cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nest-site Limitation and Nesting Resources of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Urban Green Spaces

Urbanization impacts biodiversity, yet few studies examine general impacts of urbanization on insects. Furthermore, few studies examine availability and limitation of potential cavity nesting sites for ants, an important regulating factor in ant communities that may vary in different urban habitats. We compared three urban habitat types (gardens, vacant lots, and forests) in Toledo, OH, to examine availability and ant preferences for different cavity nesting resources (small and large hollow twigs and cavities). We added 72 artificial large hollow twigs (83 by 6 mm), small hollow twigs (140 by 2 mm), and spherical hollow cavities (6.52–31.1 cm3 in volume, 1-mm opening) to six sites from May to August 2007 to determine whether nest-site limitation impacts ant communities. We collected natural nests to compare natural abundance and occupancy of cavity nests in different urban habitats. We opened artificial and natural nests to calculate the percentage occupied by cavity-nesting ants. Across all habitats, small twigs represented 81.1% of natural nests, spherical nests represented 10.1%, and large twigs 8.2%. Ants occupied 8.1% of natural large twigs, 14.6% of cavities, and 4.1% of small twigs. For artificial nests, 21.5% of large twigs, 1% of small twigs, and 1% of spheres were occupied. The high percentage of occupied artificial large twigs could imply this is a preferred and limiting resource in urban habitats. The results show that certain types of nesting resources may be an important factor mediating ant communities in urban green spaces.
Closed-loop neural stimulation for pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in zebrafish

Neural stimulation can reduce the frequency of seizures in persons with epilepsy, but rates of seizure-free outcome are low. Vagus nerve stimulation prevents seizures by continuously activating noradrenergic projections from the brainstem to the cortex. Cortical norepinephrine then increases GABAergic transmission and increases seizure threshold. Another approach, responsive nervous stimulation, prevents seizures by reactively shocking the seizure onset zone in precise synchrony with seizure onset. The electrical shocks abort seizures before they can spread and manifest clinically. The goal of this study was to determine whether a hybrid platform in which brainstem activation triggered in response to impending seizure activity could prevent seizures. We chose the zebrafish as a model organism for this study because of its ability to recapitulate human disease, in conjunction with its innate capacity for tightly controlled high-throughput experimentation. We first set out to determine whether electrical stimulation of the zebrafish hindbrain could have an anticonvulsant effect. We found that pulse train electrical stimulation of the hindbrain significantly increased the latency to onset of pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures, and that this apparent anticonvulsant effect was blocked by noradrenergic antagonists, as is also the case with rodents and humans. We also found that the anticonvulsant effect of hindbrain stimulation could be potentiated by reactive triggering of single pulse electrical stimulations in response to impending seizure activity. Finally, we found that the rate of stimulation triggering was directly proportional to pentylenetetrazole concentration and that the stimulation rate was reduced by the anticonvulsant valproic acid and by larger stimulation currents. Taken as a whole, these results show that that the anticonvulsant effect of brainstem activation can be efficiently utilized by reactive triggering, which suggests that alternative stimulation paradigms for vagus nerve stimulation might be useful. Moreover, our results show that the zebrafish epilepsy model can be used to advance our understanding of neural stimulation in the treatment of epilepsy.
Perturbation Growth in Baroclinic Waves

Abstract Floquet theory is applied to the stability of time-periodic, nonparallel shear flows consisting of a baroclinic jet plus a neutral wave. This configuration is chosen as an idealized representation of baroclinic waves in a storm track, and the stability analysis may be helpful for understanding generic properties of the growth of forecast errors in such regions. Two useful attributes of Floquet theory relevant to this problem are that the period-average mode growth rate is norm independent, and the t→ ∞ stability limit is determined by the stability over one period. Exponentially growing Floquet modes are found for arbitrarily small departures from parallel flows. Approximately 70% of Floquet-mode growth in energy is due to barotropic conversion, with the remainder due to zonal heat flux. Floquet-mode growth rates increase linearly with neutral wave amplitude (i.e., the “waviness” of the jet) and also increase with neutral wave wavelength. Growth rates for meridionally localized jets are approxima...
Magnetic Structure Determination for Annealed Ni80Fe20/Ag Multilayers Using Polarized-Neutron Reflectivity

Sputtered Ni80Fe20/Ag multilayers, annealed post-growth, show giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effects at unusually low magnetic fields (≈ 5 Oe)[l]. Structural characterization by cross-sectional TEM[2] and x-ray diffraction indicates that the Ag preferentially diffuses into the Ni80Fe20 layers at the interfaces. Using polarized-neutron specular reflectivity, we have obtained magnetization depth profiles for a series of annealed [Ni8oFe2o(20A)/Ag(40A)]4 multilayers. Though GMR in related materials is associated with coherent antiferromagnetic alignment of the ferromagnetic layers, specular neutron data for the Ni80Fe20/Ag multilayers show no trace of half-order spin-flip intensity characteristic of this simple structure. In small applied fields, transverse scans at the half-order position show a broad feature which disappears upon saturation. These data suggest that while the Ni80Fe20 moments are antiferromagnetically correlated along the growth axis, the in-plane magnetic domains are only of micron-order size and are thus not apparent in a specular measurement.
The absorption of potassium as influenced by its concentration in the nutrient medium

Barley plants were grown, for periods of up to eleven weeks duration, in culture solutions in which the potassium concentrations were maintained at 0.01, 0.10, 1.0, and 50.0 ppm. Potassium added continuously during the day was augmented night and morning, as determined by solution analysis. The following observations were made:
A tool for the analysis of Quasi-Newton methods with application to unconstrained minimization

The BFGS update formula is shown to have an important property that is inde- pendent of the algorithmic context of the update, and that is relevant to both constrained and unconstrained optimization. The BFGS method for unconstrained optimization, using a variety of line searches, including backtracking, is shown to be globally and superlinearly convergent on uniformly convex problems. The analysis is particularly simple due to the use of some new tools introduced in this paper.
Left to Their Own Devices: College Students’ “Guilty Pleasure” Media Use and Time Management

New media provide college students with an unprecedented number of ways to spend their unstructured time. Research on decision making suggests that choosers low in self-control presented with proximate options will eschew tasks that provide delayed benefit in favor of immediate gratification and will experience guilt when they are aware of the tradeoff between immediate gratification and long-term benefits. A survey of college students (N = 458) suggests that users are aware of overuse of leisure media because of deficits in self-control, in particular two proximate media experience (social networking sites [SNS] and online video). Of these, only online video viewing is associated with less time spent on schoolwork. Though this study is correlational and thus does not definitively establish causality, the evidence suggests that the interaction between the high-choice media environment and users’ self-control may account for a decline in learning among college students.
Discriminating between high and low volume substance abusers by means of the Drug Lifestyle Screening Interview

One hundred and twenty inmates enrolled in a comprehensive residential drug treatment program were administered the Drug Lifestyle Screening Interview (DLSI), a structured interview designed to assess the four behavioral characteristics of lifestyle drug abuse: i.e., irrespon-sibility/pseudoresponsibility, stress-coping imbalance, interpersonal triviality, and social rule breaking/bending. Subjects reporting a high volume of prior substance misuse (moderate to severe abuse of at least three different substances or severe abuse of one substance other than marijuana) recorded significantly higher scores on each of the four behavioral dimensions of lifestyle drug abuse than subjects possessing a lower volume of prior substance misuse. Furthermore, a score of 10 or higher on the DLSI cumulative index classified 76.7% of the high volume users but only 37.2% of the low volume users as lifestyle drug abusers for an overall hit rate of 71.7%.
SET‐LRP of vinyl chloride initiated with CHBr3 in DMSO at 25 °C

The development of Cu(0)/TREN/CuBr2-catalyzed SET-LRP of VC initiated with CHBr3 in DMSO at 25 °C is reported. The use of CuBr2 additive allows for the first LRP of low molecular weight VC (target DP = 100), as well as lower Cu powder loading levels, improved Ieff and control in the synthesis of higher molecular VC, targeted degree of polymerization = 350, 700, 1,000, 1,400. 1H NMR and HSQC confirm the bifunctionality of CHBr3 as an initiator and suggest that deleterious side-reactions such as the formation of allylic chlorides occur primarily at the onset of the reaction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4130–4140, 2009
Particle and power balance in helicon plasmas

Summary form only given. We have previously reported detailed measurements of plasma parameters in an argon helicon discharge at 800 G and /spl ap/2 kW of RF power, using helical and straight Nagoya Type III antennas. In particular, the axial (z) variations of plasma density n, electron temperature T/sub e/, and space potential were determined, as well as the radial profiles at one z. These data showed the density and temperature peaking downstream from the antenna, as expected if energy is absorbed from a traveling wave. By contrast, for the non-helicon, inductively coupled discharge at B=0, the plasma energy is localized to the region under the antenna. Using the measured data, we computed the energy and particle balance in these discharges.
Differences in Speech Discrimination in the Elderly as a Function of Type of Competing Noise: Speech-Babble or Cafeteria

Speech discrimination of place-loaded Modified Rhyme test words in speech-babble and cafeteria noise by elderly hearing-impaired subjects was measured. The stimuli were presented under the following conditions: (1) monotic: the signal was presented to the preferred ear; (2) low-frequency attenuated: the frequency band below 1,000 Hz was attenuated by 5, 10, and 15 dB relative to the high-frequency band; (3) dichotic: the frequency band above 1,000 Hz was presented to the preferred ear and the low-frequency band to the other ear; (4) diotic: the same signal was presented to both ears. Difference scores between the monotic baseline condition and the other listening modes were calculated and compared. Relationships between listening modes differed as a function of type of competing noise. Low-frequency attenuation improved discrimination in speech-babble but not in cafeteria noise. Dichotic-monotic and diotic-monotic superiority were seen with both noises.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Papain-Like Protease Ubiquitin-Like Domain and Catalytic Domain Regulate Antagonism of IRF3 and NF-κB Signaling

The outcome of a viral infection is regulated in part by the complex coordination of viral and host interactions that compete for the control and optimization of virus replication. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) intimately engages and regulates the host innate immune responses during infection. Using a novel interferon (IFN) antagonism screen, we show that the SARS-CoV proteome contains several replicase, structural, and accessory proteins that antagonize the IFN pathway. In this study, we focus on the SARS-CoV papain-like protease (PLP), which engages and antagonizes the IFN induction and NF-κB signaling pathways. PLP blocks these pathways by affecting activation of the important signaling proteins in each pathway, IRF3 and NF-κB. We also show that the ubiquitin-like domain of PLP is necessary for pathway antagonism but not sufficient by itself to block these pathways regardless of the enzymatic activity of the protease. The potential mechanism of PLP antagonism and its role in pathogenesis are discussed.
Preventive Health Care for the Elderly

A comprehensive preventive health care program should be a part of every older person’s medical care. Numerous age-associated physiological changes and age-prevalent illnesses can be managed within a preventive health program that includes primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions. The goal of primary intervention is to prevent illness and maintain optimal function. The goal of secondary intervention is to detect disease at early stages. The goal of tertiary intervention is to prevent the progression and complications of disease.
Estimating Extinction Coefficient Using a Two-Layer Model and the Dependence on Tree Canopy Structure

Tree-canopy backscatter data collected at the University of Kansas was compared to a two-homogeneous- layer model. The outer-crown layer fits the model well indicating the region consisting of outer branches and leaves behaves as a homogeneous medium. The inner layer does not fit as well due to scattering from large limbs. The model was used to extract the extinction coefficient of the outer-crown layer. Comparison of extinction coefficients of two tree species shows that tree architecture affects the electromagnet- ic extinction. By relating the extinction coefficient to canopy structure, better models of radar backscatter can be developed.
A Collection of Problem-Posing Experiences for Prospective Mathematics Teachers that Make a Difference

Without significant work on problem posing during teacher preparation, prospective teachers will enter the profession with limited vision and strategies for mathematics teaching. Based on previous and ongoing research on problem posing, the author proposes three essential strands for a problem posing framework that strives to teach prospective teachers to: (a) mindfully pose problems to students; (b) engage in problem posing with their students; and (c) pose personally and socially relevant mathematics problems. These strands engage prospective teachers with enduring questions for teachers of mathematics: What makes a mathematics problem educational? Who poses mathematics problems in the classroom? and Why do people spend time posing and solving mathematics problems? These three strands, individually and combined, can empower prospective teachers as problem posers and as teachers of mathematics who will pose rich and engaging problems to and with their future students.
The emergence of mass partisanship in Russia, 1993-1996

Previous studies of Russia search for party identification in an all-or-nothing fashion. We adopt an alternative approach to studying the emergence of mass partisanship in new democracies. In accordance with established theories, we argue that partisanship develops over time and that evidence of partisanship in its early stages may be found in basic behavioral and attitudinal indicators. We stipulate three expectations for the emergence of partisanship: (1) attachment grows with the cumulative effect of political experience; (2) as attachment grows, other views -acquire greater partisan consistency; and (3) attachments have a rational basis. Guided by these expectations, we use panel survey data from Russia's early elections to distinguish nascent partisans. Comparison of the behavior of partisans identified by our approach to the behavior of partisans identified using self-reported party identification measures raises doubts about how well self-identification measures capture partisanship in this context. ccording to received wisdom during much of its first decade, postcommunist Russia has shown little promise of acquiring a stable party system or mass partisan alignment (Hill 1994; Sakwa 1995; Shevtsova 1995; Nogee and Mitchell 1997). Instead, "Russia's parties are commonly regarded as impotent, personalistic, and undifferentiated," and the party system as a whole "appear[s] to be suspended in perpetual crisis" (Fish 1995, 340; see also WVhite, Wyman, and Kryshtanovskaya 1995, 183; Parrot 1997, 17-18; Urban and Gel'man 1997, 175). A seminal work on Russian elections, How Russia Votes, concludes that "in Russia more than three quarters of the electorate lack any party identification"(White, Rose, and McAllister 1997, 135) and "that most people are not partisans in the Western sense and the majority are to a significant degree anti-party" (137). Recent empirical work challenges the prevailing view. Miller and colleagues detect a sizable growth in partisanship throughout the decade and have started to study the forces behind it (Miller, Reisinger, and Hesli 1998; Miller and Klobucar 1999). Evans and Whitefield (1998) contend that a party system has indeed been evolving in Russia (see also Fish 1995; Whitefield and Evans 1998, 1999). Despite these important developments, however, the well-entrenched view of Russia's party system as chaotic, shapeless, and lacking in mass partisanship persists (Gel'man and Golosov 1998; Hough 1998; Robinson 1998; Rose, Mishler, and Haerpfer 1998). For observers of Russian politics, an accurate assessment of mass partisanship can shed light on the promise of stability in this fledgling democ-
Abstract IA2: Cancer genomes and their implications for basic and applied research

Human cancer is, in essence, a genetic disease. Though this pivotal fact has been established over the past three decades, only recently has the compendium of genetic alterations in tumors been identified at a genome-wide scale. The basic landscapes of cancer genomes are becoming clear and the implications of this research are evident. These landscapes are populated by a few “mountains” – genes that are mutated at high frequency in specific tumor types – but are dominated by hills, representing genes that are mutated in only a relatively small fraction of the tumors. The vast majority of genetic alterations are point mutations, and most of these are passengers, i.e., provide no selective growth advantage to the tumor cell. Moreover, virtually all of the driver mutations in common solid tumors are in tumor suppressor genes rather than in oncogenes. All the bona fide cancer genes identified to date affect one or more of a dozen pathways that are central to neoplasia. Appreciation of this landscape has profound implications for both understanding the disease and managing patients with cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; 2011 Sep 14-18; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(18 Suppl):Abstract nr IA2.
230 CASE REPORT: MRI OF OVARIAN CANCER ARISING IN ENDOMETRIOMAS

While the association of endometrioma and ovarian cancer is recognized in epidemiological and pathological literature, the radiological appearances of this combined pathology have not been described. The purpose of this project was to write a descriptive paper presenting the cross-sectional imaging characteristics of ovarian cancer arising in association with endometrioma, diagnosed by MRI. Clinical and radiological findings of each patient as well as current literature regarding endometriomas and ovarian cancer were reviewed. The MRI findings in two cases of ovarian cancer arising in an endometrioma are presented. In both cases, the cancer was evident as an enhancing mass within a blood-filled adnexal cyst. We conclude that the MRI findings of an enhancing mass within a blood-filled adnexal cyst should prompt consideration of ovarian cancer arising in endometrioma; any suspected endometrioma should be carefully scrutinized for such an appearance to facilitate recognition of a superimposed malignancy and potentially allow for earlier and more efficacious treatment.
Elongation System Involved in the Biosynthesis of very Long Chain Fatty Acids in Brassica Napus Seeds: Characterization and Solubilization

Erucic acid is synthesized by extending oleic acid, presumably as oleoyl-CoA, through two rounds of elongase reactions involving the addition of two carbons each cycle. This elongase catalyzes at least four reactions required for the extension, reduction, and dehydration of the acyl-CoA. In this communication, we report a preliminary characterization and solubilization of elongase from developing seeds of high erucic acid variety of Brassica napus.
A Modest Transformation: Political Change in the Arab World after the “Arab Spring”

2011 was an extraordinarily eventful year in the world of Arab politics. Unprecedented levels of mass protest shook the foundations of authoritarian regimes across the region. The fall of three long-entrenched dictators in relatively quick succession1 fueled expectations that a regionwide domino effect might be in the making and that authoritarianism’s grip on the region might finally be pried open. The hope was that that the Arab world would, at last, catch the third wave of democratization, an ambition that had long eluded this part of the world.
Hepatocyte Growth Factor Modulates MET Receptor Tyrosine Kinase and β-Catenin Functional Interactions to Enhance Synapse Formation

MET, a pleiotropic receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in autism risk, influences multiple neurodevelopmental processes. There is a knowledge gap, however, in the molecular mechanism through which MET mediates developmental events related to disorder risk. In the neocortex, MET is expressed transiently during periods of peak dendritic outgrowth and synaptogenesis, with expression enriched at developing synapses, consistent with demonstrated roles in dendritic morphogenesis, modulation of spine volume, and excitatory synapse development. In a recent coimmunoprecipitation/mass spectrometry screen, β-catenin was identified as part of the MET interactome in developing neocortical synaptosomes. Here, we investigated the influence of the MET/β-catenin complex in mouse neocortical synaptogenesis. Western blot analysis confirms that MET and β-catenin coimmunoprecipitate, but N-cadherin is not associated with the MET complex. Following stimulation with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), β-catenin is phosphorylated at tyrosine(142) (Y142) and dissociates from MET, accompanied by an increase in β-catenin/N-cadherin and MET/synapsin 1 protein complexes. In neocortical neurons in vitro, proximity ligation assays confirmed the close proximity of these proteins. Moreover, in neurons transfected with synaptophysin-GFP, HGF stimulation increases the density of synaptophysin/bassoon (a presynaptic marker) and synaptophysin/PSD-95 (a postsynaptic marker) clusters. Mutation of β-catenin at Y142 disrupts the dissociation of the MET/β-catenin complex and prevents the increase in clusters in response to HGF. The data demonstrate a new mechanism for the modulation of synapse formation, whereby MET activation induces an alignment of presynaptic and postsynaptic elements that are necessary for assembly and formation of functional synapses by subsets of neocortical neurons that express MET/β-catenin complex.
SAFETY BENEFITS OF DIGITAL NAVIGATION

Every day, more than one hundred tank ships and thousands of other vessels make their way into and out of the United States’ ports and harbours. The cargo and passengers carried by these ships are important to the U.S. economy. Half of the nation’s petroleum consumption and more than 90 percent (by weight) of its foreign trade is carried in ships. Accidents of various kinds happen to these ships with some frequency. We are interested here in navigational accidents — groundings, collisions, and rammings -- which constitute a large portion of commercial maritime casualties in U.S. waters and result in losses of several billion dollars each year. In particular, we focus on the expected safety benefit and cost of new technologies, such as electronic charts and integrated navigation systems (EC/INS), which can help reduce these losses by preventing accidents.
Más allá de los feminicidios: Violencia y Género en La parte de los crímenes de Roberto Bolaño

El presente trabajo parte de la pregunta por como se representa la violencia en algunos textos de Roberto Bolano, particularmente en La parte de los crimenes de 2666. El ensayo propone que la violencia se representa desde un lugar de enunciacion que parodia tanto como la nota roja y el reporte forense se aproximan al cuerpo femenino para denunciar los mecanismos narrativos que hacen de este un objeto. Tal representacion propone a partir de la parodia unos limites morales entre malas y buenas formas de representacion participes de la violencia. ?Malas y buenas en que sentido? Malas y buenas en relacion a una escala de valores y juicios esteticos y etico/morales que Bolano construye desde un proyecto politico sobre la corporalidad.
The Constitution After 100 Years: Environmental Theory in the Gilded Age

As America commemorated the first 100 years of its Constitution’s existence, perspectives and values became more explicitly aimed at controversies surrounding resource conservation, the limits of state regulation, and the future of the then clearly emerging industrial mass society. Classical liberal thought took the form of contemporary conservatism as issues such as individualism, free market laissez-faire capitalism, and the sanctity of private property rights resisted efforts to define a larger “public interest.” Civic humanism became Progressive liberalism, a nation-wide movement of intellectuals, scientists, and reformers calling for regulation of capitalist markets, conservation of natural resources, and a unified national spirit. Finally, agrarian Populism put forth its vision of a rural, small-scale economic and political system built around family farms, direct democracy, and a constrained financial sector.
A Literature Review and Case Study on the Strengths and Struggles of Typically Developing Siblings of Persons With Disabilities

Many counselors may recognize the importance of providing treatment to a person with a disability and that person’s primary caregiver due to the strain placed on the family. However, counselors may...
Use of Biologics in the Postoperative Management of Crohn’s Disease

A significant portion of patients with Crohn’s disease will require surgical resection at some point in their life. Postoperative recurrent Crohn’s disease occurs in the majority of patients and is often clinically silent. Treatment options shown to modestly reduce the risk of clinical and endoscopic recurrence include antibiotics, aminosalicylates, and immunomodulators. Similarly, antitumor necrosis factor agents have been shown to reduce recurrent disease and perhaps alter the natural course of Crohn’s disease. This chapter reviews the burden of postoperative Crohn’s disease recurrence, the impact of various treatment options with a focus on biologic therapy, practical treatment approaches, and lastly avenues for future research.
Synthetic Copulin Does Not Affect Men’s Sexual Behavior

Chemical communication plays an important role in the social interactions and mating behavior of diverse animal taxa; yet its role in humans remains equivocal. Using a randomized, placebo-controlled experiment involving 243 male participants, we test whether exposure to synthetic copulin – a mixture of volatile fatty acids secreted vaginally in primates, increases 1) men’s sexual motivation using an incentivized behavioral task, 2) self-reported willingness to take sexual risks, 3) preference for short-term mating, 4) perceptions of female attractiveness and 5) self-reported mate value. Because chemical receptors are found throughout the body and human chemosensory pathways have yet to be definitively identified, we also manipulate the location of copulin exposure (i.e. olfactory epithelium versus epidermal keratinocytes in the genital region). Finally, we examine whether prior sexual experience mediate any behavioral effects. Unlike previous reports, we fail to find any effects of copulin exposure on measures of men’s sexual behavior.
Efficacy of Diacetate Esters of Macular Carotenoids: Effect of Supplementation on Macular Pigment.

The accumulation of the carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and mesozeaxanthin in the center of the human retina, and known as the macula lutea or macular pigment, is believed to protect the retina from age-related macular degeneration. Since the macular pigment is of dietary origin, supplements containing the relevant carotenoids are readily available. In this study, we compared the changes in macular pigment over a 24-week supplementation period for two groups of 24 subjects each assigned to either of two supplement formulations, 20 mg/day of lutein or 20 mg equivalent free carotenoids of a combination of diacetate esters of the macular carotenoids. The latter group responded with a larger increase (0.0666 ± 0.0481) in macular pigment optical density than the former group (0.0398 ± 0.0430), driven largely by the older subjects. The difference was statistically significant ( ). There was a general trend towards smaller increases in macular pigment for those subjects whose baseline value was high. However, the trend was only significant ( ) for subjects in the diacetate group. No differences in response could be attributed to the gender of the subjects. We also observed no indication that the use of statin drugs by a few of the older subjects influenced their responses.
The experience and expression of anger in posttraumatic stress disorder: the relationship with metacognition.

Background: Anger experience and expression are a common issue in those experiencing PTSD. However, it remains unclear what variables affect anger and its expression in PTSD.Aims: To explore the re...
Light Privilege? Skin Tone Stratification in Health among African Americans:

Skin tone is a significant marker used by others to evaluate and rank the social position of minorities. While skin color represents a particularly salient dimension of race, its consequences for health remains unclear. This study uses four waves of panel data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study and random intercept multilevel models to address three research questions critical to understanding the skin color-health relationship among African American adults (N=1,680): what is the relationship between skin color and two global measures of health (cumulative biological risk and self-rated health)? To what extent are these relationships gendered? Do socioeconomic resources, stressors, and discrimination help explain the skin color-health relationship? Findings indicate that dark-skinned women have more physiological deterioration and self-report worse health than lighter-skinned women. These associations are not evident among men, and socioeconomic factors, stressors, and discrimination do not explain the light-dark disparity in physiological deterioration among women. Differences in self-ratings of health among women are partially explained by education and income. Results of this study highlight heterogeneity in determinants of health among African Americans, and provide a more nuanced understanding of health inequality by identifying particularly disadvantaged members of racial groups that are often assumed to have monolithic experiences.
Towards Low Latency in 5G HetNets: A Bayesian Cell Selection / User Association Approach

Expanding the cellular ecosystem to support an immense number of connected devices and creating a platform that accommodates a wide range of emerging services of different traffic types and Quality of Service (QoS) metrics are among the 5G’s headline features. One of the key 5G performance metrics is ultra-low latency to enable new delay-sensitive use cases. Some network architectural amendments are proposed to achieve the 5G ultra-low latency objective. With these paradigm shifts in system architecture, it is of cardinal importance to rethink the cell selection / user association process to achieve substantial improvement in system performance over conventional maximum signal-to- interference plus noise ratio (Max-SINR) and cell range expansion (CRE) algorithms employed in Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-Advanced). In this paper, a novel Bayesian cell selection / user association algorithm, incorporating the access nodes capabilities and the user equipment (UE) traffic type, is proposed in order to maximize the probability of proper association and consequently enhance the system performance in terms of achieved latency. Simulation results show that Bayesian game approach attains the 5G low end-to-end latency target with a probability exceeding 80%.
Nonlinear models of injury risk and implications in intervention targeting for thoracic injury mitigation.

Objective: Field data analyses often use either parametric or nonparametric means to describe the relationship between risk and various predictor variables. This study sought to evaluate a hybrid a...
Direct Access to Acyl Fluorides from Carboxylic Acids Using a Phosphine/Fluoride Deoxyfluorination Reagent System.

A fast and simple method for deoxyfluorination of carboxylic acids is presented. The protocol employs commodity chemicals (PPh3, NBS, fluoride), affording products in excellent yields under mild co...
Multikinase Abl/DDR/Src Inhibition Produces Optimal Effects for Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition in Neurodegeneration

Inhibition of Abelson (Abl) tyrosine kinase as a therapeutic target has been gaining attention in neurodegeneration. Post-mortem Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease brains show that the levels of several other tyrosine kinases, including Discoidin Domain Receptors (DDR1/2) are elevated. Knockdown of these tyrosine kinases with shRNA reduces neurotoxic proteins, including alpha-synuclein, beta-amyloid and tau. Direct profiling of the pharmacokinetics of multi-kinase inhibitors Nilotinib, Bosutinib, Bafetinib, Radotinib and LCB-03-0110 shows differential levels of brain penetration but the ability of these agents to reduce toxic proteins is independent of brain concentration and selectivity to Abl. Our results indicate that the effective dose of Nilotinib has the lowest plasma:brain ratio (1%) followed by Bosutinib and Radotinib (5%), Bafetinib (12%) and LCB-03-0110 (12%). However, similar doses of multi-kinase Abl/DDR inhibitor Nilotinib, DDR/Src inhibitor LCB-03-0110 and Abl/Src inhibitor Bosutinib were much more effective than the more selective Abl inhibitors Radotinib and Bafetinib. Taken together, these data suggest that a multi-kinase target that includes Abl and other tyrosine kinases (DDRs, and Src) may offer more advantages alleviating neurodegenerative pathologies than the absolute CNS drug concentration and selectivity to Abl. DDRs and Src are other potential co-targets with Abl in neurodegeneration.
Online Energy Management in Commercial Buildings using Deep Reinforcement Learning

This paper proposes an efficient online approach for reducing energy consumption in large buildings by combining data driven models with deep reinforcement learning techniques. We use data driven methods for modeling the heating and cooling energy consumption in the building. These models are integrated into a single "OpenAI Gym" class in Python to create the environment for studying building energy consumption as a function of control actions, such as setting the discharge temperature set points at different locations in the building. We discuss a policy gradient based actor-critic reinforcement learning approach (Q Actor-Critic) that learns the optimal policy by interacting with the above environment. The optimal policy acts as a controller for adjusting the discharge temperature set point of the dehumidified air in real time so that the total energy consumption can be reduced but the building conditions (temperature and humidity) remain comfortable. Preliminary results show that the method %is fast enough for online application and achieves an energy savings of 2 to 5%.
The Performance of Patient-Worn Actigraphy Devices to Measure Recovery after Breast Reconstruction.

Introduction Annually, over 250,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer with over one-third undergoing mastectomy and contemplating reconstruction. Surgical breast reconstructive options vary in post-operative recovery, yet with a paucity of objective data to inform women of their expected recovery after flap or implant-based reconstruction. As a result, patient decision-making is based primarily on surgeon preference and subjective data regarding perceived invasiveness of surgical options. This study aims to identify recovery outcomes of interest to breast cancer patients and to determine the feasibility of objectively measuring patient recovery after mastectomy and reconstruction using patient-worn actigraphy devices. Methods Three survivorship focus groups for patients after mastectomy with and without reconstruction were used to identify recovery outcomes they considered relevant. Cloud storage systems and actigraphy devices were piloted to determine performance. Actigraphy devices were worn by patients peri-operatively to measure post-operative sleep quality and steps taken, normalized to individual patient pre-operative control data. Results Focus groups identified sleep quality, return to activity (measurable with actigraphy), and driving as variables impacting surgical decision-making. We prospectively measured outcomes for four women undergoing immediate pre-pectoral tissue expander placement and four women undergoing immediate free flap reconstruction. Actigraphy data demonstrated an initial decrease in activity, increase in sleep variability and increased heart rate that approached the patients' pre-operative normalized data as they recovered over time. Conclusions These data demonstrate that actigraphy data would be of interest to patients making breast reconstruction decisions and that the data can be successfully collected to inform decision-making.
Visual-Inertial Odometry with Point and Line Features

In this paper, we present a tightly-coupled monocular visual-inertial navigation system (VINS) using points and lines with degenerate motion analysis for 3D line triangulation. Based on line segment measurements from images, we propose two sliding window based 3D line triangulation algorithms and compare their performance. Analysis of the proposed algorithms reveals 3 degenerate camera motions that cause triangulation failures. Both geometrical interpretation and Monte-Carlo simulations are provided to verify these degenerate motions which prevent triangulation. In addition, commonly used line representations are compared through a monocular visual SLAM Monte-Carlo simulation. Finally, real-world experiments are conducted to validate the implementation of the proposed VINS system using the “closest point” line representation.
Online sensor ageing detection using a modified adaptive filter

This paper proposes a fault detection algorithm to detect online sensor performance degradation and failure due to sensor ageing, where the sensor faults due to ageing are characterised by slow variations of the sensor measurement noise covariance matrix. The proposed algorithm utilises the information about the quality of weighted innovation sequence to estimate the slowly-varying sensor noise covariance. The iterative manner of the proposed algorithm leads to significant reduction of the computational load, reduced sensitivity to initial conditions and improved estimation accuracy, making it suitable for online applications. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is capable of estimating the slowly-varying sensor noise covariance for multiple-input and multiple-output systems with noise covariance varying linearly, exponentially, or linearly with sinusoid fluctuation. Furthermore, the proposed estimation algorithm shows a reasonable rate of convergence, better estimation accuracy and less computation load in contrast to published literature.
A daily, 250 m and real-time gross primary productivity product (2000–present) covering the contiguous United States

Abstract. Gross primary productivity (GPP) quantifies the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) fixed by plants through photosynthesis. Although as a key quantity of terrestrial ecosystems, there is a lack of high-spatial-and-temporal-resolution, real-time, and observation-based GPP products. To address this critical gap, here we leverage a state-of-the-art vegetation index, near‐infrared reflectance of vegetation (NIRV), along with accurate photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), to produce a SatelLite Only Photosynthesis Estimation (SLOPE) GPP product in the Contiguous United States (CONUS). Compared to existing GPP products, the proposed SLOPE product is advanced in its spatial resolution (250 m versus > 500 m), temporal resolution (daily versus 8-day), instantaneity (1 day latency versus > 2 weeks latency), and quantitative uncertainty (on a per-pixel and daily basis versus no uncertainty information available). These characteristics are achieved because of several technical innovations employed in this study: (1) SLOPE couples machine learning models with MODIS atmospheric and land products to accurately estimate PAR. (2) SLOPE couples highly efficient and pragmatic gap-filling and filtering algorithms with surface reflectance acquired by both Terra and Aqua MODIS satellites to derive a soil-adjusted NIRV (SANIRV) dataset. (3) SLOPE couples a temporal pattern recognition approach with a long-term Crop Data Layer (CDL) product to predict dynamic C4 crop fraction. Through developing a parsimonious model with only two slope parameters, the proposed SLOPE product explains 84 % of the spatial and temporal variations in GPP acquired from 50 AmeriFlux eddy covariance sites (332 site-years), with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.65 gC m−2 d−1. With such a satisfactory performance and its distinct characteristics in spatiotemporal resolution and instantaneity, the proposed SLOPE GPP product is promising for regional carbon cycle research and a broad range of real-time applications. The archived dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1786 (Download page: https://daac.ornl.gov/daacdata/cms/SLOPE_GPP_CONUS/data/ ) (Jiang and Guan, 2020), and the real-time dataset is available upon request.
Decisional Conflict During Major Medical Treatment Decision-making: a Survey Study.

Both patients and surrogate decision-makers experience decisional conflict when making a major medical treatment decision with life or death implications. The relationship between health literacy and decisional conflict while making a major medical treatment decision is not understood. To identify the prevalence of individuals making major medical treatment decisions for themselves or someone else and to explore the relationships between decisional conflict and circumstances of the decision as well as the decision-maker. Two-phase survey study: in phase 1, we screened for who made a major treatment decision; in phase 2, we asked eligible respondents about their experience making the decision. Address-based random sample of 4000 Wisconsin residents; 1072 completed phase 1 and 464 completed phase 2. We asked respondents about types of decisions made, the most difficult decision made, and characteristics of the decision-maker and the decision. We included the Decisional Conflict Scale and four domains of the Health Literacy Questionnaire. Open-ended questions also allowed respondents to describe their experiences. About 43% of respondents reported making a major medical treatment decision. Decisions about major surgery and life support were regarded as the most difficult decisions. Respondents who made the decision for a spouse/partner (β = 6.65, p = 0.012), parent (β = 9.27, p < 0.001), or someone else (β = 10.7, p < 0.001) had higher decisional conflict. Respondents who reported higher ability to actively engage with healthcare providers (β = − 5.24, p = 0.002) and to understand health information well enough to know what to do (β = − 6.12, p = 0.001) had lower decisional conflict. The need to make major treatment decisions is likely to increase and making decisions on someone else’s behalf appeared to be especially difficult. Improving communication to encourage patient and family engagement in the decision-making conversation, particularly for individuals with limited health literacy, may be helpful.
Practical application of an impractical bovine genotype: creating bilateral twin pregnancies in Trio allele carriers.

Bovine twin birth is associated with detriments, including increased embryo/fetal losses, malpresentation, and dystocia. Incidence of these is lessened in bilateral compared with unilateral twin pregnancy. This study was undertaken to assess the use of follicular ablation by aspiration to create bilateral twin pregnancies in females with genetic potential for ~3.5 ovulations per cycle (Trio allele carriers). In experiment 1, carriers (n = 30) and noncarriers (n = 10) were synchronized for ovulation and timed artificial insemination (TAI). Follicles (>5 mm) in excess of one per ovary were aspirated ~16 h preceding TAI. Follicle count for females with follicles on only one ovary was reduced to two. Blood was sampled 2 wk post-TAI to assess progesterone (P4) concentrations; embryo count was determined by ultrasound 6 wk post-TAI. Circulating P4 concentration post-TAI was significantly (P 0.10) in either experiment. Results suggest that follicular ablation to create bilateral twin pregnancies in Trio carriers is feasible but requires the induction of accessory CL to offset the negative effects of follicular aspiration on subsequent P4 concentration and associated fertility outcomes.
FRET and optical trapping reveal mechanisms of actin activation of the power stroke and phosphate release in myosin V

Myosins generate force and motion by precisely coordinating their mechanical and chemical cycles, but the nature and timing of this coordination remains controversial. We utilized a FRET approach to examine the kinetics of structural changes in the force-generating lever arm in myosin V. We directly compared the FRET results with single-molecule mechanical events examined by optical trapping. We introduced a mutation (S217A) in the conserved switch I region of the active site to examine how myosin couples structural changes in the actin- and nucleotide-binding regions with force generation. Specifically, S217A enhanced the maximum rate of lever arm priming (recovery stroke) while slowing ATP hydrolysis, demonstrating that it uncouples these two steps. We determined that the mutation dramatically slows both actin-induced rotation of the lever arm (power stroke) and phosphate release (≥10-fold), whereas our simulations suggest that the maximum rate of both steps is unchanged by the mutation. Time-resolved FRET revealed that the structure of the pre– and post–power stroke conformations and mole fractions of these conformations were not altered by the mutation. Optical trapping results demonstrated that S217A does not dramatically alter unitary displacements or slow the working stroke rate constant, consistent with the mutation disrupting an actin-induced conformational change prior to the power stroke. We propose that communication between the actin- and nucleotide-binding regions of myosin assures a proper actin-binding interface and active site have formed before producing a power stroke. Variability in this coupling is likely crucial for mediating motor-based functions such as muscle contraction and intracellular transport.