cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Fungal Analog for Newfoundland Ediacaran Fossils

We propose that some of the more conspicuous Ediacaran fossils from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, including Aspidella, Charnia, and Charniodiscus, were biologically similar to members of the Kingdom Fungi. These organisms were multicellular or multinuclear, lived below the photic zone, could not move or defoul themselves, did not exhibit taphonomic shrinkage, and were not transported or moved. Aspidella, in particular, appears to exhibit indeterminate growth without a maximum size constraint, and appears to show growth zonations similar to modern mycelia. Other fossils from this deposit exhibit a fractal-like growth pattern. Together, these features falsify algal, lichen, and metazoan interpretations of these fossils, yet reflect characteristics of modern fungal mycelia. We emphasize that although no Mistaken Point fossil appears to be a metazoan, not all of the Mistaken Point taxa, and not all of the Ediacaran organisms in general, can reasonably be interpreted using a fungal analogy. Furthermore, the hypothesis that these fossils were functionally fungus-like need not imply that the organisms were members of the crown-group Fungi. We propose further tests for evaluating both this functional hypothesis and the phylogenetic hypothesis that these organisms were members of the total-group Fungi.
Brian E. Henderson: In Memoriam (1937-2015).

![Figure][1] My colleagues and I are profoundly saddened to report the recent death of Brian E. Henderson, MD, a mentor to many current and former faculty and students both in the Department of Preventive Medicine and in the Norris Cancer Center at the University of Southern California (USC
MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF UNBOUNDED MEDIA UNDERGOING WAVE MOTION

Abstract Dynamic interactions of localized systems with infinite surroundings initiated the study of mathematical modeling of unbounded elastic continua. A discrete numerical method is presented herein to evaluate the force-displacement relations for time-harmonic excitations of homogeneous infinite or semi-infinite media. The energy loss term due to outgoing waves, which is dictated by the Sommerfeld radiation condition, is calculated within a prescribed error bound. Finite element substructure equations are employed to perform those numerical operations which are the discrete analogs of integration of the field equations in continuum mechanics. In a frequency domain formulation the traction-free condition on the free surfaces of semi-infinite media (half plane or half space) is satisfied by introducing a similarity transformation on the dynamic stiffness matrices. It is demonstrated that nondimensionalization of the substructure equation leads to a marching algorithm on a geometrical series of frequencies. The dynamic stiffness matrices for the entire frequency spectrum are then calculated with the initial evaluation according to the finite element cloning algorithm. A numerical illustration is included in the paper with the results of the dynamic responses of a viscoelastic deleted half plane. An overall improvement in computational economy according to the proposed method (as compared with the available continuum or hybrid numerical schemes) is demonstrated.
Hodgkin's disease. Survival and histologic classification in a general medical center, 1952-1971.

A retrospective review of Hodgkin' disease at a general referral center from 1952 to 1971 was carried out. Available pretreatment biopsies were classified by the modified Lukes-Butler classification into histologic types by a single pathologist, who then reviewed the same material 6 months later without the knowledge of his previous conclusions or patient identification. There was 95% concordance between original and review classifications. The frequency distribution of age of diagnosis and sex were unchanged over the time period of the study. The frequency distribution of histologic types was also unchanged when 5-year intervals were compared. However, there was no case of the lymphocytic-predominance type in the first half of the study period, which was significantly different from the incidence of this type in the second half of the study period. Survival rates showed no improvement in overall patient survival over the time period of the study but significant differences in the survivals of patients with different histologic types were noted.
Three-Dimensional Boundary Layer on a Compressor Rotor Blade at Peak Pressure Rise Coefficient

A comprehensive study of the three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer on a compressor rotor blade at peak pressure rise coefficient is reported in this paper. The measurements were carried out at various chordwise and radial locations on a compressor rotor blade using a rotating miniature 'V' configuration hot-wire probe. The data are compared with the measurement at the design condition. Substantial changes in the blade boundary layer characteristics are observed, especially in the outer sixteen percent of the blade span. The increased chordwise pressure gradient and the leakage flow at the peak pressure coefficient have a cumulative effect in increasing the boundary layer growth on the suction surface. The leakage flow has a beneficial effect on the pressure surface. The momentum and boundary layer thicknesses increase substantially from those at the design condition, especially near the outer radii of the suction surface.
Genetic Variation in Two Populations of Dipodomys spectabilis

La variation des allozymes a ete etudiee chez D.s, dans deux populations afin d'examiner le niveau d'heterogeneite genetique intra et inter-population suite a de courtes distances de dispersion des 2 sexes
Transaction Costs: Are They Just Costs?*

What are the main effects of the cost of transacting, and what distinguishes them from other costs? In this paper it is argued that when transaction costs are positive, people are able to gain at each other's expense. In order to minimize the associated loss, people will agree to restrain themselves in various ways, and will erect social institutions to impose and enforce the restraints. Such institutions have no significant function when transacting is costless. The model presented here is compared with a stylized, costless transaction, Walrasian model to bring out some of the unique features of positive costs of transacting. Even though the Walrasian model asssumes that the cost of transacting is zero, some practitioners use it to analyze transaction cost problems. For instance, the Pareto conditions as obtained from a zero transaction cost model are routinely used for the assessment of advertising. It is sufficient to observe that ignorance is a precondition for advertising, whereas the Walrasian model assumes full knowledge of exchanged products1. The division of labor is a major contributor to the maximization of the total value of the resources used. A result of specializing is that the producers of a good are distinct from its consumers. Resources are required then not only for producing goods (and for shipping them to consumers), but also for effecting exchange - identifying potential buyers, describing the good to them, setting the terms of trade, and transfering rights. In much of the theory of perfect competition, particularly as developed by Walras and his followers, it is assumed that homogeneous commodities are traded at a point in space. Moreover, buyers are assumed to be fully informed regarding the attributes of every unit of every good, and know the market clearing prices of various sellers2. All units of the same commodity must, then, be traded at a uniform price. As the costs of effecting exchange in this model are assumed to be zero, resources are needed for 'production'
Carbon Sequestration Supply and Its Influencing Factors for Farmers Operating Fir in Chinese Southern Collective Forest Zone

Based on the Chinese fir management data of 202 households in Zhejiang,Jiangxi and Fujian provinces,we estimated the ecosystem carbon sink of Chinese fir using existing growth model and biomass conversion and expansion factor method.Then we estimated the influence of its carbon sink supply under different carbon prices,interest rates and timber prices,with the maximization of land expected value and the modified Hartman model.The result shows that: the optimal rotation age and supply of carbon sink have a positive relationship with carbon price,but has a negative relationship with interest rates and timber price.When the carbon price changes,the optimal rotation age of different site conditions in descending order are inferior land,medium land and excellen land;on the contrary,the supply of carbon sink in descending order are excellent land,medium land and inferiol land.The change of optimal rotation age and carbon sink inferior land is larger than that of medium land and excellent land.When the interest rate changes from 7% to 8%,the optimal rotation age and supply of carbon sink of excellent land remain the same,but the medium land changes when the interse rate changes from 4% to 5%,and the inferior land changes when the interest rate changes from 1% to 8%.When the timber price riss by 10% or decreases by 10%,none of the optimal rotation age and supply of carbon sink changes,and for medium land,the changes happen when the timber price decreases by 10%,but for inferior land the changes happen when the timber price rises or decreases.The conclusions are as follows: the carbon sink prices,interest rates,timber prices all have important impacts on the optimal rotation age and supply of carbon sink.There are significant differences with site conditions among elasticity of carbon sink price,elasticity of interest rate and elasticity of timber price when they change.The site conditions have an important impact on the optimal rotation age and supply of carbon sink by affecting silvicultural costs and volume of output.The worse the site condition,the more sensitive elasticity of carbon sink,supply.As the price of carbon sink,interest rates and the price of timber gradually rises,the carbon sink change of inferior land is greater than that of medium land and excellent land,but the amount of excellent land is greater than that of medium land and inferior land.
Teamwork Barriers in Japanese High-Technology Firms

Various authorities on R&D-marketing relations have suggested that sociocultural differences between R&D and marketing personnel inhibit R&D-marketing coordination [3, 6, 7, 8]. To test this hypothesis, Gupta, Raj, and Wilemon (5], hereafter denoted GRW, compared the perceptions of 107 R&D and 109 marketing managers. After analyzing these data, they concluded that “the widely held notion that R&D and marketing managers are simply ‘different’ and thus cannot cooperate with each other appears to have little substance” (p. 29).
Conclusion, Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love My Work-Discipline

In the preceding chapters, we have traced multiple apperceptions of immaterial service work, beginning with its moral and political valuations in eighteenth-century political economy and traversing its political economic, social, and aesthetic transvaluations through the nineteenth century. From the first, such work was associated not only with finance but also with dependence, servility, and fraud, and was fraught with problems of gender construction. Indeed, in the eighteenth century, writers figured financial instability as a particularly ambivalent mode of femininity caught between promiscuous and virtuous sexuality, as Sandra Sherman demonstrates in her study of Daniel Defoe and his Lady Credit, who seamlessly transitions between virgin and whore, always ready to begin anew.1 The central literary example is, of course, Defoe’s incongruous narrative Roxana, the Fortunate Mistress, but this feminine figure of credit appears also in a more vituperative vein in Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope’s excoriations of finance following the crash of the South Sea Company.2
A tutorial on storyboards

Storyboards is a relatively new technology from Apple that makes it possible to design and develop iOS apps more easily than ever before.
Virtual personalities: Using computational modeling to understand within-person variability

How can the same underlying psychological/neurobiological system result in both stable between-individual differences and high levels of within-individual variability in personality states over time and situations? We argue that both types of variability result from a psychological system based on structured, chronic motivations, where behavior at a specific point in time is a joint function of the current availability of motive affordances in the situation, current motivationally relevant bodily or interoceptive states, and the result of the competition among alternative active motives. Here we present a biologically-based theoretical framework, embodied in two different computational models, that shows how individuals with stable personality characteristics, can nevertheless exhibit considerable within-person variability in personality states across time and situations.
Maximizing Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Potential for Teaching Science Literacy to ELLs: Findings from a Professional Development Program

This chapter reports findings from a state-funded professional development program designed to increase high school science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge/skills of teaching Common Core State Standards (CCSS)-aligned informational texts to English language learners (ELLs). Teachers’ year-long reflections on their own teaching and peers’ pointed to the importance of teachers constructing their own pedagogical knowledge by figuring out classroom applications that made sense to them. Teachers discussed that learning about second language acquisition was pivotal for them to understand ELLs’ struggles as learners and the effect of English proficiency on informational text comprehension in science. As a result, they deepened their understanding about their role as teachers in helping ELLs access informational texts. Follow-up interviews a year later revealed that teachers developed and sustained new instructional practices and assisted their peers to adopt the newly acquired instructional strategies.
Strategies for validating satellite soil moisture products using in situ networks: Lessons from the USDA-ARS watersheds

There are a variety of soil moisture station designs and networks deployed throughout the world, each with varying applications and uses. For the purpose of satellite validation of soil moisture products, a dense network of soil moisture networks are required with soil moisture sensors at the near surface (∼5 cm or less) to correspond to the satellite footprints and signals. The USDA-Agricultural Research Service operates a collection of soil moisture networks as a part of the Long Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) network to this end. These networks have been used to validate products from AMSR-E, SMOS, Aquarius, and SMAP. A review of these results and a synopsis of successful scaling strategies are discussed.
Constrained Interpolation from a Convex Set

In many problems that arise in applications, one is given certain function values or “data” along with some reliable evidence that the unknown function that generated the data has a certain shape. For example, the function may be nonnegative or nondecreasing or convex. The problem is to recover the unknown function from this information.
CHAPTER 9 – Electrogenesis of the Resting Potential

This chapter focuses on the resting potential of the cells of the heart and vascular smooth muscle of the coronary vessels. The resting potential has very important effects on the action potential (rate of rise and duration), propagation of excitation, and automaticity. Factors that determine intracellular ion concentrations in myocardial cells include the Na–K-coupled pump, the Ca–Na exchange reaction, and a sarcolemmal Ca pump. The Na–K pump enzyme, the Na,K-ATPase, requires both Na + and K + for activity and transport 3Na + ions outward and usually 2 K + ions inward per ATP hydrolyzed. Cardiac glycosides are specific blockers of this transport ATPase. The Na–K pump is not directly related to excitability, but only indirectly related by its role in maintaining Na + and K + concentration gradients. The carrier-mediated Ca/Na exchange reaction may be driven by the Na + electrochemical gradient. The energy for transporting out internal Ca 2+ by this mechanism comes from the Na,K-ATPase. The Ca/Na exchange reaction exchanges one internal Ca 2+ ion for three external Na + ions while working in the forward mode in cells at rest. During the AP depolarization, the energetics causes the Ca/Na exchanger to operate in reverse mode, allowing Ca 2+ influx. The key factor that determines the resting E m in the absence of any electrogenic pump potential contributions and for fixed ionic distributions, is the relative permeability of the various ions, particularly of K + and Na + .
Low Energy Supergravity: The Minimal Model

This is a review of recent models in which N = 1 supergravity plays a role in the physics at the weak interaction scale. I focus on models with the minimal low energy particle content — the non-supersymmetric standard model, plus an additional Higgs, plus the superpartners of these. My contribution to this was done in collaboration with M. Wise and L. Alvarez-Gaume.
Generalized group-based epidemic model for spreading processes on networks: GgroupEM

We develop a generalized group-based epidemic model (GgroupEM) framework for any compartmental epidemic model (for example; susceptible-infected-susceptible, susceptible-infected-recovered, susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered). Here, a group consists of a collection of individual nodes. This model can be used to understand the important dynamic characteristics of a stochastic epidemic spreading over very large complex networks, being informative about the state of groups. Aggregating nodes by groups, the state space becomes smaller than the individual-based approach at the cost of aggregation error, which is strongly bounded by the isoperimetric inequality. We also develop a mean-field approximation of this framework to further reduce the state-space size. Finally, we extend the GgroupEM to multilayer networks. Since the group-based framework is computationally less expensive and faster than an individual-based framework, then this framework is useful when the simulation time is important.
Optimization of the Order Menu in the Electronic Health Record Facilitates Test Patterns Consistent With Recommendations in the Choosing Wisely Initiative.

Objectives Thyroid and rheumatologic autoimmune testing are areas where evidence-based guidance from specialty organizations and Choosing Wisely support utilizing screening tests for autoimmune and thyroid disorders prior to more specialized testing. Adjustment of the orderable options in the electronic health record (EHR) can influence ordering patterns without requiring manual review or additional effort by the clinician. Methods The menu was adjusted to reflect recommendations from Choosing Wisely to favor screening tests that automatically reflex to specialized testing on primary care providers' preference lists. Effectiveness was evaluated by reviewing total orders for individual tests. Results Shifts in ordering from individual screening tests (antinuclear antibody and thyrotropin) to ones that reflexed to specialized testing were observed in parallel with significant reductions in the corresponding specialized testing. Conclusions Optimization of the EHR laboratory ordering menu can be used to shift ordering patterns toward Choosing Wisely recommendations.
Data, Information, Knowledge, and Leadership in Complex Project Management

Challenges of complexity in project management have three dimensions: the scale of the project and supporting enterprise along with the variety of organizational disciplines, processes, and tools that might be used to execute the project; the external context the project is surrounded by, including social and political factors and market dynamics; and the uncertainties created by newness, originality, and innovation. As project complexity increases, the role of knowledge transfer in social networks becomes more critical, and the ability to visualize knowledge (as opposed to information) becomes paramount to project success. Success in complex project management comes from the role of human management and decision-making which drives a complex project from inception to completion. The relationship between knowledge transfer and project success, combined with dimensions of project complexity, requires different ways to visualize and manage the dynamics of a complex project. This paper summarizes a framework that relates knowledge transfer, project complexity, and improved decision making for project success. The framework is derived from theories in the systems thinking and complexity thinking domains, then linked to how project managers visualize and then communicate data, information, and knowledge.
Sex-specific effects of perinatal FireMaster® 550 (FM 550) exposure on socioemotional behavior in prairie voles.

Abstract The rapidly rising incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders with social deficits is raising concern that developmental exposure to environmental contaminants may be contributory. Firemaster 550 (FM 550) is one of the most prevalent flame-retardant (FR) mixtures used in foam-based furniture and baby products and contains both brominated and organophosphate components. We and others have published evidence of developmental neurotoxicity and sex specific effects of FM 550 on anxiety-like and exploratory behaviors. Using a prosocial animal model, we investigated the impact of perinatal FM 550 exposure on a range of socioemotional behaviors including anxiety, attachment, and memory. Virtually unknown to toxicologists, but widely used in the behavioral neurosciences, the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) is a uniquely valuable model organism for examining environmental factors on sociality because this species is spontaneously prosocial, biparental, and displays attachment behaviors including pair bonding. Dams were exposed to 0, 500, 1000, or 2000 μg of FM 550 via subcutaneous (sc) injections throughout gestation, and pups were directly exposed beginning the day after birth until weaning. Adult offspring of both sexes were then subjected to multiple tasks including open field, novel object recognition, and partner preference. Effects were dose responsive and sex-specific, with females more greatly affected. Exposure-related outcomes in females included elevated anxiety, decreased social interaction, decreased exploratory motivation, and aversion to novelty. Exposed males also had social deficits, with males in all three dose groups failing to show a partner preference. Our studies demonstrate the utility of the prairie vole for investigating the impact of chemical exposures on social behavior and support the hypothesis that developmental FR exposure impacts the social brain. Future studies will probe the possible mechanisms by which these effects arise.
The human dimension in contemporary biological research.

A symposium to remember the life of Raj Rajashankar and to highlight the many scientific achievements to which he contributed was also an occasion to reflect on the fundamental role of personal interactions in the research enterprise.
Adaptive model tuning studies for non-invasive diagnostics and feedback control of plasma wakefield acceleration at FACET-II

Abstract Beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) achieves the same energy gain in a single meter, for which conventional accelerators require several kilometers, however much work is still required to match the beam quality of conventional accelerators. The PWFA processes to be studied at the FACET-II facility will utilize extremely short (down to a few fs) high energy (10 GeV), high charge (few nC) electron and eventually positron bunches. The PWFA process is extremely sensitive to the detailed longitudinal current profiles of these bunches and it would be of great benefit to have precise measurement and control of these profiles. We present an adaptive model tuning technique for FACET-II to adaptively tune online models based on real time accelerator and beam data to continuously provide a non-invasive diagnostic which predicts the longitudinal phase space (LPS) of extremely short and highly compressed electron beams, which otherwise require destructive X-band transverse deflecting cavity (XTCAV)-based measurements. Based on simulation studies, our method has the potential for: (1). The development of a non-invasive longitudinal phase space diagnostic by adaptively tuning models based on non-invasive measurements such as energy spread spectra which could be recorded at all of the bunch compressors in the facility. (2). Utilize these diagnostic to perform model-independent feedback-based to achieve desired longitudinal phase space distributions. (3). Utilize the model-independent feedback approach to maximize energy gain while minimizing emittance growth and energy gain variance of the PWFA process by tuning accelerator parameters, while monitoring what longitudinal phase space the algorithm has found, information that will be useful for further analytical and simulation studies.
Cannabis Use and the Onset of Cigarette and E-cigarette Use: A Prospective, Longitudinal Study Among Youth in the United States.

Introduction Cigarette use is declining among youth in the United States (US), whereas cannabis use and e-cigarette use are increasing. Cannabis use has been linked with increased uptake and persistence of cigarette smoking among adults. The goal of this study was to examine whether cannabis use was associated with the prevalence and incidence of cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual product use among US youth. Methods Data included US youth ages 12 to 17 from two waves of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (Wave 1 youth n=13,651; Wave 1 tobacco-naive youth n=10,081). Weighted logistic regression models were used to examine the association between Wave 1 cannabis use and (1) Wave 1 prevalence of cigarette/e-cigarette use among Wave 1 youth, and (2) Wave 2 incidence of cigarette/e-cigarette use among Wave 1 tobacco-naive youth. Analyses were run unadjusted and adjusted for demographics and internalizing/externalizing problem symptoms. Results Wave 1 cigarette and e-cigarette use were significantly more common among youth who used versus did not use cannabis. Among Wave 1 tobacco-naive youth, Wave 1 cannabis use was associated with significantly increased incidence of cigarette and e-cigarette use by Wave 2. Conclusions Youth who use cannabis are more likely to report cigarette and e-cigarette use and cannabis use is associated with increased risk of initiation of cigarette and e-cigarette use over one year. Continued success in tobacco control-specifically toward reducing smoking among adolescents-may require focusing on vaping, cannabis, and cigarette use in public health education, outreach, and intervention efforts. Implications These data extend our knowledge of cigarette and e-cigarette use among youth by showing that cannabis use is associated with increased prevalence and incidence of cigarette and e-cigarette use among youth, relative to youth who do not use cannabis. The increasing popularity of cannabis use among youth and diminished perceptions of risk, coupled with the strong link between cannabis use and tobacco use, may have unintended consequences for cigarette control efforts among youth. Continued success in tobacco control among youth may require focusing on cannabis, e-cigarette, and cigarette use in public health, outreach, and intervention efforts.
Healthcare fragmentation and cardiovascular risk control among older cancer survivors in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death among 5-year cancer survivors. Survivors see many providers and poor coordination may contribute to worse CVD risk factor control. We sought to determine associations between fragmentation and CVD risk factor control among survivors overall and by self-rated health. We included REGARDS participants aged 66+ years who (1) had a cancer history; (2) reported diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia; and (3) had continuous Medicare coverage. Twelve-month ambulatory care fragmentation was calculated using the Bice-Boxerman Index (BBI). We determined associations between fragmentation and CVD risk factors, defining “control” as fasting glucose 40 mg/dL for hyperlipidemia. The 1002 cancer survivors (2+ years since cancer treatment) had mean age of 75 years, 39% were women, and 23% were Black. Among individuals with diabetes (N = 225), hypertension (N = 660), and hyperlipidemia (N = 516), separately, approximately 60% had CVD risk factor control. Overall, more fragmented care was not associated with worse control. However, among cancer survivors with excellent, very good, or good health, more fragmentation was associated with a decreased likelihood of diabetes control (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.61–0.99), adjusting for confounders. More fragmented care was associated with worse glycemic control among cancer survivors with diabetes who reported excellent, very good, or good health. Associations were not observed for control of hypertension or hyperlipidemia. Reducing fragmentation may support glucose control among survivors with diabetes.
Epac1 Requires AMPK Phosphorylation to Regulate HMGB1 in the Retinal Vasculature.

Purpose To investigate whether AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is required for the reduction of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) by exchange proteins activated by cAMP 1 (Epac1) in the retinal vasculature. Methods We measured AMPK phosphorylation in normal and diabetic Epac1 floxed and cdh5/Epac1 Cre mice. We also treated primary human retinal endothelial cells (RECs) in normal (5-mM) or high (25-mM) glucose with an Epac1 agonist and AMPK or insulin-like growth factor receptor binding protein 3 siRNA. We measured protein levels of AMPK, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and HMGB1. Results AMPK phosphorylation was reduced in cdh5/Epac1 Cre mice, suggesting that Epac1 regulated AMPK actions. High-glucose culturing conditions reduced AMPK levels in RECs, but the levels were increased by the Epac1 agonist, supporting the idea that Epac1 regulates AMPK. The Epac1 agonist was not able to reduce HMGB1 levels or increase SIRT1 when AMPK was blocked by AMPK siRNA, thus demonstrating that Epac1 requires AMPK to regulate SIRT1 and HMGB1. Conclusions Epac1 requires AMPK to increase SIRT1 and reduce HMGB1 in the diabetic retinal vasculature. This finding provides another pathway by which Epac1 may protect the retina during diabetes.
TrIgGering inflammation in multiple sclerosis

Myelin-reactive IgG complexes enhance proinflammatory activation of microglia in multiple sclerosis.
Reassessing glenoid inclination in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty with glenosphere lateralization

Aims Existing literature indicates that inferiorly inclined glenoid baseplates following reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) produce better outcomes compared to superiorly inclined baseplates...
Improvement of glucose metabolism following rapid weight loss after bariatric surgery and its impact on reduction of visceral abdominal fat versus free fat muscle.

Abstract Background Body fat distribution is highly associated with metabolic disturbances. Skeletal muscle plays an important role in glucose metabolism, as it serves as an important organ for glucose storage in the form of glycogen. In fact, low muscle mass has been associated with metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes (T2D), systemic inflammation, and decreased survival. Objectives To compare the relationship between visceral abdominal fat (VAF) and fat free mass (FFM) with the improved glucose metabolism after bariatric surgery. Setting University hospital, United States. Methods A retrospective review was performed of all patients who underwent bariatric surgery between 2011 and 2017 at a university hospital in the United States. In severely obese patients with T2D, we measured the VAF via abdominal computed tomography scan and we calculated the FFM preoperatively and at a 12-month follow-up. Data collected included baseline demographic characteristics and perioperative parameters, such as treatment for hypertension (HTN) and T2D, body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), glucose, and lipid profile. Results A total of 25 patients met the inclusion criteria. The average age was 52.5 ± 11.6 years. The initial BMI was 41.41 ± 5.7 kg/m2 and the postoperative BMI was 31.7 ± 6.9 kg/m2 (P Conclusion Bariatric surgery has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment modality for severe obesity and T2D. Our results suggest that at 12 months, there is a reduction in VAF and HbA1C without a significant loss of FFM. Further prospective studies are needed to better understand these findings.
Scholarship in the context of a historic socioeconomic and political turmoil: Reassessing and taking stock of CHAT. Commentary on Y. Engeström and A. Sannino “from mediated actions to heterogenous coalitions: four generations of activity-theoretical studies of work and learning”

Writing a commentary on the paper by Yrjo Engestrom and Annalisa Sannino is an important chance to invite these authors to a dialogue, and, quite critically, invite others to this dialogue and to a...
Qualified Immunity on Appeal: An Empirical Assessment

This Article presents results from the most comprehensive study to date of the resolution of qualified immunity in the federal courts of appeals and the United States Supreme Court. By analyzing more than 4,000 appellate decisions issued between 2004 and 2015, this study provides novel insights into how courts of appeals resolve arguments for qualified immunity. Moreover, by conducting an unprecedented analysis of certiorari practice associated with each appellate opinion, this study reveals how the United States Supreme Court has exercised its discretionary jurisdiction in the area of qualified immunity. The data presented here have significant implications for civil rights enforcement and the uniformity of federal law. They show that qualified immunity, when deployed, is a powerful tool in barring relief for plaintiffs. Moreover, they show that courts of appeals reverse decisions to deny qualified immunity far more often then they reverse decisions to grant qualified immunity, and that this asymmetric review is correlated with traditional indicators of judicial ideology, among other variables. Significantly, the data also suggest that the asymmetric review that characterizes appellate decisions is also present in the Supreme Court’s certiorari practice.
A Jackknife Empirical Likelihood Approach for Testing the Homogeneity of K Variances

A nonparametric test for equality of K variances has been proposed by developing the jackknife empirical likelihood ratio. The standard limiting Chi-squared distribution with degrees freedom of $$K-1$$ for the test statistic is established, and is used to determine the type I error rate and the power of the test. Simulation studies have been conducted to show that the proposed method is competitive to the current existing methods, Levene’s test and Fligner-Killeen’s test, in terms of power and robustness. The proposed method has been illustrated in an application on a real data set.
Digital diplomacy: Internet-based public diplomacy activities or novel forms of public engagement?

Digital public diplomacy or digital diplomacy can be viewed as an Internet-based amplification of public diplomacy activities or as a novel set of practices enabled by participatory communication technologies. This tension is addressed through thematic content analysis of the Facebook posts and tweets of six actors. Results indicate that although the vast majority of the digital diplomacy could be classified according to Cull’s taxonomy of public diplomacy activities (The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616: 31–54, 2008), several posts and tweets could not be well placed into the taxonomy. An exploratory technological affordances approach locates four novel activities: engagement–promotion, routine lifestyle diplomacy, personal reaction/reflection diplomacy and Internet meme diplomacy. These are proposed as a standalone public diplomacy activity classification, social digital media diplomacy. The study also supplies evidence for differentiating digital diplomacy actors prior to analysis of activities: two US, two Swedish and two Indian actors are distinguished according to perceived stance toward participatory digital culture and ostensible emphases placed on cultural diplomacy and establishing conversation with publics. Implications from the perspectives of communication and international relations are discussed.
Global Understanding of Complex Systems Problems Can Start in Pre-college Education

In this chapter, an argument is made for the importance of enabling secondary school students to build models for analyzing complex systems problems, to increase understanding of the myriad nonlinear feedback systems they will encounter as professionals and citizens. Secondary school students in some schools in the USA have been building such models for over 20 years. A sequence of natural resource depletion models is presented to demonstrate the types of system models secondary school students can and have built. Advantages such activities have for enhancing the mathematical analysis of problems normally outside the reach of the secondary school curriculum are discussed. It is argued that the time is ripe for secondary school students to experience instruction which, using current technologies, can provide a wealth of applications rich, real-world, relevant problems.
Development and characterization of abiotic stress tolerant Azospirillum.

Abiotic stress is one of the most important environmental constraints that limit survival and productivity of staple crops like wheat and maize particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Plant growth promoting bacteria ( Azospirillum ) are beneficial bacteria present in soil and forming associations with roots of plants. This investigation deals with the isolation and characterization of Azospirillum from maize roots. Azospirillum strain was identified by physiological, morphological and biochemical characters. These strains was identified based on morphological characters such as shape, and biochemical characters such as IMViC, urease were studied. Factors affecting growth of Azospirillum like temperature, salt stress, effect of pesticides and antibiotic tolerance were studied. The pot culture experiment was carried out to study the Azospirillum strain used on the growth of wheat plants. Salt stress has become an ever increasing threat to food production, irrigation being a major problem of agricultural fields due to gradual salinization.
Pilot study of rosiglitazone as an in vivo probe of paclitaxel exposure.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT • Paclitaxel and rosiglitazone are primarily metabolized by CYP2C8 and their in vitro metabolism by human liver microsomes is correlated. Probe assays that quantify the in vivo activity of CYP enzymes which are important in drug metabolism have been developed for use in clinical pharmacology research. A probe of CYP2C8 that is easy to administer and interpret may be valuable for individualized dosing of paclitaxel. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS • This pilot study demonstrates for the first time that there is an in vivo correlation between paclitaxel and rosiglitazone exposure. The finding, that a single rosiglitazone plasma concentration after oral dosing may explain significant variance in paclitaxel exposure, suggests that rosiglitazone may satisfy the requirements of a clinically useful in vivo probe. However, it is acknowledged that there is a need for further studies evaluating the use of rosiglitazone as a CYP2C8 probe and quantifying the relationship, in order to guide dosing of narrow therapeutic index drugs metabolized primarily by CYP2C8, such as paclitaxel. AIMS To evaluate the use of rosiglitazone and the erythromycin breath test (ERMBT), as probes of CYP2C8 and CYP3A4, respectively, to explain inter-individual variability in paclitaxel exposure. METHODS The concentration of rosiglitazone at 3 h and ERMBT results were included in a regression model to explain the variability in paclitaxel exposure in 14 subjects. RESULTS Rosiglitazone concentration was significantly correlated with paclitaxel exposure (P= 0.018) while ERMBT had no predictive value (P= 0.47). CONCLUSIONS The correlation between the exposure of rosiglitazone and paclitaxel likely reflects mutual dependence on the activity of CYP2C8. Rosiglitazone or similar agents may have value as in vivo probes of CYP2C8 activity.
The Neuroscience of Divergent Thinking

Creativity plays a role in innovation, development, and health. Recent research has used neuroscientific methods to study originality, novelty, insight, divergent thinking, and other processes related to creative mental activity. Findings indicate that both hemispheres are involved in divergent thinking, which is accompanied by both event-related increases and decreases in the neural activation. Divergent thinking seems to be associated with high neural activation in the central, temporal, and parietal regions, indications of semantic processing and re-combination of semantically related information. Most of the research in this area has been done in the last 10 years, and very likely refining and standardizing DT testing and scoring will lead to additional insights about creativity.
Library of congress subject headings: A review of the problems, and prospects for improved subject access

The shortcomings and limitations of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) are examined, focusing on problems of subject term specificity, inconsistent identification and selection of concepts as subject headings, retention of outmoded headings, inadequate cross-reference structure, and low level of indexing exhaustivity. These problems are attributable to both Cutter's Rules for a Dictionary Catalog (the theoretical model upon which LCSH are based), and the unsystematic manner in which LC has applied Cutter's Rules in constructing entries for its subject catalog. Methods of improving subject access in libraries, for both on-line and printed catalog environments, are discussed.
Quantifying Adaptive Performance Improvement in the Frequency Domain

A new input/output analysis technique is introduced to rigorously describe adaptive system performance in a frequency domain sense. Signals are decomposed onto orthogonal subspaces, representing individual frequency components, and spectral bounds for the prediction error are derived. The problem formulation compares adaptive system performance relative to a fixed, nominal system, providing a direct measure of the performance benefits of adaptation. Simulation of an adaptive identification algorithm is used to indicate the accuracy of the analysis method, showing that the subspace approach can provide substantially improved measures of algorithm performance.
Makerspaces: Top Trailblazing Projects: A LITA Guide [book review]

An up-and-coming library trend in libraries, makerspaces are community-shared facilities with tools and equipment, such as 3D printers, enabling participants to learn from the process of designing ...
Comment on "A Method of Earth-Pointing A4ttitude Control for Elliptic Orbits"

Therefore, the pitch stability chart, Fig. 2 of Ref. 1, obtained for g = 0.3 and g = 1.0 do not correspond to subregions of Fig. 1 of even in the case of arbitrary eccentricities, this pitch stability chart is only qualitatively correct. For comparison, the pitch stability chart for g = 0, found in a prior investigation, is shown in Fig. 1 of this comment. For the general case g > 0 two properties can be stated following from the theory of ordinary differential equations; e.g., Cesari: 1) The instability regions for g > 0 are subregions of instability regions for g = 0, 2) The time constant of the pitch control system is
Can routine electrocardiographic technique be simplified? Suggestion of a new method.

Abstract 1. (1) A new system of 3 orthogonal bipolar chest leads has been used in 28 normal subjects and 65 patients. 2. (2) Details on placement of the electrodes and criteria for analysis of the tracings are presented. 3. (3) A comparative study between these leads, the 12 electrocardiographic leads, the cubic system of vectorcardiography of Grishman, and the three orthogonal leads of Fischmann has been made. 4. (4) The three orthogonal leads supply data equivalent to those which can be obtained from the standard and unipolar limb leads, and unipolar chest leads; the patterns revealed by these new leads are significant. They permit recognition of the position of the heart and diagnosis of ventricular hypertrophy, bundle branch block, myocardial damage, and myocardial infarction. 5. (5) The usefulness of these new leads for routine electrocardiographic examination is discussed. 6. (6) The findings are discussed according to the dipole theory.
Differentiating ascending vestibular pathways to the cortex involved in spatial cognition

Vestibular information is an important factor in maintaining accurate spatial awareness. Yet, each of the cortical areas involved in processing vestibular information has unique functionality. Further, the anatomical pathways that provide vestibular input for cognitive processes are also distinct. This review outlines some of the current understanding of vestibular pathways contributing to the perception of self-motion in the cortex. The vestibulo-thalamic pathway is associated with self-motion cues for updating motor behaviors, spatial representations, and self versus object motion distinctions. The mammillo-tegmental pathway supplies vestibular input to create a cognitive representation of head direction. Self-motion and head direction information then converge to define self-location. By outlining the functional anatomy of the vestibular cortical pathways, a multi-sensory and multi-faceted view of vestibular related spatial awareness emerges.
Emerging applications of geometric multiscale analysis

Classical multiscale analysis based on wavelets has a number of successful applications, e.g. in data compression, fast algorithms, and noise removal. Wavelets, however, are adapted to point singularities, and many phenom­ ena in several variables exhibit intermediate-dimensional singularities, such as edges, filaments, and sheets. This suggests that in higher dimensions, wavelets ought to be replaced in certain applications by multiscale analysis adapted to intermediate- dimensional singularities, My lecture described various initial attempts in this direction. In partic­ ular, I discussed two approaches to geometric multiscale analysis originally arising in the work of Harmonic Analysts Hart Smith and Peter Jones (and others): (a) a directional wavelet transform based on parabolic dilations; and (b) analysis via anistropic strips. Perhaps surprisingly, these tools have po­ tential applications in data compression, inverse problems, noise removal, and signal detection; applied mathematicians, statisticians, and engineers are ea­ gerly pursuing these leads. Note: Owing to space constraints, the article is a severely compressed version of the talk. An extended version of this article, with figures used in the presentation, is available online at: http .-//www- stat. Stanford. ed«/~ donoho /Lectures/ICM2002
Application of the Algebraic RNG Model for Transition Simulation

The algebraic form of the RNG model of Yakhot and Orszag [J. Sci. Comp. 1(1):3-51, 1986] is investigated as a transition model for the Reynolds averaged boundary layer equations. It is found that the cubic equation for the eddy viscosity contains both a jump- discontinuity and one spurious root. A yet unpublished transformation to a quartic equation is shown to remove the numerical difficulties associated with the discontinuity, but only at the expense of merging both the physical and spurious root of the cubic. Jumps between the branches of the resulting multiple-valued solution are found to lead to oscillations in flat plate transition calculations. Aside from the oscillations, the transition behavior is qualitatively correct.