cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Economic of online music

Novel online file sharing technologies have created new market dynamics for the online distribution of digital goods. But the new potential benefits for consumers are juxtaposed against challenges and opportunities for sellers of such goods. Here we investigate one type of digital experience good, music, whose markets include the presence of piracy options. We present five different pricing models running from a base case of a traditional brick and mortar retailer not facing a piracy option to an online retailer offering per unit and subscription pricing but facing piracy alternatives. In addition, simulation results are presented as a vehicle to develop insights related to the model implications on revenue-maximization and piracy conditions.
Contingent Valuation Methodology: Evaluation of Benefit s of Improving Water Quality in the Lake Tai Region

Environmental economics is a relatively new field in the subject of economics. While the developing countries are growing and developing rapidly, the conflict between economic development and environmental preservation is becoming more and more irreconcilable. This methodology paper addresses the relationship between the water quality in the Lake Tai Region in China and economic benefits, and presents the contingent valuation methdology (CVM) to evaluate benefits.
Reinforcement of Behavior by Cocaine Injections

The intravenous injection of certain drugs, such as psychomotor stimulants, can function as a reinforcer to engender and maintain behavior in rats and monkeys. Such behavior has served as a laboratory counterpart to human drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior. However, the levels of behavior maintained by drug injections in experimental animals are usually lower than would be expected from observations of the extended sequences of behavior involved in the procurement, preparation, and administration of a drug by humans. The low levels of behavior may arise from the common practice of studying experimental animals under conditions in which every response or every few responses results in a drug injection during long experimental sessions lasting 3 to 24 hours. Under these conditions, mean response rates have been less than 0.1 response per second; and response rates decrease further as the dose per injection is increased above some level (e.g., Pickens and Thompson, 1968; Goldberg, Hoffmeister, Schlichting and Wuttke, 1971; Wilson, Hitomi and Schuster, 1971).
Transport protocols for Internet-compatible satellite networks

We address the question of how well end-to-end transport connections perform in a satellite environment composed of one or more satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) or low-altitude Earth orbit (LEO), in which the connection may traverse a portion of the wired Internet. We first summarize the various ways in which latency and asymmetry can impair the performance of the Internet's transmission control protocol (TCP), and discuss extensions to standard TCP that alleviate some of these performance problems. Through analysis, simulation, and experiments, we quantify the performance of state-of-the-art TCP implementations in a satellite environment. A key part of the experimental method is the use of traffic models empirically derived from Internet traffic traces. We identify those TCP implementations that can be expected to perform reasonably well, and those that can suffer serious performance degradation. An important result is that, even with the best satellite-optimized TCP implementations, moderate levels of congestion in the wide-area Internet can seriously degrade performance for satellite connections. For scenarios in which TCP performance is poor, we investigate the potential improvement of using a satellite gateway, proxy, or Web cache to "split" transport connections in a manner transparent to end users. Finally, we describe a new transport protocol for use internally within a satellite network or as part of a split connection. This protocol, which we call the satellite transport protocol (STP), is optimized for challenging network impairments such as high latency, asymmetry, and high error rates. Among its chief benefits are up to an order of magnitude reduction in the bandwidth used in the reverse path, as compared to standard TCP, when conducting large file transfers. This is a particularly important attribute for the kind of asymmetric connectivity likely to dominate satellite-based Internet access.
Infection of Hamsters with Epidemiologically Important Strains of Clostridium difficile

Five different toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile of known human epidemiologic importance were tested for virulence in hamsters. Three strains-types B1, J9, and K14-have caused hospital outbreaks. Type Y2 is associated with a high rate of asymptomatic colonization in patients. The fifth strain, type CF2, is a toxin A-negative, toxin B-positive strain implicated in multiple human cases of C. difficile-associated diarrhea. Groups of 10 hamsters per strain were given 1 dose of clindamycin, followed 5 days later with gastric inoculation of 100 cfu of C. difficile. Hamsters given types B1, J9, K14, or Y2 showed 90%-100% colonization (albeit at a slower rate with type Y2) and 100% mortality of colonized animals. Hamsters challenged with type CF2 showed 60% (P= .01) colonization and 30% mortality (P= .0003). The hamster model demonstrated pathogenicity differences between a toxin variant strain and standard toxigenic strains but no significant differences among the standard strains.
Effect of arm loss on escape speed of two epibenthic brittle stars

Despite its obvious costs, autotomy of a body part is a common and effective behavioral strategy to avoid predation. For several species, this limb loss may impact the ability to escape future predation events. Lizards that lose tails are slower to climb or run, and crickets that autotomize legs can jump less far. Epibenthic brittle stars frequently autotomize arms but the effect of arm loss on their escape speed has not been examined. Using two species, spiny (Ophiocoma echinata) and banded-arm (Ophioderma appressum) brittle stars, we predicted that brittle stars missing an arm would move more slowly than intact individuals. Individual brittle stars, either intact or with one arm cut off, were placed in the center of a sandy, well-lit, subtidal arena and allowed to move under the rocks surrounding the arena. We found a positive relationship between the size of the brittle star and its speed. However, there was no difference between escape speeds of intact brittle stars and ones missing an arm for either species. Our data suggest that autotomy has little impact on speed. Thus, unlike many other species, autotomy of an arm does not appear to negatively impact the ability of brittle stars to escape future predation events.
Observation of the Cabibbo-suppressed decay D±→φπ±

Abstract We observe the Cabibbo-suppressed decay D ± → φπ ± in pN interaction at 400 GeV c incident proton momentum. No evidence for F ± → φπ ± decays is seen.
Engineers and engineering in the US and Japan: what have we learned from comparative studies?

Summary form only given. In the 1980s Japanese success in using technology to produce high quality, low cost, and innovative products led to a sudden interest in the education and training of engineers and in the practice of engineering in Japan. Initially, researchers looked at the numbers of engineers trained in Japan compared to that in the US and at the nature of engineering education in Japan. While at first it seemed that Japan's successes could be attributed, at least in part, to the large number of Japanese graduating with engineering bachelor degrees, later research cast doubt on this conclusion. Nor were researchers impressed with the Japanese university system, though some speculated that it might be superior to the US system in teaching engineers teamwork. Attention was directed to the training and management of engineers in Japanese firms. Distinctive personnel practices were identified, such as career-long systematic job rotation. Meanwhile another stream of research began, looking at specific engineering practices (most often in the automobile industry). The emphasis had shifted from seeking general characteristics of the Japanese engineering system that accounted for engineering superiority, to looking for specific practices used by certain Japanese firms. This paper reviews the literature and suggests some new directions for researchers. It argues that while the search for best practices has clearly been beneficial to US and other firms, other areas also warrant more intensive exploration.
CP violation and the Cabibbo angle

We study a variation of the usualSU2,L⊗U1 theory with an additional horizontal symmetry in order to understand CP violation in the weak interactions. CP-violating interactions may not be confined to the strangeness-changing processes alone. The reason they are small is because Cabibbo universality is so good. We compute the Cabibbo angle and show that sin2 θC≈md/ms. Masses of some of the upcoming fermions are predicted.
A kinetic perspective on the peculiarity of aldose reductase.

The reduction of D-glucose to D-sorbitol catalyzed by aldose reductase (ALR2; alditol:NADP+ 1-oxidoreductase; EC 1.1.1.21) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications of the eye, kidney, and nervous system (Dvornik, 1987; Kador, 1988), and as a result, much research effort has been expended in order to understand the function of this enzyme both in vitro and in vivo. Understanding the mechanistic details of ALR2 catalysis has, however, proven to be rather difficult due to the peculiar character of this monomeric oxidoreductase. In particular, the kinetic properties of ALR2 have been a subject of controversy, with conflicting reports of either Michaelis-Menten type kinetics (Boghosian & McGuinness, 1979; Wermuth et al., 1982; Branlant et al., 1982; Cromlish & Flynn, 1983a,b; Morjana & Flynn, 1989) or nonlinear double-reciprocal plots displaying apparent negative cooperativity for the nucleotide and aldehyde substrate (Sheaff & Doughty, 1976; Hoffman et al., 1980; Daly & Mantle, 1982; Conrad & Doughty, 1982; Haider & Crabbe, 1984; Srivastava et al., 1985; Poulsom, 1986). In addition, changes in catalytic activity and in the susceptibility to inhibition by various aldose reductase inhibitors (ARI) have been reported that are dependent on the substrate assayed and on the purification state of the enzyme (Kador et al., 1983; Maragoudakis et al., 1984; Cromlish & Flynn, 1985; Poulsom, 1987). Recent studies of bovine kidney ALR2 provide a rationale for understanding the peculiar properties of this rather unique enzyme.
Electrospinning superhydrophobic–superoleophilic fibrous PVDF membranes for high-efficiency water–oil separation

Abstract Ultrathin superhydrophobic–superoleophilic fibrous poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes were prepared by means of electrospinning technique for the purpose of low-cost, high-efficiency water–oil separation. The ultrathin electrospun fibrous PVDF membranes exhibited a high water contact angle up to 153° and nearly zero oil (diesel) contact angle. The surface morphology and hydrophobicity of the membranes can be conveniently tuned by adjusting the PVDF concentration of the electrospinning solutions. The obtained ultrathin fibrous PVDF membranes showed excellent performance in separation of water-in-oil emulsions.
Nonlinear wave dynamics near phase transition in PT-symmetric localized potentials

Abstract Nonlinear wave propagation in parity-time symmetric localized potentials is investigated analytically near a phase-transition point where a pair of real eigenvalues of the potential coalesce and bifurcate into the complex plane. Necessary conditions for a phase transition to occur are derived based on a generalization of the Krein signature. Using the multi-scale perturbation analysis, a reduced nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) is derived for the amplitude of localized solutions near phase transition. Above the phase transition, this ODE predicts a family of stable solitons not bifurcating from linear (infinitesimal) modes under a certain sign of nonlinearity. In addition, it predicts periodically-oscillating nonlinear modes away from solitons. Under the opposite sign of nonlinearity, it predicts unbounded growth of solutions. Below the phase transition, solution dynamics is predicted as well. All analytical results are compared to direct computations of the full system and good agreement is observed.
Activation of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels with Brevetoxin-2 (PbTx-2) Increases Dendritic Spine Density in Murine Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Culture

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is essential for activity-dependent neurite outgrowth, dendritic arborization and spine formation. We previously demonstrated that the voltage gated sodium...
Imaging of Spontaneous Ventriculomegaly and Vascular Malformations in Wistar rats: implications for Preclinical Research

Wistar rats are widely used in biomedical research and commonly serve as a model organism in neuroscience studies. In most cases when noninvasive imaging is not used, studies assume a consistent baseline condition in rats that lack visible differences. While performing a series of traumatic brain injury studies, we discovered mild spontaneous ventriculomegaly in 70 (43.2%) of 162 Wistar rats that had been obtained from 2 different vendors. Advanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques, including MR angiography and diffusion tensor imaging, were used to evaluate the rats. Multiple neuropathologic abnormalities, including presumed arteriovenous malformations, aneurysms, cysts, white matter lesions, and astrogliosis were found in association with ventriculomegaly. Postmortem microcomputed tomography and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the presence of aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. Diffusion tensor imaging showed significant decreases in fractional anisotropy and increases in mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity in multiple white matter tracts (p < 0.05). These results could impact the interpretation, for example, of a pseudo-increase of axon integrity and a pseudo-decrease of myelin integrity, based on characteristics intrinsic to rats with ventriculomegaly. We suggest the use of baseline imaging to prevent the inadvertent introduction of a high degree of variability in preclinical studies of neurologic disease or injury in Wistar rats.
Regional differences in propagation of spreading cortical depression in the rabbit.

Summary1. Of 36 rabbits consistently exhibiting spreading depressions and slow potential changes in response to galvanic stimulation of the cortex, only one exhibited propagation of these phenomena into that part of the area cingularis which is situated on the dorsal aspect of the hemisphere. Occasional small deflections recorded from this area were interpreted as evidence of physical spread of typical slow potential changes in nearby cortex. 2. Where previously absent, typical slow potential changes and spreading depressions were produced in the cingular area by a) prolonged exposure of the cortex, b) intravenous infusion of concentrated sucrose solution, c) cooling of the cortex, d) treatment of the cortex with isotonic sucrose solution, and e) with Ringer's solution containing 10 times the normal amount of potassium. 3. Asphyxial potentials were recorded both from the cingular area and from the cortex on the convexity of the hemisphere. However, the latent period of this potential from the cingular are...
Study On Suicide Ideation And Its Influencing Factors Among Left-behind Children In A Rural Area

Objective To learn the occurrence frequency of suicide ideation among left-behind children in a rural area,and analyze its influencing factors.Methods By using the cluster sampling method,2 230 left-behind children of 3945 students among two rural middle schools in Anhui province were selected as the objects,and they were surveyed by using self-designed questionnaire,family environment scale,self-esteem scale,coping style scale and teacher-student relationship questionnaire.All of the results of the survey were analyzed using appropriate statistical analysis methods according to the character of the materials.Results The occurrence frequency of suicide ideation among left-behind children in this area was 20.0%(445/2230).The chi-square test showed many factors had obvious influences on suicide ideation of left-behind children(P0.01),such as gender,grade,educational level difference between their mothers,the relationship with their schoolmates,family income,academic performance,teacher's educational style and attitude,and so on.The results of T-test about the scores of family environment at the different dimensions showed that intimacy,emotional expression,contradictory,achievement,amusement,organization,controllability and religious view had obvious influences on suicide ideation of left-behind children(P0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that 7 factors were the risk factors leading to the occurrence of suicide ideation among left-behind children,which was girls,bad relationship between his father and mother,bad family income,bad relationship with their schoolmates,corporal punishment given by their teacher,lower self-esteem score and higher score of passive coping style,and the higher scores on active coping style and better teacher-student relationship were the protective factors.Conclusion The occurrence frequency of suicide ideation in rural left-behind children are higher,so the corresponding intervention countermeasures aiming at those risk factors should be taken to decrease the occurrence of suicide ideation in rural left-behind children.
Computational generation algorithm of partial ordered structure diagram

The attribute partial ordered structure diagram(APOSD) is proposed aiming to improve the disadvantages in formal concept analysis and concept lattice when dealing with big data, such as cumbersome conceptual computation and overlapped lines.And there exist lots of defects such as trifle, repetition and low efficiency in the manual drawing of diagram, therefore the automatical generation algorithm and software tool in computer based on partial ordered structure diagram is an urgent need. In this paper,mathematical description of APOSD is introduced firstly. Then, some basic definitions and generation method for this diagram are given and the approach for generating the diagram is explained in detail. Last, the computational generation of APOSD is briefly described, and the classical formal contexts are utilized to generate the APOSD to illustrate the workflow of this software.
Table Top Soft X-ray Laser Used for Fabrication of Periodic Nanostructures

In this paper we report the fabrication of periodic structures utilizing a soft X-ray (SXR) table top laser and Talbot printing. Patterns are first recorded in photoresist, which are then used as sacrificial mask to transfer nanofeatures into noble metals. The laser source used in these experiments is a 46.9 nm table top capillary laser which enables a high spatial resolution to this lithography tool. The smallest critical dimension achieved was 40 nm.
The fertilization antigen-1 does not have proteolytic/acrosin activity, but its monoclonal antibody inhibits sperm capacitation and acrosome reaction.

Objective To determine if human sperm surface fertilization antigen exhibits proteolytic or acrosin activity and to investigate the mechanism(s) whereby monoclonal antibody (mAb) to fertilization antigen inhibits human sperm penetration of zona-free hamster ova. Design Proteolytic and acrosin activities of human fertilization antigen were determined. Acrosomal status, acrosin activity, and motion characteristics were evaluated after incubation of human sperm with immunoaffinity-purified mAb to fertilization antigen. Setting Academic research environment. Participants Fertile donors used as controls for infertile patients for fertility evaluation. Interventions Human spermatozoa were treated with mAb to fertilization antigen and induced to undergo acrosome reaction using calcium ionophore A23187. Main Outcome Measures Proteolytic and acrosin activities of fertilization antigen. Sperm penetration assay, acrosomal status, and motion parameters. Results Fertilization antigen does not exhibit proteolytic or acrosin activity; however, its mAb completely blocks human sperm penetration of zona-free hamster ova. The mAb to fertilization antigen inhibits ionophore-induced acrosome reaction and blocks development of the hyperactivated state of human sperm cells. Conclusions Monoclonal antibody to fertilization antigen blocks fertilization by inhibiting capacitation and acrosome reaction.
Analysis of 48 Children with Myelodysplasia

Abstract We followed 48 patients with myelodysplasia for up to 4 years on a program of intermittent catheterization. This technique remains a viable if not perfect alternative to supravesical urinary diversion as a means for protecting the upper urinary tract and obtaining social acceptability.
Comparison of the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous adipose tissue from mature Brahman and Hereford cows.

The fatty acid composition of adipose tissue was measured in 37 mature Brahman and 32 mature Hereford cows to determine breed effect. Diet was held constant among all cows. When biopsied, cows were on oats and native cool-season annual pastures of good quality. Real-time ultrasound measurements of subcutaneous fat were taken at three locations (between the 12th and 13th rib, at the rump, and at the perianal region) to determine overall fatness. Overall fat thickness from these measurements was 1.3 cm for Brahman cows and 1.7 cm for Hereford cows (P < .01). Subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsy samples were collected from the perianal region, and fatty acid composition was determined using a gas chromatograph. Fatty acids were expressed in both normalized (area percentage) and gravimetric (grams/100 grams of fresh tissue) formats. In addition to greater overall subcutaneous fat thickness, Hereford cows contained 5 g more of fatty acids per 100 g of fresh adipose tissue than Brahman cows (P < .05). Subcutaneous adipose tissue from Hereford cows was higher (P < .01) in total saturated fatty acids and lower in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids than subcutaneous adipose tissue from Brahman cows. Compositional differences remained when breeds were compared by analysis of covariance at a common body fatness. The data suggest a genetic basis for the differences in fatty acid composition of Brahman and Hereford cows.
Incarcerated Incisional and Ventral Hernias

The emergency laparoscopic treatment of incarcerated incisional and ventral hernias seems to be one of the most interesting and debated topics. According to the previous recommendations (EAES 2005, Italian Consensus Conference of laparoscopy in acute abdomen 2012, SICE 2013), laparoscopic treatment of incarcerated or strangulated ventral/incisional hernia can be successfully accomplished in selected patients. The objective of this study is to evaluate recent and relevant news about laparoscopic approach to incarcerated ventral and incisional hernia repair with respect to previous Consensus Development Conference on “Laparoscopic approach to acute abdomen” of 2012.
2012 Report of the Chief Executive Officer

I am so happy to be standing here before you today as ASHP’s new chief executive officer (CEO). While I have been extremely busy, it has also been enjoyable and energizing, and I wish to convey my thanks to all of you for putting your trust in me. First, however, I would like to introduce several
Engaging patients as partners in research: Factors associated with awareness, interest, and engagement as research partners:

Objectives:There is growing interest in engaging patients in healthcare research, which raises important questions about the factors that may promote such engagement. The purpose of this study was ...
Hybrid Consensus-Based Formation Control of Fixed-Wing MUAVs

Hybrid consensus-based formation control is designed in this paper for a team of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs. The UAVs moving at fixed altitudes are controlled through a novel hybrid controller to drive them to a goal location while maintaining a predefined formation. The hybrid automaton has two discrete modes, each with continuous dynamics: a regulation mode and a formation keeping mode. The controller in the regulation mode uses local UAV state information to achieve its desired location, while the formation controller utilizes the neighbor UAVs’ state and controller information. The theoretical conjecture is verified by simulation results.
10′-deoxy-10′α-hydroxyascochlorin, a new cell migration inhibitor and other metabolites from Acremonium sp., a fungal endophyte in Ephedra trifurca

A new ascochlorin, 10′-deoxy-10′α-hydroxyascochlorin (1), together with ascofuranone (2), ascochlorin (3), and 4′,5′-dihydro-4′β-hydroxyascochlorin (4) were isolated from Acremonium sp. LG0808, an ...
Pulmonary function tests do not predict mortality in patients undergoing continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation.

Abstract Objectives To investigate the effect of pulmonary function testing on outcomes after continuous flow left ventricular assist device implantation. Methods A total of 263 and 239 patients, respectively, had tests of forced expiratory volume in 1 second and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide preoperatively for left ventricular assist device implantations between July 2005 and September 2015. Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regressions were performed to evaluate mortality. Patients were analyzed in a single cohort and across 5 groups. Postoperative intensive care unit and hospital lengths of stay were evaluated with negative binomial regressions. Results There is no association of forced expiratory volume in 1 second and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide with survival and no difference in mortality at 1 and 3 years between the groups (log rank P = .841 and .713, respectively). Greater values in either parameter were associated with decreased hospital lengths of stay. Only diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide was associated with increased intensive care unit length of stay in the group analysis ( P = .001). Ventilator times, postoperative pneumonia, reintubation, and tracheostomy rates were similar across the groups. Conclusions Forced expiratory volume in 1 second and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide are not associated with operative or long-term mortality in patients undergoing continuous flow left ventricular assist device implantation. These findings suggest that these abnormal pulmonary function tests alone should not preclude mechanical circulatory support candidacy.
Nuclear export of misfolded SOD1 mediated by a normally buried NES-like sequence reduces proteotoxicity in the nucleus.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that leads to muscle weakness and paralysis. The symptoms become progressively worse over time to the point that patients die because they become unable to breathe. Over 170 different genetic mistakes (or mutations) in a gene that encodes a protein called SOD1 are known to cause ALS. These mutations cause the SOD1 protein to form different shapes that are toxic to nerve cells, leading to the gradual loss of the nerve cells that control movement. SOD1 is normally found in a compartment within nerve cells called the nucleus, which is where most of the cell’s genetic information is stored and managed. A nematode worm called Caenorhabditis elegans has often been used as a model to study the role of SOD1 in ALS because its nervous system shares many features in common with ours but is much smaller. Some evidence suggests that cells may be able to defend themselves against the harmful effects of abnormal SOD1 proteins. However, it is not clear how these defences might work. Zhong et al. examined variants of SOD1 proteins from human cells grown in a laboratory. The experiments show that some mutant SOD1 proteins fold in such a way that a small section of the protein that is normally buried within the protein’s structure is exposed on the surface. Mutant SOD1 proteins that expose this “peptide” are removed from the nucleus and are linked with faster progression of ALS in patients. Further experiments show that another protein called CRM1 can recognise this exposed peptide, leading to the removal of the mutant SOD1 proteins from the nucleus. Zhong et al. found that if mutant SOD1 is not removed from the nucleus of nerve cells, the nematode worms developed ALS symptoms even faster. These findings suggest that cells may be able to remove some mutant SOD1 proteins from the nucleus to defend themselves against the proteins’ toxic effects. Future work will reveal whether other cells use this approach to protect themselves against other diseases. The peptide discovered in this work may also have the potential to be used as a marker to predict how individual cases of ALS will progress, or as a target for treatments against the disease.
Formation of the bulge of Iapetus through long-wavelength folding of the lithosphere

Abstract Previous models that attempted to explain the formation of the pronounced oblate shape of Iapetus suggested that it was a preserved rotational bulge. These models found that heating was provided by short-lived radioactive isotopes that decayed rapidly and allowed the excess flattening of the lithosphere to be locked in by a thickening lithosphere, but placed severe timing constraints on the formation of Iapetus and its bulge. Here, we show that finite element simulations with an elastic-viscous-plastic rheology indicate it is possible to form the bulge through long-wavelength folding of the lithosphere of Iapetus during an epoch of contraction combined with a latitudinal surface temperature gradient. In contrast to models of a frozen rotational bulge, heat generated by long-lived radioactive isotopes warms the interior, which causes porosity loss and forces Iapetus to compact by ∼10%. Our simulations are most successful when there is a 30 K temperature difference between the pole and the equator. Tectonic growth of the bulge is not sensitive to the time scale over which the moon contracts, and lithospheric thickness primarily controls whether a fold can form, not fold wavelength. In addition, long term simulations show that when no stress is applied, the mechanical lithosphere is strong enough to support the bulge, with negligible relaxation over billion year time scales.
The influence of motives on alcohol- and sex-related behaviors among female college students.

Abstract Purpose Although previous studies have elucidated associations between motivations for drinking and sex as they relate to risky health outcomes among female college students, the utility of cross-domain motives (i.e., alcohol motives predicting sex-related outcomes and vice versa) in the prediction of specific alcohol- and sex-related behaviors has yet to be examined. The current study examined relations between drinking and sex motives with multiple risky alcohol- and sex-related outcomes (i.e., alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, alcohol consumption prior to sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners [vaginal, oral, anal], and emergency contraception use). Procedures Multiple structural equation models were used to examine univariate and multivariate associations among drinking and sex motives and specific outcomes in a sample of female undergraduates with lifetime histories of alcohol use and sexual activity (N = 436; 77% White, 21% Hispanic). Results Findings indicated differential associations between motives and specific outcomes across univariate versus multivariate analyses. Multivariate models indicated greater endorsement of enhancement and less endorsement of intimacy sex motives were significantly associated with heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems, whereas alcohol motives were less reliably linked to sex-related outcomes. When considered simultaneously, sex motives accounted for more variance in some alcohol outcomes relative to certain drinking motives. Conclusions Cross-domain motives may be useful in predicting risky outcomes among female college students. Research implications include the importance of examining motive-behavior relations in univariate and multivariate contexts. Clinical implications include cross-domain motive assessment and use of emotion regulation strategies to reduce emotionally-motivated maladaptive alcohol- and sex-related behaviors.
The Stereotypical Classroom: Moving Towards Multiculturalism in Ontario and Victoria, 1945–1980

This chapter takes a close look at the nature of discrimination in educational materials. Despite paying lip service to the concept of equality in education, mid-twentieth century educators in both Ontario and Victoria typically asserted that the ideal citizen was white, culturally European (specifically British), and Protestant. Anyone outside these categories was consistently stereotyped, vilified, or relegated to the margins of historical accounts. The official strategy for dealing with non-ideal children was assimilation into the dominant cultural norm.
Additive manufacturing of ammonium perchlorate composite propellant with high solids loadings

Abstract The effective solid propellant burning rate in a rocket depends on surface area and propellant composition. Currently, the surface area geometry in a rocket is limited to what can be practically cast using molds, etc. Additive manufacturing (AM) could allow the production of unique propellant grain geometries, however printing propellants with high solids loadings and viscosities is not readily possible using currently available printers. A new AM direct write system developed recently in our laboratory, is capable of printing visibly low-void propellants with high end mix viscosities into highly resolved geometries. The system was used to print ammonium perchlorate (AP) composite propellants at 85% solids loading using hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and a UV-curable polyurethane binder. The change in HTPB propellant viscosity with time after mixing was measured and the microstructure of the strands was evaluated with X-ray tomography scans. The burning rate of printed and cast strands was measured to compare the quality of the strands at high pressure, since propellants with significant voids should catastrophically fail due to flame spreading. The printed samples burned in a planar fashion up to pressures of 10.34 MPa with consistent rates that were comparable to the cast propellants. The HTPB propellant used was not optimized and showed some porosity due to gas generation, but strands printed with the UV binder exhibited extremely low porosity. A strand printed with no gaps in one half and gaps in the other failed catastrophically where intended at high pressure, demonstrating the ability to spatially grade propellants. This new system can produce adequate strands of composite propellant with high solids loadings without the addition of solvents, special binders (low viscosity, thermal softening, etc.), or restricting use to formulations with lower viscosities, and enables the fabrication of complex propellant grain geometries.
A Comparison of Tutoring Strategies for Recovering from a Failed Attempt During Faded Support

The support the tutor provides for a student is expected to fade over time as the student makes progress towards mastery of the learning objectives. One way in which the tutor can fade support is to prompt or elicit a next step that requires the student to fill in some intermediate actions or reasoning on her own. But what should the tutor do if the student is unable to complete such a step? In human-human tutoring interactions, a tutor may remediate by explicitly covering the missing intermediate steps with the student and in some contexts this behavior correlates with learning. But if there are multiple intermediate steps that need to be made explicit, the tutor could focus the student’s attention on the last successful step and then move forward through the intermediate steps (forward reasoning) or the tutor could focus the student’s attention on the intermediate step just before the failed step and move backward through the intermediate steps (backward reasoning). In this paper we explore when the forward strategy or backward strategy may be beneficial for remediation. We also compare the two faded support+remediation strategies to a control in which support is never faded and found that faded support was not detrimental to student learning outcomes when the two remediation strategies were available and it took significantly less time on task to achieve similar learning gains when starting the tutor-student interaction with faded support.
The FutureGrid Testbed for Big Data

In this chapter introduce you to FutureGrid, which provides a testbed to conduct research for Cloud, Grid, and High Performance Computing. Although FutureGrid has only a modest number of compute cores (about 4,500 regular cores and 14,000 GPU cores) it provides an ideal playground to test out various frameworks that may be useful for users to consider as part of their big data analysis pipelines. We focus here on the use of FutureGrid for big data related testbed research. The chapter is structured as follows. First we provide the reader with an introduction to FutureGrid hardware (Sect. 2). Next we focus on a selected number of services and tools that have been proven to be useful to conduct big data research on FutureGrid (Sect. 3). We contrast frameworks such as MPI, virtual large memory systems, Infrastructure as a Service and map/reduce frameworks. Next we present reasoning by analyzing requests to use certain technologies and identify trends within the user community to direct effort in FutureGrid (Sect. 4). The next section reports on our experience with the integration of our software and systems teams via DevOps (Sect. 5). Next we summarize Cloudmesh, which is a logical continuation of the FutureGrid architecture. It provides abilities to federate cloud services and to conduct cloudshifting; that is to assign servers on-demand to HPC and Cloud services (Sect. 6). We conclude the chapter with a brief summary (Sect. 6).
The Effects of Sulfasalazine on Human Male Fertility Potential and Seminal Prostaglandins

AbstractFertility parameters of 10 men with chronic inflammatory bowel disease under treatment with sulfasalazine for at least 5 years were compared to those of 19 control subjects. Seminal parameters examined included ejaculate volume, sperm number and concentration, sperm motility index, sperm viability, pH, zinc concentration, prostaglandins E and F2-alpha, prolactin and 7 classes of sperm morphology. In addition, plasma concentrations of follicle - stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone and prolactin were noted. The data indicate that sulfasalazine therapy reduces semen quality and that this effect can be reversed upon removal from therapy. This reversal is independent of seminal prostaglandin concentrations.
Preterm Delivery and Maternal Cardiovascular Disease in Young and Middle-Aged Adult Women.

Background:Preterm delivery has been shown to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but it is unknown whether this risk remains after adjustment for prepregnancy lifest...
Trading Off Power Consumption and Prediction Performance in Wearable Motion Sensors: An Optimal and Real-Time Approach

Power consumption is identified as one of the main complications in designing practical wearable systems, mainly due to their stringent resource limitations. When designing wearable technologies, several system-level design choices, which directly contribute to the energy consumption of these systems, must be considered. In this article, we propose a computationally lightweight system optimization framework that trades off power consumption and performance in connected wearable motion sensors. While existing approaches exclusively focus on one or a few hand-picked design variables, our framework holistically finds the optimal power-performance solution with respect to the specified application need. Our design tackles a multi-variant non-convex optimization problem that is theoretically hard to solve. To decrease the complexity, we propose a smoothing function that reduces this optimization to a convex problem. The reduced optimization is then solved in linear time using a devised derivative-free optimization approach, namely cyclic coordinate search. We evaluate our framework against several holistic optimization baselines using a real-world wearable activity recognition dataset. We minimize the energy consumption for various activity-recognition performance thresholds ranging from 40% to 80% and demonstrate up to 64% energy savings.
Marketing Notes and Communications: The Effect of Unit-pricing on Choices of Brand and Size in Economic Shopping:

Unit-pricing, as a retail price-reporting policy, is intended to aid the economy-minded shopper. This article presents a field experiment which investigated the potential value of a unit-pricing sy...
Charged Polariton Luminescence from an Organic Semiconductor Microcavity

Strong coupling light to polaron optical transitions in an organic semiconductor microcavity leads to an unusual class of polariton that possesses a net charge. This species may offer a range of technologically useful optoelectronic properties but has thus far only been observed in passive reflectivity measurements. Here, we report room-temperature photoluminescence from both upper and lower branch polaron polariton states that originate from hole excitations in a p-doped 4,4′-cyclohexylidenebis[N,N-bis(4-methylphenyl)benzenamine] (TAPC) microcavity. Our observations under nonresonant excitation are in good agreement with classical dipole emission modeling, which suggests that polariton states in this system are populated radiatively via fluorescence from the polaron excited state reservoir. These results constitute one of the first observations of polaron luminescence from an organic semiconductor thin film and are an important prerequisite for realizing a charged polariton condensate.
Threshold Concepts in Literary Studies

This essay proposes a series of “threshold concepts” for literary studies: text, meaning, context, form, and reading. Each term carries both commonsense understandings and disciplinary understandings, which differ from each other drastically. The disciplinary understandings entail far “more” than the commonsense ones. Unless such differences are named and explained clearly, unacknowledged commonsense understandings may hinder students ability to learn equally unacknowledged disciplinary understandings. The naming and describing of such contrasting sets of understandings and of the differences between them is an act of disciplinary introspection—a scholarly and pedagogical act vital for understanding and teaching any complex body of knowledge. In addition to proposing threshold concepts for literary studies specifically, then, this essay encourages and offers a model for teacher-scholars in any discipline to undertake the same disciplinary work.
Fungal Infections of the Stem Cell Transplant Recipient and Hematologic Malignancy Patients

Despite advances in chemotherapy and supportive care, morbidity and mortality remain high for patients with hematologic malignancies (HMs). Those who require hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) often require significant immunosuppression and are subject to a variety of complications. These patients carry multiple risk factors for infectious complications, including the development of invasive fungal infections, compared with the general population. Because antifungal prophylaxis has been widely adopted, there has been a shift away from invasive candidiasis toward invasive mold infections, including breakthrough infections. For patients with HM and HSCT, we outline the epidemiology, manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of invasive fungal infections.
First-Principles Kinetic and Spectroscopic Insights into Single-Atom Catalysis

Single-atom catalysts have received extensive attention for reducing noble metal utilization and potential elimination of side reactions. Yet, their active sites remain highly debated, and fundamen...
Healthcare Provider Perceptions of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Quality During Simulation Training.

Objectives:To assess the relationship between quantitative and perceived cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance when healthcare providers have access to and familiarity with audiovisual feedback devices.Design:Prospective observational study.Setting:In situ simulation events throughout a pediatri
Religiously Engaged Ethnography: Reflections of a Christian Anthropologist Studying Hindus in India and Nepal

Anthropology has rejected religiously based thought in its analysis from its inception. Now, due to developments in the anthropology of Christianity, ‘theologically engaged anthropology’ is invitin...
Repurposing lattice QCD results for composite phenomenology

A number of proposed extensions of the standard model include new strongly interacting dynamics, in the form of SU(N) gauge fields coupled to various numbers of fermions. Often, these extensions allow N=3 as a plausible choice, or even require N=3, such as in twin Higgs models, where the new dynamics is a “copy” of QCD. However, the fermion masses in such a sector are typically different from (often heavier than) the ones of real-world QCD, relative to the confinement scale. Many of the strong interaction masses and matrix elements for SU(3) at heavy fermion masses have already been computed on the lattice, typically as a by-product of the approach to the physical point of real QCD. We provide a summary of these relevant results for the phenomenological community.
Dose Modification Factor Analysis of Multi-Lumen Brachytherapy Applicator with Monte Carlo Simulation

The Contura brachytherapy applicator is a silicone balloon with five lumens in which a high-dose-rate brachytherapy source can traverse. Multilumen applicators, like the Contura, are used in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) brachytherapy in instances where asymmetric dose distributions are desired; for example, when the applicator surface-to-skin thickness is small (< 7 mm). In these instances, the air outside the patient and the lung act as a poor scattering medium, scattering less dose back into the breast and affecting the dose distribution. The recent report by Task Group 186 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has outlined the importance of moving towards brachytherapy dose calculations using heterogeneity corrections. However, at this time, many commercial treatment planning systems do not correct for tissue heterogeneity, which can result in inaccuracies in the planned dose distribution. To quantify the deviation in the skin dose we utilize the dose modification factor (DMF), defined as the ratio of the dose rate at 1 cm beyond the applicator surface with homogenous medium, to the dose rate at 1 cm with heterogeneous medium. This investigation models the Contura applicator with the Monte Carlo N-Particle code version 5, and determines a DMF through simulation. Taking all geometrical considerations into account, an accurate model of the Contura balloon applicator was created in MCNP and used to run simulations. The dose modification factor was found to be only slightly dependent on whether the dose distribution was symmetric or asymmetric. These results indicate that the dose delivered to part of the PTV may be lower than the planned dose by up to 12%, and that these brachytherapy plans should be viewed with caution. In addition to studying the effects of backscatter, an evaluation was made regarding the capabilities of the Contura device to shape an asymmetric dose distribution. We compared these results to a previous study of a MammoSite ML and a SAVI device and found that the dose shaping capabilities of the Contura were quite similar to that of the MammoSite ML, but markedly inferior to the SAVI.