cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Combining active restoration and targeted grazing to establish native plants and reduce fuel loads in invaded ecosystems

Many drylands have been converted from perennial-dominated ecosystems to invaded, annual-dominated, fire-prone systems. Innovative approaches are needed to disrupt fire-invasion feedbacks. Targeted grazing can reduce invasive plant abundance and associated flammable fuels, and fuelbreaks can limit fire spread. Restored strips of native plants (native greenstrips) can function as fuelbreaks while also providing forage and habitat benefits. However, methods for establishing native greenstrips in invaded drylands are poorly developed. Moreover, if fuels reduction and greenstrip establishment are to proceed simultaneously, it is critical to understand how targeted grazing interacts with plant establishment. We determined how targeted grazing treatments interacted with seed rate, spatial planting arrangement (mixtures vs. monoculture strips), seed coating technology, and species identity (five native grasses) to affect standing biomass and seeded plant density in experimental greenstrips. We monitored for two growing seasons to document effects during the seedling establishment phase. Across planting treatments, ungrazed paddocks had the highest second-year seeded plant densities and the highest standing biomass. Paddocks grazed in fall of the second growing season had fewer seedlings than paddocks grazed in spring, five months later. High seed rates minimized negative effects of grazing on plant establishment. Among seeded species, Elymus trachycaulus and Poa secunda had the highest second-year densities, but achieved this via different pathways. Elymus trachycaulus produced the most first-year seedlings, but declined in response to grazing, whereas P. secunda had moderate first-year establishment but high survival across grazing treatments. We identified clear tradeoffs between reducing fuel loads and establishing native plants in invaded sagebrush steppe; similar tradeoffs may exist in other invaded drylands. In our system, tradeoffs were minimized by boosting seed rates, using grazing-tolerant species, and delaying grazing. In invaded ecosystems, combining targeted grazing with high-input restoration may create opportunities to limit wildfire risk while also shifting vegetation toward more desirable species.
Abstract WP410: Effect of a Neurohospitalist Service on Length of Stay of Ischemic Stroke Patients

Neurohospitalist programs have been hypothesized to improve the cost and quality of care. Since data supporting the cost-effectiveness of neurohospitalist programs is lacking, this study aims to co...
The pedicled temporoparietal fascial flap

The pedicled temporoparietal fascial flap has played a role in reconstructive strategies for defects of the head and neck for well over a century. Although partially succeeded by more recent microvascular free tissue transfer techniques, this well-vascularized and pliable flap has remained an important tool in the reconstruction of locoregional defects of the temporal bone, orbitomaxillary complex, and anterior skull base. Furthermore, with little donor site morbidity and relative ease of harvest this flap is likely to remain a key tool in the reconstructive armamentarium of head and neck and skull base surgeons. In this article we review the anatomy, operative technique, potential complications, and applications of the pedicled temporoparietal fascial flap.
In-Situ Visualization of Tensile Failure in Additively Manufactured 316 L Stainless Steel

Additive manufacturing has become an enabling technology for the production of complicated engineered structures once thought impossible to produce. As these technologies develop, the mechanical behavior of these materials/structures must be characterized in a variety of harsh environments. To assess the loading-rate sensitivity of additively manufactured 316 L stainless steel, dynamic and quasi-static tension experiments were performed. High-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging was performed during dynamic experiments at Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source. These images reveal the evolution of porosity and intrinsic defects within the material, and their influence on the mechanisms of dynamic failure in real time. Stress-strain histories were recorded for experiments, on which the performance of the material is addressed. High degrees of localized yielding were observed as a precursor to ductile crack growth and propagation. No transition in the mechanism of fracture was observed. However, from the stress strain-histories the influence of defects was shown to decrease with increasing strain-rates. Comparisons between failure mechanisms of the additively manufactured specimens were made to those of wrought material subjected to identical loading.
Integrated pest management in the academic small greenhouse setting: A case study using Solanum spp. (Solanaceae).

Premise Botanical faculty and staff at academic institutions are often tasked with establishing and/or caring for plant collections held in small greenhouse facilities. Once plants are in place, an especially acute challenge is managing plant pest/pathogen populations. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are an excellent option, but few examples exist in the literature of successful programs that have been developed in academic small greenhouse settings. Methods and results Over several years, we developed an IPM program for two small research greenhouses on the campus of a primarily undergraduate institution where hundreds of plants have been grown for studies in the genus Solanum. We here present a synopsis of the cultural, mechanical, physical, and biological controls used as part of our successful IPM strategy-including details on the efficacy of multiple predatory insects-with the hope of providing a model for sustainable pest management in the higher education environment. Conclusions IPM can be an effective strategy for maintaining healthy plant populations in small research greenhouses, but it requires a consistent investment of time and funding. A well-cared-for plant collection might help support numerous positive outcomes, including advances in faculty scholarship and opportunities for student learning and/or training.
GM-CSF in Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) Recipients: Impact of Graft-Versus Host Disease on Invasive Fungal Infections (IFIs)

Background: GM-CSF is thought to be beneficial in SCT patients with IFI. The impact of GM-CSF in SCT recipients with GVHD and IFI was evaluated Methods: A retrospective case-matched (GM-CSF [n = 12] vs. no GM-CSF [n = 27]) study was undertaken to compare outcomes if IFIs diagnosed >100 days following transplantation during 2000–2006. A response was defined as complete or partial response (CR/PR) and considered 3 months after IFI diagnosis or earlier in patients with earlier response. All value are given as median ± s.d. The systemic antifungal therapy in > 60% of patients included echinocandin and anti-mold triazole, or polyene agent. Results: Please refer to the table below. Patients who received GM-CSF were younger (age 36 ± 17 vs. 51 ± 13 years); neutropenic (<500 cells/uL) at onset of infection (50% vs. 11%; P = 0.014); had lower monocyte counts (10 ± 236 vs. 220 ± 575 cells/uL; P = 0.021) and frequently required intensive care unit stay (50% vs 15%; P = 0.043). A 50% response was observed in the GM-CSF treated SCT recipients with GVHD and IFIs, whereas, 41% response occurred in the group who received no concurrent Gm-CSF (P = 0.6). Similarly, IFI-associated deaths were less frequently observed in GM-CSF treated patients (41%) compared with 55% seen in patients who had not received GM-CSF (P = 0.7). There was a slight increase in survival among SCT recipients treated with GM-CSF (48 ± 21 days vs. 34 ± 19 days in no GM-CSF group P = 0.05) Conclusions: Late fungal infections in SCT recipients with GVHD, when treated with GM-CSF-based therapy had comparable outcomes despite having significantly more neutropenia, severe monocytopenia and ICU stay. | Characteristics | GM-CSF N = 12 (5% | No GM-CSF N = 27 (%) | p-value | |:------------------------------------------------------:| ------------------- | -------------------- | --------- | | Underlying Disease-Leukemia Relapsed/refractory Cancer | 10 (83) 5 (42) | 18 (67) 6 (22) | 0.12 0.26 | | Proven and probable IFI | 9 (75) | 21 (78) | 1 | | GVHD (extensive) | 5 (42) | 14 (52) | 0.57 | | High Dose Steroids | 7 (58) | 18 (67) | 0.72 | | Disseminated IFI | 3 (25) | 4 (15) | 0.65 | | Breakthrough IFI | 10 (83) | 25 (93) | 0.57 | | APACHI II Score at time of IFI diagnosis | 11+/−4 (range 5–18) | 12+/−3 (range 5–19) | 0.47 |
Let Them Eat Healthy: Can Emerging Potassium Binders Help Overcome Dietary Potassium Restrictions in Chronic Kidney Disease?

Potassium-rich foods might provide many health benefits even to people who have declining renal function. The barrier to obtaining these health benefits has long been the concern over hyperkalemia. There are new and novel treatment options available which may enable patients with chronic kidney disease to obtain the health benefits of eating a diet that contains foods such as fruits and vegetables which are high in potassium while reducing the risk of hyperkalemia. We conclude by emphasizing the need for clinical trials with patients on hemodialysis to directly compare the current standard of care, including a potassium-restricted diet, to a potassium-liberalized diet with a potassium binder. The outcome measures would be serum potassium (
No identification of abrupt onsets that capture attention: evidence against a unified model of spatial attention

Many studies have reported that spatial attention can be involuntarily captured by salient stimuli such as abrupt onsets. These involuntary shifts are often assumed to have the same effects on feature extraction as voluntary shifts: there are two different ways of moving the same attentional mechanism. According to this unified model of spatial attention, all shifts of attention should enhance the identification of attended objects. We directly tested this assumption using compatibility effects in a series of spatial cueing experiments. Participants searched a display and indicated whether the target number was greater or less than five. The salient precues were also numbers, allowing measurement of compatibility effects between the precue and the target. Precues that reliably predicted the target location produced compatibility effects (e.g., the precue “1” facilitated responding to the target “one”), indicating enhanced identification of the precue. Compatibility effects were also found for precues that were nonpredictive but had the target-finding feature (i.e., contingent capture). Critically, however, four separate experiments failed to find compatibility effects for salient abrupt onsets that were neither predictive nor task-relevant. This is surprising given that these same precues produced enormous cue validity effects (up to 186 ms), suggesting salience-based attention capture. Our findings argue against the unified model: salience-based attention capture recruits different attentional mechanisms than contingent capture or voluntary shifts in attention.
Essential Role of Neutrophils in the Protective Immune Response Induced by a Live Attenuated Leishmania Vaccine.

No licensed vaccine exists against visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a disease caused by the Leishmania donovani parasite. We have previously reported both macrophages and dendritic cells play important role in the protection induced by a live attenuated centrin gene-deleted L. donovani (LdCen-/- ) parasite vaccine. The role of neutrophils in orchestrating the initial innate response to pathogens is widely recognized. To investigate the early interaction of LdCen-/- with neutrophils, we immunized mice intradermally in the ear pinna with LdCen-/- Compared with LdWT infection, LdCen-/- parasites induced higher recruitment of neutrophils to the ear dermis and ear draining lymph nodes (dLN) as early as 6-18 h after immunization, which were predominantly proinflammatory in nature. Neutrophils from ear dLN of LdCen-/- -immunized mice exhibited heightened expression of costimulatory molecules and attenuated expression of coinhibitory molecules necessary for higher T cell activation. Further phenotypic characterization revealed heterogeneous neutrophil populations containing Nα and Nβ subtypes in the ear dLN. Of the two, the parasitized Nα subset from LdCen-/- -immunized mice exhibited much stronger Ag-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation ex vivo. Adoptive transfer of neutrophils bearing LdCen-/- parasites induced an increased Th1 response in naive mice. Importantly, neutrophil depletion significantly abrogated Ag-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation in LdCen-/- -immunized mice and impaired protection against virulent challenge. Conversely, replenishing of neutrophils significantly restored the LdCen-/- -induced host-protective response. These results suggest that neutrophils are indispensable for protective immunity induced by LdCen-/- parasite vaccine.
Organizing committees for the Olympic Games and satellite host local organizing committees: examining their relationships and impact on legacy creation

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the Interorganizational Relationships (IORs) between an Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) and satellite host Local Organizing Commit...
Near-surface soils: discrete element modeling of self-supported unconfined drained sand specimens

Recent findings demonstrate that traditional equations governing near surface, low confinement, soil mechanics may not accurately represent changes in soil strength, behavior, and structure, particularly for dry materials. These studies suggest that these inaccuracies may be due to the over-reliance of elastic principles in their respective formulations, and have found that as confinement decreases, the soil tends to resist continuum-type behavior. In practical modeling terms, these limitations would severely impact the use of traditional finite discretization methods that typically rely on continuum-based assumptions and often employ elastic constitutive laws. In this work the discrete element method is examined for its applicability in this regard. Specifically, a series of dry, unconfined, axial tests are numerically simulated and the applied axial force is compared with physical experiments. Various contributing factors, such as the use of spherical versus non-spherical particles, the degree of translational and rotational resistance, degree and method of compaction, and force chains, are considered. It was found that particularly important are the initial calibration tests for which unconstrained (free-standing) granular columns are feasible, including the parameter calibrations for the coefficient of sliding friction and angular rotation.
High-throughput functional characterization of visceral afferents by optical recordings from thoracolumbar and lumbosacral dorsal root ganglions

Functional understanding of visceral afferents is important for developing new treatment to visceral hypersensitivity and pain. The sparse distribution of visceral afferents in dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) has challenged conventional electrophysiological recordings. Alternatively, Ca2+ indicators like GCaMP6f allow functional characterization by optical recordings. Here we report a turnkey microscopy system that enables simultaneous Ca2+ imaging at two parallel focal planes from intact DRG. By using consumer-grade optical components, the microscopy system is cost effective and can be made broadly available without loss of capacity. It records low-intensity fluorescent signals at a wide field of view (1.9 x 1.3 mm) to cover a whole mouse DRG, with a high pixel resolution of 0.7 micron/pixel, a fast frame rate of 50 frames/sec, and the capability of remote focusing without perturbing the sample. The wide scanning range (100 mm) of the motorized sample stage allows convenient recordings of multiple DRGs in thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae. As a demonstration, we characterized mechanical neural encoding of visceral afferents innervating distal colon and rectum (colorectum) in GCaMP6f mice driven by VGLUT2 promotor. A post-processing routine is developed for conducting unsupervised detection of visceral afferent responses from GCaMP6f recordings, which also compensates the motion artefacts caused by mechanical stimulation of the colorectum. The reported system offers a cost-effective solution for high-throughput recordings of visceral afferent activities from a large volume of DRG tissues. We anticipate a wide application of this microscopy system to expedite our functional understanding of visceral innervations in both health and diseases.
Is Shale Gas Development Sustainable? Competing Discourses on Fracking in the United States

Shale gas development (SGD), commonly known as fracking, is an emerging technology that is able to access previously untapped deposits of natural gas. Given the high price of oil and the importance of domestically produced energy led investors and the industry to turn to natural gas and to expand drilling in several places in the United States. This new-found source of energy and wealth also comes with a heavy environmental footprint and potential threat to public health. These competing forces led to one of the most heated environmental controversies in the United States in recent times. As a way to better appreciate the dispute over SGD, the United Nation’s sustainable development goals on the economy, energy, water, land, and climate action are used to examine the competing discourses. It is necessary to understand the several discourses used in this debate to better design sustainable communication messages to stakeholders.
Sentence Embeddings using Supervised Contrastive Learning.

Sentence embeddings encode sentences in fixed dense vectors and have played an important role in various NLP tasks and systems. Methods for building sentence embeddings include unsupervised learning such as Quick-Thoughts and supervised learning such as InferSent. With the success of pretrained NLP models, recent research shows that fine-tuning pretrained BERT on SNLI and Multi-NLI data creates state-of-the-art sentence embeddings, outperforming previous sentence embeddings methods on various evaluation benchmarks. In this paper, we propose a new method to build sentence embeddings by doing supervised contrastive learning. Specifically our method fine-tunes pretrained BERT on SNLI data, incorporating both supervised crossentropy loss and supervised contrastive loss. Compared with baseline where fine-tuning is only done with supervised cross-entropy loss similar to current state-of-the-art method SBERT, our supervised contrastive method improves 2.8% in average on Semantic Textual Similarity (STS) benchmarks and 1.05% in average on various sentence transfer tasks.
Sleep-related movement disorders and growing pains: differences in daytime and bedtime behavior in 2-6 year old children with cleft palate.

Abstract Background Behavioural difficulties are common in children with sleep disorders. However, up to now no study has investigated the association between sleep-related movement disorders (SRMD) and behavior in children with craniofacial cleft. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and impact of SRMD and growing pains in daytime/bedtime behavior in young children with cleft palate. Methods Cross-sectional survey study of sleep and behavior in 2.0–6.9 year old children with cleft palate. Parents completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire, which queries reports of periodic limb movements (PLMS), restless leg syndrome (RLS), growing pains, daytime sleepiness, sleep latency/duration, and the Conners' Early Childhood Questionnaire which asks about behavioral difficulties. Results Among 71 children with cleft palate (52.1% boys) 14.1 % screened positive for PLMS, 8.5% reported RLS and 9.9% growing pains. Children who screened positive for PLMS and RLS were more likely to report sleepiness (PLMS 40% vs. 4.9%, p = 0.001; RLS 33.3% vs. 7.7%, p = 0.04) and long sleep latency (PLMS 80% vs. 32.8%, p = 0.005; RLS 100% vs. 33.8%, p = 0.002) compared to those who did not endorse the respective sleep problems. Children who reported PLMS had a higher T-score for emotional (58.2 ± 7.6 vs. 50.7 ± 8.4, p = 0.01) and somatic symptoms (66.2 ± 15.2 vs. 49.9 ± 9.5, p = 0.0001). Sleepiness was associated to an increased frequency of externalizing, psychiatric and somatic problems. While children with long sleep latency reported more emotional and somatic symptoms, and those with reduced sleep duration more internalizing difficulties. Conclusions Parents of young children with cleft palate reported frequently PLMS, RLS and growing pains. Daytime/bedtime behavior varies depending on the presence of SRMD. Sleepiness and sleep variables might play a role on behavioural problems in children with cleft and SRMD symptoms.
Alternative 3’UTRs Play a Widespread Role in Translation-Independent mRNA Association with Endoplasmic Reticulum

Transcripts encoding membrane and secreted proteins undergo translation on endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, using cell fractionation, polysome profiling, and 3’ end sequencing, we examine translation-independent ER association (TiERA) of poly(A)+ RNAs. We show different functional gene groups have distinct TiERA potentials, and transcript size and sequence motifs are determinants of TiERA. Alternative polyadenylation (APA) isoforms differ substantially in TiERA, with long 3’UTR isoforms generally having a higher TiERA potential than short ones, highlighting a role of 3’UTR in TiERA control. The widespread 3’UTR lengthening in cell differentiation leads to greater transcript association with ER, especially for genes whose isoforms differ substantially in size. Moreover, TiERA inversely correlates with mRNA stability, suggesting distinct mRNA decay mechanisms on ER versus in cytosol. Together, our data indicate that transcript features diversify TiERA among genes, leading to distinct mRNA metabolism, and APA alters ER association of gene transcripts because of TiERA difference between isoforms.
Diffusion kinetics, mechanical properties, and crystallographic characterization of intermetallic compounds in the Mg–Zn binary system

Abstract Pure Mg was diffusion bonded to pure Zn at 315 °C for 168 h to produce equilibrium intermetallic compounds of the Mg–Zn system. All equilibrium phases at 315 °C, Mg 21 Zn 25 , Mg 4 Zn 7 , MgZn 2 , Mg 2 Zn 11 , were observed to develop. Concentration profiles by electron probe microanalysis, electron diffraction patterns by transmission electron microscopy, and load–displacement curves by nano-indentation were examined to characterize the phase constituents, crystal structure, diffusion kinetics, and mechanical properties. Mg 21 Zn 25 with trigonal, Mg 4 Zn 7 with monoclinic, and Mg 2 Zn 11 with cubic structures were found and their lattice parameters were reported herein. Mg 4 Zn 7 and Mg 2 Zn 11 were observed to have a range of solubility of approximately 2.4 at% and 1.6 at%, respectively. Interdiffusion in MgZn 2 occurred most rapidly, was an order of magnitude slower in Mg 4 Zn 7 and Mg 2 Zn 11 , and was the slowest in Mg 21 Zn 25 . Composition-dependence of interdiffusion within each intermetallic phase was negligible. The intermetallic phases exhibited insignificant creep, but evidence of discontinuous yielding was observed. The average hardness and reduced moduli were similar for Mg 21 Zn 25 , Mg 4 Zn 7 , and MgZn 2 phases, ∼5 GPa and ∼90 GPa, respectively. However, the Mg 2 Zn 11 phase had lower hardness of 3.76 GPa and higher modulus of 108.9 GPa. The mechanical properties in the characterized intermetallic phases, exclusive of Mg 21 Zn 25 , were strongly concentration-dependent.
Cricopharyngeal Myotomy: Management of Cervical Dysphagia:

Cricopharyngeal myotomy has gained widespread acceptance as surgical treatment for various forms of cervical dysphagia. The case records of 33 patients who underwent cricopharyngeal myotomy for dysphagia originating from varying underlying diseases are reviewed. The majority of these patients were able to resume oral feeding following myotomy. Analysis of preoperative pharyngoesophageal manometry and contrast radiography identified diagnostic criteria for appropriate case selection.
Deny-by-Default Distributed Security Policy Enforcement in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) are increasingly employed in tactical military and civil rapid-deployment networks, including emergency rescue operations and ad hoc disaster-relief networks. However, this flexibility of MANETs comes at a price, when compared to wired and base station-based wireless networks: MANETs are susceptible to both insider and outsider attacks. This is mainly because of the lack of a well-defined defense perimeter preventing the effective use of wired defenses including firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
Thin blanket design for MINIMARS - A compact tandem mirror fusion reactor

Recent fusion power reactor designs have shown a trend toward lower power, lower cost, higher mass utilization compact configurations with inherent safety, in order to improve the economic aspects of fusion and make them more competitive with other energy sources. Since the blanket thickness directly impacts the size and mass of the remaining reactor components, it is prudent to minimize its thickness while ensuring adequate neutronic and thermal performance. This paper describes the blanket for the MINI-MARS compact tandem mirror fusion power reactor. The blanket which utilizes HT-9 ferritic steel structure, LiPb breeder, Be multiplier/moderator and He gas cooling is only 17 cm thick and is backed up by a steel reflector. Helium gas cools the blanket and reflector in series and the outlet temperature of 575/sup 0/C gives a gross thermal power cycle efficiency of 42.7%.
An exploratory study of an intranet dashboard in a multi-state healthcare system

Healthcare executives may be unaware of effective uses of evidence-based guidelines within their healthcare system. The primary objective in this research was to design and implement an automated intranet dashboard reporting performance measures for community acquired pneumonia. A secondary objective was to describe how this might increase cooperation and coordination within a healthcare delivery system. Principals of user centered design and information management were used in the construction of the intranet dashboard. Descriptive research approaches were used with a convenience sample of healthcare executives completing a baseline survey measuring satisfaction with receiving reports and cooperation between geographically distributed facilities. After three months of exposure to the dashboard, a follow-up survey was administered. Usage patterns were examined from server log files; qualitative exit interviews were also conducted with six healthcare executives. A functional dashboard was created with limited resources, data quality issues presented as barriers to automation. Descriptive analysis found substantial increases on a number of survey items, suggesting that the dashboard contributes toward increased satisfaction communication and coordination among healthcare executives. Findings should be balanced by the limited rigor in the research design and the web server log files which found few visitations to the dashboard. Qualitative data analysis suggests that current reporting mechanisms are suboptimal for healthcare executives and that one solution may be dashboards.
ESRDC ship notional baseline medium voltage direct current (MVDC) architecture thermal simulation and visualization

This work presents a fast visualization and thermal simulation tool developed as part of the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium (ESRDC) funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) that is capable of providing quick responses during early stages of ship design. The tool allows for the visualization of thermal and electrical loads, and equipment locations and other variables of interest in the all-electric ship, proceeding to the computation of the resulting whole ship temperature and relative humidity distribution. For that, a previously developed simplified physical model [1-3] -- which combines principles of classical thermodynamics and heat transfer, resulting in a system of three-dimensional differential equations which are discretized in space using a three-dimensional cell centered finite volume scheme -- is enhanced to include fresh and sea water cooled systems throughout the ship. Therefore, the combination of the proposed simplified physical model with the adopted finite volume scheme for the numerical discretization of the differential equations is called a volume element model (VEM). A 3D simulation is performed in order to determine the temperature distribution inside the ship for the baseline Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) architecture, and representative operating conditions are analyzed. VisIt visualization tool [4] is used to plot the results.
Design Optimization of Flapping Ornithopters: The Pterosaur Replica in Forward Flight

There has been a recent interest to explore the shape and kinematics parameters of distinct pterosaurs from their fossil records. Clearly, far more evidence is needed to understand the nuances of dinosaurs flight. A multiobjective aerodynamic optimization problem of the wing kinematics and planform of a pterosaur replica ornithopter designed by Aerovironment is performed. Objective functions include minimization of the required cycle-averaged aerodynamic power and maximization of the propulsive efficiency. It is found that inclusion of the inertial power requirements is necessary for a physical and proper formulation of the optimization problem. Furthermore, the mere addition of the inertial power requirements is not enough to obtain reasonable results. Rather, one has to consider a partial (or even zero) elastic energy storage. The minimum power kinematic parameters closely match those of the previously designed pterosaur replica. Nevertheless, the obtained efficiency for such a design (minimum power) is...
Tidal Signatures and Their Preservation Potential in Stratigraphic Sequences

Several indicators of tidal influence are preserved in modern and ancient ­stratigraphic sequences. These tidal signatures are dominated by cyclic deposition. The cycles may represent as short as semi-diurnal tides or as long as multiple years. Most commonly they represent daily or lunar cycles. These cycles are most commonly represented by some alternation of sand and mud; so-called heterolithic deposits. Some are monolithic. The scale of these rhythmic packages ranges from a few millimeters to several decimeters. The depositional environments in which these tidal sequences accumulate include intertidal and subtidal positions to depths of at least hundreds of meters. The most common are intertidal flats and their contained channels in estuaries and deltas as well as in coastal bays and open coasts. Preservation potential ranges from poor to very good. Tidal channels tend to be among the best preserved whereas the upper intertidal zone is the most poorly preserved.
Simulations of the response of mesospheric circulation and temperature to the Antarctic ozone hole

[1] The loss of ozone that has occurred in the Antarctic lower stratosphere during each spring since 1980 has led to a decrease in the lower stratospheric temperature that persists into the summer season. The temperature changes are accompanied by changes in the zonal wind in the SH stratosphere that affect the filtering of gravity waves propagating into the mesosphere. In simulations with the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), the resulting gravity wave changes have led to a weakening of the SH summer upwelling around 65–80 km and of the equatorward flow around 0.01 hPa. The trend occurs primarily in the years 1975–1990. The circulation changes are accompanied by an increase in the SH temperature at 65–85 km and a decrease at 95 km. Comparison of the summer temperatures in the NH and SH indicates a distinctive offset beginning around 1980. The increase in temperature near the SH summer mesopause has implications for the presence of polar mesospheric clouds.
EFFECT OF BANK MONITORING ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT OF THE BORROWING FIRM: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

The literature on bank monitoring posits that strong bank monitoring can either increase or decrease the earnings management of the borrowing firm. We test these two competing hypotheses and find that earnings management (measured by the absolute value of the discretionary accruals) is higher when monitoring is strong—unless the firm is close to default. This result suggests that it might not be appropriate to view bank monitoring as always curbing corporate misbehavior. Our findings are based on examining 22,526 financial statements of private and public firms in India between 2001 and 2009.
Adaptive control for multiple cooperative robot arms

The authors address the control problem of multiple robots manipulating a load cooperatively. They propose a controller that ensures the asymptotic convergence of the load position and the internal forces to their desired values. An adaptive control scheme for the multirobot system is proposed. The adaptive controller ensures the asymptotic convergence of the load position to the desired values and the boundedness of the internal forces. The effects of bounded disturbances on the multirobot system are considered. An adaptive control law is presented which guarantees the boundedness of the tracking errors and the boundedness of the internal force errors. >
Symptom status and the desire for Helicobacter pylori confirmatory testing after eradication therapy in patients with peptic ulcer disease

Abstract BACKGROUND: There is consensus that individuals with Helicobacter pylori –associated peptic ulcer disease should receive a test to confirm H. pylori cure if symptoms recur after eradication therapy. It remains controversial whether individuals who are asymptomatic after therapy should undergo a confirmatory test to establish cure. Patients' desire to know whether their infection has been cured and symptom status after treatment are two important determinants of whether confirmatory H. pylori testing should be undertaken routinely. METHODS: We identified 87 patients with H. pylori –associated peptic ulcer disease scheduled to undergo urea breath testing 4 weeks after H. pylori eradication therapy. At the time of testing, willingness-to-pay methodology was used to estimate patients' desire for confirmatory testing in the absence of symptoms. At a follow-up visit after eradication therapy (mean follow-up, 297 days; range, 143 to 494 days), patients were surveyed to assess gastrointestinal symptom status. RESULTS: Of the 87 patients, 78 (90%) responded that they would prefer to undergo confirmatory testing if asymptomatic, as opposed to delaying testing until symptoms recurred. Patients' median willingness to pay for confirmatory testing in the absence of symptoms was greater than $50. On follow-up, 38% of patients in whom H. pylori was eradicated reported that their symptoms were completely resolved. There was no significant difference in the percentage of patients who reported complete symptom resolution by H. pylori status ( H. pylori eradicated 38%, H. pylori infected 28%, P = 0.42, 95% confidence interval, −14% to 34%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients' desire for confirmation of cure, coupled with a frequent need for confirmatory testing as a result of recurrent symptoms after therapy, may justify routine confirmatory testing after H. pylori treatment.
Limitations and use of PSA velocity in the diagnosis and characterization of prostate cancer

Measuring PSA velocity to track prostatic pathophysiologic states is appealing for its simplicity, however, much debate continues as to its clinical value in the diagnosis and characterization of prostate cancer. Phillips and Smith discuss the significance of PSA velocity as a diagnostic measure.
High frequency of autoantibodies to insoluble cellular antigens in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Objective. To elucidate the humoral immune response in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), by identification and characterization of autoantibodies. Methods. Initial immunofluorescence histochemistry studies of sera using human HEp-2 cell substrate were followed by antibody class subtyping and colocalization studies with reference antibodies. Association of CFS autoantigens with insoluble cellular components was determined by in situ extraction of soluble components and subsequent immunofluorescence histochemistry studies on the extracted cell substrate. Results. Of 60 CFS patients, 41 (68%) were positive for antinuclear antibodies. Localization of nuclear staining was found at the nuclear envelope (52%), in reticulated speckles (25%), in nucleoli (13%), and in dense fine speckles (5%). Twenty-eight CFS sera (47%) also had antibodies to cytoplasmic antigens. The major cytoplasmic staining pattern was of the intermediate filament type (35%). The observed nuclear envelope pattern of staining co-localized with lamina-associated polypeptide 2 (an integral nuclear membrane protein), the reticulated speckle pattern co-localized with nonsmall nuclear RNP splicing factor SC-35, and the intermediate filament pattern co-localized with vimentin. The intermediate filament antigen was shown to be vimentin in immunoblotting experiments using recombinant human vimentin, and one of the nuclear envelope antigens was shown previously to be lamin B1. Fifty of the 60 CFS patients (83%) had antibodies to one or another of these antigens, all of which are relatively insoluble cellular antigens, whereas a control group of patients without chronic fatigue had a significantly lower frequency of such antibodies (17%). Conclusion. The high frequency of autoantibodies to insoluble cellular antigens in CFS represents a unique feature which might help to distinguish CFS from other rheumatic autoimmune diseases.
Do constraints facilitate or inhibit creative problem solving: A theoretical explanation of two seemingly contradictory experimental studies

Do constraints facilitate or inhibit creative problem solving? Recently, two experimental studies appeared, one showing that removing constraints may enhance creativity, another showing that adding constraints can facilitate creative problem solving. In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation of these two seemingly contradictory experimental results.
Adaptive wavefront correction using a VLSI implementation of the parallel gradient descent algorithm

An adaptive laser beam focusing system using a 127 channel liquid crystal phase modulator is presented. The controller for the system is a circuit built with prototype VLSI chips that implement the stochastic parallel gradient descent algorithm. The controller is driven by a scalar laser beam quality metric and can run at the rate of 150 kHz. The system performance is characterized and a secondary control loop manipulating one of the algorithm parameters is experimentally investigated. The performance of the system is reported and performance improvements obtained by using the recent history of the beam quality metric to control an algorithm parameter is demonstrated.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Interacting with semantic musical features: Enhanced human-computer interactions based on musical “meaning”

Semantic musical features are proposed to reflect the understanding of the music, instead of the music itself, and serve as idea interfaces for musical “meaning” based human-computer interactions. The proposed semantic musical features are based on reductive music analysis and musical expressive features.
Analysis of the posterior fossa in children with the Chiari 0 malformation.

OBJECTIVE: We previously reported the resolution of syringohydromyelia without cerebellar tonsillar ectopia in five patients after posterior fossa decompression of the so-called Chiari 0 malformation. A sixth patient is described. In this study, the anatomy of the posterior fossa is analyzed using radiological imaging, enabling features of the posterior fossa in this uncommon subgroup of children to be characterized. METHODS : Multiple measurements were made on magnetic resonance imaging studies in six children with Chiari 0 malformation to determine the position of the brainstem relative to the foramen magnum. Fifty children with normal magnetic resonance imaging studies of the brain were used as controls. RESULTS: All children with a Chiari 0 malformation were found to have the following positive results: obices that were located more than 2 standard deviations below normal, an increase in the anteroposterior midsagittal distance of the spinomedullary junction at the level of the foramen magnum, an increase in the angle between the floor of the fourth ventricle and clivus, and an increase in the anteroposterior midsagittal distance of the foramen magnum. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that the contents of the posterior fossa are indeed compromised and/or distorted in patients with syringohydromyelia but no tonsillar ectopia. In this group, the brainstem was caudally displaced more than 3 standard deviations below normal. (Neurosurgery 48:1050‐1055, 2001)
SIR 2005 film panel case: heterotaxia with polysplenia.

A 60-year-old woman with left lowerextremity claudication was referred for aortography (Fig 1) and lower extremity arteriography. Pelvic arteriography (not shown) demonstrated occlusion of the left common and external iliac arteries. Celiac arteriography (Fig 2) and superior mesenteric arteriography (Fig 3) were performed because of findings on aortography. Noncontrast abdominal computed tomography (CT) was then performed for correlation (Fig 4). The patient had no previous surgery and no known heart disease.
Logging in Western Oregon: Responses of headwater habitats and stream amphibians

We compared occurrence and abundance of four species of aquatic amphibians in 23 streams flowing through uncut forests to 20 streams flowing through forests logged between 14 and 40 years prior to the study. Species richness was highest in streams in uncut forests. Eleven streams in uncut forests contained all four species, and only two of these streams had fewer than three species present. Eleven streams in logged stands had one or no species present, and only one contained all four species. Density and biomass of all four species were significantly greater (2–7 X) in streams in uncut forests. Physical comparisons between types of streams were similar, except that streams in logged stands had generally smaller substrata, resulting from increased sedimentation. Densities of Pacific giant salamanders (Dicamptodon ensatus) and Olympic salamanders (Rhyacotriton olymoicus) were positively correlated with stream gradient in logged stands, but not in uncut forests, suggesting that the disruptive effects of increased sedimentation are greatest in low-gradient streams. Tailed frogs (Ascaphus truei) and Dunn's salamanders (Plethodon dunni) occurred more often in strems in logged stands when uncut timber was present upstream, but neither density nor biomass of any species were related to either presence of uncut timber upstrem or years since logging. Logging upstream from uncut forests also had no effect on the presence, density or biomass of any species. Tailed frogs and Olympic salamanders may be extirpated from headwaters traversing clearcuts; these streams should be afforded some protection in plans for managed forests.
Learning From a Television News Story

Although large numbers of young children watch news programs, researchers have paid little attention to nonproduction variables involved in learning from the news This field experiment with 435 third through seventh graders focuses on the relationship between childrens' perceptions of the news and learning and the effect of news story context on their per ceptions The study predicts that four perceptual variables—liking the story, liking the program, believing the story, and understanding the function of the story—will have a positive relationship to learning Because some news for children is presented in the context of cartoons and fantasy drama- such as the CBS "In the News" series—the study explores the effect of news story context on learning through the perceptual variables listed above
Applying Kass's Public Health Ethics Framework to Mandatory Health Care Worker Immunization: The Devil is in the Details

Increasing Health Care worker immunization rates for influenza has been a challenge. Strategies that rely on voluntary compliance of health care workers have had limited effectiveness. Recently, se...
Decarcerating the Punitive Society

Decarceration should be justified not on instrumental grounds such as cost saving but on the basis of constitutive moral arguments. While instrumental justifications are less controversial, the path of least resistance in the short run will be the path of least progress in the long run. Punishment is in a fundamental sense constitutive. We are how we punish. We define ourselves in part by the risks that we take and by the things that we forgive. And punishment inevitably involves decisions about both risk and about forgiveness. We lost our faith in our journey toward a freer, more equal and more humane society. We are not going to restore that faith with instrumental arguments about cost or efficiency.
Hydrogenolysis of cyclic and acyclic orthoesters of carbohydrates with lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum trichloride☆

Abstract Several cyclic and acyclic carbohydrate orthoesters have been hydrogenolyzed with 1:1 lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum trichloride, and the mechanisms of the reaction have been studied. Generally, cyclic orthoesters are cleaved via cyclic carbonium-ion intermediates that are stereospecifically attacked by the reducing species, giving cyclic acetals in good yield. One example is the cleavage of both diastereoisomers of 1,2- O -(1-methoxyethylidene)-3,4,6-tri- O -methyl-β- d -mannopyranose to 1,2- O -ethylidene-3,4,6-tri- O -methyl-β- d -mannopyranose having an exo O -ethylidene proton. Cleavage of carbohydrate acyclic orthoesters with the reagent is less specific. Acyclic methyl orthoesters were formed simultaneously by the action of methyl orthoformate and a trace of acid on 1,2:3,5-di- O -methylene-α- d -glucofuranose ( 20 ). After removal of the contaminating formic ester of 20 , the remainder was hydrogenolyzed with the reagent to 20 and the two methylene acyclic acetals 24 and 25 in the ratios of 5:10:3 (w/w/w).
Voices of Dissent in the Iraq War: Moving from Deviance to Legitimacy?

Using indexing theory as a framework, this content analysis of 2003–2007 Time coverage explores the range of dissenting voices of the war in news dialogue. Findings show that war criticism remained...