cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An application of a structural model of school demand and supply to evaluate alternative designs of voucher education systems

Abstract This study presents a structural model of the demand and supply of enrollment places in parochial schools and applies this model in the evaluation of alternative designs of voucher policies. The model's estimated parameters are utilized to simulate the effects of different-sized and differently targeted vouchers on public and private school attendance, the fiscal status of public school districts, and public educational costs. The study also examines the possibility that vouchers could displace donors' support of parochial schools and encourage teachers in these schools to become involved in political processes affecting their salaries and working conditions.
Factors controlling Li concentration and isotopic composition in formation waters and host rocks of Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin

In this study, water and whole rock samples from hydraulically fractured wells in the Marcellus Shale (Middle Devonian), and water from conventional wells producing from Upper Devonian sandstones were analyzed for lithium concentrations and isotope ratios (δ7Li). The distribution of lithium concentrations in different mineral groups was determined using sequential extraction. Structurally bound Li, predominantly in clays, accounted for 75–91 wt.% of total Li, whereas exchangeable sites and carbonate cement contain negligible Li (< 3%). Up to 20% of the Li is present in the oxidizable fraction (organic matter and sulfides). The δ7Li values for whole rock shale in Greene Co., Pennsylvania, and Tioga Co., New York, ranged from − 2.3 to + 4.3‰, similar to values reported for other shales in the literature. The δ7Li values in shale rocks with stratigraphic depth record progressive weathering of the source region; the most weathered and clay-rich strata with isotopically light Li are found closest to the top of the stratigraphic section. Diagenetic illite–smectite transition could also have partially affected the bulk Li content and isotope ratios of the Marcellus Shale. In Greene Co., southwest Pennsylvania, the Upper Devonian sandstone formation waters have δ7Li values of + 14.6 ± 1.2 (2SD, n = 25), and are distinct from Marcellus Shale formation waters which have δ7Li of + 10.0 ± 0.8 (2SD, n = 12). These two formation waters also maintain distinctive 87Sr/86Sr ratios, suggesting hydrologic separation between these units. Applying a temperature-dependent illitilization model to Marcellus Shale, we found that Li concentration in clay minerals increased with Li concentration in pore fluid during diagenetic illite–smectite transition. Samples from north-central Pennsylvania show a much smaller range in both δ7Li and 87Sr/86Sr than those in southwest Pennsylvania. Spatial variations in Li and δ7Li values show that Marcellus formation waters are not homogeneous across the Appalachian Basin. Marcellus formation waters in the northeastern Pennsylvania portion of the basin show a much smaller range in both δ7Li and 87Sr/86Sr, suggesting long term, cross-formational fluid migration in this region. Assessing the impact of potential mixing of fresh water with deep formation water requires establishment of a geochemical and isotopic baseline in the shallow, fresh water aquifers, and site specific characterization of formation water, followed by long-term monitoring, particularly in regions of future shale gas development.
Nonneoplastic lesions of the tracheobronchial wall: Radiologic findings with bronchoscopic correlation

Nonneoplastic diseases of the central airways are uncommon but can be categorized as either focal or diffuse, although there is some overlap. Focal diseases include postintubation stenosis, postinfectious stenosis, posttransplantation stenosis, and various systemic diseases that may involve the airways and lead to focal stenosis (eg, Crohn disease, sarcoidosis, Behcet syndrome). Diffuse diseases of the central airways include Wegener granulomatosis, relapsing polychondritis, tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica, amyloidosis, papillomatosis, and rhinoscleroma. Conventional radiography is often the first step in the evaluation of suspected central airway disease and may be adequate in itself to identify the abnormality. However, computed tomography (CT) improves both the detection and characterization of central airway disease. Bronchoscopy remains the primary procedure for the diagnostic work-up of these disease entities. Nevertheless, a thorough radiologic evaluation with radiography and CT may demon...
Feminist Bioethics and Psychiatry

Feminist bioethics is a relatively new field, the major works in which only started to appear in the late 1980s. At first feminist bioethicists focused mainly on issues of particular concern to women such as reproduction. Recently, papers have begun to appear that show that a feminist analysis can be brought to bear on any subject traditional bioethics discusses. So far, however, feminist bioethics has not been brought to bear on psychiatry. There have been feminist critiques of psychiatry and feminist discussions of certain diagnostic categories that disproportionately affect women, but these are concerned with women's issues within psychiatry and how psychiatry has been used to oppress women. Certainly these are important, but what has been missing is a discussion of psychiatry in the sense that feminist bioethics suggests a general critique of psychiatry and the rethinking of the practice of psychiatry, regardless of whether the specific instances involved are women's issues. In this paper I look at what such a feminist bioethical intervention into psychiatry would look like.
Application-informed radio duty-cycling in a re-taskable multi-user sensing system

As sensor networks mature, there will be an increasing need for re-usable, dynamically taskable software systems that support multiple concurrent applications. In this paper, we consider the problem of energy management in such systems, taking Tenet as a case study. Our work considers energy management under three new constraints: dynamic multi-hop routing and tasking, multiple concurrent applications, and reliable end-toend data delivery. We present AEM, an energy management system that satisfies these constraints. AEM statically analyzes and infers the traffic profile for the application and accordingly tunes the duty-cycling protocol to provide the best trade-off in latency and data delivery performance. Furthermore, unlike other duty-cycling protocols with pre-computed or fixed transmission and reception time slots, AEM uses elastic schedules that allows it to adapt to dynamics while enabling bounded latency of event detection. Our experiments show that AEM achieves 1–3% duty-cycles, while allowing concurrent applications to transmit 100% of the sensor data in a multi-hop 40-node network testbed.
Trimethylamine Responsible for Fishy Flavor in Milk from Cows on Wheat Pasture

Abstract A method was developed to quantify trimethylamine and methylamine by gas-liquid chromatography in steam distillates of milk. There was a decrease in milk flavor scores and a proportionate increase in concentrations of trimethylamine to 4.08ppm and of methylamine to 57.5ppm in milk from two cows on winter wheat pasture for 8 days. Flavor scores of 10 commercial milk samples ranged from 34.0 to 38.3, and trimethylamine and methylamine concentrations ranged from .26 to 1.28 and 4.85 to 14.63ppm – well below the estimated flavor thresholds in milk as determined by triangular taste tests. The flavor threshold for trimethylamine was approximately 2ppm, whereas methylamine was not organoleptically detectable at 80ppm. The former at 4ppm decreased flavor scores from 36.6 (normal milk) to 32.0 while 40ppm of the latter gave a score of 37.0. Adding trimethylamine elicited fishy and unclean flavors. It, therefore, is responsible for the fishy flavor characteristic of milk produced on wheat pasture.
Pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of Huntington's disease†‡

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited, progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by chorea, cognitive impairment, and behavioral disturbances. Despite advances in diagnosis and improved understanding of HD, treatment remains difficult due to challenging symptoms and a paucity of approved therapeutic interventions. Nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic strategies have been evaluated; regarding the latter, over 80 agents of various classes have been investigated in clinical trials or examined in case reports. Symptomatic treatment, however, is generally confined to antidopaminergic agents for motor dysfunction and antidepressants for mood disorders, while treatment for cognitive dysfunction remains vacant. Several different mechanisms to modify symptoms and disease progression have been targeted in clinical trials. This article reviews some of the more common pharmacologic treatments used for HD, discusses data regarding suboptimal agents that have been tested, and surveys treatments under investigation.
Statistical Image Reconstruction for Muon Tomography Using a Gaussian Scale Mixture Model

Muon tomography is a novel imaging technique that uses background cosmic radiation to inspect vehicles or cargo containers for detecting the transportation or smuggling of heavy nuclear materials. Empirically, muon scattering data are modeled as zero-mean Gaussian random variables with variance being a function of the atom number and density of the scattering material. However, a single Gaussian distribution cannot model the tail of the true distribution and hence results in noisy reconstructed images. In this paper, we propose a Gaussian scale mixture (GSM) to approximate the true distribution of muon data. The GSM follows the true distribution more closely than a single Gaussian model. We have derived a maximum a posteriori (MAP) reconstruction algorithm based on the GSM likelihood. Localization receiver operating characteristics (LROC) studies were performed using computer simulated data to evaluate the new algorithm. The results show that the use of GSM improves the detection performance significantly over that of the traditional Gaussian likelihood.
MicroRNAs and the cancer phenotype: profiling, signatures and clinical implications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key genetic regulators of a wide variety of biological processes, including growth, proliferation, and survival. Recent advances have led to the recognition that miRNAs can act as potent oncogenes and tumor suppressors, playing crucial roles in the initiation, maintenance, and progression of the oncogenic state in a variety of cancers. Determining how miRNA expression and function is altered in cancer is an important goal, and a necessary prerequisite to the development and adoption of miRNA-based therapeutics in the clinic. Highly promising clinical applications of miRNAs are the use of miRNA signatures as biomarkers for cancer (for example, for early detection or diagnosis), and therapeutic supplementation or inhibition of specific miRNAs to alter the cancer phenotype. In this review, we discuss the main methods used for miRNA profiling, and examine key miRNAs that are commonly altered in a variety of tumors. Current studies underscore the functional versatility and potency of miRNAs in various aspects of the cancer phenotype, pointing to their potential clinical applications. Consequently, we discuss the application of miRNAs as biomarkers, clinical agents, and therapeutic targets, highlighting both the enormous potential and major challenges in this field.
Introduction to SANDIE

This paper gives a short introduction to SANDIE, a statistical data analysis system designed to run on the IBM-PC and similar computers. Special care was made in the development of SANDIE to design a system that would serve as an aid in the development of an intuitive “sense of numbers”. This goal was achieved by providing very fast response times, easy to use graphics and commands that encourage the casual exploration of properties of data sets.
Abstract 20118: Defining the Sufficiency of Atg7 to Suppress Phenylephrine-induced Cardiac Hypertrophy

Introduction: Macroautophagy is a process of bulk protein degradation. Our prior work showed that Atg7 expression is sufficient to induce autophagic flux in vitro and in vivo . When Atg7 was co-expressed with CryAB R120G in the heart, cardiac hypertrophy was blunted in heart weight/body weight ratios and fetal gene expression markers. To determine if Atg7 expression is sufficient to limit hypertrophic growth in another model, we tested the effects of Atg7 overexpression with phenylephrine-induced hypertrophy both in vitro and in vivo . Hypothesis: Atg7 will blunt the hypertrophic effects of phenylephrine. Methods: Rat neonatal cardiomyocytes were infected with adenoviruses expressing either LacZ or Atg7 and treated with phenylephrine to induce cardiomyocytes hypertrophy. Osmotic pumps were surgically implanted into control mice and mice with cardiac-specific expression of Atg7 to infuse phenylephrine (PE) or vehicle (saline) for four weeks. Results: PE treatment significantly increased neonatal cardiomyocyte areas in LacZ-expressing cells, while Atg7-expressing cardiomyocytes showed no growth. In mice, all genotypes responded to PE treatment with significantly increased heart weight/body weight ratios and increased fiber size. However, Atg7-expressing hearts differed significantly from control hearts in normalized heart mass following PE delivery. Vehicle treated Atg7-expressing hearts had 17% smaller myofiber cross-sectional areas than those from control genotypes and had a reduced hypertrophic response to PE, relative to controls. Echocardiography showed that Atg7-expressing hearts had significantly elevated cardiac function (% fractional shortening) prior to and throughout the experiment over control hearts (33% vs. 29%). PE significantly increased fractional shortening) from 29% to 36% in control hearts, but failed to significantly elevate cardiac function in Atg7-expressing hearts further (33% vs 35%). Additional assays are underway to understand the Atg7-dependent adaptations to PE. Conclusion: Atg7 expression yields modestly smaller hearts with enhanced cardiac function which may protect them from hypertrophic stresses like phenylephrine.
A Theory of the Drone (Janet Lloyd, Trans.), by Chamayou, Grégoire

On February 13, 2001, George W. Bush, recently sworn in as president of the United States, presented his vision for the future of the American military’s air strike capabilities: “In the air, we wi...
Quality analysis of 462 substandard samples of drinking water

[Objective]To analyzethe testing results of 462 substandard samples of drinking water and its causes,and provide scientific evidence for improving the quality of drinking water.[Methods]The sampling,preservation,transportation and examination were performed in accordance with the "Standard Examination Methods for Drinking Water"(GB/T5750-2006).And the result judgment was based on theGB5749-2006.[Results] The main reasons for quality failure of the water samples were that 45.0% exceeded turbidity,30.1% exceeded chromaticity standard,29.4% exceeded total bacterial count standard,22.9% exceeded arsenic standard,17.5% exceeded manganese standard,12.3% exceeded ammonia nitrogen standard.The over standard proportion of toxicological indicators data of 2010 was significantly higher than that of 2011(χ2=4.33,P0.05),as well as arsenic(χ2=6.63,P0.05),manganese(χ2=7.31,P0.01)and ammonia(χ2=18.23,P0.01).[Conclusion]The main reasons for quality failure of the water samples are arsenic and manganese over standards.It is necessary to strengthen drinking water disinfection and to reduce the pollution of surface water.
Cancer of the prostate in myelopathy patients: lower risk with higher levels of paralysis.

Purpose: The prevalence of cancer of the prostate (CAP) among patients with myelopathy is lower among the more severely paralyzed. The objective of this study was to determine whether this phenomen...
Simone Weil's Political Theology

This article suggests that Simone Weil's political theology is characterized by the idea of labor and the event of laboring. I begin by arguing that her thinking is shaped by a materialist reading of Christianity that employs Marx's concepts — labor, capital and alienation — to examine the political implications of three theological ideas, fall, slavery and sin. Next, I suggest that although laboring should be understood as a creative endeavor, Weil argues that it is always conditioned and constrained by a force she terms social matter. This constraint produces what Marx called alienation and Weil will refer to as enslavement (and even sin). Finally, I contend that Weil's idea of labor — and its call for a minimization of constraint — provides a counter-force to social matter. I conclude by suggesting that Weil's labor provides a different way of conceptualizing not just the political subject, but political theology itself.
Specification and Verification of Transactional Web Service Composition

Web transactions are formed by integrating Web services in an ad-hoc manner. Distributed transaction protocols may be used to ensure that data integrity is maintained. However, these protocols require coordinated transaction management. Moreover, individual services must be transaction-aware in order to support necessary compensation operations whenever a transaction fails. These assumptions are unrealistic and impractical in the case of Web services that are generic by design and promote a loosely-coupled service integration practices.
Playing with time: towards a global survey of recess practices

ABSTRACTPlay scholarship has focused on matters of space and accessibility to the exclusion of the opportunity for play time. Based on conversations with play practitioners, elementary school teachers, and child development researchers across the globe, this study will lay out the beginning of a global survey of recess practices, or school based play time. Along with a list of dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, this paper shares commentaries by practitioners explaining the rationale for break time, and the relationship between recess and the children's schedules at school. It will also examine the current available UNESCO data about recess, examined in English, French, and Spanish. The purpose is to question current assumptions about children’s need for play time and expose the varieties of policy as an adult play practice.
HISTORY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: Cochran and Hofstadter

[Some years ago when the University of Chicago set up separate divisions of the social sciences and the humanities, the historians, puzzled about their allegiance, decided to split, some going to one division, some to the other. While this kind of Solomon’s judgment is required of few historians, the uncertainty about the place of history among the social sciences is characteristic of the contemporary American scene. In the following selections two American historians deal with the problem in markedly different fashion.
Structure of Nanocrystals, Nanoparticles, and Nanotubes

This chapter introduces the study of crystallinity in nanostructures, i.e., nanocrystallography. Since the field of nanostructure study is vast and our knowledge about nanostructures is still emerging, we will focus instead on the fundamentals of the manifestation of chemical bonds in nanostructures and their study based on atomic-resolution imaging and electron diffraction.
Thermal expansion of SiC at high pressure-temperature and implications for thermal convection in the deep interiors of carbide exoplanets

Recent astrophysical observations have shown that some stars have sufficiently high carbon to oxygen ratios and may host planets composed mainly of carbides instead of silicates and oxides. From the low thermal expansion of SiC at 1 bar, it can be inferred that the buoyancy force of thermal anomalies is much lower in the carbide planets than in the silicate planets. However, numerous studies have shown that high pressure in planetary interiors can fundamentally change the physical properties of materials. We have measured the pressure–volume–temperature relations of two SiC polymorphs (3C and 6H) at pressures and temperatures up to 80 GPa and 1900 K and 65 GPa and 1920 K, respectively, in the laser-heated diamond anvil cell combined with synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We found no evidence of dissociations of these phases up to our maximum pressure condition, supporting the stability of SiC to 1900 km depth in Earth-size Si-rich carbide planets. Following the Mie-Gruneisen approach, we fit our data to the Birch-Murnaghan or the Vinet equations of state combined with the Debye approach. We found that the pressure induced change in the thermal expansion parameter of SiC is much smaller than that of Mg-silicate perovskite (bridgmanite). Our new measurements suggest that the thermal buoyancy force may be stronger in the deep interiors of Si-rich carbide exoplanets than in the “Earth-like” silicate planets.
An Overview of the Phase-Field Method and Its Formalisms

A microstructure can be described as the spatial arrangement of the phases and possible defects that have different compositional and/or structural character (for example, the regions composed of different crystal structures and having different chemical compositions, grains of different orientations, domains of different structural variants, and domains of different electric or magnetic polarizations). The size, shape, volume fraction, and spatial arrangement of these microstructural features determine the overall properties of any type of multiphase and/or multicomponent materials.
Variations in the surface chemistry of methanol with CeO2(100) at low and elevated pressures

The reactions of methanol with and without O2 were studied on a flat, highly crystalline CeO2(100) thin-film surface with ambient pressure XPS. In the absence of O2, the ambient pressure XPS results indicate that in both low-pressure (≤10−5 Torr) and high-pressure regimes (≥10−1 Torr), the dominant surface species is methoxy. Methanol decomposition substantially reduces the ceria and CX deposit build-up on the surface. When O2 is present, CX does not accumulate on the surface and the dominant surface species is different in the low-pressure and high-pressure regimes. Methoxy dominates at low pressure, while formate dominates at the higher pressure. The type of surface species appears to be related to the ability of O2 to fully oxidize the ceria surface during the methanol reaction.
A 5.5 nW battery-powered wireless ion sensing system

This paper presents a battery-connected wireless ion sensing system comprising a Na+-selective electrode, a 406 pW Potentiometrie front end, a 780 pW reference-free asynchronous SAR ADC, a 2.4 GHz power oscillator-based transmitter that consumes 2.4 nW when transmitting 100 bps, a 485 pW quiescent power 1.8-to-0.6 V switched-capacitor DC-DC converter with 96.8% peak efficiency, and two temperature-stabilized relaxation oscillators that serve as clocks for the DC-DC converter, ADC, and power gating switches, consuming 140 pW each. The system was tested in-vitro, where measurement results exhibit a linear, near-Nertian response to varying Na+ concentration with a slope of 71 mV/Log10[Na+]. With all blocks operating, the entire system consumes only 5.5 nW.
Patient Appreciation of Student Chaplain Visits During Their Hospitalization

Spiritual care is associated with improved health outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. However, chaplains often cover many hospital units and thus may not be able to serve all patients. Involving student chaplains in patient spiritual care may allow for more patients to experience the support of spiritual care. In this study, we surveyed 93 patients hospitalized on general medical units at a tertiary care center who were visited by nine student chaplain summer interns. The results indicated that the majority of patients appreciated student chaplain visits and these encounters may have positively influenced their overall hospital experience. Thus, student chaplains could be a way to extend valuable spiritual care in settings where chaplaincy staff shortages preclude access.
Comparison of Airflow Between Spreader Grafts and Butterfly Grafts Using Computational Flow Dynamics in a Cadaveric Model.

ImportanceNasal valve compromise is a major cause of nasal obstruction, and multiple methods have been developed to address it. ObjectiveTo compare nasal airflow resistance, airflow partitioning, a...
The retinamide VNLG-152 inhibits f-AR/AR-V7 and MNK-eIF4E signaling pathways to suppress EMT and castration-resistant prostate cancer xenograft growth.

VNLG-152 is a novel retinamide (NR) shown to suppress growth and progression of genetically diverse prostate cancer cells via inhibition of androgen receptor signaling and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) translational machinery. Herein, we report therapeutic effects of VNLG-152 on castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) growth and metastatic phenotype in a CRPC tumor xenograft model. Administration of VNLG-152 significantly and dose-dependently suppressed the growth of aggressive CWR22Rv1 tumors by 63.4% and 76.3% at 10 and 20 mg·kg-1 bw, respectively (P < 0.0001), vs. vehicle with no host toxicity. Strikingly, the expression of full-length androgen receptor (f-AR)/androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7), mitogen-activated protein kinase-interacting kinases 1 and 2 (MNK1/2), phosphorylated eIF4E and their associated target proteins, including prostate-specific antigen, cyclin D1 and Bcl-2, were strongly decreased in VNLG-152-treated tumors signifying inhibition of f-AR/AR-V7 and MNK-eIF4E signaling in VNLG-152-treated CWR22Rv1 tumors as observed in vitro. VNLG-152 also suppressed the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in CWR22Rv1 tumors as evidenced by repression of N-cadherin, β-catenin, claudin, Slug, Snail, Twist, vimentin and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) with upsurge in E-cadherin. These results highlight the promising use of VNLG-152 in CRPC therapy and justify its further development towards clinical trials.
Development of multi-functional nano-paint for energy harvesting applications

Abstract The multi-functionality of lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate/paint (PMN-PT/paint) nanocomposite films for energy harvesting via piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects is described. PMN-PT/paint films have been fabricated by a conventional paint-brushing technique to provide a low-cost, low-temperature and low–energy route to create multi-functional films. The properties investigated included dielectric constants, e' and e'', as a function of temperature, frequency and composition. From these parameters, it is indicated that the dielectric constants and AC conductivity (σAC) increase with an increase of filler content and temperature, implying an improvement of the functionality of the films. The results revealed that σAC obeyed the relation σAC = Aωs, and exponent s, was found to decrease by increasing the temperature. The correlated barrier hopping was the dominant conduction mechanism in the nanocomposite films. The efforts were made to investigate the performance of nanocomposite films to mechanical vibrations and thermal variations. A cantilever system was designed and examined to assess its performance as energy harvesters. The highest output voltage and power for a PMN-PT/paint based harvester with a broad frequency response operating in the -31-piezoelectric mode were 65 mV and 1 nW, respectively. Voltage and power were shown to be enhanced by application of thermal variations. Thus, films could be utilized for combined energy harvesting via piezoelectric and pyroelectric characteristics.
Constructal Optimization of Tree-Shaped Paths for the Collection and Distribution of Fluid, Electricity, Goods and People

This paper reviews a recent development in the integrative optimization of complex energy systems: the geometric optimization of tree-shaped networks that facilitate volume-point and area-point flows with minimum resistance, time, or cost. This method was originally developed in the design of conduction paths for cooling heat generating volumes, with application to the cooling of compact (volume constrained) packages of electronics. It was found that geometric form (e.g., the shape of each volume element) can be deduced from the minimization of global volume-point resistance subject to global constraints. When assembled into larger constructs, the optimized building blocks reveal a tree structure that guides the global flow with minimum resistance. This ‘constructal’ method provides a direct and extremely efficient route to the design of complex paths for flows between volumes (or areas) and discrete points. The paper illustrates the application of the method to three classes of flows that are important to the concepts of sustainable development: (i) Tree networks for fluid flow, with application to the distribution of drinking water, the collection of sewage and rain water, and the collection of oil and natural gas from wells; (ii) Tree networks for electricity, with application to the design of electric and electronic packages, the distribution of electric power over a territory, and the collection of photovoltaic current over a collector surface; (iii) Tree networks for people and goods, with application to designing geographic routes for transportation with minimum time and minimum cost between points and finite-size areas. The method is not only a valuable tool in a wide diversity of applications, but also a symbol of the integrative approach to the design and optimization of a complex energy system with diverse internal flows. Everything is considered together (e.g., volume, area) subject to global constraints, in the pursuit of global performance objectives. The design—the actual geometry of the flow structure—emerges as a result of the global optimization principle.
Four-Way Stop or Traffic Lights? An Illustration of the Modeling Process

We compare the effectiveness of four-way stop signs with that of traffic lights in controlling traffic at an intersection. Though important considerations such as accident prevention may provide conclusive reasons for preferring one to the other, we limit ourselves to the consideration of the total (or average) delay time of all cars arriving at the intersection in a given time period as the criterion for effectiveness. The basic unit of time will be that required for one complete cycle of the traffic lights, henceforth to be called a cycle. For the purposes of estimating values of the various parameters to be defined, we may find it convenient to assume, for instance, that a cycle is one minute, but the general analysis will be carried out in terms of cycles.
Extraretinal photoreception in insects.

Abstract Extraretinal photoreceptors are widespread among insects and function in the photoperiodic control of development and in the entrainment of circadian rhythms. The effects of light on the daily and seasonal regulation of brain neuroendocrine activity are mediated solely through extraretinal photoreceptors. In primitive insects, the eyes participate in the entrainment of nonendocrine circadian rhythms such as the locomotor rhythm. In more advanced forms, however, extraretinal pathways appear to be the only pathway for the entrainment of all rhythms thus far examined. But even in this latter case, the eyes sometimes effect a masking of the expression of the overt rhythm. An exact localization of the extraretinal receptors has not been accomplished, but in all studies to date they appear to be associated with the cerebral lobe region of the brain. Action spectra for photoperiodic responses have been determined for a number of insects. In general the responses are maximally sensitive in the blue with a marked decline in the red although exceptions do exist. Complete action spectra for circadian responses have been determined only for two insects. In both cases a plateau of sensitivity extends through the blue with a steep drop at longer wavelengths. From the action spectra data, the extraretinal receptors appear to have a threshold sensitivity less than 3 × 10 -2 J/m 2 . The pigment nature of the receptor is unknown although it appears not to be a carotenoid derivative.
Engaging Students in the Practice of Statistics Through Undergraduate Research

As statisticians, we engage in a variety of activities, some of which are regularly integrated into our undergraduate courses. However, the individual courses that comprise a mathematics or statist...
Diets and Digestive Tracts – ‘Your Food Determines Your Intestine’

This chapter is an inventory of basic digestive mechanisms and of how dietary sources determine the forms of the digestive tract of fishes and aquatic invertebrates. Due to high dietary quality and energy provision, carnivores have the shortest digestive tracts, whereas low dietary quality, low energy, but high fibre content, determine long intestines of herbivores. However, taken all ecological traits together, herbivory appears to be a successful, rather than disadvantageous nutritional strategy. The simple relationship of dietary source and intestine length possesses poor statistical significance and is, therefore, often questioned and apparent exceptions of this relationship are available. Nevertheless, ontogenetic changes of intestine length and morphology as well as seasonal changes of the intestine after dietary alterations support the hypothesis. One major reason for the poor significance of this relationship likely are coarse or even incorrect trophic classifications; consequently, this chapter presents selected examples that species classified as herbivores or carnivores are omnivores in reality – the omnivore’s dilemma. Omnivores have a rather flexible foraging strategy.
Social media communication preferences of national park visitors

AbstractEffective communication with the public is critical for managing parks and enhancing visitor experiences. Visitors to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon (USA) were sampled on-site (n = 580...
Emerging oral VEGF inhibitors for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has increased in recent years and, unfortunately, many patients initially present with metastatic disease. When surgery is not an option, t...
Introduction to the Numeration of Two-Place Numbers.

the concept of place value. Much of the success children will have in working with the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division depends on their concept of place value. With admirable patience and stamina, the primary grade teacher has circulated amid the bundles of counters, popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, and what-have-you to help children gain this concept. This is well and good. An equally important aspect of teaching place value is that of symbolizing the idea. Children should be led to see that numerals are records of a kind and that there needs
Money isn't everything: job satisfaction, nonmonetary job rewards, and sub-baccalaureate credentials.

Some researchers and reformers have raised doubts about whether sub-BA credentials lead to good jobs. This study finds that young working adults (ages 25–32) report that nonmonetary rewards such as autonomy and career relevance are more strongly related to job satisfaction than earnings is. Controlling for background differences, young adults with BA and graduate degrees have the greatest nonmonetary job rewards, followed by those with associate’s degrees and certificate credentials, all of whom have significantly greater nonmonetary job rewards than high school graduates. Students who attend college without earning credentials report few job rewards, and no better autonomy and career-relevance than high school graduates. Parents, advisors, and policymakers should inform students of nonmonetary job rewards they likely will value as young adult workers in addition to earnings, and which credentials lead to these job rewards.
Inter-Organizational Networking and the Great Recession: Lessons from Detroit Arts and Culture Organizations

Drawing upon the resource dependency and social network perspectives, this article investigates the structure and composition of inter-organizational networks that 27 arts and culture organizations...
First Report of Root Rot Caused by Pythium myriotylum of Onion in Idaho

In August 2017, onion plants (Allium cepa cv. Joaquin) were observed in one field in southwest Idaho with a high incidence of reduced bulb size. One area, approximately 3 ha in size, comprising approximately 20% of the total field, appeared to be affected. In this area, over half of the bulbs appeared smaller by at least 50% compared with nonaffected areas of the field. Closer inspection showed that the roots of the stunted bulbs were discolored and volume reduced. To determine the causal agent, root pieces, each 3 to 5 mm in length, sampled from symptomatic plants were surface sterilized (2% sodium hypochlorite) for 30 s and rinsed twice in sterile water prior to plating onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with penicillin G (0.2 g/liter) and streptomycin sulfate (0.8 g/liter). After 5 days at 21°C in the dark, colonies were observed, and hyphal tips were transferred to fresh PDA plates to obtain pure cultures. After 7 days, suspect Pythium colonies were present that had abundant, white, aseptate hyphae up to 9 µm in width and sporangia. Species identity was confirmed through ribosomal DNA (rDNA) ITS sequencing from a representative isolate (designated OP1), as previously described (Woodhall et al. 2013). The resulting sequence (GenBank MT256180) was 99% identical to the sequence from Pythium myriotylum strain CBS 254.70 (GenBank AY598678). To confirm pathogenicity, onion seeds (cv. Vaquero) were planted in individual pots containing premium potting soil (Scotts, Marysville, OH). The plants were grown in a controlled environment chamber set at 21°C for 1 month until they were approximately 10 cm in height. Plants were watered as required. Plants were then inoculated with a plug of PDA (10 mm in diameter) that was either fully colonized with isolate OP1 or sterile in the case of the control treatment. Six plants were inoculated for each treatment. The plugs were placed adjacent to the main root mass at approximately 5 cm depth. Plants were grown for a further 18 days under the same conditions and then were destructively harvested and visually assessed for root symptoms. On all plants inoculated with isolate OP1, the roots had brown discoloration. The roots of the control plants appeared healthy with no discoloration. Root length was also significantly less (t test, P < 0.05) for the inoculated plants (mean = 18 mm) than for control plants (49 mm). Pythium spp. was reisolated from all inoculated plants, but no Pythium spp. was isolated from control plants. Several Pythium species can infect onion roots (Vincelli 2008). To our knowledge this is the first report of P. myriotylum affecting onions and in Idaho. P. myriotylum mainly occurs in warmer regions and has a wide host range including wheat, beans, and corn (Serrano et al. 2008; Wang et al. 2003). These crops are often grown in rotation with onion crops in southwest Idaho, and therefore growers may need to consider the potential presence of P. myriotylum in their fields.
Liposomal bupivacaine interscalene nerve block in shoulder arthroplasty is not superior to plain bupivacaine: a double-blinded prospective randomized control trial.

Background Interscalene brachial plexus blocks are a common modality used to provide adjunctive pain relief with shoulder replacement surgery. In 2018, the Federal Drug Administration approved the use of liposomal bupivacaine (LB) for such nerve blocks. We sought to evaluate whether this formulation of bupivacaine would provide superior pain relief for shoulder replacement patients over standard bupivacaine alone. Our hypotheses were that in the LB cohort the average postoperative pain score over the first 72 hours would be significantly lower, time to block cessation would be longer, total opioid consumption would be lower, and the average patient satisfaction score regarding their pain management would be higher. Materials and methods A randomized, double-blinded study was designed comparing primary shoulder replacement surgery after an interscalene block with 25 mL of 0.5% plain bupivacaine vs. 133 mg of LB with 7.5 mL of 0.5% and 7.5 mL of 0.25% plain bupivacaine. A total of 104 patients were included in the study, with an equal number in each study arm. Patients' visual analog pain scores (VAPS) were followed for their inpatient stay, first 3 full outpatient days, and at a 3-week follow-up. Use of opioid medication was recorded for the same intervals and converted to morphine milligram equivalents. The time to first opioid rescue was documented, as well as the patients' satisfaction with their pain management at both the 3-day and 3-week intervals. Results No clinically relevant advantage to the use of LB over plain bupivacaine was found. During the second postoperative day, the mean VAPS was 2.4 with LB vs. 3.3 in the standard cohort (P = .0409). The only other statistically significant finding was a higher VAPS with LB during the third full day home compared with standard bupivacaine (4.0 vs. 2.8, respectively, P = .0197). Both of these differences were less than the minimal clinically important difference of 2 for the VAPS. Analysis of the VAPS for the first and third postoperative days, the first and second full days home, and at 3 weeks revealed no significant difference. Similarly, there was no significant difference in time to first opioid rescue, total morphine milligram equivalent use, and patient satisfaction with pain management. Conclusion When used for an interscalene block to provide adjunctive pain relief in shoulder replacement surgery, the addition of LB to plain bupivacaine provides no additional clinically important benefit to the patient's pain experience over standard bupivacaine.
Do Firms Manage Their Credit Ratings? Evidence From Rating-Based Contracts

This paper examines whether firms with rating-based performance-priced loan contracts (PPrating firms) manage cash flow from operations (CFO) and accruals to obtain better firm credit ratings. I find that for PPrating firms, both CFO management and accruals management are positively associated with firm credit ratings. In the cross-section, the relation of CFO management and accruals management with firm ratings is less pronounced when there is a larger benefit associated with inflated firm ratings. These results support the view that financial statement manipulation helps PPrating firms achieve more favorable ratings; when these firms are subject to more stringent rating-agency monitoring, such manipulation proves less effective.
Pipe clogging in the fertilizer industry, opportunities and challenges for computer vision

Abstract In the context of industry 4.0 where the use of new technologies is required to meet productivity and profitability demands, this paper addresses 3D scanning, thermal imaging and computer vision to identify pipe clogging caused by waste accumulation in the fertilizer industry. This paper presents a study using thermal images and the use artificial neural network to model the waste distribution in industrial pipes.
US Wealth Shares, the Dollar and International Risk Sharing

I study the link between the US wealth share, the dollar and international risk sharing. Motivating this study are novel stylised facts regarding the US wealth share uncovered in this paper. Using aggregate portfolio holdings data, I find that: i) the US wealth share is countercyclical: the US gains relative wealth vis-a-vie the rest of the world (ROW) during global recessions, ii) these countercyclical wealth share dynamics are driven by valuation forces headlined by US equities: the US stock market outperforms the ROW during global recessions, iii) bond valuation forces associated with countercyclical convenience yields play a limited role in driving this valuation channel. I show that these wealth share dynamics along with traditional dollar dynamics can be rationalised using a simple two country recursive model of international risk sharing.
Procedure-specific acute pain trajectory after elective total hip arthroplasty: systematic review and data synthesis

Abstract Background For most procedures, there is insufficient evidence to guide clinicians in the optimal timing of advanced analgesic methods, which should be based on the expected time course of acute postoperative pain severity and aimed at time points where basic analgesia has proven insufficient. Methods We conducted a systematic search of the literature of analgesic trials for total hip arthroplasty (THA), extracting and pooling pain scores across studies, weighted for study size. Patients were grouped according to basic anaesthetic method used (general, spinal), and adjuvant analgesic interventions such as nerve blocks, local infiltration analgesia, and multimodal analgesia. Special consideration was given to high-risk populations such as chronic pain or opioid-dependent patients. Results We identified and analysed 71 trials with 5973 patients and constructed pain trajectories from the available pain scores. In most patients undergoing THA under general anaesthesia on a basic analgesic regimen, postoperative acute pain recedes to a mild level ( Conclusions We have demonstrated that it is feasible to construct procedure-specific pain curves to guide clinicians on the timing of advanced analgesic measures. Acute intense postoperative pain after THA should have resolved by 4–6 h after surgery in most patients. However, there is a substantial gap in knowledge on the management of patients with chronic pain and opioid-dependent patients.
The future of antibody therapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have been dramatically improved with the addition of anti-CD20 antibodies to chemotherapy, defining a new standard of care for many years. More recent...