete model of how individual differences come to be (e.g., identifying causal pathways among genotypes, environments, and phenotypes across development). Other studies place primary importance on developing models with predictive utility, in which case understanding of underlying causal processes is not necessarily required. Although certainly not mutually exclusive, these two goals often represent tradeoffs in terms of costs and benefits associated with various methodological approaches. In particular, given that most empirical behavior genetic research assumes that variance can be neatly decomposed into independent genetic and environmental components, violations of model assumptions have different consequences for interpretation, depending on the particular goals. Developmental behavior genetic theories postulate complex transactions between genetic variation and environmental experiences over time, meaning assumptions are routinely violated. Here, we consider two primary questions: (1) How might the simultaneous operation of several mechanisms of gene-environment (GE)-interplay affect behavioral genetic model estimates? (2) At what level of GE-interplay does the 'gloomy prospect' of unsystematic and non-replicable genetic associations with a phenotype become an unavoidable certainty?
The Medical Device Innovation Process

Abstract Developing a new medical device requires more than a good idea and good engineering. This chapter presents a structured method and best practices to guide innovators through the steps of medical device development. Practical suggestions are offered for screening an innovative medical device based on its technical, market, and financial feasibility, how to cost effectively test new medical devices for safety and efficacy, and how to protect intellectual property and navigate the patent process. The complexities of regulation, reimbursement, and financing of medical devices are discussed as well. Following best practices for new medical device development does not guarantee success, but it does minimize the risk of developing the product.
A flow cytometric analysis of macrophage- nanoparticle interactions in vitro: induction of altered Toll-like receptor expression.

Background Nanoparticles exhibit unique physiochemical characteristics that provide the basis for their utilization. The diversity of potential and actual applications compels a thorough understanding regarding the consequences of their containment within the cellular environment. Purpose This paper presents a flow cytometric examination of the biologic effects associated with the internalization of citrate-buffered silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NP) by the murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. Materials and methods Cells were cultured with varying concentrations of citrate-buffered Ag nanoparticle and analyzed for changes in cellular volume, fluorescence emissions, and surface receptor expression. Results Notable changes in side scatter (SSC) signal occurred following the phagocytosis of citrate-buffered Ag NP representative of the 10 nm, 50 nm, and 100 nm particle size by cultured RAW 264.7 cells. A characteristic associated with the internalization of all the citrated Ag NP sizes tested, was the detection of emitted infra-red and near-infrared wavelength emissions. This characteristic consistently permitted the detection of 10 nm, 50 nm, and 100 nm Ag NP particles internalized within the RAW cells by flow cytometry. A functional distinction between monocyte subsets within the RAW 264.7 cell line was noted as Ag NP are taken up by the F4/80+ subset of cells within the culture. Further, the internalization of Ag NP by the cells resulted in an increased cell surface expression of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3, but not TLR4. Conclusion Taken together, these results implicate the more mature macrophage in the ingestion of Ag NP; and an influence upon at least one of the Toll receptors present in macrophages following exposure to Ag NP. Further, our flow cytometric approach presents a potentially viable detection method for the identification of occult Ag NP material using an indicator cell line.
Thermoelectric Hall conductivity and figure of merit in Dirac/Weyl materials

Author(s): Kozii, V; Skinner, B; Fu, L | Abstract: We calculate the thermoelectric response coefficients of three-dimensional Dirac or Weyl semimetals as a function of magnetic field, temperature, and Fermi energy. We focus in particular on the thermoelectric Hall coefficient αxy and the Seebeck coefficient Sxx, which are well-defined even in the dissipationless limit. We contrast the behaviors of αxy and Sxx with those of traditional Schrodinger particle systems, such as doped semiconductors. Strikingly, we find that for Dirac materials αxy acquires a constant, quantized value at sufficiently large magnetic field, which is independent of the magnetic field or the Fermi energy, and this leads to unprecedented growth in the thermopower and the thermoelectric figure of merit. We further show that even relatively small fields, such that ωcτ∼1 (where ωc is the cyclotron frequency and τ is the scattering time), are sufficient to produce a more than 100% increase in the figure of merit.
Testimony of George K. Yin Hearing before House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee on Legislative Proposals and Tax Law Related to Presidential and Vice-Presidential Tax Returns

This submission is the testimony provided to the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee in February 2019 on the ability of the chairman of the committee to obtain and disclose the tax return information of any taxpayer including the president. It describes the controlling law, the circumstances in which the chairman's request should be respected, and the conditions for disclosing the information to the public.
Novel approach to sub-5-nm patterning platforms: the self-assembly of metal conjugated bio-inspired molecules

The manufacturable integration of geometric, equivalent and 3D scaling will drive Future Beyond CMOS devices and information processing technologies and systems. Additionally, interface control and low-energy functional patterning of non-traditional materials will enable the integration of novel heterogeneous 3D materials and systems. For future patterning technologies, resolution and defectivity, as well as line edge and interface roughness continue as key potential show-stoppers. Furthermore, the current resist-based patterning strategy requires a subsequent pattern transfer step, which adds to the stochastic nature and variability of the patterning and pattern transfer processes, and the challenge of achieving low defect sub-10 nm patterns will only increase with each technology generation. The Internet-of-Things era opens an enormous research space and opportunity for exploring emerging research materials (ERMs) that exhibit the potential for achieving sub-8-nm functional feature sizes via the directed self-assembly of novel non-block copolymer (BCP) and nanomaterials. Utilizing intramolecular hydrophilic-hydrophobic interactions as a driving force for self-assembly, we designed and developed a method to fabricate molecular patterning platforms that leverage interactions between bioinspired amphiphilic molecules and various metal cation-conjugates. This system also appears to exhibit a dynamic chi, χ, during the assembly process, which would enhance the formation of highly resolved self-assembled structures. With this method, we were able to demonstrate 2.9±0.8 nm (1σ; n=11) ordered metal/organic line patterns, with a pitch of 7.4±2.0 nm (1σ; n=10), and conductivity through the metal nanowires. While still in the ‘ugly duckling’ stage of development, this study demonstrates the feasibility of achieving self-assembled sub-4 nm functional nanostructures. This breakthrough technology opens the door to new families of self-assembling materials options, with the potential to serve as an inexpensive and effective way to pattern high-resolution features, such as for nanoelectronics, bioelectronics and other emerging 21st century information processing technologies.
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion in Psychiatry Leadership

Recognizing and embracing culture, diversity, and inclusion is essential to the practice of high-quality clinical care in medicine and, more specifically, in psychiatry. When leadership lacks diversity, the organizational policies and norms may skew toward devaluing the importance of diversity and inclusion. Considering the significant underrepresentation at the academic faculty level, substantive individual and systemic efforts are required to recruit, retain, and advance a diverse and inclusive student pipeline and faculty in academic psychiatry. For meaningful progress to be made, leaders in psychiatry must resemble an increasingly diverse field of psychiatry residents who serve a more diverse community of patients.
Community Arts and Teacher Candidates: A Study in Civic Engagement.

Within an afterschool community arts program for underserved children, teacher candidates tested prescribed teaching methods, experimented with teaching styles, and worked cooperatively with peers ...
Exploring the effects of authoring and answering peer-generated multiple-choice questions

Background: Many students believe that completing practice test questions improve their examination performance. This study was designed to investigate the effects of authoring and answering peer-generated multiple-choice questions. Methods: First-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students were voluntarily enrolled in the study. Each student was required to create at least three questions and encouraged to answer as many items as they wanted. Following the examination, participating students were required to complete a questionnaire characterizing the usefulness and enjoyability of the program. Results: A total of 94/101 students utilized the PeerWise program. Students believed that developing peer-generated questions improve their understanding of the material (79% agreed or strongly agreed). Fifty-six percent of students said that they would use peer-generated questions as a study tool if no extra credit was associated with it (agree or strongly agree); however, none of them used the technique when not incentivized. Of the 290 questions generated, only 4% of the questions required a deep understanding of the content, whereas 62% required recall only. Conclusions: We conclude that students generally perceived the program to be useful, but questionable quality items may have potentially limited students' learning gains.
A Safe-Word Intervention for Abduction Prevention in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Most abduction-prevention strategies focus on teaching children safe responses to lures from strangers; however, statistics suggest that the majority of nonfamily abductions are conducted by people who are, to some extent, familiar to the child. We evaluated the effects of a safe-word intervention to address this discrepancy and decrease the likelihood that a child will leave with a person not appointed by his or her parents, regardless of whether the person is familiar or unfamiliar to the child. Five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, aged 4–9 years old, were taught a 4-part response to lures from familiar and unfamiliar adults using a behavioral skills training package with in situ training added as needed. All participants met initial mastery criteria, with 4 of the 5 children requiring the addition of in situ training, and all maintained mastery levels at a 2-month follow-up.
Computational Testing of Assignment Algorithms

The methods used in an empirical evaluation of several recently proposed assignment algorithms are discussed. Brief descriptions of the algorithms tested are also included.
Cost analysis of laparoscopic appendectomy in a large integrated healthcare system.

Healthcare expenditure is on the rise placing greater emphasis on operational excellence, cost containment, and high quality of care. Significant variation is seen in operating room (OR) costs with common surgical procedures such as laparoscopic appendectomy. Surgeons can influence cost through the selection of instrumentation for common surgical procedures such as laparoscopic appendectomy. We aimed to quantify the cost of laparoscopic appendectomy in our healthcare system and compare cost variations to operative times and outcomes. We performed a retrospective review of laparoscopic appendectomies in a large regional healthcare system during one-year period (2018). Operating room supply costs and procedure durations were obtained for each hospital. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) outcomes and demographics were compared to the costs for each hospital. A total of 4757 laparoscopic appendectomies were performed at 20 hospitals (27 to 522 per hospital) by 233 surgeons. The average supply cost per case ranged from $650 to $1067. Individual surgeon cost ranged from $197 to $1181. The average operative time was 41 min (range 33 to 60 min). There was no association between lower cost and longer operative time. The patient demographics and comorbidities were similar between sites. There were no significant differences in postoperative complications between high- and low-cost centers. The items with the greatest increase in cost were single-use energy devices (SUD) and endoscopic stapler. We estimate that a saving of over $417 per case is possible by avoiding the use of energy devices and may be as high as $ 984 by adding selective use of staplers. These modifications would result in an annual savings of $1 million for our health system and more than $ 125 million nationwide. Performing laparoscopic appendectomy with reusable instruments and finding alternatives to expensive energy devices and staplers can significantly decrease costs and does not increase operative time or postoperative complications.
Body mass index (BMI) and quality of life among long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Background: Adult survivors of childhood cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at risk of overweight and related chronic morbidities. As childhood cancer survival has been improving, long-term quality of life (QOL) among cancer survivors becomes more important. We examined the association of body mass index with physical and psychosocial QOL among childhood ALL survivors who returned for long-term follow-up after end of therapy. Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey (2006-2012), we assessed the association between body mass index and quality of life in 58 long-term survivors of childhood ALL (ages 9 to 43 at the time of survey/measurement) using age-appropriate QOL instruments (Health-Related Quality of Life Short Form – SF-36 or Child Health Questionnaire-PF-50). Results: Half of the participants were overweight or obese at the time of survey. Mean QOL scores were similar to population norms. Compared to underweight/healthy weight status, being overweight/obese was not significantly associated with poorer physical QOL, but with poorer psychosocial QOL (47.1±13.2 vs. 54.0±6.0, P=0.01, effect size Cohen’s d=0.67), which remained statistically significant after adjusting for age and sex. Conclusions: Weight management should be the target of timely interventions among survivors of childhood ALL.
“Pixels May Lose Kelp Canopy”: The Photomosaic as Epistemic Figure for the Satellite Mapping and Modeling of Seaweeds

This article shows how the photo-mosaic characterizes epistemic practices in contemporary oceanography, particularly through the satellite survey and ecological modeling of marine macroalgae (seaweeds). Drawing on John Murray’s 1912 formulation that oceanographic knowledge relies “upon a patiently put together mosaic representation of the discoveries” and Nancy Cartwright’s description of theory in science as a patchwork, I examine the mosaic as both an organizational form for oceanographic knowledge-making and as an aesthetic that emerges in remote surveillance. Through a comparative analysis of the visual and computational media surrounding sargassum and giant kelp, I analyze how a photo-mosaic epistemics and aesthetics emerges through the squareness of pixels and mapping interfaces, and through the ways that discrete instances of sampling and observation are assembled into provisional pictures of understanding. Moreover, I argue that the visibility of sargassum and giant kelp to a satellite depends on what I call their “photo-availability,” or the physical and metabolic qualities that make them sensible to satellite detection. In this way I consider seaweeds as active agents in the distributed media system of satellite imaging, rather than the passive objects of surveillance and monitoring, where epistemic mosaicking emerges as a strategy for knowledge and control.
Acoustic Characteristics of Pre- and Post-vocalic /l/: Patterns from One Southern White Vernacular English.

This study examined acoustic characteristics of the phoneme /l/ produced by young female and male adult speakers of Southern White Vernacular English (SWVE) from Louisiana. F1, F2, and F2-F1 values...
HOW MOBILE MEDIA ENABLED AND LIMITED ONLINE CIVIC PARTICIPATION AMONG LOW-INCOME U.S. YOUNG PEOPLE DURING THE PANDEMIC

This paper presents comparative research from two youth-centered interdisciplinary ethnographic research projects in media studies, social work, and education. Originally designed as in-person interventions meant to provide digital media literacy and civic leadership development activities for 35 Latinx, Black, Indigenous, Asian American and White young people between ages 15-20 living in low-income neighborhoods, the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic forced both projects to take place online. Whereas each project found some benefits to holding endeavors in an online rather than an in-person environment, this paper centers on similar patterns that emerged across the projects in how and why differing participants dropped out over the one-year period between March 2020 through March 2021. The central research question of this paper is: what are the prospects for and barriers to online civic participation activities in the everyday lives of young people who, along with their families, are experiencing economic precarity and other forms of marginalization? The paper explores how mobile media were put to use for coping with everyday life during the pandemic, revealing some assumptions about both coping and online civic engagement that were dismantled.The analysis of these experiences force a reckoning with structural inequities that existed prior to the pandemic and that were further exacerbated because of it. The paper thus unearths new questions regarding how to design online civic participation activities involving young people with multiply intersecting experiences of both marginalization and resilience.
Elementare Herleitung der von Hlavatý angegebenen kanonischen Formen für den elektromagnetischen Tensor in der einheitlichen Feldtheorie

Die unlangst vonEinstein undSchrodinger aufgestellten einheitlichen Feldtheorien beruhen auf der Benutzung eines Tensorsgλμ, welcher weder symmetrisch noch schiefsymmetrisch ist. Ausgehend von der Voraussetzung, das sein symmetrischer Teilhλμ in einem GebietR eines X4 die Signatur---+ besitzt, gabHlavatý einen liniengeometrischen Beweis, das der schiefsymmetrische Anteilkλμ in jedem Punkt vonR auf eine von vier verschiedenen, sich gegenseitig ausschliesenden, kanonischen Formen gebracht werden kann. In der vorliegenden Arbeit fuhren wir die Aufgabe, denHlavatýchen Satz zu beweisen, auf eine klassische Fragestellung aus der Theorie des Elektromagnetismus in der speziellen Relativitatstheorie zuruck. Unser Beweis beruht im wesentlichen auf elementaren algebraischen Entwicklungen.
Attitude of 20th Century Marxists Towards Question of the Right of National Self-Determination for Small National Groups

It is perhaps questionable to bring Lenin and Stalin within the scope of this discussion, since it is extremely difficult to relate either to the main theme of this paper. Rosa Luxemburg, principally through her arguments concerning Polish-Russian, and to a minor extent Finnish-Russian, opposition to the principle of national self-determination provided a bridge linking the 1848/1849 arguments of Marx and Engels to Lenin, in respect to Poland and also in respect to the question of the right of nations to self-determination. In his exchange with Rosa Luxemburg in 1913 over the latter question, Lenin briefly discussed the 1848/1849 disturbances in Austria in his article, “The Right of Nations to Self-Determination.” In doing so, he took a position on the question of the behavior of the Czechs and other Slavs of the Habsburg Monarchy which was quite different than that taken by Marx and Engels. Lenin wrote at that time: On the other hand, the attempt of the Hungarians to create an independent national state collapsed as far back as 1849 under the blows of the Russian army of serfs. A very peculiar situation was thus created; a striving on the part of the Hungarians and then of the Czechs not for separation from Austria, but on the contrary, for the preservation of Austria’s integrity precisely in order to preserve national independence, which might have been completely crushed by more rapacious and powerful neighbors.1
Hiding in Groups: On the Expressiveness of Privacy Distributions

Many applications inherently disclose information because perfect privacy protection is prohibitively expensive. RFID tags, for example, cannot be equipped with the cryptographic primitives needed to completely shield their information from unauthorized reads. All known privacy protocols that scale to the anticipated sizes of RFID systems achieve at most modest levels of protection. Previous analyses found the protocols to have weak privacy, but relied on simplifying attacker models and did not provide insights into how to improve privacy. We introduce a new general way to model privacy through probability distributions, that capture how much information is leaked by different users of a system. We use this metric to examine information leakage for an RFID tag from the a scalable privacy protocol and from a timing side channel that is observable through the tag’s random number generator. To increase the privacy of the protocol, we combine our results with a new model for rational attackers to derive the overall value of an attack. This attacker model is also based on distributions and integrates seamlessly into our framework for information leakage. Our analysis points to a new para meterization for the privacy protocol that significantly improves privacy by decreasing the expected attack value while maintaining reasonable scalability at acceptable cost.
A seven-year study of individual variation in fruit production in tropical bird-dispersed tree species in the family Lauraceae

Fruit crop sizes varied from year to year among 22 sympatric, bird-dispersed tree species in the Lauraceae. Each species in the lower montane forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica fruited at a characteristic season, but there was wide yearto-year variability in the porportion of each population that produced fruit and in the average size of fruit crops. Over a 7-year period (1979-1985), overall fruit production was high during three nonconsecutive years and low during four years. Within genera, tree species displayed distinct fruiting schedules. Even within populations, individual trees sometimes fruited in different years or failed to fruit altogether.
Teaching process control in the 21/sup st/ century: what has changed?

The process control course should continue to be a required course for chemical engineering undergraduates because of its fundamental importance and because a large number of graduates are employed in manufacturing or fields connected to manufacturing. Process control technology has changed considerably during the past 15 years, requiring that textbooks to be updated accordingly. In this paper, we discuss some of these changes in the context of revising one of the leading textbooks in process control, "Process Dynamics and Control". Trends that influence how process control will be taught in the future are identified.
A further look at the 1858 Wallace–Darwin mail delivery question

Recent investigations have led to a conclusion that Alfred Russel Wallace probably mailed his ‘Ternate’ paper on natural selection to Darwin 1 month later than some have assumed, thus freeing Darwin from possible accusations of plagiarism. Further examination of the question suggests that this conclusion is premature because the evidence in favour of the later mailing date appears to be weaker than first considered. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ●●, ●●–●●.
Variational localized-site cluster expansions. IX. Many-body valence-bond theory

A cluster-expansion approach to constructing valence-bond wave functions is described, such that calculations even on many-body systems are possible. In addition, the valence-bond idea of electron pairing is extended to site pairing, or site coupling, even though the sites may involve many electrons and be of a higher spin multiplicity.
Analysis of Gene Function and Visualization of Cilia-Generated Fluid Flow in Kupffer's Vesicle

Internal organs such as the heart, brain, and gut develop left-right (LR) asymmetries that are critical for their normal functions1. Motile cilia are involved in establishing LR asymmetry in vertebrate embryos, including mouse, frog, and zebrafish2-6. These 'LR cilia' generate asymmetric fluid flow that is necessary to trigger a conserved asymmetric Nodal (TGF-β superfamily) signaling cascade in the left lateral plate mesoderm, which is thought to provide LR patterning information for developing organs7. Thus, to understand mechanisms underlying LR patterning, it is essential to identify genes that regulate the organization of LR ciliated cells, the motility and length of LR cilia and their ability to generate robust asymmetric flow. In the zebrafish embryo, LR cilia are located in Kupffer's vesicle (KV)2,4,5. KV is comprised of a single layer of monociliated epithelial cells that enclose a fluid-filled lumen. Fate mapping has shown that KV is derived from a group of ~20-30 cells known as dorsal forerunner cells (DFCs) that migrate at the dorsal blastoderm margin during epiboly stages8,9. During early somite stages, DFCs cluster and differentiate into ciliated epithelial cells to form KV in the tailbud of the embryo10,11. The ability to identify and track DFCs—in combination with optical transparency and rapid development of the zebrafish embryo—make zebrafish KV an excellent model system to study LR ciliated cells. Interestingly, progenitors of the DFC/KV cell lineage retain cytoplasmic bridges between the yolk cell up to 4 hr post-fertilization (hpf), whereas cytoplasmic bridges between the yolk cell and other embryonic cells close after 2 hpf8. Taking advantage of these cytoplasmic bridges, we developed a stage-specific injection strategy to deliver morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) exclusively to DFCs and knockdown the function of a targeted gene in these cells12. This technique creates chimeric embryos in which gene function is knocked down in the DFC/KV lineage developing in the context of a wild-type embryo. To analyze asymmetric fluid flow in KV, we inject fluorescent microbeads into the KV lumen and record bead movement using videomicroscopy2. Fluid flow is easily visualized and can be quantified by tracking bead displacement over time. Here, using the stage-specific DFC-targeted gene knockdown technique and injection of fluorescent microbeads into KV to visualize flow, we present a protocol that provides an effective approach to characterize the role of a particular gene during KV development and function.
On source-channel coding over Gaussian sensor networks for path planning

Path planning is an important component of mobile sensor and autonomous mobile systems. This paper studies inner and outer bounds for joint source-channel coding over Gaussian sensor networks, to drive power-distortion metrics for path planning problems for sensor data gathering. The Gaussian multiple access channel is considered for two source models. In the first setting, the underlying source is estimated with minimum mean squared error (MSE), while in the second, reconstruction of a random field is considered. The second problem simplifies to weighted MSE minimization over the sensor measurements. For both cases, we identify conditions for optimality of uncoded communication, beyond the known optimality results. For both problem settings, we derive inner and outer bounds of sensor power-distortion curve. Next, we consider optimal power allocation among sensors under a total weighted sum power constraint and obtain closed form characterizations of optimal total power versus distortion tradeoff. We numerically analyze the gap between outer and inner bounds for both total power and individual power constrained settings.
Molecular Control of a Bimodal Distribution of Quinone-Analogue Inhibitor Binding Sites in the Cytochrome b6f Complex

The 3.0–3.1 A X-ray structures of the cytochrome b 6 f complex from Mastigocladus laminosus and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii obtained in the presence of the p-side quinone-analogue inhibitor tridecyl-stigmatellin (TDS) are very similar. A difference occurs in the p-side binding position of TDS. In C. reinhardtii , TDS binds in the ring-in mode, as previously found for stigmatellin in X-ray structures of the cytochrome bc 1 complex. In this mode, the H-bonding chromone ring moiety of the TDS bound in the Q p niche is proximal to the ISP [2Fe–2S] cluster, and its 13 carbon tail extends through a portal to the large inter-monomer quinone-exchange cavity. However, in M. laminosus , TDS binds in an oppositely oriented ring-out mode, with the tail inserted toward the Q p niche through the portal and the ring caught in the quinone-exchange cavity that is 20 A away from the [2Fe–2S] cluster. Site-directed mutagenesis of residues that might determine TDS binding was performed with the related transformable cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. The following changes in the sensitivity of electron transport activity to TDS and stigmatellin were observed: (a) little effect of mutation L193A in cytochrome b 6 , which is proximal to the chromone of the ring-out TDS; (b) almost complete loss of sensitivity by mutation L111A in the ISP cluster binding region, which is close to the chromone of the ring-in TDS; (c) a ten and 60-fold increase associated with the mutation L81F in subunit IV. It was inferred that only the ring-in binding mode, in which the ring interacts with residues near the ISP, is inhibitory, and that residue 81 of subunit IV, which resides at the immediate entrance to the Q p niche, controls the relative binding affinity of inhibitor at the two different binding sites.
Effects of relative reinforcer duration on concurrent response rates

For three rats, responses on two bars were reinforced equally often, but with different reinforcer durations, on a variable interval schedule. With only one reinforcer being changed at a time, five pairs of reinforcer durations were tested in exposures of between 9 and 30 sessions. When a reinforcer duration was changed, the rates of both responses usually altered gradually, suggesting that the absolute rate of a response was controlled by the relative duration of its reinforcer. The relative rate of a response (the rate of one response divided by the sum of both response rates) was a linear function of the relative duration of its reinforcer. for the three values tested.
A Long-Term Longitudinal Examination of the Effect of Early Onset of Alcohol and Drug Use on Later Alcohol Abuse

ABSTRACTBackground: Early onset of alcohol use has been linked to later alcohol problems in adulthood. Currently, it is not clear whether early onset of marijuana and tobacco use similarly predicts alcohol problems. Moreover, most studies examining the effect of early substance use onset on later problems only have followed youth into their early 20s. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to examine whether early onset of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use predicts alcohol problems beyond the transition to adulthood. Methods: The sample included 225 15–19-year-old youth (60% girls; 62% Caucasian) who were surveyed in three time periods: 1993–1998 (Time 1), 1998–2003 (Time 2), and 2003–2007 (Time 3). Participants reported their age of onset for regular drinking, tobacco use, and marijuana use. At each time of measurement, they also completed surveys relating to their alcohol use and abuse. Results: Participants with an earlier age of onset of drinking regularly scored higher on the Michigan Alcoho...
Discovery of Anomalous Windows through a Robust Nonparametric Multivariate Scan Statistic (RMSS)

This paper studies unusual phenomena by discovering anomalous windows in multivariate spatial data. Such an anomalous window is a group of contiguous spatial objects indicating the occurrence of unusual phenomenon in terms of multiple variables. The paper presents a novel Robust non-parametric Multivariate Scan Statistic (RMSS). In contrast to the existing work, the authorsâ€™ approach is designed to deal with anomalous window discovery in multivariate data. They propose their multivariate scan statistic that employs the robust Mahalanobis distance which enables taking into account multiple behavioral attributes at the same time and their correlations for the discovery of significant anomalous windows. The proposed multivariate scan statistic is non-parametric such that it does not rely on any prior assumption about the data distribution. It is robust such that it can handle data with large amount of outliers, up to 50% of the overall data size. It is also affine equivariant such that affine transformation such as stretch or rotation of the data would not affect the results. The authors evaluate their approach with (a) real-world multivariate climate data for discovering natural disasters and climate changes, (b) real-world multivariate traffic accident data for identifying accident hubs, which are route segments with underlying accident-prone issues, and (c) synthetic data of both continuous and discrete multivariate distribution for identifying clusters of known outliers under different outlier percentage in data. They compare their results to state of the art multivariate scan statistic method (Kulldorff et al., 2007). The evaluation shows the detection power of the authorsâ€™ method, and the significant improvement over the existing methods.
A Reader's View of Text and Graphics: Implications for Transactional Text

The underlying principles of graphic theory have been largely ignored by the technical and scientific communication community. This impatience with theory creates numerous problems for readers of t...
Classification scheme for genes expressed during formation and progression of the avian primitive streak

We have systematically examined the expression patterns of thirteen genes by in situ hybridization during the formation and progression of the avian primitive streak. Based on common patterns of expression, we classify these genes into three distinct groups. Group 1 genes, subdivided into group 1A (Wnt8c, Slug, Vg1, and Nodal) and group 1B (Fgf8, Brachyury, and Cripto), were expressed first in the epiblast and then, throughout most of the length of the primitive streak. Group 2 genes, namely, cNot1, Sonic hedgehog (Shh), Hnf3 beta and Chordin, were confined to the rostral end of the primitive streak, and then, to Hensen's node. In contrast, Group 3 genes, comprising Goosecoid (GSC) and Crescent, were expressed in the hypoblast. This classification scheme provides a rational basis for categorizing genes expressed during avian gastrulation, and such systematization is likely to provide insight into the relationships among different genes and their potential roles in key events of gastrulation.
Very short period quantitative precipitation forecasting

This article presents an overview of the state of the art of very short period quantitative precipitation forecasting. The authors draw primarily on work presented during the sessions on ‘Nowcasting’ held at the 6th Symposium on the Hydrological Applications of Weather Radar, in Melbourne, Australia, from 2nd to 4th February 2004, and also include some other work in order to give a more complete picture of the field. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society
Abstract P6-08-13: Alteration of REDD-1 Mediated mTOR Pathway and HIF-1σ Regulation in Human Breast Cancer

A hypoxia-related protein, REDD1 (regulated in development and DNA damage response 1), inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in normal cells under hypoxic condition, but a loss of REDD1 causes tumorigenesis in certain tumor cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate REDD 1 -mediated regulation of the mTOR pathway in breast cancer. Tissue microarray included samples from 224 patients with breast cancer, and 30 patients with papilloma were used as control group. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) such as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER-2, epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), cytokeratin (CK) 5/6, Glut-1, HIF-1α, REDD 1, AMPK ≥1, 14-3-3 σ, PTEN, phospho-Akt, phospho-mTOR, phospho-S6, and Ki-67 were performed. Phenotypic classification of breast cancer was performed based on the results of IHC for ER, PR, and HER-2 and fluorescent in Situ Hybridization (FISH) for HER-2: luminal A, luminal B, HER-2 overexpression, and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Glut-1and HIF-1 alpha were more highly expressed in TNBC, HER-2 overexpressiontype, and papilloma than luminal A and B (P = 0.000). REDD1 expression was higher in papilloma than breast cancer (P = 0.000), but no difference was found among the 4 breast cancer phenotypes (P = 0.307). HIF-1α expression was an important factor of decreased time to disease free survival and overall survival in univariate analysis (P = 0.003, and 0.000, respectively) and multivariate Cox analysis (P = 0.018, odd ratio: 7.6, and P = 0.002, odd ratio: 13.7, respectively). Among human breast cancer phenotypes, HER-2 overexpression and TNBC type demonstrated down-regulation of REDD1 under hypoxic tumor environment. In HER-2 overexpression and TNBC type, tumor cell proliferation and survival in hypoxic tumor environment could be possible due to dysinhibition of the mTOR pathway and HIF-1α stabilization through down-regulation of REDD1. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-08-13.
A case report of pathological rule-governed syllable intrusion

A detailed analysis of a unique speech disturbance, marked by the frequent appearance in the speech stream of a meaningless intrusive syllable, is presented. Following a lengthy thoracic surgery, an American English speaking patient began to speak with non-English prosodic patterns, which evolved to a conspicuous intrusion in his speech of the syllable /sis/. This syllable and its variants were attached to words in a manner which conformed to the regular phonological rules in English (for formation of plural, possessive, and third person singular morphemes). The distribution and frequency of the intrusive syllable are described, and possible explanations for the abnormal occurrence of this particular syllable are discussed.