cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Final response: sexual selection needs an alternative

Shuker (in this issue) enumerates five points and we organize our response accordingly. First, we agree that sexual selection (and social selection) are subsets of natural selection, and therefore share the same logical framework of natural selection. We do not agree that natural selection is ‘driven by competition, be it competition for resources or competition to avoid death, as ultimately something limits population growth’. It is true that in Chapter 3 of The Origin of Species, Darwin (1859) wrote of natural selection as a struggle for existence caused by resource limitation, as ‘the doctrine of Malthus applied with manifold force to the whole animal and vegetable kingdoms’ (page 63), and wrote, ‘There is no exception to the rule that every organic being naturally increases at so high a rate, that if not destroyed, the earth would soon be covered by the progeny of a single pair’ (page 64). This framing of natural selection as resulting from resource competition was superseded by the neo-Darwinian formulation of early population genetics inwhich fitness is understood as the product of fertility with survival. Conferring a higher fitness by this definition is sufficient for a gene to fix in the gene pool without reference to competition for resources. A higher fitness could be attained with higher efficiency under unlimited resources. To say that natural selection is always driven by competition widens the meaning of competition beyond common usage in ecology. For example, the colonization phase of community succession, which lacks competition, is distinguished from the climax phase inwhich competition occurs. Similarly, the r-selection phase of population dynamics during density-dependent evolution involves natural selection for efficiency and productivity whereas the K-selection phase involves natural selection resulting from competition. To be sure, evolutionary writers sometimes view all natural selection as resulting from competition regardless of whether resources are limiting. Bell (2008, page 15), for example, refers to ‘competition’ as occurring when ‘variants with greater exponential growth rates are selected’ during density-independent population growth (i.e. during r-selection), saying that ‘the nature of competition changes’ when the population dynamics transition from density-independent selection to density-dependent selection (i.e. from r-selection to K-selection). We do not consider r-selection, that is, differential density-independent growth, as * Correspondence: J. Roughgarden, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, U.S.A. E-mail address: joan.roughgarden@stanford.edu (J. Roughgarden). 1 E. Akcay is at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, U.S.A.
Oral rapamycin inhibits growth of atherosclerotic plaque in apoE knock-out mice

Abstract Introduction: Inflammatory and immunological responses of vascular cells are known to play significant roles in atherosclerotic plaque development. Rapamycin with antiinflammatory, immunosuppressive and antiproliferative properties has been shown to reduce neointima formation when coated on stents. This study is designed to test the potential of oral rapamycin to inhibit atherosclerotic plaque development. Methods: Eight-week-old apoE knock-out mice were fed with 0.25% cholesterol supplemented diet (control diet), control diet containing 50 μg/kg rapamycin (low-dose rapamycin) or 100 μg/kg rapamycin (high-dose rapamycin) for 4 or 8 weeks. Subsets of mice from each group ( n =10) were weighed and euthanized. Whole blood rapamycin levels were determined using HPLC–MS/MS, and histological analyses of atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic root were performed. Results: Mice fed with high-dose rapamycin did not gain weight (18.5±1.5 vs. 20.6±0.9 g, P =.01). Blood levels of rapamycin 117±7 pg/ml were detected in the blood of mice fed with high-dose rapamycin for 8 weeks. The plaque area in mice fed with high dose oral rapamycin is significantly less as compared to control (0.168±0.008 vs. 0.326±0.013 mm 2 , P =.001 at 4 weeks; 0.234±0.013 vs. 0.447±0.011 mm 2 , P =.001 at 8 weeks). Lumen area was inversely proportional to the plaque area. Conclusions: The results indicate that oral rapamycin is effective in attenuating the progression of atherosclerotic plaque in the mice.
A chemical method for the detection of virus infection of the chick embryo.

SummaryA method is described for the detection of virus infection of the allantoic sac of the chick embryo. The method is dependent upon the increased concentration of protein in infected allantoic fluid. Protein concentration is measured by determining the degree of turbidity produced upon the addition of 10% trichloracetic acid to allantoic fluid.
The American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Acceptability Criteria for Spirometry: Asking Too Much or Not Enough?

To the Editor: We read with great interest the study by Giner et al,[1][1] who examined the ability of subjects to satisfy the 2005 American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) acceptability standards for spirometry.[2][2] The authors' finding that failure to satisfy end-of-
Microstructure and Properties of CoSi2 Thin Films on (100) Silicon By Laser Physical Vapor Deposition

Laser physical vapor deposition (LPVD) has been used to deposit thin CoSi2 films on (001)silicon at different substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 600°C. Particulate-free silicide thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. We have found that films deposited at 200°C and below are amorphous; 400°C deposited films are polycrystalline whereas films deposited at 600°C are of epitaxial nature. The Effect of subsequent annealing on resistivity of room-temperature deposited thin films has been investigated. The resistivity value decreases to less than 15 µΩ after annealing making these films suitable for microelectronics applications. The correlation between microstructure and properties of these films are discussed.
Fractal Aggregation of Magnetic Particles

We present an experimental model where magnetic balls in a box are used to simulate aggregation of small ferromagnetic particles a few nm in diameter. The aggregation can be characterized by a fractal dimension that increases as the magnetic moment of the particles decreases. The magnetization of the system of balls has been measured in an external magnetic field and compared for different values of the magnetic moments.
Leaf temperature effects on Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) oviposition

Little is known about high temperature thresholds for the whitefly Bemisia Little is known about high temperature thresholds for the whitefly Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, which thrives during the hot summers common to the south-western deserts of the United States. This study addressed 3 questions relating to B. argentifolii thermal responses. (1) What are the maximum, optimum, and minimum leaf temperatures for oviposition rate? (2) Is the optimum temperature for oviposition dependent on temperature effects on insect physiology or on host plant thermal responses? (3) How does B. argentifolii respond to localized temperature gradients across the host plant leaf? Adult B. argentifolii were placed in clip cages that were attached to the abaxial surface of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., and cucumber, Cucumis sativus L., leaves. A temperature gradient was created by either heating or cooling one side of the leaf with water-filled copper tubing placed on the adaxial leaf surface. Minimum and optimum leaf temperatures for oviposition were 16 and 31°C, respectively, and were independent of plant species. No thermal maximum was detected because oviposition occurred at the highest leaf temperature (43°C). Even though oviposition occurred at high temperatures, a stronger than expected preference was shown for the cool side of the leaf temperature gradient. This was true even at lower than optimum temperatures. Thus, even though B. argentifolii appeared capable of reproducing at the highest temperatures commonly encountered in the southwest deserts, they preferred cooler microenvironments, even when temperatures were below optimum for oviposition rate. This response may serve to maximize total egg production by increasing adult longevity.
Study on Immunization Coverage Rates of 1～7 Years Old Children in Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area

OBIECTIVE To know about some immune vaccination status in Nantong Development Area.METHODS 278 local children and 169 floating children from 30 villages in 5 towns of Nantong Development Area were chosen by PPS methods.RESULTS Among local children,the immunization card rate and the immunization certificate rate were both99.00%,the qualified vaccination rate of these five basic vaccine:BCG,HepB,OPV,DPT,MV and LNA,YN,MMR,JG were all98.00%,except for that the first injection rate of the HepB was 90%,OPV and MV timely vaccination rate were both90%.Compared to the local children,certificate preserving rate,the qualified vaccination rate of these five basic vaccine and other vaccine inoculation rate of floating children were significantly lower on average,the statistica were of significantly differences.CONCLUSION The basic vaccine vaccination rate of the local children of Nantong Development Area was maintained at a high level,but enhanced vaccination rate was low.The coverage vaccination levels of the floating children was significantly lower than those of the local children.We need to study the influence factors to the immunization coverage rate,to take targeted measures,thus to improve the vaccination quality.
Correction of MFG-E8 Resolves Inflammation and Promotes Cutaneous Wound Healing in Diabetes

Milk fat globule epidermal growth factor-factor 8 (MFG-E8) is a peripheral glycoprotein that acts as a bridging molecule between the macrophage and apoptotic cells, thus executing a pivotal role in the scavenging of apoptotic cells from affected tissue. We have previously reported that apoptotic cell clearance activity or efferocytosis is compromised in diabetic wound macrophages. In this work, we test the hypothesis that MFG-E8 helps resolve inflammation, supports angiogenesis, and accelerates wound closure. MFG-E8(-/-) mice displayed impaired efferocytosis associated with exaggerated inflammatory response, poor angiogenesis, and wound closure. Wound macrophage-derived MFG-E8 was recognized as a critical driver of wound angiogenesis. Transplantation of MFG-E8(-/-) bone marrow to MFG-E8(+/+) mice resulted in impaired wound closure and compromised wound vascularization. In contrast, MFG-E8(-/-) mice that received wild-type bone marrow showed improved wound closure and improved wound vascularization. Hyperglycemia and exposure to advanced glycated end products inactivated MFG-E8, recognizing a key mechanism that complicates diabetic wound healing. Diabetic db/db mice suffered from impaired efferocytosis accompanied with persistent inflammation and slow wound closure. Topical recombinant MFG-E8 induced resolution of wound inflammation, improvements in angiogenesis, and acceleration of closure, upholding the potential of MFG-E8-directed therapeutics in diabetic wound care.
Pediatric renal transplants—results with sequential immunosuppression

Cyclosporine has improved the results of renal transplantation. In 1984, we began using it as part of a sequential immunosuppression protocol (MALG, AZA, P, and delayed administration of CsA) in our pediatric renal transplant recipients. We studied the outcome of the 131 pediatric renal transplants (less than or equal to 18 years of age at transplant) performed at our institution between June 1984 and March 1991. We compared these results with the 144 similar transplants performed since January 1980 that did not involve CsA immunosuppression. In the sequential immunosuppression group, there were 97 primary (74%) (26 [27%] cadaver, 71 [73%] living donor [LD]) and 34 (26%) retransplant (23 [68%] CAD, 11 [32%]) recipients. Age at transplant (mean +/- SD) was 7.4 +/- 5.5. Overall, 1-year actuarial graft survival was 93%; 1-year patient survival was 100%. The mean number of hospital readmissions was 3.0 +/- 3.5; 26 (20%) were readmission-free. The mean number of rejection episodes was .87 +/- 1.3 per patient; 73 (56%) were rejection-free. Importantly, LD (vs. CAD) recipients had fewer rejection episodes (P = 0.06). In the first post-transplant year, the serum creatinine level was significantly lower in primary (vs. retransplant) recipients and in LD (vs. CAD) recipients (P less than 0.05). In the 144 patients not receiving CsA, there were 129 (90%) primary (27 CAD, 102 LD) and 15 (10%) retransplant (7 CAD, 8 LD) recipients. Age at transplant was 6.9 +/- 5.3 years. The 1-year actuarial graft survival rate was 82%; the 1-year patient survival rate was 94%. The mean number of hospital readmissions was 3.3 +/- 2.3; 5 (8%) were readmission-free. The mean number of rejection episodes was 1.2 +/- 1.5; 27 (45%) were rejection-free. There was no difference in the serum creatinine level based on donor source or transplant number. Sequential immunosuppression has significantly improved patient (P = 0.003) and graft survival (P = 0.004) rates. Comparing sequential vs. non-CsA immunosuppression, there was no difference in the number of readmissions (P = 0.47), number of rejection episodes (P = 0.17), or serum creatinine level. The number of rejection-free patients was significantly lower in LD (vs. CAD) recipients (P less than 0.05). There was no evidence of progressive deterioration in renal function in the sequential (vs. non-CsA) recipients.
COAGULATION CASCADE | Tissue Factor

Tissue factor (TF) is a cellular receptor for coagulation factor VII (FVII), and its activated form, factor VIIa (FVIIa). Exposure of TF to blood upon vascular injury leads to TF-FVIIa complex formation, which triggers blood coagulation cascade. In health, TF is constitutively expressed in many extravascular cells, including fibroblasts and pericytes in and surrounding blood vessel walls and lung epithelial cells, but absent from blood cells and endothelial cells that line blood vessel wall. Certain pathological conditions, such as sepsis, induce TF expression in monocytes, and increase the expression in lung, kidney, and other tissues. Such increased TF activity contributes to the procoagulant environment in both intravascular and extravascular compartments. Increased TF expression in parenchymal and recruited lung cells, coupled with transendothelial leakage of plasma proteins, leads to alveolar fibrin deposition. In addition, TF-FVIIa, and downstream coagulant proteases generated by TF-FVIIa amplify multiple steps of the inflammatory response through activation of proteinase-activated receptors (PARs). Both the TF pathway-induced fibrin deposition and cell signaling contribute to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury and organ dysfunction. Blockade of TF attenuates acute lung injury associated with Gram-negative sepsis in experimental animal model systems.
Parametric dictionary learning for TWRI using distributed particle swarm optimization

This paper considers a distributed network of through-the-wall radars for accurate indoor scene reconstruction in the presence of multipath propagation. A sparsity based method is proposed for eliminating ghost targets under imperfect knowledge of interior wall locations. Instead of aggregating and processing the observations at a central fusion station, joint scene reconstruction and estimation of interior wall locations is carried out in a distributed manner across the network. More specifically, an alternating minimization approach is utilized to solve the associated non-convex optimization problem, wherein the sparse scene is reconstructed using the recently proposed modified distributed orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm while the wall location estimates are obtained with a novel distributed particle swarm optimization algorithm (D-PSO) proposed in this paper. Existing literature on averaging consensus is leveraged to derive the D-PSO algorithm. The efficacy of proposed approach is demonstrated using numerical simulation.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: clinical and laboratory features.

Not long after the introduction of penicillin G for anti-staphylococcal therapy, penicillin G resistant strains of staphylococci were isolated and were found to produce penicillinase enzymes. In 1959 methicillin, a penicillinase resistant penicillin (PRP), was introduced in England for therapy of these strains. Within 2 years the first strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were reported in that country. Subsequently, reports of MRSA infections throughout Europe appeared. Reports from Switzerland and Denmark indicated that 30% to 50% of all nosocomial S. aureus isolates and 40% of all S. aureus bacteremia isolates, respectively, were due to MRSA. Although sporadic reports of MRSA infections appeared in the US after 1960 the first documented outbreak of MRSA infections occurred at Boston City Hospital in 1968. Even today there is not a complete understanding of MRSA and its role in infectious diseases, however, a vast amount of information has accumulated and certain aspects of this information will be discussed.
The just war tradition: a brief history

It is not for man to make wasteful use of his fellow-man. Seneca In the Western intellectual tradition, systematic thinking about the ethics of war goes back to ancient Greece. The body of thinking that developed in that tradition over the centuries is referred to as the just war tradition. Efforts to organize the insights of the just war tradition into a single coherent understanding of the ethics of war are instances of just war theory. To introduce our discussion of just war theory in the remainder of this book, this chapter offers a brief history of the just war tradition, of the ideas that developed in this tradition. The characteristic feature of both the just war tradition and just war theory is an effort to limit war, both in its frequency and in the savagery with which it is fought. Vitoria and the Spanish war against Native Americans Following the European discovery of America by Columbus, various states in Europe waged war against and exploited the native populations of the New World. Consider the Spanish aggression in Latin America. In 1493, the year after his initial voyage, Columbus, sailing again for Spain, returned to the Caribbean and began a conquest of the Taino people of that region. In 1519–1521, the Spanish, under Hernan Cortes, conquered the Aztec civilization in present-day Mexico. In 1532–1533, the Spanish, under Francisco Pizzaro, conquered the Inca civilization in present-day Peru. These wars of conquest were fought primarily for the precious metals to be had. Many of the surviving natives were put under systems of forced labor. An empire was established, which “in extent and population, and cultural diversity … exceeded even [that of] ancient Roman, previously the standard of imperial power.”
Regulation of Growth and Secretion of Growth Factors by 17 B-Estradiol and V-RASH Oncogene in Human Mammary Carcinoma Cell Lines

Breast cancer is unique among cancers in that its growth is strongly regulated in about one third of clinical cases by estrogenic hormones or antiestrogenic antagonists (1). Breast cancer occurs in women who never had functional ovaries with only 1% of the frequency of that in women with intact ovaries. Thus, estrogens are stimulatory, at least initially, in nearly all breast cancers. This hormonal component of growth control appears to be a remnant of normal, differentiated epithelial proliferation. During puberty or pregnancy-lactation, estrogen exerts mitogenic, anabolic and secretory effects on mammary epithelium. While estrogen is a proximate mitogen for either normal or malignant breast epithelium, the hypothalamus-pituitary axis is indirectly in control of ovarian estrogen secretion by virtue of gonadotropin releasing hormone and gonadotropin stimulation (2).
Industry, Self-Interest, and Individual Preferences Over Trade Policy

Do voters have economically self-interested preferences about trade policy? Despite considerable research on this question, no consensus has emerged. We argue that scholars can gain new insight by analyzing attitudes toward protectionism for specific industries, rather than sentiment toward free trade in general. Accordingly, we develop industry-specific measures of protectionism, incorporate them into original public opinion polls, and use the data to test several economic theories. We find surprisingly little evidence that the preferences of citizens fit the predictions of standard models, including Stolper-Samuelson, Ricardo-Viner, and “new new” models of trade with heterogeneous firms. These findings compel us to rethink the sources of public opinion about trade policy.
Feeding Ecology of Brook Silverside, Golden Shiner, and Subyearling Pumpkinseed in a Lake Ontario Embayment

Abstract Fish feeding ecology has been shown to vary over a 24-h period in terms of the prey consumed and feeding intensity. Consequently, in order to best determine the interspecific feeding associations within a fish community, examination of the diet at multiple times over a 24-h period is often necessary. We examined the diel feeding ecology of three fish species that were numerically dominant in a Lake Ontario embayment during summer. The diet of each of the three species, young-of-year Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas, and Brook Silverside Labidesthes sicculus, was distinct with no significant overlap in diet composition occurring within any of the 4-h time intervals. The diet composition of each species suggested that Brook Silverside were feeding at the surface (terrestrial invertebrates and aquatic surface dwelling hemipterans), whereas young-of-year Pumpkinseed (amphipods) and Golden Shiner (tipulids) were feeding on different benthic prey. Differences in feedi...
Natural and anthropogenic sounds reduce song performance: insights from two emberizid species

Lay SummaryWe studied the effects of energy sector and ocean surf sounds on male song performance, an important attribute in assessing their quality. We found that both ocean and human-generated sounds are linked to reduced song performance. Our results demonstrate that natural sounds can influence avian vocal behaviour in ways similar to human-made sounds and, despite having song characteristics that may be heard better in loud areas, the quality of the signal may be compromised.
Specific Surgical Topics: Surgical Management of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor of the GI tract with a new patient diagnosis of 4000–6000 per year in the USA. The pathological characterization of this tumor and the molecular basis of its treatment in the last several decades illustrate the complexity and beauty of targeted treatment for cancer.
Access Is Not Enough: Institutional Cultural Mismatch Persists To Limit Fit & Performance

The institution of American higher education is one of the world’s largest and most impactful systems of organizations, and yet maintains a relatively narrow institutional culture: independent mode...
Optimization for L1-Norm Error Fitting via Data Aggregation

We propose a data aggregation-based algorithm with monotonic convergence to a global optimum for a generalized version of the L1-norm error fitting model with an assumption of the fitting function....
Librarian Participation in Biomedical Informatics Education and Practice

The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix started the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) in January 2015. At the time it was the seventh biomedical informatics program in the U...
Sampling and processing roots from rocky forest soils

Quantifying root biomass in rocky forest soils is challenging. This report provides practical advice for field sampling and laboratory processing of root biomass in these settings. Manual coring is the most efficient method for sampling fine root biomass in the upper soil profile (we sampled to 30 cm). However, careful correction for coarse fragment volume is needed because manual coring is impeded by rocks. Unbiased estimation of root biomass below obstructions requires either excavating a pit or power coring. We recommend power coring because of the very high field labor costs of pit excavation. Roots can be separated from soil either by dry picking or by wet sieving. For surface organic matter-rich horizons typical of many forest soils, only dry picking is feasible. A timed interval approach can greatly reduce laboratory processing time. Because sorting live from dead roots is necessarily subjective, efforts to avoid fragmentation of root systems obtained from cores are strongly recommended. Sample size requirements for detecting changes or differences in root biomass at the stand level are presented based on extensive sampling in northern hardwood forests. Detecting 20% differences in fine root (<1 mm) biomass in 0–30 cm soil using ten 5-cm manual cores generally would require about nine sample plots in a stand, whereas detecting such differences in deep soil (30–50 cm) would be virtually impossible because of extreme spatial variation. Power analyses such as these can help improve experimental designs, as the spatial intensity of sampling determines the detectable difference, which can in turn guide decisions about the temporal frequency of sampling.
Implementing p-bits With Embedded MTJ

Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) utilizing unstable magnets with low barriers have been shown to be well-suited for the implementation of random number generators (RNGs). It has recently been shown that completely new applications involving optimization, inference, and invertible Boolean logic would be enabled if many RNGs can be interconnected to form large scale correlated networks. However, this requires a new device, namely, a three-terminal tunable RNG or a p-bit, whose input terminal can be used to pin its output to 0 or 1. In this letter, we show that a voltage driven p-bit can be implemented simply by incorporating existing RNGs into a transistor circuit using experimentally demonstrated 2-terminal MTJs, without requiring a new device. Using established SPICE models, we show that this proposed p-bit can be interconnected to build correlated p-circuits to implement useful functionalities including a representative example of an invertible AND gate that “factors” the output of an AND gate into consistent input combinations.
Beyond Stigma and Stereotypes: An Ethnographic Study on the Effects of School-Imposed Labeling on Black Males in an Urban Charter School

This study explores the ways in which school-imposed labeling in a “no-excuses” charter school that was explicitly designed for the purpose of benefiting Black students, impacts teachers’ perceptions of Black male students who were labeled as being high risk or struggling academically, and how these students perceive their own schooling experiences. A conceptual framework with the history of how and why Black masculinity is constructed as deviant and different in the context of U.S. schools, as well as the impact of labeling on Black male students’ learning and self-esteem are detailed. While centering the labeled-students’ experiences, we examine the interactions between key stakeholders (i.e., labeled-students, teachers/administrators, and non-labeled students) at the charter school and overall the findings speak clearly to how language of deficit and pathology impacted Black male students’ schooling experiences as they negotiate racial stigma as racialized bodies at a “no-excuses” public charter school.
Experimental and predictive PC-SAFT modeling results for density and isothermal compressibility for two crude oil samples at elevated temperatures and pressures

Abstract Rapid growth in world oil demand is driving the oil and gas industry to search for petroleum in deep wells where elevated temperatures and pressures prevail. Accurate knowledge of thermodynamic properties such as density and isothermal compressibility at in-situ conditions is necessary to estimate the recoverable oil from these deep reservoirs. Yet, crude oil density data in the open literature for pressures exceeding 155 MPa are scarce or nonexistent. In this study, we present density data for two Gulf of Mexico crude oils at pressures from 3 to 276 MPa and temperatures up to 523 K. Measurements on the liquid fraction of the crude oil were made along three isotherms at temperatures T = (323, 423, and 523) K and at pressures from near-ambient platform to ultra-deep reservoir conditions. The liquid fraction of the crude oils or “dead” oils contained numerous components including alkanes, branched-alkanes, cyclo-alkanes, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. For simplicity, the composition of each dead oil was represented as three pseudocomponents - saturates, aromatics and resins, and asphaltenes. Methane gas at two concentrations (5 and 10 wt%) was added to the dead oils to obtain synthetic live crude oils. Experimental density data for the two live oil samples are also reported at four isotherms and similar pressure conditions. The uncertainty in the reported densty data is less than ±1%. A Tait relationship was used to correlate the measured density data; from this relationship, a reference value for isothermal compressibility was obtained. The present density and isothermal compressibility data have been compared with predictions from the Perturbed Chain version of the Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) without the use of any fitting parameters. A special set of new PC-SAFT parameters accurate for one-phase calculations at high-pressure, high-temperature conditions was used; these parameters were predicted with a knowledge of the measured aromaticity of the oil under investigation. Oil density values were predicted to within 1–4% of experimental values on average, and isothermal compressibility values were within 1–10% on average.
How Much Attention Do You Need? A Granular Analysis of Neural Machine Translation Architectures

With recent advances in network architectures for Neural Machine Translation (NMT) recurrent models have effectively been replaced by either convolutional or self-attentional approaches, such as in the Transformer. While the main innovation of the Transformer architecture is its use of self-attentional layers, there are several other aspects, such as attention with multiple heads and the use of many attention layers, that distinguish the model from previous baselines. In this work we take a fine-grained look at the different architectures for NMT. We introduce an Architecture Definition Language (ADL) allowing for a flexible combination of common building blocks. Making use of this language we show in experiments that one can bring recurrent and convolutional models very close to the Transformer performance by borrowing concepts from the Transformer architecture, but not using self-attention. Additionally, we find that self-attention is much more important on the encoder side than on the decoder side, where it can be replaced by a RNN or CNN without a loss in performance in most settings. Surprisingly, even a model without any target side self-attention performs well.
Organizational Choices of Professional Services Firms: An Empirical Study

This article offers empirical data on the organizational choices of law firms. The article demonstrates that among all firms the professional corporation remains the associational form of choice. It also demonstrates that size affects firm choices, with larger firms preferring newer limited liability vehicles (especially LLPs).
Vision, Perception, and Object Manipulation in Virtual Environments

This chapter examines aspects needed to transfer the visual information in the physical world to the virtual world by presenting how characteristics of human vision and human perception interface with a virtual environment. The advantages of VR systems for concurrent viewing of physical and virtual objects and control of vision are presented. Perception of self-motion and visual perception including vection, vergence, stereovision, size constancy, and training in VR are reviewed.
Carcinogenic Responses of the Respiratory Tract

All of the common laboratory rodent species respond to inhaled carcinogens, with neoplastic responses in the respiratory tract. There are marked differences, however, in the intensity of the response, the anatomic site of the response, the frequency of the response and the histopathology of the response. Important factors to consider in evaluation of these responses, or lack thereof, are the dose to the tissue, the characteristics of the carcinogen, and the characteristics of the species used. More information is available about the molecular pathogenesis of respiratory cancers from molecular studies and is becoming important in the interpretation of carcinogenesis studies.
Stationäre Schwungrad-Energiespeicher

The aim of this systemstudy is to find out industrial applications of Stationary Flywheel Energy Accumulators. The economic value for the consumer and the effects on the power supply grid should be investigated.
Stability of Rapidly Solidified Quasicrystals

One of the firmest prejudices of solid state physics was shattered in recent experiments by Shechtman and his coworkers1 when they discovered an aluminum-manganese alloy whose electron diffraction pattern showed an icosahedral arrangement of sharp Bragg peaks. The old prejudice would assert that a Bragg diffraction pattern is produced by a periodic lattice of atoms which, by necessity, excludes a possibility of the lattice having a fivefold symmetry (one cannot tile a plane by pentagons!). It is, therefore, not surprising that this discovery generated great excitement and activity among condensed matter theorists and experimentalists creating an instanteneous new field. There are already reported so many experimental and theoretical investigations that a need was felt for an early review.2 In this paper I shall review current state of the art with an emphasis on theoretical investigations of thermodynamic stability of quasicrystals.
Impact of aging on bone, marrow and their interactions.

Abstract Hematopoiesis in land dwelling vertebrates and marine mammals occurs within the bone marrow, continually providing mature progeny over the course of an organism's lifetime. This conserved dependency highlights the critical relationship between these two organs, yet the skeletal and hematopoietic systems are often thought of as separate. In fact, data are beginning to show that skeletal disease pathogenesis influences hematopoiesis and viceversa, offering novel opportunities to approach disease affecting bone and blood. With a growing global population of aged individuals, interest has focused on cell autonomous changes in hematopoietic and skeletal systems that result in dysfunction. The purpose of this review is to summarize the literature on aging effects in both fields, and provide critical examples of organ cross-talk in the aging process.
The dawn of precision medicine in HIV: state of the art of pharmacotherapy.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces viral load to under the limit of detection, successfully decreasing HIV-related morbidity and mortality. Due to viral mutations, complex drug combinations and different patient response, there is an increasing demand for individualized treatment options for patients.Areas covered: This review first summarizes the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of clinical first-line drugs, which serves as guidance for antiretroviral precision medicine. Factors which have influential effects on drug efficacy and thus precision medicine are discussed: patients’ pharmacogenetic information, virus mutations, comorbidities, and immune recovery. Furthermore, strategies to improve the application of precision medicine are discussed.Expert opinion: Precision medicine for ART requires comprehensive information on the drug, virus, and clinical data from the patients. The clinically available genetic tests are a good starting point. To better apply p...
Risk of Infectious Complications After Simultaneous Gastrointestinal and Liver Resections for Neuroendocrine Tumor Metastases.

Abstract Background Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a relatively rare category of cancers that arise in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other organs. Extended hepatectomies including resection of multiple organs are often necessary to achieve negative margins. Methods We performed a review of patients undergoing liver resection for NET liver metastases from 2005 to 2015 using National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. We compared patients undergoing hepatectomy alone (HA) versus hepatectomy and a concomitant GI surgery procedure (colorectal, small bowel, and pancreatic) to evaluate postoperative infectious complications. Results During the study period, 354 patients underwent liver resection for metastatic NET. Hepatectomy alone was performed in 98 patients, and concomitant GI surgery was performed in 256 patients, including 83 colorectal resections (HCCR), 68 small bowel resections, 75 distal pancreatectomies, and 35 pancreaticoduodenectomies (HCPD). Infectious complications were more likely to occur in those undergoing HCPD (60%, P Conclusions Neuroendocrine liver metastases requiring liver resection with concomitant colorectal resection or pancreaticoduodenectomy are at significantly increased risk of developing infectious complications.
Occurrence and distribution of vermiform plant-parasitic nematodes and the relationship with soil factors in field pea (Pisum sativum) in North Dakota, USA

Plant-parasitic nematodes restrict crop growth and cause yield loss in field pea (dry edible pea). A 4-year survey of commercial pea fields was conducted in North Dakota, one of the leading producers of field pea in the USA, to investigate nematode distribution, prevalence, abundance and association with soil properties. Beginning in 2014, a total of 243 soil samples were collected from 16 counties, and soil properties of 115 samples were analysed to determine the association of nematodes with soil factors (texture, organic matter, nutrients). The plant-parasitic nematode genera, Paratylenchus (absolute frequency = 58-100%; mean density = 470-1550 (200 g soil)⁻¹; greatest density = 7114 (200 g soil)⁻¹) and Tylenchorhynchus (30-80%; 61-261; 1980, respectively), were the most frequent and widely distributed. Pratylenchus and Helicotylenchus were identified in one-third of the counties surveyed with mean densities ranging from 43 to 224 and 36 to 206 (200 g soil)⁻¹, respectively. Xiphinema was found relatively frequently but at low densities. Hoplolaimus and Paratrichodorus were rarely detected at lower densities. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that soil factors explained 19% of the total variance of nematode genera abundance. The relationship between nematode abundance and soil sand content and pH was significant, while clay, silt, organic matter and nutrients were not significantly related to nematode abundance. This is the first multi-year study investigating nematodes associated with field peas and their relationship with soil factors in a major field pea production region of the USA.
Vertical Sampling in Tree Canopies for Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Life Stages and its Egg Parasitoid, Trissolcus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae).

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stal) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive agricultural and nuisance pest that has established across much of the United States and caused significant crop losses in the Mid-Atlantic region. While it has been monitored extensively using ground-deployed pheromone traps, the vertical distribution of its life stages in the canopy of wild tree hosts has not been examined. In Virginia, small pyramid traps baited with 'low-dose' H. halys pheromone lures were deployed via a pulley system at the lower, mid-, and upper canopy of female tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle) in 2016 and 2017 and male A. altissima and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) in 2017. Weekly captures of adults and nymphs were recorded throughout each season. Each year, additional female A. altissima trees were felled during the two main periods of H. halys oviposition. The number and relative locations of all pentatomid egg masses found on foliage were recorded and any parasitoids that emerged from them were identified. Halyomorpha halys adults and nymphs were captured in greatest numbers in upper canopy traps and in lowest numbers in traps near the tree base. More H. halys egg masses were collected from mid-canopy than from the lower or upper canopy. The adventive egg parasitoid, Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae), emerged most frequently from egg masses found at mid-canopy and was not recovered from those in the lower canopy. Results are discussed in relation to the foraging ecology of H. halys and its natural enemies, including TT. japonicus.
Homelessness Contributes To Pregnancy Complications.

Homelessness during pregnancy poses significant health risks for mothers and infants. As health care providers increase their emphasis on social determinants of health, it is important to understand how unstable housing contributes to complications during pregnancy. We linked data about emergency shelter enrollees with Massachusetts Medicaid claims for the period January 1, 2008–June 30, 2015 to compare health care use and pregnancy complications for 9,124 women who used emergency shelter with those for 8,757 similar women who did not. Rates of mental illness and substance use disorders were significantly higher among homeless women. Adjusted odds of having nine pregnancy complications were also significantly higher for homeless women and remained substantially unchanged after we adjusted for behavioral health disorders. Emergency shelter users also had fewer ambulatory care visits and more months without billable care and were more likely to visit an emergency department. Homelessness and behavioral heal...
A Proposed Ph.D. Student Bill of Rights

Chairing a doctoral committee involves an ethics-driven responsibility and is critical to the success of Ph.D. candidates. This paper discusses issues concerning what prospective Ph.D. students should expect from faculty who chair their doctoral committees. From a personal perspective the author provides a set of basic rights, structured as a bill of articles, which should be afforded doctoral students in pursuit of their degrees. These rights provide guidelines for doctoral candidates in selecting prospective committee chairs. Also, this paper challenges all who chair doctoral committees to question their conduct in upholding basic student rights and setting ethical examples for students to emulate.
An Improved N -Step Value Gradient Learning Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithm for Online Learning

In problems with complex dynamics and challenging state spaces, the dual heuristic programming (DHP) algorithm has been shown theoretically and experimentally to perform well. This was recently extended by an approach called value gradient learning (VGL). VGL was inspired by a version of temporal difference (TD) learning that uses eligibility traces. The eligibility traces create an exponential decay of older observations with a decay parameter ( $\lambda $ ). This approach is known as TD( $\lambda $ ), and its DHP extension is known as VGL( $\lambda $ ), where VGL(0) is identical to DHP. VGL has presented convergence and other desirable properties, but it is primarily useful for batch learning. Online learning requires an eligibility-trace-work-space matrix, which is not required for the batch learning version of VGL. Since online learning is desirable for many applications, it is important to remove this computational and memory impediment. This paper introduces a dual-critic version of VGL, called $N$ -step VGL (NSVGL), that does not need the eligibility-trace-work-space matrix, thereby allowing online learning. Furthermore, this combination of critic networks allows an NSVGL algorithm to learn faster. The first critic is similar to DHP, which is adapted based on TD(0) learning, while the second critic is adapted based on a gradient of $n$ -step TD( $\lambda $ ) learning. Both networks are combined to train an actor network. The combination of feedback signals from both critic networks provides an optimal decision faster than traditional adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) via mixing current information and event history. Convergence proofs are provided. Gradients of one- and $n$ -step value functions are monotonically nondecreasing and converge to the optimum. Two simulation case studies are presented for NSVGL to show their superior performance.
The "Permanent Things" and the Role of the Moral Imagination in Organizational Life: Revisiting the Foundations of Public and Nonprofit Leadership

This article briefly explores the thought of the seminal thinkers Edmund Burke, Russell Kirk and Charles Taylor to argue that conceptions of public and nonprofit leadership ought properly to be (re)founded and rethought on the basis of a profound regard for the principle of alterity as this is realized in the exercise of the moral imagination in the pursuit of human dignity; one of T. S. Eliot's "permanent things." The article contends that whether or not one accepts the idea of moral absolutes, this set of capacities is critical to the effective functioning of many nonprofit organizations and may constitute a basis on which these may legitimate and distinguish themselves from for-profit and public entities. Using Taylor's work, the paper provides a means by which to justify this stance that does not assume the existence of moral absolutes.
Self-accelerating massive gravity: Superluminality, Cauchy surfaces, and strong coupling

Self-accelerating solutions in massive gravity provide explicit, calculable examples that exhibit the general interplay between superluminality, the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem, and strong coupling. For three particular classes of vacuum solutions, one of which is new to this work, we construct the conformal diagram for the characteristic surfaces on which isotropic stress-energy perturbations propagate. With one exception, all solutions necessarily possess spacelike characteristics, indicating perturbative superluminality. Foliating the spacetime with these surfaces gives a pathological frame where kinetic terms of the perturbations vanish, confusing the Hamiltonian counting of degrees of freedom. This frame dependence distinguishes the vanishing of kinetic terms from strong coupling of perturbations or an ill-posed Cauchy problem. We give examples where spacelike characteristics do and do not originate from a point where perturbation theory breaks down and where spacelike surfaces do or do not intersect all characteristics in the past light cone of a given observer. The global structure of spacetime also reveals issues that are unique to theories with two metrics: in all three classes of solutions, the Minkowski fiducial space fails to cover the entire de Sitter spacetime allowing worldlines of observers to end in finite proper time at determinant singularities. Characteristics run tangent to these surfaces requiring ad hoc rules to establish continuity across singularities.