cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A mactrid bivalve from Pleistocene deposits of Lake Russell, Mono Basin, California

Rangia des Moulins , 1832 is a small genus of mactrid bivalves that is currently distributed in estuarine waters of the eastern United States, Gulf of Mexico, and Gulf of California (Keen, 1971; Abbott, 1974). (One congener, R. cuneata [Sowerby, 1831], was recently introduced to the Antwerp (Belgium) harbor [Verween et al., 2006].) Although these clams are euryhaline and capable of living in freshwater as adults, they require an estuarine-like salinity regime for successful reproduction and recruitment (Cain, 1973; Hopkins et al., 1974), which has constrained their ability to penetrate the North American continental interior through coastal drainages (Cain, 1974; Swingle and Brand, 1974). The Neogene and Quaternary fossil record of the genus is also restricted to coastal or near-coastal marine-influenced depositional systems, with the exception of Holocene specimens of R. cuneata from two archeological sites in the central United States which were obviously introduced by humans (Baker, 1941; Hill, 1983), and a Pleistocene(?) occurrence of this species from along the Pecos River in New Mexico (more than 800 km from the sea) which has been attributed to transport of Gulf Coast immigrants on waterfowl (Metcalf, 1980; Taylor, 1985). Here we provide fossil evidence that the biogeographic history of this predominantly brackish-coastal genus also includes avian-assisted colonization of a far inland lake in the western United States—Pleistocene Lake Russell, Mono Basin, California (Fig. 1). Figure 1 —Map showing location of the Mono Basin and other Rangia lecontei (Conrad, 1853) sites (filled circles) The Mono Basin specimens of Rangia described herein were recently discovered by one of us (ASJ) in a sandy deposit closely proximal to beach cobbles, a wave-cut notch and trim line (Fig. 2). This site is in the southeastern portion of the basin near the elevation of …
Three-dimensional photo-elastic stress analysis of maxillary and mandibular complete dentures.

Summary Three-dimensional photo-elasticity was used to study the stress distribution in complete dentures in functional positions. A new loading device was developed utilizing a linear motion bearing as its main component and mandibular dentures were evaluated for the first time. The stress concentrations were highest (2.5 fringes) on the working side of the mandibular denture. This was also demonstrated in the maxillary denture; however, the magnitude was less (1.8 fringes). The results indicate that this method could be used to quantitatively evaluate the effect of various occlusal schemes upon the denture bases.
Wire and Loop Antennas

Wire and loop antennas are widely used in communication systems from low to ultra-high frequencies, either in the form of individual elements or arranged with other similar elements to form phased arrays. They are also frequently used as probes to sense unknown environments or as bases for modeling more complex systems and structures. In this chapter we shall be concerned with the important properties of wire and loop antennas as isolated elements. Our emphasis will be to develop simple expressions with sufficient accuracy for some basic antenna forms so that readers can generalize them to more complicated, composite structures pertaining to their particular needs without excessive reformulation and computing. For this reason our approach will be substantially different from those computationally more demanding methods reported in the literature. It is important for readers to recognize the physical description of our solution process in the later sessions in order to fully benefit from this approach.
Relationship between High School Mathematical Achievement and Quantitative GPA.

The demand for STEM graduates has increased, but the number of incoming freshmen who declare a STEM major has remained stagnant. High school courses, such as calculus, can open or close the gate for students interested in careers in STEM. The purpose of this study was to determine if high school mathematics preparation was a significant prerequisite for success in the pre-engineering curriculum at the post-secondary level. The College Freshman Survey was administered to a sample of 2,328 incoming freshman students, then their survey responses were matched with the grades and standardized test scores provided by the university’s institutional research office. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict quantitative pre-engineering GPA. The most significant predictor of quantitative GPA was adjusted ACT math score. Other significant contributors to the models were calculus, algebra II, trigonometry, and algebra I grades. The results suggest that high school preparation in specific mathematics subjects does have a positive impact on success in pre-engineering education.
Analysis of individualized education programs to quantify long-term educational needs following surgical intervention for single-suture craniosynostosis.

Background Single-suture craniosynostosis (SSC) is a common craniofacial condition with potential neurocognitive sequelae. Objective To quantify any long-term functional academic and behavioural difficulties of children with SSC as indicated by the need for individualized education programs (IEPs), despite having undergone surgical treatment. Methods Records of all school-age patients from 1992 to 2011 who underwent operative intervention for SSC were identified. Fifty-nine patients' guardians were contacted by telephone to provide informed consent for completion of a mailed standardized questionnaire querying demographic information as well as information regarding the patient's health, family and educational history; specifically whether the patient had ever been provided educational support as delineated in an IEP. The primary outcome measure was the history of the patient being assigned educational support as delineated in an IEP. Results Thirty-seven consenting guardians completed and returned the standardized questionnaire (response rate 62.7%). Twenty-one patients were male and 16 were female, with an age range of five to 14 years (mean age 10.2 years). Eleven (29.7%) patients had a previous history of or currently were receiving educational support delineated in an IEP. Conclusions A higher proportion of school-age patients with a history of SSC (status postsurgical intervention) in the present study received educational support delineated in an IEP than the proportion of IEPs in the general student population of the United States (11.3%).
Lineage mapping identifies molecular and architectural similarities between the larval and adult Drosophila central nervous system

Neurogenesis in Drosophila occurs in two phases, embryonic and post-embryonic, in which the same set of neuroblasts give rise to the distinct larval and adult nervous systems, respectively. Here, we identified the embryonic neuroblast origin of the adult neuronal lineages in the ventral nervous system via lineage-specific GAL4 lines and molecular markers. Our lineage mapping revealed that neurons born late in the embryonic phase show axonal morphology and transcription factor profiles that are similar to the neurons born post-embryonically from the same neuroblast. Moreover, we identified three thorax-specific neuroblasts not previously characterized and show that HOX genes confine them to the thoracic segments. Two of these, NB2-3 and NB3-4, generate leg motor neurons. The other neuroblast is novel and appears to have arisen recently during insect evolution. Our findings provide a comprehensive view of neurogenesis and show how proliferation of individual neuroblasts is dictated by temporal and spatial cues.
Spatial and Temporal Trends in Lake Erie Hypoxia, 1987−2007

Hypoxic conditions, defined as dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations below 2 mg/L, are a regular summertime occurrence in Lake Erie, but the spatial extent has been poorly understood due to sparse sampling. We use geostatistical kriging and conditional realizations to provide quantitative estimates of the extent of hypoxia in the central basin of Lake Erie for August and September of 1987 to 2007, along with their associated uncertainties. The applied geostatistical approach combines the limited in situ DO measurements with auxiliary data selected using the Bayesian Information Criterion. Bathymetry and longitude are found to be highly significant in explaining the spatial distribution of DO, while satellite observations of sea surface temperature and satellite chlorophyll are not. The hypoxic extent was generally lowest in the mid-1990s, with the late 1980s (1987, 1988) and the 2000s (2003, 2005) experiencing the largest hypoxic zones. A simple exponential relationship based on the squared average measured bottom DO explains 97% of the estimated variability in the hypoxic extent. The change in the observed maximum extent between August and September is found to be sensitive to the corresponding variability in the hypolimnion thickness.
Microbial analyses of airborne dust collected from dormitory rooms predict the sex of occupants

We have long known that human occupants are a major source of microbes in the built environment, thus raising the question: How much can we learn about the occupants of a building by analyzing the microbial communities found in indoor air? We investigated bacterial and fungal diversity found in airborne dust collected onto heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) air filters and settling plates from 91 rooms within a university dormitory. The sex of the room occupants had the most significant effect on the bacterial communities, while the room occupants had no significant effect on fungal communities. By examining the abundances of bacterial genera, we could predict the sex of room occupants with 79% accuracy, a finding that demonstrates the potential forensic applications of studying indoor air microbiology. We also identified which bacterial taxa were indicators of female and male rooms, and found that those taxa often identified as members of the vaginal microbiome were more common in female-occupied rooms while taxa associated with human skin or the male urogenital microbiota were more common in male-occupied rooms.
Comparison Between Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time and Anti-Xa Heparin Assays on Patients on Unfractionated Heparin Therapy: Does the Prothrombin Time Matter?

The laboratory at Veterans Affairs Medical Center–Memphis recently implemented anti-Xa heparin assays to monitor therapy for unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH). We were queried by the pharmacy department about possibly discrepant results between the new assay and the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). We reviewed initial data from the anti-Xa assay and considered the possible importance of prothrombin time …
POWER TO THE PEOPLE: REVISITING CIVIL RESISTANCE IN ROMANS 13:1-7 IN LIGHT OF THE NOAHIC COVENANT

Romans 13:1–7 has been the most important text in scripture for Christian reflection on political authority, yet what it does not say has left Christian social ethicists and political/legal theorists with many lingering questions, especially about the proper response to unjust magistrates. To what resources should Christian thinkers look to illumine the gaps left by the Pauline silence, and just how absolute or relative did Paul intend his remarks in Romans 13:1–7 to be? This article presents a twofold thesis in response to this twofold question. First, it argues that the Noahic covenant, Genesis 8:21–9:17, is an important, although overlooked, background resource for interpreting Romans 13:1–7. Second, this article illustrates the practical benefit of reading Romans 13 in light of the Noahic covenant by offering a new argument for why Christians should not interpret Paul's unqualified command to submit to civil authorities as absolutely forbidding resistance to unjust magistrates. Paul's words about magistrates in Romans 13 have not superseded the obligation to pursue justice that God gave to the human community as a whole in the Noahic covenant. Thus the primal obligation resting in the people implicitly qualifies Paul's instructions.
mRNA from frog corneal epithelium increases water permeability in Xenopus oocytes.

Purpose. To investigate the existence of a water channel in the frog corneal epithelium by studying the osmotic water permeability (P,) of Xenopus oocytes expressing the mRNA message from frog corneal epithelium. Methods. Total RNA was obtained from corneal epithelium by a single-step phase separation method, and poly A + RNA was isolated using oligo-dT columns. This mRNA was injected into the oocytes. After a 48-hour incubation, oocyte volume changes elicited by a hypoosmotic solution were measured with a computerized video system. Results. Oocytes injected with 50 nl mRNA (1 //g///l) showed a significant increase in Pt compared to waterinjected controls (8.4 ± 1.5 to 17.5 ±1.9 cm-sec" 1 X 10~ 4 , P < 0.005). mRNA-injected oocytes exposed to a higher external [Cl~] showed a heightened permeability. Furthermore, P, of oocytes exposed to a solution containing the recognized water-channel blocker HgCly was significandy lower than the Pr of mRNA-injected oocytes not exposed to HgCl2. Conclusions. Evidence was found for a water channel in the frog corneal epithelium because oocytes injected with the epithelial mRNA manifested increased water permeability. The increase in water permeability was larger in the presence of external Cl~ and was inhibited by HgCl'2. This finding correlates with measurements of Pr in the intact epithelium in which apical Cl~ induced an increase in transepithelial water permeability prevented by HgCl2. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1995;36:2772-2774. liividence from previous physiological studies suggested the possibility of a Cl~-induced "water channel" at the apical membrane of the bullfrog corneal epithelium. 1 ' 2 Experiments using 3 H2O to measure unidirectional diffusional water fluxes across isolated corneas showed a significant heightening (62%) of corneal water permeability when Cl~ was present on
The Early Theory of Thought

The early deduction is from A104 to A110. We first discuss the paragraphs which explicitly present the early account of objective representation, and then comment on this early deduction as a whole.
The Question of Ideology in Light of Perspectival Knowledge: The Truths of Marx and Nietzsche:

This article reflects on the political sensibilities of Marx and Nietzsche in light of their approaches to truth and illusion. Marx and Nietzsche are read in relation to one another in order to hig...
The Composition of Comet C 2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) and the Distribution of Primary Volatile Abundances Among Comets

On 2014 May 22 and 24 we characterized the volatile composition of the dynamically new Oort cloud comet C2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) using the long-slit, high resolution ( lambda/delta lambda is approximately or equal to 25,000) near-infrared echelle spectrograph (NIRSPEC) at the 10 m Keck II telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii. We detected fluorescent emission from six primary volatiles (H2O, HCN, CH4, C2H6, CH3OH, and CO). Upper limits were derived for C2H2, NH3, and H2CO. We report rotational temperatures, production rates, and mixing ratios (relative to water). Compared with median abundance ratios for primary volatiles in other sampled Oort cloud comets, trace gas abundance ratios in C2012 K1 (PanSTARRS) for CO and HCN are consistent, but CH3OH and C2H6 are enriched while H2CO, CH4, and possibly C2H2 are depleted. When placed in context with comets observed in the near- infrared to date, the data suggest a continuous distribution of abundances of some organic volatiles (HCN, C2H6, CH3OH, CH4) among the comet population. The level of enrichment or depletion in a given comet does not necessarily correlate across all molecules sampled, suggesting that chemical diversity among comets may be more complex than the simple organics-enriched, organics-normal, and organics-depleted framework.
Rapid escalation of coastal flood exposure in US municipalities from sea level rise

Rising sea levels are increasing the exposure of populations and infrastructure to coastal flooding. While earlier studies estimate magnitudes of future exposure or project rates of sea level rise, here, we estimate growth rates of exposure, likely to be a key factor in how effectively coastal communities can adapt. These rates may not correlate well with sea level rise rates due to varying patterns of topography and development. We integrate exposure assessments based on LiDAR elevation data with extreme flood event distributions and sea level rise projections to compute the expected annual exposure of population, housing, roads, and property value in 327 medium-to-large coastal municipalities circumscribing the contiguous USA, and identify those localities that could experience rapid exposure growth sometime this century. We define a rate threshold of 0.25% additive increase in expected annual exposure per year, based on its rarity of present-day exceedance. With unchecked carbon emissions under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5, the number of cities exceeding the threshold reaches 33 (18–59, 90% CI) by 2050 and 90 (22–196) by 2100, including the cities of Boston and Miami. Sharp cuts under RCP 2.6 limit the end-of-century total to 28 (12–105), versus a baseline of 7 cities in 2000. The methods and results presented here offer a new way to illustrate the consequences of different emission scenarios or mitigation efforts, and locally assess the urgency of coastal adaptation measures.
Corn Seed Treatments for Control of the Corn Wireworm (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Abstract The corn wireworm, Melanotus communis Gyllenhal, is a serious pest of several agricultural crops including corn (Zea mays L.). Numerous studies have been reported on wireworm control at crop planting including the use of seed treatments. However, there are no published reports on the efficacy of corn seed treatments for wireworm control. The objective of this study was to determine efficacy and mode of action of various corn seed treatments against M. communis. Wireworms (larvae) were collected by digging under sugarcane stools in Florida. Testing was conducted in plastic buckets which contained soil, insecticide-treated seeds, and six wireworms per bucket. Buckets were held at 24°C for 1 mo and then plant growth and insect survival were measured. Wireworms were also held an additional month to measure possible delayed mortality. Treatments with insecticides or the fungicide Maxim Quattro (Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., Greensboro, NC), or both, in various combinations and rates, all had greate...
Albert Ellis at 85: Professional Reflections

An extended interview was conducted at the Albert Ellis Institute coinciding with Albert Ellis' 85th birthday. Questions were submitted in advance by Michael Bernard and covered areas central to the theory and practice of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Clarification was sought for: a) the primacy of cognition in REBT theory, b) critical features of REBT interventions for the treatment of anxiety, depression, guilt, anger and procrastination, c) the long-standing inclusion of self-efficacy training and problem solving with mainstream practice of REBT, d) psychoeducational aspects of REBT, and e) the self-actualizing tendency.
The Component Timed-Up-and-Go test: the utility and psychometric properties of using a mobile application to determine prosthetic mobility in people with lower limb amputations.

Objective:Using a custom mobile application to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Component Timed-Up-and-Go test to assess prosthetic mobility in people with lower limb amputation.Design:Cross-sectional design.Setting:National conference for people with limb loss.Subjects:A total of 118 people with non-vascular cause of lower limb amputation participated. Subjects had a mean age of 48 (±13.7) years and were an average of 10 years post amputation. Of them, 54% (n = 64) of subjects were male.Intervention:None.Main measure:The Component Timed-Up-and-Go was administered using a mobile iPad application, generating a total time to complete the test and five component times capturing each subtask (sit to stand transitions, linear gait, turning) of the standard timed-up-and-go test. The outcome underwent test–retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and convergent validity analyses through correlation with self-report measures of balance and mobility.Results:The Component Time...
Cellular packing, mechanical stress and the evolution of multicellularity

The evolution of multicellularity set the stage for sustained increases in organismal complexity 1–5 . However, a fundamental aspect of this transition remains largely unknown: how do simple clusters of cells evolve increased size when confronted by forces capable of breaking intracellular bonds? Here we show that multicellular snowflake yeast clusters 6–8 fracture due to crowding-induced mechanical stress. Over seven weeks (~291 generations) of daily selection for large size, snowflake clusters evolve to increase their radius 1.7-fold by reducing the accumulation of internal stress. During this period, cells within the clusters evolve to be more elongated, concomitant with a decrease in the cellular volume fraction of the clusters. The associated increase in free space reduces the internal stress caused by cellular growth, thus delaying fracture and increasing cluster size. This work demonstrates how readily natural selection finds simple, physical solutions to spatial constraints that limit the evolution of group size—a fundamental step in the evolution of multicellularity. Understanding how single cells evolved into multicellular organisms requires knowledge of the physical constraints on the evolution of cell clusters. Evidence that an evolution in cell shape delays fracturing offers a route to increased complexity.
Postoperative outcomes in bariatric surgical patients participating in an insurance-mandated preoperative weight management program.

Abstract Background Many insurance companies require patient participation in a medically supervised weight management program (WMP) before offering approval for bariatric surgery. Clinical data surrounding benefits of participation are limited. Objective To evaluate the relationship between preoperative insurance-mandated WMP participation and postoperative outcomes in bariatric surgery patients. Setting Regional referral center and teaching hospital. Methods A retrospective review of patients who underwent vertical sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass between January 2014 and January 2016 was performed. Patients (N = 354) were divided into 2 cohorts and analyzed according to presence (n = 266) or absence (n = 88) of an insurance-mandated WMP requirement. Primary endpoints included rate of follow-up and percent of excess weight loss (%EWL) at postoperative months 1, 3, 6, and 12. All patients, regardless of the insurance-mandated WMP requirement, followed a program-directed preoperative diet. Results The majority of patients with an insurance-mandated WMP requirement had private insurance (63.9%). Both patient groups experienced a similar proportion of readmissions and reoperations, rate of follow-up, and %EWL at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months ( P = NS). Median operative duration and hospital length of stay were also similar between groups. Linear regression analysis revealed no significant improvement in %EWL at 12 months in the yes-WMP group. Conclusion These data show that patients who participate in an insurance-mandated WMP in addition to completing a program-directed preoperative diet experience no significant benefit to rate of readmission, reoperation, follow-up, or %EWL up to 12 months postoperation. Our findings suggest that undergoing bariatric surgery without completing an insurance-mandated WMP is safe and effective.
Cortical control of kinematic primitives in mice performing a hold-still-center-out reach task

Motor sequences are constructed from primitives, hypothesized building blocks of movement, but mechanisms of primitive generation remain unclear. Using automated homecage training and a novel forelimb sensor, we trained freely-moving mice to initiate forelimb sequences with clearly resolved decamicron-scale micromovements followed by millimeter-scale reaches to learned spatial targets. Hundreds of thousands of trajectories were decomposed into millions of kinematic primitives, while closed-loop photoinhibition was used to test roles of motor cortical areas. Inactivation of contralateral motor cortex reduced primitive peak speed but, surprisingly, did not substantially affect primitive direction, initiation, termination, or complexity, resulting in isomorphic, spatially contracted trajectories that undershot targets. Our findings demonstrate separable loss of a single kinematic parameter, speed, and identify conditions where primitive generation, timing and direction are motor cortex-independent. By combining micron-millisecond forelimb sensing with automated training and neural manipulation, we provide a system for studying how motor sequences are constructed from elemental building blocks.
Expression, purification and characterization of an active C491G variant of ferredoxin sulfite reductase from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

Abstract Recently developed molecular wire technology takes advantage of [4Fe-4S] clusters that are ligated by at least one surface exposed Cys residue. Mutagenesis of this Cys residue to a Gly opens an exchangeable coordination site to a corner iron atom that can be chemically rescued by an external thiolate ligand. This ligand can be subsequently displaced by mass action using a dithiol molecular wire to tether two redox active proteins. We intend to apply this technique to tethering Photosystem I to ferredoxin sulfite reductase (FdSiR), an enzyme that catalyzes the six-electron reduction of sulfite to hydrogen sulfite and nitrite to ammonia. The enzyme contains a [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster and a siroheme active site. FdSiRWT and an FdSiRC491G variant were cloned from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and expressed along with the cysG gene from Salmonella typhimurium using the pCDFDuet plasmid. UV/Vis absorbance spectra of both FdSiRWT and the FdSiRC491G variant displayed characteristic peaks at 278, 392 (Soret), 585 (α) and 714 nm (charge transfer band), and 278, 394 (Soret), 587 (α) and 714 nm (charge transfer band) respectively. Both enzymes in their as-isolated forms displayed an EPR spectrum characteristic of an S = 5/2 high spin heme. When reduced, both enzymes exhibited the signal of a low spin S = 1/2 [4Fe-4S]1+ cluster. The FdSiRWT and FdSiRC491G variant both showed activity using reduced methyl viologen and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 ferredoxin 1 (Fd1) as electron donors. Based on these results, the FdSIRC491G variant should be a suitable candidate for wiring to Photosystem I.
Exploitation of Salmon in Ireland

Although over 80 per cent of Irish salmon are caught in coastal waters, salmon is not treated statistically as a sea fish. Salmon accounts for about 10 per cent of the total value of fish landed at Irish ports and ranks in this respect after mackerel, herring, cod and crustaceans. Tonne for tonne, however, salmon has been by far the most valuable fish caught in Irish waters, followed by sole, turbot and brill.
Two-sided bandits and the dating market

We study the decision problems facing agents in repeated matching environments with learning, or two-sided bandit problems, and examine the dating market, in which men and women repeatedly go out on dates and learn about each other, as an example. We consider three natural matching mechanisms and empirically examine properties of these mechanisms, focusing on the asymptotic stability of the resulting matchings when the agents use a simple learning rule coupled with an e-greedy exploration policy. Matchings tend to be more stable when agents are patient in two different ways -- if they are more likely to explore early or if they are more optimistic. However, the two forms of patience do not interact well in terms of increasing the probability of stable outcomes. We also define a notion of regret for the two-sided problem and study the distribution of regrets under the different matching mechanisms.
Decentralization and the environment: Assessing smallholder oil palm development in Indonesia

Indonesia’s oil palm expansion during the last two decades has resulted in widespread environmental and health damages through land clearing by fire and peat conversion, but it has also contributed to rural poverty alleviation. In this paper, we examine the role that decentralization has played in the process of Indonesia’s oil palm development, particularly among independent smallholder producers. We use primary survey information, along with government documents and statistics, to analyze the institutional dynamics underpinning the sector’s impacts on economic development and the environment. Our analysis focuses on revenue-sharing agreements between district and central governments, district splitting, land title authority, and accountability at individual levels of government. We then assess the role of Indonesia’s Village Law of 2014 in promoting rural development and land clearing by fire. We conclude that both environmental conditionality and positive financial incentives are needed within the Village Law to enhance rural development while minimizing environmental damages.
How Non-Binary Gender Definitions Confound (Already Complex) Thinking about Gender and Public Policy.

A course on gender and public policy can introduce students to methods of policy analysis in the context of social-justice problems. Using a combination of empirical studies and analytic tools, stu...
Thicker Clouds and Accelerated Arctic Sea Ice Decline: The Atmosphere-Sea Ice Interactions in Spring

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship program [80NSSC18K1339]; NASA CERES project through the University of Arizona [80NSSC19K0172]; National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) - National Science Foundation (NSF) [1852977]; NASA [15-CCST15-0025]; NSF [AGS-1354402, AGS-1445956]; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NA16NWS4680013]; National Science Foundation
Local Politics and the Formation of Sub-National Imagined Communities: The Cases of Tabanan Lovers and Buleleng Jengah in Bali

Abstract This essay looks at two cases of cyber citizen organizations namely Tabanan Lovers and Buleleng jengah. The two cyber citizen organizations emerged from some initiatives to organize members of Facebook community who come from the same hometown, namely Tabanan and Buleleng regency in Bali. In their later development, the two Facebook groups evolve into a space as well as a medium for the cyber citizens to voice their critical political aspiration. Early observation shows that the two groups share similar characteristic of becoming “imagined communities” mediated by not necessarily print media, but instead social media like Facebook. A question that this essay would like to suggest as a future research agenda is what necessitates the formation of these “subnational imagined communities” which takes place at the regency level and not at provincial level? Through tracing the history of their conception and through online participatory observation, this essay aims at providing a preliminary discussion to help illuminate the formation of these two subnational “imagined communities”. More specifically, the discussion points to a link connecting local politics of pilkada and the formation of Tabanan Lovers and Buleleng jengah.
Optical absorption of Fe in doped Ga2O3

This study investigates the Fe impurities believed to act as deep acceptors that contribute to electrical compensation of the n-type conductivity in as-grown Ga2O3. A variation of the traditional optical absorption measurement, photoinduced electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, is used to identify charge transitions in bulk Fe-doped and Mg-doped Ga2O3 with the support of hybrid functional calculations. Steady-state photo-EPR measurements show that the first optically induced change in Fe3+ occurs at 1.2 eV, significantly larger than the calculated defect levels for Fe. However, the optical cross section spectrum determined from time-dependent photo-EPR measurements compare well with a calculated cross section spectrum for the Fe2+-to-Fe3+ transition when the relaxation energy predicted from the density functional theory is folded into the model. This work explicitly demonstrates the need for an accurate accounting of electron-lattice coupling when interpreting optically induced phenomena.
Counting independent sets in graphs of hyperplane arrangements

Abstract In this paper, we count the number of independent sets of a type of graph G ( A , q ) associated to some hyperplane arrangement A , which is a generalization of the construction of graphical arrangements. We show that when the parameters of A satisfy certain conditions, the number of independent sets of the disjoint union G ( A , q 1 ) ∪ ⋯ ∪ G ( A , q s ) depends only on the coefficients of A and the total number of vertices ∑ i q i when q i ’s are powers of large enough prime numbers. In addition it is independent of the coefficients as long as A is central and the coefficients are multiplicatively independent.
Utility of intraoperative electromyography in placing C7 pedicle screws

Objective The C7 vertebral body is morphometrically unique; it represents the transition from the subaxial cervical spine to the upper thoracic spine. It has larger pedicles but relatively small lateral masses compared to other levels of the subaxial cervical spine. Although the biomechanical properties of C7 pedicle screws are superior to those of lateral mass screws, they are rarely placed due to increased risk of neurological injury. Although pedicle screw stimulation has been shown to be safe and effective in determining satisfactory screw placement in the thoracolumbar spine, there are few studies determining its utility in the cervical spine. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility, clinical reliability, and threshold characteristics of intraoperative evoked electromyographic (EMG) stimulation in determining satisfactory pedicle screw placement at C7. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed a prospectively collected data set. All adult patients who underwent posterior cervical decompression and fusion with placement of C7 pedicle screws at the authors' institution between January 2015 and March 2019 were identified. Demographic, clinical, neurophysiological, operative, and radiographic data were gathered. All patients underwent postoperative CT scanning, and the position of C7 pedicle screws was compared to intraoperative neurophysiological data. Results Fifty-one consecutive C7 pedicle screws were stimulated and recorded intraoperatively in 25 consecutive patients. Based on EMG findings, 1 patient underwent intraoperative repositioning of a C7 pedicle screw, and 1 underwent removal of a C7 pedicle screw. CT scans demonstrated ideal placement of the C7 pedicle screw in 40 of 43 instances in which EMG stimulation thresholds were > 15 mA. In the remaining 3 cases the trajectories were suboptimal but safe. When the screw stimulation thresholds were between 11 and 15 mA, 5 of 6 screws were suboptimal but safe, and in 1 instance was potentially dangerous. In instances in which the screw stimulated at thresholds ≤ 10 mA, all trajectories were potentially dangerous with neural compression. Conclusions Ideal C7 pedicle screw position strongly correlated with EMG stimulation thresholds > 15 mA. In instances, in which the screw stimulates at values between 11 and 15 mA, screw trajectory exploration is recommended. Screws with thresholds ≤ 10 mA should always be explored, and possibly repositioned or removed. In conjunction with other techniques, EMG threshold testing is a useful and safe modality in determining appropriate C7 pedicle screw placement.
The nucleosome DNA entry-exit site is important for transcription termination and prevention of pervasive transcription

Compared to other stages in the RNA polymerase II transcription cycle, the role of chromatin in transcription termination is poorly understood. We performed a genetic screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify histone mutants that exhibit transcriptional readthrough of terminators. Amino acid substitutions identified by the screen map to the nucleosome DNA entry-exit site. The strongest H3 mutants revealed widespread genomic changes, including increased sense-strand transcription upstream and downstream of genes, increased antisense transcription overlapping gene bodies, and reduced nucleosome occupancy particularly at the 3' ends of genes. Replacement of the native sequence downstream of a gene with a sequence that increases nucleosome occupancy in vivo reduced readthrough transcription and suppressed the effect of a DNA entry-exit site substitution. Our results suggest that nucleosomes can facilitate termination by serving as a barrier to transcription and highlight the importance of the DNA entry-exit site in broadly maintaining the integrity of the transcriptome.
Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistula: Diagnosis, Outcomes, and Prognostic Factors.

Objective Typically, the clinical presentation of a spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) will be insidious, with patients' symptoms regularly attributed to other conditions. Although previous studies have characterized the neurologic outcomes after treatment for SDAVFs, little is known about the pretreatment patient characteristics associated with poor and/or positive patient outcomes. We sought to characterize the pretreatment patient demographics, diagnostic history, and neurologic outcomes of patients treated for SDAVFs and to identify the patient factors predictive of these outcomes. Methods The medical records of patients who had been treated for SDAVFs from 2006 to 2018 across 1 healthcare system were retrospectively analyzed. Neurologic status was assessed both before and after intervention using the Aminoff-Logue scales for gait and micturition disturbances. Results Of 46 total patients, 16 (35%) had a documented misdiagnosis. Patients with a history of misdiagnosis had had a significantly longer symptom duration before treatment compared with those without a misdiagnosis (median, 2.3 vs. 0.9 years; P = 0.018). A shorter symptom duration before intervention was significantly associated with both improved motor function (median, 0.8 vs. 3.1 years; P = 0.001) and improved urinary function (median, 0.8 vs. 2.2 years; P = 0.040) after intervention. Conclusions Misdiagnosis has been relatively common in patients with SDAVFs and contributes to delays in treatment. Delays in diagnosis and treatment of SDAVFs appear to be associated with worse clinical outcomes for patients who, ultimately, receive treatment.
Point estimates, Simpson’s paradox, and nonergodicity in biological sciences

Abstract Modern biomedical, behavioral and psychological inference about cause-effect relationships respects an ergodic assumption, that is, that mean response of representative samples allow predictions about individual members of those samples. Recent empirical evidence in all of the same fields indicates systematic violations of the ergodic assumption. Indeed, violation of ergodicity in biomedical, behavioral and psychological causes is precisely the inspiration behind our research inquiry. Here, we review the long term costs to scientific progress in these domains and a practical way forward. Specifically, we advocate using statistical measures that can themselves encode the degree and type of nonergodicity in measurements. Taking such steps will lead to a paradigm shift, allowing researchers to investigate the nonstationary, far-from-equilibrium processes that characterize the creativity and emergence of biological and psychological behavior.
Weakly $${p}$$ p -Dunford Pettis sets in $$ {L_1(\mu ,X)}$$ L 1 ( μ , X )

Sets in Banach spaces that are mapped into norm compact sets by operators $$T:X\rightarrow \ell _p$$ (called weakly p-Dunford Pettis sets), for $$1< p< \infty $$ , are studied in arbitrary Banach spaces X and in the space $$L_1(\mu , X)$$ of Bochner integrable functions. Sufficient conditions for a subset of $$L_1(\mu , X)$$ to be a weakly p-Dunford Pettis set are given. It is shown that if $$X^*\in C_{p}$$ , and K is a bounded and uniformly $$L_p$$ -integrable subset of $$L_p(\mu , X)$$ , then K is a weakly p-DP set in $$L_1(\mu , X)$$ .
Selective sweeps in a nutshell: the genomic footprint of rapid insecticide resistance evolution in the almond agroecosystem.

Among the most familiar forms of human-driven evolution on ecological time scales is the rapid acquisition of resistance to pesticides by insects. Since the widespread adoption of synthetic organic insecticides in the mid-twentieth century, over 500 arthropod species have evolved resistance to at least one insecticide. Efforts to determine the genetic bases of insecticide resistance have historically focused on individual loci, but the availability of genomic tools has facilitated the screening of genome-wide characteristics. We re-sequenced three contemporary populations of the navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella), the principal pest of almond orchards in California, differing in bifenthrin resistance status to examine insecticide-induced changes in the population genomic landscape of this species. We detected an exceptionally large region with virtually no polymorphisms, extending to up to 1.3 Mb in the resistant population. This selective sweep includes genes associated with pyrethroid and DDT resistance, including a cytochrome P450 gene cluster and the gene encoding the voltage-gated sodium channel para. Moreover, the sequence along the sweep is nearly identical in the genome assembled from a population founded in 1966, suggesting that the foundation for insecticide resistance may date back a half-century, when California's Central Valley experienced massive area-wide applications of DDT for pest control.
The Effect of Added Weights on Joint Actions in the Vertical Jump

Abstract Cinematographic records were taken of 17 males during the performance of the vertical jump under four conditions of weighting; namely: no additional weight, and additions of 6, 12, and 18 pounds. Decreases in maximal angular velocity and increases in range of motion and time of the joint actions of the hip, knee, and ankle were noted with increasing amounts of weight. Significant decreases were obtained in the V/t ratio at the hip and knee joints with increasing amounts of weight. If one assumes a constant available force, these adjustments are consistent with an increase in mass (weight) according to the formula F = m V/t.
Machine Learning on Microstructural Chemical Maps to Classify Component Phases in Cement Pastes

This paper implements machine learning (ML) classification algorithms on microstructural chemical maps to predict the constituent phases. Intensities of chemical species (Ca, Al, Si, etc.), and in some cases the nanomechanical properties measured at the corresponding points, form the input to the ML model, which predicts the phase label (LD or HD C-S-H, clinker etc.) belonging to that location. Artificial neural networks (ANN) and forest ensemble methods are used for classification. Confusion matrices and receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves are used to analyze the classification efficiency. It is shown that, for complex microstructures such as those of ultra-high performance (UHP) pastes, the classifier performs well when nanomechanical information augments the chemical intensity data. For simpler systems such as well-hydrated plain cement pastes, the classifier accurately predicts the phase label from the intensities of Ca, Al, and Si alone. The work enables fast-and-efficient phase identification and property forecasting from microstructural chemical maps.
Lattice thermal conductivity of multi-component alloys

Abstract High entropy alloys (HEA) have unique properties including the potential to be radiation tolerant. These materials with extreme disorder could resist damage because disorder, stabilized by entropy, is the equilibrium thermodynamic state. Disorder also reduces electron and phonon conductivity keeping the damage energy longer at the deposition locations, eventually favoring defect recombination. In the short time-scales related to thermal spikes induced by collision cascades, phonons become the relevant energy carrier. In this work, we perform a systematic study of phonon thermal conductivity in multiple component solid solutions represented by Lennard-Jones (LJ) potentials. We explore the conditions that minimize phonon mean free path via extreme alloy complexity, by varying the composition and the elements (differing in mass, atomic radii, and cohesive energy). We show that alloy complexity can be tailored to modify the scattering mechanisms that control energy transport in the phonon subsystem. Our analysis provides a qualitative guidance for the selection criteria used in the design of HEA alloys with low phonon thermal conductivity.
Individual differences in emergence neophobia predict magnitude of perforant-path long-term potentiation (LTP) and plasma corticosterone levels in rats

Emergence neophobia was assessed in an emergence apparatus that provided a choice between novel and familiar alternatives. Two weeks after emergence testing, the threshold to induce perforant-path long-term potentiation (LTP) and the magnitude of perforant-path LTP in the dentate gyrus were assessed under pentobarbital anesthesia. Two measures of emergence behavior, the total duration of time spent in the alley during the 1-h test and the emergence duration per entry into the novel compartment, were significantly correlated with LTP of the extracellular population excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), but not with the population spike. Neophobic animals that spent relatively little time in the novel alley during the 1-h test had a lower threshold to induce LTP and exhibited greater asymptotic EPSP LTP than did neophilic animals that readily entered and explored the novel alley. In a second experiment, plasma corticosterone levels in animals tested in the emergence task were also correlated with emergence duration and were generally lower in neophobic animals. Together, these data suggest that neotic behavior and LTP share a common mechanism, possibly one mediated by an interaction of glucocorticoid hormones and habituation.
The role of the calcium-troponin-tropomyosin complex in the activation of contraction.

This paper considers the function of troponin-tropomyosin in the control of actomyosin contraction. The findings indicate that: (a) mild heat treatment, known to desensitize native actomyosin to calcium and to inhibit relaxation through the oxidation of certain —SH groups, acts by the oxidation of —SH groups on actomyosin per se, not on troponin-tropomyosin, and these —SH groups appear to play no essential role in the attachment of troponin-tropomyosin to actomyosin (shown by a new turbidimetric method for measuring the combination of these proteins); (b) removal of troponin-tropomyosin from native actomyosin by washing, which is another procedure known to desensitize the system to calcium, prevents the rapid contraction that normally occurs in the presence of calcium and high levels of substrate, MgATP. The system recovered its ability to contract under these conditions only when troponin-tropomyosin was returned to it. These observations support the hypothesis that relaxation of actomyosin is caused by the binding of MgATP to an inhibitory (relaxing) site, and that muscular contraction is controlled by the modification of this inhibitory interaction. Thus, it is proposed that the troponin-tropomyosin complex without calcium favors relaxation by facilitating MgATP binding to this site, whereas the formation of a calcium-troponin-tropomyosin complex has the opposite effect, i.e. it favors contraction by interfering with the binding of Mg-ATP at the relaxing site.