cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Role of Weather and Entomophagous Species in the Natural Control of Insect Populations

Weather sets the basic framework within which certain average but fluctuation insect population densities may be obtained in the absence of other possible regulatory factors. These average population densities may be very high or very low. Weather regulates insect population only by being of sufficient severity to restrict the size, quality (including food and favorability), and/or numbers of inhabitable spots in a given area—that is, its effect is obtained through interaction with micro environments. If overlying weather severity in a given spot or area is not relatively great, then, theoretically, populations will be able to increase indefinitely over a period of time unless limited by other factors. Illustrations of population regulation by weather and methods of proof of such regulation are discussed. The other principal factors capable of regulating insect population densities are (1) natural enemies (parasites, predators, and pathogens), (2) food (quantity and quality), (3) inter specific competition (other than natural enemies), and (4) intra specific competition. The last three factors usually do not control populations at low (uneconomic) levels and hence are not generally important factors in applied insect ecology. Natural enemies may regulate insect populations at low levels even if all other factors are exceptionally conducive to increase. Several experimental methods for proving the extent of regulation of incest populations by entomophagous species are given. Thirteen examples of adequate proof of control of low density population regulation of the California red scale by its natural enemies is given. It si shown that “upsets” of natural enemy effectiveness by adverse factors can result in various differing average population densities of the California red scale ( Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.), even on adjacent citrus trees.
A cautionary tale: dealing with missing data in clinical trials for rheumatic diseases.

Objectives Missing data are found in nearly all clinical trials and it is important to use appropriate statistical techniques to analyse clinical trials with missing data. We discuss common statistical methods for tackling missing data and how to handle results when the analyses give different results. Methods Using data from a placebo-controlled, randomised bovine Type I collagen (CI) study in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc), we apply different statistical approaches to handling missing data. We also describe simple ways to ascertain the type of missing data in the data set, to the extent possible. Results We examine eleven different methods to impute missing data. An analysis based on completers alone (complete case analysis and available case analysis) and the last observation carried forward (LOCF) methods require underlying assumptions which are rarely met in practice. Multiple imputation, mixed effects, and repeated measures try to account for the differences among patients and account for patient's specific response patterns, although the assumption that the missing data is directly related to the observed characteristics may well not be true. The joint likelihood based model combines the mixed effect model and logistic regression model to explicitly handle data not missing at random and so it is more realistic and potentially takes an additional step toward decreasing bias. Conclusions We discussed various ways of handling missing data and provide recommendations on how to arrive at a conclusion when different statistical approaches to analyse missing data analysis in clinical trials give conflicting answers.
Distinguishing gas-bearing sandstone reservoirs within mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sequences using extended elastic impedance: Nile Delta — Egypt

AbstractIn the Abu Madi Formation of the Nile Delta Basin, false bright spots may be misinterpreted as being indicative of hydrocarbons due to mixed clastics and carbonates. However, rock-physics analysis of well logs in a particular prospect area where such ambiguity exists suggests that attributes derived using extended elastic impedance (EEI) inversion may help identify hydrocarbons because they better show anomalous behavior in particular directions that are readily related to pore fluids and lithology. The EEI attributes calculated from well logs correlate extremely well to lithology and fluid properties, thereby differentiating amplitude anomalies caused by gas-bearing sandstones encased in shale from similar amplitudes caused by juxtaposition of high-impedance carbonates over lower impedance water-filled sandstones. Comparing seismically derived EEI attributes to well logs from a productive well and a nonproductive well indicates that seismic inversion can successfully identify lithologies such as ...
Communicology and Narcissism: Disciplines of the Heart

The human science of Communicology is a postmodern discipline by which we may better understand narcissism. In this study, semiotic phenomenology is employed as a paradigm exemplar of Communicology. Richard L. Lanigan's description of language as an analogue code is used as a vehicle to discuss the discourse of narcissism from three interrelated perspectives: first as sociology, second as a psychology, and third as Communicology. These are, respectively: normative, psychoanalytic, and phenomenological discourses, each a distinct disciplining of narcissism. A semiotic phenomenology of the discourse on narcissism reveals the value of reinterpreting the myth of Narcissus, broadening the analysis to include a psychological perspective but without being limited to it. An interdisciplinary perspective focused on discourse conceives narcissism within the larger cultural, social, and personal matrix. On this wider horizon, consciousness is understood to be semiotic and experience phenomenological. That is to say, semiosis (the action of signs in discourse) is argued to be thematic of consciousness while the possibility of communication is continuously problematic for experience. As an analogue code, language is shown to be a synergy of three modes of being: logos, pathos, and ethos. These, in turn, are realized in language use, that is, only in discourse. Ethosis simultaneous with communicative praxis, and narcissism is exemplary of this. Heuristic and therapeutic implications of this interpretation of narcissism are suggested.
A solvent-based extraction fails to remove mobile nitrogen from western redcedar (Thuja plicata)

The ability to accurately measure interannual variability of the stable isotope of nitrogen, 15N, in tree rings could greatly improve understanding of marine-derived nitrogen delivery to terrestrial ecosystems, soil nitrogen dynamics, and the influences of climate on nitrogen cycles. It could also provide a tool for reconstructing past salmon abundances. However, the mobility of nitrogen throughout the entire tree including between rings has confounded attempts to make full use of 15N in dendrochemistry. We report that despite solvent-based extraction pretreatment to remove nonstructural, mobile nitrogen from increment core samples, an elevated 15N signal is detected in rings formed up to about ten years prior to application of a 15N-enriched tracer in four western redcedar trees. We conclude that the interpretation of the heavy nitrogen signal in tree rings via this pretreatment extraction method is confounded. These findings corroborate work already done in the field.
Effect of employment status on length of hospital stay, 30-day readmission and patient reported outcomes after spine surgery.

Background: Growing scrutiny has placed hospitals at the center of readmission prevention. The relationship between pre-operative employment status, length of hospital stays (LOS) and 30-day readmission rates after elective spine surgery remains unclear. Methods: The medical records of 360 patients (employed: n=174, unemployed: n=70, retired: n=40, disabled: n=76) undergoing elective spine surgery at a major academic medical center were reviewed. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and post-operative complication rates were recorded. All patients had comprehensive 1-year patient reported outcomes (PROs) measures. We hypothesized that employment status is associated with decreased LOS and decreased risk of 30-day readmission after elective spine surgery. All-cause readmissions within 30 days of discharge was the primary outcome variable. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar in all cohorts. There was no difference in operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), or number of fusion levels between all patient cohorts. There were no significant differences in peri-operative complication rates between patient cohorts. On average, the LOS was shorter for the employed compared to non-employed patients (4.89 vs . 5.26 days). The rate of 30-day readmission was 2-fold greater unemployed compared to employed patients (5.17% vs . 10%). At 1-year after surgery, employed patients were more likely to express functional improvement (change in ODI score) compared to unemployed patients (ODI: employed: 33.80 vs . unemployed: 41.93). Conclusions: Our study suggests that employment status may be associated with shorter duration of hospital stay, lower 30-day readmission rates and greater functional improvement. Future interventions to reduce unplanned hospital readmissions should consider pre-operative employment status.
Propofol and seizures.

It is now clear that "seizure activity", excitatory phenomena, and/or a disorder of muscle tone are potential complications of the use of propofol. Whether this "seizure activity" is primarily, secondarily, or not at all a cerebral cortical event is still to be elucidated. Clearly propofol does have anticonvulsant activity, and also clearly it can produce an involuntary movement disorder, in certain patients, under certain conditions. Propofol is not the first anaesthetic drug to be implicated in the causation of seizures or abnormal movements nor indeed the first to appear to have anti-convulsant and proconvulsant activity (e.g. Althesin). While propofol has undoubtedly proved a very useful drug, the problem of convulsive phenomena creates a degree of background concern about its use. More needs to be known about the mechanism of this complication and any risk factors involved in determining who may have a seizure after propofol. In the clinical setting, the reporting of seizures possibly related to propofol should include--medical history, including personal or family history of epilepsy and movement disorders; a history of previous anaesthetics and whether propofol was used; regular medications; use of drugs or alcohol; history of chemical dependency; emotional state prior to induction; presence of hyperventilation or fever; a description of the alleged seizure, including rate of administration of propofol and amount given, time of onset of seizure in relation to time of drug administration, speed of onset of signs, quality of the abnormal movements, part of body involved, duration, any indication of a postictal state, any cardiovascular changes which may have accompanied the seizure, and any other possible triggers for the reaction such as other drugs used, including premedication; post seizure investigations including temperature, blood sugar, electrolytes, arterial gas analysis, neurological examination, EEG and CT scan. These actions and these investigations concerning propofol should not be delayed. It would appear appropriate to recommend to patients who experience apparent convulsive phenomena after propofol that they not be re-exposed to the drug.
Automated Resource Analysis with Coq Proof Objects

This paper addresses the problem of automatically performing resource-bound analysis, which can help programmers understand the performance characteristics of their programs. We introduce a method for resource-bound inference that (i) is compositional, (ii) produces machine-checkable certificates of the resource bounds obtained, and (iii) features a sound mechanism for user interaction if the inference fails. The technique handles recursive procedures and has the ability to exploit any known program invariants. An experimental evaluation with an implementation in the tool Pastis shows that the new analysis is competitive with state-of-the-art resource-bound tools while also creating Coq certificates.
Accountability for the human right to health through treaty monitoring: Human rights treaty bodies and the influence of concluding observations

Employing novel coding methods to evaluate human rights monitoring, this article examines the influence of United Nations (UN) treaty bodies on national implementation of the human right to health. The advancement of the right to health in the UN human rights system has shifted over the past 20 years from the development of norms under international law to the implementation of those norms through national policy. Facilitating accountability for this rights-based policy implementation under the right to health, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) monitors state implementation by reviewing periodic reports from state parties, engaging in formal sessions of 'constructive dialogue' with state representatives, and issuing concluding observations for state response. These concluding observations recognise the positive steps taken by states and highlight the principal areas of CESCR concern, providing recommendations for implementing human rights and detailing issues to be addressed in the next state report. Through analytic coding of the normative indicators of the right to health in both state reports and concluding observations, this article provides an empirical basis to understand the policy effects of the CESCR monitoring process on state implementation of the right to health.
Neuroendocrine Mechanism of Puberty

Publisher Summary Physical and hormonal changes associated with puberty are well-defined signs of sexual maturation, and indicative of hypothalamo–pituitaryegonadal development versus mature adrenal function. Puberty is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood. During puberty, major hormonal, physical and behavioral changes take place to attain full reproductive capability. Prepubertal ovaries also actively release steroids, but do not appear to exhibit the same levels or periodicity of increased steroid secretion when compared to the testis. Many genes in the brain are turned on or turned off to establish a complex series of physiological events leading to puberty. Growth hormone (GH) is secreted episodically throughout life, and plays a major role in somatic growth. GH release is stimulated by GH-releasing hormone and inhibited by somatostatin. Circulating GH levels, especially the amplitude of GH secretory episodes, increase during puberty in both males and females. The steroid responsible for the stimulation of GH secretion in both sexes is estradiol, as androgens have been shown to stimulate GH secretion after conversion to estrogen via peripheral aromatization.
Do River Drainage Boundaries Coincide with Phylogeographic Breaks in the Redband Darter

The Redband Darter, Etheostoma luteovinctum, is a benthic headwater fish species found in the Caney Fork and Stones rivers (Cumberland River) and the Duck and Elk rivers (Tennessee River) of central Tennessee. Phylogenetic analyses of 2601 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were used to assess the relationships among populations and identified two genetically distinct lineages of Redband Darter. One lineage is comprised of populations in the Duck R., Elk R., Middle Fork Stones R., West Fork Stones R., and Hickory Creek of the Caney Fork River, while the other lineage is confined to the remainder of the known localities in the Cumberland R. drainage. As clades were not restricted to drainage or system boundaries, patterns suggest system and drainage transfers. Additionally, morphological variation was examined among populations using standard meristic data and nuptial male color and pigmentation characteristics. Although some morphological traits varied between the two clades, members were not clearly diagnosable using morphology. Taxonomic recognition is not proposed for the two identified clades; however, each clade should be recognized as an evolutionarily significant unit and regarded as such in future conservation efforts. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the utility of AFLPs to assess genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships for species-level taxonomic or phylogeographic studies.
Multiobjective optimization for color display primary designs

The choice of primaries for a color display involves tradeoffs among different desirable attributes, such as a large color gamut, high spectral reproduction accuracy, minimal observer metamerism, and low power consumption. Optimization of individual attributes often drives primary choices in different directions. For example, expansion of color gamut favors narrow spectral bandwidth saturated primaries, and minimization of observer metamerism typically favors broadband primaries. We propose a multiobjective optimization framework to characterize the tradeoffs among the different attributes for three-primary and multiprimary displays. Instead of a single design, the framework determines the complete range of available primary choices that optimally negotiate the tradeoffs among the metrics for the different attributes. Using results obtained in our proposed framework, we explore the impact of the number of primaries, the relation between alternative design objectives, and the underlying primary spectral characteristics. For primary design and primary selection, the proposed strategy is more informative and comprehensive than alternative single objective optimization approaches. Furthermore, within the proposed framework, we also consider alternative strategies for selection of control values for multiprimary displays and demonstrate that we can better leverage the advantages of multiprimary displays by selecting the control strategy to align with desired objectives. Specifically, observer metamerism is significantly reduced if control values are selected to explicitly optimize multiobserver tristimulus accuracy.
Programmable Topology in New Families of Heterobimetallic Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Using diverse building blocks, such as different heterometallic clusters, in metal–organic framework (MOF) syntheses greatly increases MOF complexity and leads to emergent synergistic properties. However, applying reticular chemistry to syntheses involving more than two molecular building blocks is challenging and there is limited progress in this area. We are therefore motivated to develop a strategy for achieving systematic and differential control over the coordination of multiple metals in MOFs. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a diverse series of heterobimetallic MOFs with different metal ions and clusters severally distributed throughout two or three inorganic secondary building units (SBUs). By taking advantage of the bifunctional isonicotinate linker and its derivatives, which can coordinatively distinguish between early and late transition metals, we control the assembly and topology of up to three different inorganic SBUs in one-pot solvothermal reactions. Specifically, M6(μ3-O)n(μ3...
Indices, Instruments, Questionnaires

It can be difficult to precisely measure aspects of rheumatic diseases such as impairment in activities of daily living (ADL) or disease activity in a condition involving a number of organ systems, e.g. SLE.
On Cost Allocation in Steiner Tree Networks

New technologies prompted an explosion in the development of communication networks. Modern network design techniques often leads to a construction of the most profitable or the least cost network that provides some service to customers. The class of Steiner trees often arises in those considerations. There are various costs and gains associated with building and using Steiner tree networks. Moreover, the involved multiple network users and/or owners possibly have conflicting objectives. However, they might cooperate in order to decrease their joint cost or increase their joint profit. Clearly, these individuals or organizations will support a globally ‘attractive’ solution(s) only if their expectations for a ‘fair share’ of the cost or profit are met. Consequently, providing network developers, users and owners with efficiently computable ‘fair’ cost (profit) allocation solution procedures is of great importance for strategic management. This work is an overview of some results (some previously published as well as some new) in the development of cooperative game theory based mechanisms to efficiently compute ‘attractive’ cost allocation solutions for a class of Steiner tree networks.
Trusted to Learn: a Qualitative Study of Clerkship Students' Perspectives on Trust in the Clinical Learning Environment.

Trust informs supervision decisions in medical training. Factors that influence trust differ depending on learners’ and supervisors’ level. Research has focused on resident trainees; questions exist about how medical students experience entrustment. This study examines how clerkship students perceive supervisors’ trust in them and its impact on their learning. Qualitative study using individual semi-structured interviews. Clerkship medical students at the University of California, San Francisco. We invited 30 core clerkship students to participate in interviews (October 2017 to February 2018) eliciting examples of appropriate, over-, and under-trust. We coded and analyzed transcripts using thematic analysis. Sixteen (53%) students participated. Three major themes arose: trust as scaffolding for learning, effects of trust on the learning environment, and consequences of trust for patients. Appropriate trust usually involved coaching and close guidance, often with more junior supervisors (interns or residents). These situations fostered students’ motivation to learn, sense of value on the team, and perceived benefits to patients. Over-trust was characterized by task assignment without clear instruction, supervision, or feedback. Over-trust prompted student anxiety and stress, and concerns for potential patient harm. Under-trust was characterized by lack of clarity about the student role, leading to frustration and discontent, with unclear impact on patients. Students attributed inappropriate trust to contextual and supervisor factors and did not feel empowered to intervene due to concerns about performance evaluations and hierarchy. As early learners in the clinical workplace, students frame trust as entailing high levels of support. It is important for medical educators to consider ways to train resident and faculty supervisors to enact trust and supervision for students differently than for residents. Structures that encourage students and supervisors to discuss trust and supervision in a transparent way can enhance learning.
Weight management perceptions and clinical practices among gynaecology providers caring for reproductive-aged patients

Objective Research suggests that patient and provider conversations about healthy eating and physical activity behaviours may lead to patients' increased health behaviours, access to dietary and physical activity resources, and weight management. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has a number of weight management intervention options, but it is unclear if providers have conversations about intervention options with their patients who are of reproductive age. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the degree to which gynaecology healthcare providers offer the weight management intervention options as recommended by ACOG. Methods Cross-sectional study of gynaecology providers in Southwest Virginia utilizing an electronic survey to identify weight management perceptions and current clinical practices. Responses were measured using quantitative methods, and agreeability and frequency responses were measured using a 5-point Likert scale. Results Twenty-three of the 31 eligible providers (74.2%) completed the survey. Providers acknowledge that patients need weight management discussions and they feel comfortable and are willing to have these discussions. While physical activity recommendations were consistent among providers, they did not reflect the complete physical activity recommendations for Americans. Consistency in dietary recommendations was lacking. Although providers make recommendations for physical activity and/or diet at least sometimes, they rarely utilize other methods of weight management as outlined in the ACOG recommendations, such as referrals to other providers, programmes or medications. Conclusions Areas for improvement in weight management practices include frequency of counselling, consistency in dietary counselling and frequency of utilization of weight loss medications and referrals to ancillary services. These results can be used to aid the development of methods for targeting these deficiencies.
Scope of the Research

Our aims are to understand and predict school disorder so that we may suggest to policymakers and administrators a promising set of practical strategies to cope with delinquency and disruption in schools, and to find more efficient ways to prevent dilinquency in general. This book describes progress toward our goal by summarizing some ecological analyses of natural variations in the rates of disruptive behavior across schools. We seek to learn about the social behavior of human aggregates and the ways in which these behaviors are influenced by the characteristics of the broader community, the social composition of schools, and by specific practices and climates of the institutions involved. In contrast to most research on youth development or delinquency, the present research takes the school (not the individual person) as the unit of analysis.
The Formation and Structure of Synapses

Abstract The ability of neurons to send signals to one another is crucial for the function of the nervous system, but early scientists had no way of knowing how communication from one neuron to another occurred. We now take for granted that synapses exist between neurons, but before this could be verified using the advanced experimental techniques available relatively recently, there was debate among early neuroscientists about whether this was true. Some scientists proposed that neurons were contiguous with one another, much like capillaries in the body, while others concluded that neurons were in fact separate cells. This latter concept was called the Neuron Doctrine, which we now know to be correct. The junctions between neurons were given the name “synapse,” and the study of synapses has revealed ultrastructural details of synaptic structure as well as an understanding of how the nervous system assembles synapses during nervous system development.
Linking properties of an orb-weaving spider's capture thread glycoprotein adhesive and flagelliform fiber components to prey retention time.

An orb web's adhesive capture spiral is responsible for prey retention. This thread is formed of regularly spaced glue droplets supported by two flagelliform axial lines. Each glue droplet features a glycoprotein adhesive core covered by a hygroscopic aqueous layer, which also covers axial lines between the droplets, making the entire thread responsive to environmental humidity.We characterized the effect of relative humidity (RH) on ability of Argiope aurantia and Argiope trifasciata thread arrays to retain houseflies and characterize the effect of humidity on their droplet properties. Using these data and those of Araneus marmoreus from a previous study, we then develop a regression model that correlated glycoprotein and flagelliform fiber properties with prey retention time. The model selection process included newly determined, humidity-specific Young's modulus and toughness values for the three species' glycoproteins.Argiope aurantia droplets are more hygroscopic than A. trifasciata droplets, causing the glycoprotein within A. aurantia droplets to become oversaturated at RH greater than 55% RH and their extension to decrease, whereas A. trifasciata droplet performance increases to 72% RH. This difference is reflected in species' prey retention times, with that of A. aurantia peaking at 55% RH and that of A. trifasciata at 72% RH.Fly retention time was explained by a regression model of five variables: glue droplet distribution, flagelliform fiber work of extension, glycoprotein volume, glycoprotein thickness, and glycoprotein Young's modulus.The material properties of both glycoprotein and flagelliform fibers appear to be phylogenetically constrained, whereas natural selection can more freely act on the amount of each material invested in a thread and on components of the thread's aqueous layer. Thus, it becomes easier to understand how natural selection can tune the performance of viscous capture threads by directing small changes in these components.
A Feasibility Study on Utilizing Toe Prints for Biometric Verification of Children

Biometric recognition allows a person to be identified by comparing feature vectors derived from a person’s physiological characteristics. Recognition is dependent on the permanence of the biometric characteristics over long periods of time. There was been limited work evaluating the footprint as a potential biometric. This paper presents a longitudinal study of toe prints in children to understand if this biometric modality could be used reliably as a child grows. Data was collected and analyzed in children ages 4-13 years over five visits, spaced approximately six months apart, giving two years of data. This is the first footprint collection spanning this broad age range in children. Footprints were segmented into separate toe prints to examine whether current fingerprint recognition technology can provide accurate results on toe prints. Data was analyzed using two available fingerprint matchers, Verifinger and Bozorth3 from NIST Biometric Image Software (NBIS). Verifinger provides the best verification match scores using the toe prints, especially when using the hallux, the large toe. The hallux toe on Verifinger provides verification rates of 0% FAR and FRR for images collected on the same day and a FRR of 6.44% at a 1% FAR after two years have passed between collections. Additional longitudinal data is being collected to further these results.
Lactobacilli and other gastrointestinal microbiota of Peromyscus leucopus, reservoir host for agents of Lyme disease and other zoonoses in North America

The cricetine rodent Peromyscus leucopus is an important reservoir for several human zoonoses, including Lyme disease, in North America. Akin to hamsters, the white-footed deermouse has been unevenly characterized in comparison to the murid Mus musculus. To further understanding of P. leucopus9 total genomic content, we investigated gut microbiomes of an outbred colony of P. leucopus, inbred M. musculus, and a natural population of P. leucopus. Metagenome and whole genome sequencing were combined with microbiology and microscopy approaches. A focus was the genus Lactobacillus, four diverse species of which were isolated from forestomach and feces of colony P. leucopus. Three of the species--L. animalis, L. reuteri, and provisionally-named species “L. peromysci”--were identified in fecal metagenomes of wild P. leucopus but not discernibly in samples from M. musculus. L. johnsonii, the fourth species, was common in M. musculus but absent or sparse in wild P. leucopus. Also identified in both colony and natural populations were a Helicobacter sp. in feces but not stomach, and a Tritrichomonas sp. protozoan in cecum or feces. The gut metagenomes of colony P. leucopus were similar to those of colony M. musculus at the family or higher level and for major subsystems. But there were multiple differences between species and sexes within each species in their gut metagenomes at orthologous gene level. These findings provide a foundation for hypothesis-testing of functions of individual microbial species and for interventions, such as bait vaccines based on an autochthonous bacterium and targeting P. leucopus for transmission-blocking.
An actively controlled harmonic force generator

Abstract Low frequency harmonic force generators (HFG) are broadly utilized in a variety of applications, in some cases for generating desired harmonic force excitations and in others for canceling vibration caused by harmonic forces. Among various HFGs, those with rotating eccentric masses offer attractive weight-to-force ratios. This advantage becomes more pronounced especially when the operating frequencies are low (10–30 Hz) and the harmonic force amplitudes are high. A novel design is the topic of this paper which deploys four rotating eccentric masses, which are deployed to adjust the three key characteristics of the resultant harmonic force: the amplitude, the frequency and the phase angle.
Putting food access in its topological place: thinking in terms of relational becomings when mapping space

This paper adopts a relational, also known as a topological, approach to food accessibility—the idea that food spaces are best understood as relational becomings rather than as voids filled exclusively with mass (immutable materiality) and address (geospatial coordinates). It is animated by an experimental spirit, in terms of the methods employed, the data collected, and by how those data are brought together, which together better enriches inductive theorizing. The project looks at the daily macro-mobilities—trips from one GPS coordinate to another—of 70 Coloradoans, triangulated with qualitative semi-structured interview data. Data collection occurred over three phases: baseline interviews, which lasted approximately 45 min; 30-day study period, which involved using a GPS tracking app. on their mobile phones; and follow-up interviews that lasted roughly two hours. The paper, through inductive theorizing and methodological experimentation, contributes to the critical food mapping scholarship in three ways: first, by looking at rural and urban food environments and livelihoods (as opposed to focusing exclusively on the latter); second, by focusing on mobilities as opposed to fixities (an example of the former: mapping projects that reduce food access to Euclidean coordinates); and, lastly, by its conceptual innovations attributed to phenomena such as life course and geographies of care.
Parenting, privilege, and pandemic: From surviving to thriving as a mother in the academy

As women who have dual roles as parents and academicians, COVID-19 has presented new challenges and opportunities that have impacted our personal and professional lives. This essay provides insight...
Orchids diversity at RPH Ngebel, Ponorogo, East Java

The research on the diversity of orchids at the Ngebel - Ponorogo RPH area, precisely in the Ringin Putih and Gunung Picis Forest Reserve was done. The results showed that there were 20 orchid species were consisting of 15 epiphytic orchids that belonged to 10 genera and 5 terrestrial orchids that belonged to 5 genera. Epiphytic orchids found in the area grow on host trees such as Coffea trees, Ficus and Litsea.
Reconstruction of Fractured Glass by Laser Beam Interferometry

The matching of fractured glass fragments has been extended by von Bremen [1] to include the intrinsic heterogeneities referred to in the glass industry as “ream” [2]. Von Bremen used a fiber optics source to project a shadowgraph of fractured glass onto a photographic film that was then developed. Although this is a powerful method for comparing ream marking, the technique suffers a disadvantage in that the ream cannot readily be seen with the naked eye in all samples. It is readily apparent in container glass, lamp bulb glass, and drawn window glass. In other types of glass including float glass, the photographic film must be developed before it is known whether an image of the heterogeneities of the glass has been adequately recorded.
Developments in Computer Logical Organization

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some of the important steps in the development of automatic digital computer and data-processing machine logical organization. The logical organization of a computer system is an extremely complex subject involving a very large number of problems, each of which must be considered both individually and as a part of the over-all organization. In an imprecise way, the parallel or serial classification has to do with whether bits are read in and out of memory on a single line or on parallel lines and whether arithmetic and logical operations are performed on one bit at a time or several bits simultaneously. These are the considerations that have led to variable-field-size machines. Instructions are executed in a computer by executing a particular set of more elementary suboperations or microoperations such as logical operations, data transfers between registers, and various control and timing operations. Several techniques have also been devised for organizing a computer such that the computer user is able to microprogram these microoperations to assemble his own instruction set.
Recent Endocrine and Metabolic Investigations Relevant to Obesity

It will not be the objective of this report to provide a comprehensive review of current research on obesity. Such reviews have appeared periodically, a recent excellent example being the published report of a conference held under the auspices of the Fogarty International Health Center (Bray, 1973). The purpose of this review is to describe several recent developments in obesity research, which have excited the interest of those involved in the study of human obesity and which have particular relevance to diabetes and metabolism.
Why does controlling quantum phenomena appear easy to achieve

The introduction of optimal control theory and associated optimal control experiments have produced many successful results for manipulating quantum systems including those of high complexity. This paper discusses the reason for this attractive behavior, revealing that the search space landscape for maximizing the probability of making a quantum transition has no false extrema. Although real systems may not be fully controllable, this result provides the basis to explain the generally successful findings from quantum optimal control simulations and experiments, as well as provides a very positive projection of the future for the field.
Qualifying Times for the Boston Marathon

Patriots' Day of 1897 marked the first of what is now the oldest annual marathon in the world: the Boston Marathon. The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) operates this marathon in which runners fro...
The effect of vitamin A deficiency and dietary α-tocopherol on the stability of rat-liver lysosomes.

1. Vitamin A-deficient rats and pair-fed controls were maintained on either normal or raised amounts of dietary alpha-tocopherol. 2. Their livers were fractionated and ;free' and ;total' lysosomal phosphatase were determined in the various fractions. The rate of release of this enzyme was determined in the mitochondria-lysosome-rich fraction during incubation at pH5 and 37 degrees . 3. The deficient livers showed increased enzymic activity. 4. Prolonged incubation caused more rapid enzyme release from the mitochondria-lysosome-rich fraction of the vitamin A-deficient rats receiving the normal amount of dietary alpha-tocopherol than from the equivalent fraction of their pair-fed controls receiving vitamin A. Raised dietary alpha-tocopherol reversed this phenomenon.
Adaptive strategy for one-sided communication in MPICH2

The one-sided communication model supported by MPI-2 can be more convenient to use than the regular two-sided communication model and has potential to provide better performance. The MPI-2 standard gives flexibility about when RMA operations can be issued and completed. The current MPICH2 implementation employs a lazy approach, in which operations are queued up and issued in the later synchronization phase. This has certain benefits for small data transfers because of reduced network operations, but for large data transfers, issuing operations in an eager fashion could achieve better performance. In this paper we describe our design and implementation of an adaptive strategy for one-sided operations and synchronization mechanisms (fence, post-start-complete-wait, lock-unlock) supported by MPI-2, which combines benefits from both lazy and eager approaches. Our performance results demonstrate that our approach performs as well as the lazy approach for small data transfers and achieves similar performance as the eager approach for large data transfers. In addition, it achieves good overlap of communication with computation.
A continuous time model of multiple intermittent faults in digital systems

Abstract Intermittent faults are the largest source of failure for digital systems. In order to provide an engineer with a method for detecting intermittent faults, a birth-death model of the intermittent fault process is developed. This model is continuous in time and considers the case of multiple intermittent faults. It subsumes several models already reported in the literature.
Optimization-based design of polymer sheeting dies using generalized Newtonian fluid models

A polymer sheeting die design methodology is presented, which integrates finite element flow simulations, numerical optimization, and design sensitivity analyses to compute die cavity geometries capable of giving a near-uniform exit velocity. This work extends earlier die design methods to include generalized Newtonian fluid (GNF) models that represent the shear-thinning behavior of polymer melt. Melt flow computations and design sensitivity analyses are provided using the generalized Hele-Shaw flow approximation with isothermal power-law, Carreau-Yasuda, Cross, Ellis, and Bingham fluid models. The nonlinear equations for die cavity pressure are solved using the Newton-Raphson iteration method and design sensitivities are derived with the adjoint variable method. The die design method is applied to an industrial coat hanger die, in which a design parameterization is defined that allows for an arbitrary gap height distribution in the manifold of the die. In addition, die performance is assessed and compared for power-law and Carreau-Yasuda fluid flow over a range of die operating conditions. Pareto optimal die designs are also considered in this study. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:953–965, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers
The general employee scheduling problem: an integration of MS and AI

Abstract The general employee scheduling problem extends the standard shift scheduling problem by discarding key limitations such as employee homogeneity and the absence of connections across time period blocks. The resulting increased generality yields a scheduling model that applies to real world problems confronted in a wide variety of areas. The price of the increased generality is a marked increase in size and complexity over related models reported in the literature. The integer programming formulation for the general employee scheduling problem, arising in typical real world settings, contains from one million to over four million zero-one variables. By contrast, studies of special cases reported over the past decade have focused on problems involving between 100 and 500 variables. We characterize the relationship between the general employee scheduling problem and related problems, reporting computational results for a procedure that solves these more complex problems within 98–99% optimality and runs on a microcomputer. We view our approach as an integration of management science and artificial intelligence techniques. The benefits of such an integration are suggested by the fact that other zero-one scheduling implementations reported in the literature, including the one awarded the Lancaster Prize in 1984, have obtained comparable approximations of optimality only for problems from two to three orders of magnitude smaller, and then only by the use of large mainframe computers.
Maternal Depression, Parenting, and Youth Depressive Symptoms: Mediation and Moderation in a Short-Term Longitudinal Study

Although multiple studies find that offspring of depressed mothers are at risk for depressive disorders, there is uncertainty about the specific mechanisms that are at work--particularly with respect to modifiable factors that might be targeted for early intervention. The present work examines that parenting behaviors may operate as mediators, moderators, or independent influences on the development of youth depressive symptoms. One hundred one mothers and their early adolescent children participated in positive and negative interaction tasks. Maternal and youth self-reports of youth depressive symptoms were collected at baseline, 9-month, and 18-month assessments. Maternal history of depression was significantly associated with maternal-reported, but not youth self-reported, depressive symptomatology. Maternal positive and negative interaction behaviors in positive contexts were associated with higher youth self-reported depressive symptoms. Maternal positive interaction behaviors in positive contexts and maternal negative interactive behaviors in conflict contexts were associated with higher youth self-reported depressive symptoms. We found no evidence for maternal interaction behaviors serving as a mediator and little evidence of maternal interaction behaviors serving as a moderator of the relationship between maternal and offspring depression. Low maternal positive engagement tended to be more consistently associated with maternal- and self-reported youth depressive symptoms. The present findings suggest that characteristics of mother-child interactions that are associated with youth depressive symptomatology are pertinent to youth with and without a mother with a history of depression.
A Novel Design for a Jaw-Thrust and Head Immobilization Device and its Successful Testing Using a Human Simulator

Jaw thrust is a common maneuver performed by medical care providers to open and maintain an airway in an unconscious patient. This essential procedure not only occupies a significant amount of time for the health care provider, but can also result in physical discomfort (low back pain) or fatigue when it is performed for an extended period of time. A mechanical device would not only prevent fatigue of the provider, but it can also free up time to perform other necessary tasks in management of the critically ill patient. The aim of this study is to develop a novel mechanical device that can perform jaw thrust on older children and adults along with maintaining an open airway. The jaw thrust device includes an extension arm mounted on a base to be placed on each side of the patient's head. The mandible rest (jaw thruster) is mounted on each extension arm such that it can be positioned under the patient's jaw. A chinstrap with rubber tubing is placed on four points across the base. A jaw thrusting pressure on the mandible rest causes a rotational force on the chin straps. This opens the mouth without substantially tilting the patient's head. The device then maintains an open airway without any continuous attention. The supports on each side also immobilize the head in the midline and helps in maintaining the alignment of the cervical vertebrae. Finite element analyses of each of the components were done and a prototype was built for functional evaluation on a patient simulator. The device, when tested and applied to a human patient simulator in an 'obstructed airway state,' was able to open the airway evidenced by a cough reflex elicited in response. An 'airway opened' timestamp was also noted in the computer attached to the simulator.