cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exponential tails and skewness of density-gradient probability density functions in stably stratified turbulence

We have measured the probability density functions (PDFs) of density fluctuations and of density-gradient fluctuations in decaying stratified turbulence, using a thermally stratified wind tunnel. The turbulence was generated by passing the flow through a biplanar grid at the entrance to the test section. The linear mean vertical temperature gradient could be adjusted to produce different stratification strengths. The PDFs of the density-gradient fluctuations exhibit extended exponential tails, while those for the density fluctuations are nearly Gaussian. As the turbulence decays away from the grid the exponential tails of the density gradient PDFs become steeper and the central rounded part of the distribution widens. The tail steepness scales approximately as $Re \lambda{-\frac{1}{2}}$ . Buoyancy forces are not the cause of the exponential tails, since when normalized in r.m.s. units the behaviour of the tails is independent of stratification strength. The vertical temperature gradients ∂θ/∂ z (measured using two cold wires) show a strong positive skewness close to the grid where the turbulence is most vigorous. This skewness is not caused by non-Boussinesq effects and is present for all stratification strengths. We propose a simple phenomenological model (similar to that of Budwig et al . 1985), based on stirring of fluid parcels advected in the mean gradient, to explain the presence of this skewness. The skewness observed by other researchers and their interpretations are discussed in the context of this model. The buoyancy flux PDF also shows strong exponential tails and is very strongly skewed. Both of these properties are consistent with joint-Gaussian statistics of the vertical velocity and temperature fluctuations.
Efficacy of a sensory deterrent and pipe modifications in decreasing entrainment of juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) at unscreened water diversions

Water projects designed to extract fresh water for local urban, industrial and agricultural use throughout rivers and estuaries worldwide have contributed to the fragmentation and degradation of suitable habitat for native fishes. The number of water diversions located throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed in California's Central Valley exceeds 3300, and the majority of these are unscreened. Many anadromous fish species are susceptible to entrainment into these diversions, potentially impacting population numbers. In the laboratory, juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) have been shown to have high entrainment rates into unscreened diversions compared with those of other native California fish species, which may act as a significant source of mortality for this already-threatened species. Therefore, we tested the efficacy of a sensory deterrent (strobe light) and two structural pipe modifications (terminal pipe plate and upturned pipe configuration) in decreasing the entrainment of juvenile green sturgeon (mean mass ± SEM = 162.9 ± 4.0 g; mean fork length = 39.4 ± 0.3 cm) in a large (>500 kl) outdoor flume fitted with a water-diversion pipe 0.46 m in diameter. While the presence of the strobe light did not affect fish entrainment rates, the terminal pipe plate and upturned pipe modifications significantly decreased the proportion of fish entrained out of the total number tested relative to control conditions (0.13 ± 0.02 and 0.03 ± 0.02 vs. 0.44 ± 0.04, respectively). These data suggest that sensory deterrents using visual stimuli are not an effective means to reduce diversion pipe interactions for green sturgeon, but that structural alterations to diversions can successfully reduce entrainment for this species. Our results are informative for the development of effective management strategies to mitigate the impacts of water diversions on sturgeon populations and suggest that effective restoration strategies that balance agricultural needs with conservation programmes are possible.
Healing in periodontal defects treated by decalcified freeze-dried bone allografts in combination with ePTFE membranes (I). Clinical and scanning electron microscope analysis.

Abstract This study quantitatively assessed radiographic changes in alveolar bone density by computer-assisted densitometric image analysis (CADIA) in periodontal defects that were treated with decalcified freeze dried bone allograft (DFDBA) alone or in combination with interproximal expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes (ePTFE). The radiographic changes where then analyzed for correlation with the clinically assessed changes. The radio-graphic changes were evaluated on standardized radiographs of treated sites treated prior to, 1 week after surgery, and 6 months post-operatively. 15 patients with one pair of bilateral interproximal periodontal defects of similar morphology and 3:6 mm in pocket depth participated. Analysis of the changes 6 months after treatment showed that the increases in density in the defect areas that received the graft were significantly greater than the adjacent areas (p <0.001). These adjacent areas, in contrast, demonstrated significantly larger loss in radio-graphic density than the defect area (p <0.001). The placement of DFDBA into the defects produced in itself significant increases in radiographic density, as illustrated by the results of one week which remained at six months. Utilization of ePTFE addition to DFDBA did not lead to additional radiographic gains in the defect area. While at one week the analysis suggested increased resorption by the combined treatment over grafting alone, such differences did not persist at 6 months post-surgery. Analysis comparing CADIA derived values for change with those of the clinical assessment revealed some associations. When categorizing outcomes of density measurements as equal to 0 or numerically greater than 0, changes in density showed a non-random correlation with clinical changes expressed by the distance from CEJ to the bottom of the defect (p <0.001) among sites treated by DFDBA. The corresponding correlation was not significant upon adjunctive treatment by ePTFE. Further analysis, however, demonstrated that the magnitudes of change by the different assessment methods were not significantly correlated. This may be an effect of the region-of-interest selection in this study. Further studies are needed to clarify the correlations between radiographic and clinical methods for assessing treatment effects.
Convexity of sample path performance and strong consistency of infinitesimal perturbation analysis estimates

A strong consistency of infinitesimal perturbation analysis (IPA) estimates for a class of stochastic processes satisfying certain convex properties is established. The approach is based on convex analysis of sample paths. Applications of the results to tandem and cyclic queueing systems are discussed. Possible extensions to more general systems are also illustrated. >
An examination of the impact of changes in federal policies on the landscape of educational research in the USA

In the past decade, there has been a dramatic shift in US federal policies toward the use of experiments and high-quality quasi-experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs, practices, and policies. From a funding perspective, the effects of the policy shifts are clear given the dramatic increase in the number of experiments launched in the field. In this study, we examined the effects of the policy shifts on published literature, which is critical given the goal of building a body of knowledge on which to base educational policies and practices. We found little evidence of change in the frequency of published experiments among a sample of top journals in the field from the pre- to post-policy eras. However, there were a large number of experiments published in the newly established Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness during the post-policy era.
Pure Red Cell Aplasia Associated With Parvovirus B19 Infection Occurring Late After Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation

Differential diagnosis for anemia late after allogeneic stem cell transplantation is broad. In this report, we describe a case of severe anemia secondary to pure red cell aplasia associated with human parvovirus B19 infection over 8 years after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Characteristics of parvovirus B19 infection and the immunosuppressed state after allogeneic stem cell transplantation are reviewed.
Williams' Paradox and the Role of Phenotypic Plasticity in Sexual Systems

As George Williams pointed out in 1975, although evolutionary explanations, based on selection acting on individuals, have been developed for the advantages of simultaneous hermaphroditism, sequential hermaphroditism and gonochorism, none of these evolutionary explanations adequately explains the current distribution of these sexual systems within the Metazoa (Williams' Paradox). As Williams further pointed out, the current distribution of sexual systems is explained largely by phylogeny. Since 1975, we have made a great deal of empirical and theoretical progress in understanding sexual systems. However, we still lack a theory that explains the current distribution of sexual systems in animals and we do not understand the evolutionary transitions between hermaphroditism and gonochorism. Empirical data, collected over the past 40 years, demonstrate that gender may have more phenotypic plasticity than was previously realized. We know that not only sequential hermaphrodites, but also simultaneous hermaphrodites have phenotypic plasticity that alters sex allocation in response to social and environmental conditions. A focus on phenotypic plasticity suggests that one sees a continuum in animals between genetically determined gonochorism on the one hand and simultaneous hermaphroditism on the other, with various types of sequential hermaphroditism and environmental sex determination as points along the spectrum. Here I suggest that perhaps the reason we have been unable to resolve Williams' Paradox is because the problem was not correctly framed. First, because, for example, simultaneous hermaphroditism provides reproductive assurance or dioecy ensures outcrossing does not mean that there are no other evolutionary paths that can provide adaptive responses to those selective pressures. Second, perhaps the question we need to ask is: What selective forces favor increased versus reduced phenotypic plasticity in gender expression? It is time to begin to look at the question of sexual system as one of understanding the timing and degree of phenotypic plasticity in gender expression in the life history in terms of selection acting on a continuum, rather than on a set of discrete sexual systems.
Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Infant Cortisol Reactivity

This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and reactivity at 7 months of infant age. Participants were 168 caregiver-infant dyads (87 cocaine exposed, 81 not cocaine exposed; 47% boys). Maternal behavior, caregiving instability, and infant growth and behavior were assessed, and children's saliva was sampled before, during, and after standardized procedures designed to elicit emotional arousal. Results revealed cocaine-exposed infants had a high amplitude trajectory of cortisol reactivity compared to non-cocaine-exposed infants. Infant gender and caregiving instability moderated this association. The findings support a dual hazard vulnerability model and have implications for evolutionary-developmental theories of individual differences in biological sensitivity to context.
Land hermit crabs use odors of dead conspecifics to locate shells

A series of experiments at two tropical locations tested the ability of land hermit crabs Coenobitu perlatus (H. Milne Edwards) and Coenobita compressus (H. Milne Edwards) to detect and respond to odors of dead conspecifics. An attraction array compared numbers of crabs attending hidden food odors and dead conspecific odors. Pit experiments tested crab shell-acquisition behaviors at different hidden odors. Bucket experiments confined crabs collected from various categories (feeding crabs, wandering crabs and crabs aggregated at dead conspecific odors) and tested behavioral responses to odors and an empty shell. Land hermit crab behavior at both sites was similar. Crabs were attracted to dead conspecific odors up to 10 times more than to food odors. Crabs attracted to dead conspecifics displayed significantly more shell-acquisition behaviors: touching other crab’s shells in an exploratory manner and switching shells if an empty shell was available. In buckets, crabs from each category switched into shells. Results are compared to previous reports of similar shell-seeking behaviors by marine hermit crabs in response to dead conspecific odors. It is suggested that responding to dead conspecilic odors for shell source location is an evolutionarily conserved behavior developed before hermit crabs became terrestrial.
Evaluating Shared Access: social equality and the circulation of mobile phones in rural Uganda

This article examines forms of shared access to technology where some privileges of ownership are retained. Sharing is defined as informal, non-remunerative resource distributing activities where multiple individuals have a relationship to a single device as purchaser, owner, possessor, operator and/or user. In the specific case of mobile phones in rural Uganda, dynamics of social policing and social obligation were mediated and concretized by these devices. Patterns of sharing mobile phones in rural Uganda led to preferential access for needy groups (such as those in ill health) while systematically and disproportionately excluding others (women in particular). The framework for sharing proposed in this article will be useful for structuring comparisons of technology adoption and access across cultural contexts.
Enterprise Content Management Should Be Academic

The ‘digital divide’ that was formed by a curriculum that affords no direct exposure to any business-oriented enterprise content management system and the surprising ubiquity and dependency on enterprise content management systems in business provided the motivation to class-test SharePoint as a surrogate for a university-supported course management system. The classroom test became the basis of a proof-of-concept model for a college-wide document repository that was conceived to manage most of the college’s departmental and committee documents, including those related to AACSB maintenance of accreditation. The use of a business-tested, enterprise content management system for academic purposes could narrow an academic/industry ‘digital divide’ and may remove an impediment to the adage “practice what you teach.”
THE ONTOGENY MODEL: EVIDENCE FROM L2 ACQUISITION OF SPANISH r

This study tests a model for L2 phonological acquisition, using longitudinal data from beginning learners of Spanish. The model claims that transfer processes decrease over time, while developmental processes increase and then decrease. The data for L2 acquisition of Spanish r largely support the claims. The analysis also reveals a hierarchical organization of processes in L2 acquisition and an interaction of the L1 and L2 systems. The study further demonstrates that the same processes underlie L1 and L2 acquisition and synchronic and diachronic phenomena.
A public key algorithm for ad-hoc networks

Security is an important consideration for many applications of ad-hoc networks. While security aspects of the routing layer have been addressed extensively, there is relatively lesser work on establishing a viable public key infrastructure, which is the basis for most security protocols. We present a distributed algorithm for validating the association between the network identifier of a host and its public key without relying on a priori shared secrets or a trusted certification authority.
Effects of superheated vapor and noncondensable gases on laminar film condensation

A boundary-layer analysis of laminar film condensation on a vertical plate has been carried out to study the effects of superheated vapor and noncondensable gases. For a pure, superheated vapor the effects of superheating on the surface heat transfer are accounted for by a simple modification of previously available results for saturated vapors. For a given temperature difference between the plate surface and the liquid-vapor interface, superheating increases the heat transfer to the surface, but only to a modest extent for most practical situations. Although free convection was not included in the analysis, its role has been estimated to be small. For noncondensable gases the analysis shows that the presence of a few per cent of noncondensable in the bulk of the vapor causes a great reduction in the surface heat transfer. The fact that the predicted reduction is substantially larger than that found experimentally indicates that free convection, which is not included in the analysis, plays an important role when noncondensables are present.
The Balkan Languages and Balkan Linguistics

The Balkans were the first linguistic area (sprachbund) to be identified as such. The concept was originally proposed to explain diffusion among languages that were genealogically unrelated or distantly related in terms of normal linguistic change as opposed to notions of corruption and impurity. The fact that the sprachbund cannot be as neatly bounded as the traditional language family has led to some calls for abandoning the concept, but it remains a useful heuristic referring to the results of historical and social processes of language contact. Recent conflations of areal linguistics and typology miss these processes, which are themselves grounded in speaker interaction. Issues of causation in the emergence of sprachbunds involve both language shift and language maintenance, influenced by various social factors playing roles. This review examines both the history and the current state of Balkan linguistics as a part of the study of language.
Analysis of time-sequential sampling with a spatially hexagonal lattice

The susceptibility of two-dimensional hexagonal sampling patterns to frequency-domain aliasing is analyzed under the constraint that the sampling be time sequential. Sampling patterns previously examined only for the case of a rectangular lattice are evaluated by finding the signal-to-aliasing-noise power ratio when the patterns are applied to white, ellipsoidally band-limited signals. Methods are developed for designing patterns that resist frequency-domain aliasing. With still images, hexagonal patterns may exhibit a 13.4% reduction in overall sampling rate relative to rectangular ones. With time-sequential sampling of spatiotemporal signals, we find that this advantage is not always present.
Estimation of the pointwise Hölder exponent of hidden multifractional Brownian motion using wavelet coefficients

We propose a wavelet-based approach to construct consistent estimators of the pointwise Holder exponent of a multifractional Brownian motion, in the case where this underlying process is not directly observed. The relative merits of our estimator are discussed, and we introduce an application to the problem of estimating the functional parameter of a nonlinear model.
Synthesis of 9-Substituted Triptycene Building Blocks for Solid-Phase Diversification and Nucleic Acid Junction Targeting.

Triptycenes have been shown to bind nucleic acid three-way junctions, but rapid and efficient methods to diversify the triptycene core are lacking. An efficient synthesis of a 9-substituted triptycene scaffold is reported that can be used as a building block for solid-phase peptide synthesis and rapid diversification. The triptycene building block was diversified to produce a new class of tripeptide–triptycenes, and their binding abilities toward d(CAG)·(CTG) repeat junctions were investigated.
Chemistry of the metal carbonyls—IX: Diene complexes of iron

Abstract The complex 1,5-cyclo-octadiene-iron tricarbonyl is described. 1,4-Pentadiene and triiron dodecacarbonyl react to give 1,3-pentadiene-iron tricarbonyl. The nature of the product fro, 1,4-dihydromesitylene and iron carbonyls is discussed. Reaction between isoprene and iron carbonyls has been reinvestigated. The new compounds α-terpinene-iron tricarbonyl and alloocimene-iron tricarbonyl are described. The preparation of a series of complexe [CH3CH:CHCH:CHR]Fe(CO)3 (R = CO2C2H5, CONH2, COCH3, CH, CHO) is reported.
On an instability exhibited by the ballistic-diffusive heat conduction model of Xu and Hu

We show that the constitutive relation for the thermal flux proposed by Xu & Hu (2011) admits an unconditional instability. We also highlight the difference between mathematical models containing delay and those that include relaxation effects.
Erwerb interkultureller Kompetenz in Kurzzeitauslandsprogrammen

Das Ziel vorliegender Studie ist, den Nutzen eines kurzzeitigen, tutoriell begleiteten Auslandsprogramms fur den Erwerb interkultureller Kompetenzen zu untersuchen. Dazu wurde eine Fallstudie durchgefuhrt: Zwei bilinguale, bikulturelle junge Frauen wurden wahrend und nach ihrem einmonatigen Auslandsstudienprogramm, das von einer US-amerikanischen Universitat in Leipzig organisiert wurde, interviewt. Die Interviews und die Kursarbeiten der Probandinnen in Form von Online-Blog-eintragen wurden mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse untersucht. Die Daten wurden ausgehend von Byrams (1997) funf savoirs und 29 Ziele ( objectives) interkultureller Kompetenz deduktiv kodiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Studierenden wahrend des Austauschs vielseitige interkulturelle Kompetenzen erwarben. The goal of this study is to examine the value of a short-term, faculty-led study abroad program in the acquisition of intercultural competence. To this end, a case study was conducted: Two bilingual, bicultural females were interviewed during and after participating in a one-month island study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. American university in Leipzig, Germany. Participants’ interviews and coursework, in the form of online blog posts, were examined qualitatively. Data was deductively coded based on Byram’s (1997) five savoirs and 29 objectives of intercultural competence. The results show that the students acquired various competences during their study abroad program.
Lynching in the West, 1850-1935

Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Search for California's Hanging Trees 1 1. Counting the Dead: Frontier Justice and the Antilynching Movement 23 2. The Greatest Good: Capital Punishment or Popular Justice? 63 3. In the Shadow of Photography: Copy Prints in the Archive 93 4. Signifying Bodies: Unblushing and Monstrous 133 5. The Wonder Gaze 173 Conclusion 201 Appendix 1. Case List of Lynchings and Summary Executions 205 Appendix 2. Selected List of Legal and Military Executions 229 Appendix 3. Pardons, 1849-59 237 Notes 239 Bibliography 275 Index 297
Energies and densities of electrons confined in elliptical and ellipsoidal quantum dots.

We consider a droplet of electrons confined within an external harmonic potential well of elliptical or ellipsoidal shape, a geometry commonly encountered in work with semiconductor quantum dots and other nanoscale or mesoscale structures. For droplet sizes exceeding the effective Bohr radius, the dominant contribution to average system parameters in the Thomas–Fermi approximation comes from the potential energy terms, which allows us to derive expressions describing the electron droplet's shape and dimensions, its density, total and capacitive energy, and chemical potential. The analytical results are in very good agreement with experimental data and numerical calculations, and make it possible to follow the dependence of the properties of the system on its parameters (the total number of electrons, the axial ratios and curvatures of the confinement potential, and the dielectric constant of the material). An interesting feature is that the eccentricity of the electron droplet is not the same as that of its confining potential well.
Management of giant omphaloceles: A systematic review of methods of staged surgical vs. nonoperative delayed closure.

Abstract Purpose Despite the numerous methods of closure for giant omphaloceles, uncertainty persists regarding the most effective option. Our purpose was to review the literature to clarify the current methods being used and to determine superiority of either staged surgical procedures or nonoperative delayed closure in order to recommend a standard of care for the management of the giant omphalocele. Methods Our initial database search resulted in 378 articles. After de-duplification and review, we requested 32 articles relevant to our topic that partially met our inclusion criteria. We found that 14 articles met our criteria; these 14 studies were included in our analysis. 10 studies met the inclusion criteria for nonoperative delayed closure, and 4 studies met the inclusion criteria for staged surgical management. Results Numerous methods for managing giant omphaloceles have been described. Many studies use topical therapy secondarily to failed surgical management. Primary nonoperative delayed management had a cumulative mortality of 21.8% vs. 23.4% in the staged surgical group. Time to initiation of full enteric feedings was lower in the nonoperative delayed group at 14.6 days vs 23.5 days. Conclusion Despite advances in medical and surgical therapies, giant omphaloceles are still associated with a high mortality rate and numerous morbidities. In our analysis, we found that nonoperative delayed management with silver therapy was associated with lower mortality and shorter duration to full enteric feeding. We recommend that nonoperative delayed management be utilized as the primary therapy for the newborn with a giant omphalocele.
Constituents of Evaluation Practice

Evaluation is a form of applied social science research that uses a set of skills and tools to determine the success of interventions. Five constituents of evaluation practice—behavioral, competence, utilization, industrial, and methodological—are identified based on the common attributes of professions. Methodology includes the application of methods, procedures, and tools in research. Competence refers to the capacity of evaluators (micro-level), organizations (meso-level), and society (macro-level). The behavioral constituent of evaluation practice concerns appropriate conduct, ethical guidelines, and professional culture. The industrial (supply) constituent concerns the exercise of professional authority to provide services to further client interests. The utilization (demand) constituent concerns the use of research results, including a demand for evidence to guide policy. Evaluators are preoccupied more with methodology than with the other evaluation constituents.
Moisture and Salt Tolerance of a Forage and Grain Sorghum Hybrid during Germination and Establishment

ABSTRACTSorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is being explored in California as a multi-utility, water-use efficient crop, but water and salt stresses are common in the state’s San Joaquin Valley (SJV). Experiments were conducted to study the effect of water and salt stress on seed germination and the effect of salt stress on the early growth of a forage (SS405) and a grain (NK5418) sorghum hybrid. Solutions ranging from 0 to −5.56 MPa and 0 to 25 ds m−1 were prepared using polyethylene glycol and sodium chloride, respectively, and germination was evaluated in these solutions. Salinity tolerance at early growth stage was tested on plants irrigated with solutions ranging from 0 to 20 ds m−1. Plants were harvested 6 weeks after planting and their aboveground biomass was recorded. Chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance were also measured. Germination was reduced by 50% in SS405 and NK5418 at −2.5 MPa and −1.5 MPa, respectively, and by 50% in SS405 at 19.3 dS m−1, but NK5418 had 70% germination even at...
Observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen

In 1935, Wigner and Huntington predicted that molecular hydrogen would become an atomic metal at a pressure of 25 GPa. Eighty years and more than 400 GPa later, Dias and Silvera have finally produced metallic hydrogen at low temperature. The metallization occurred between 465 and nearly 500 GPa at 5.5 K. Spectroscopic measurements verified that hydrogen was in the atomic state. The observation completes an unexpectedly long quest to find the metallic hydrogen that Wigner and Huntington predicted so long ago. Science , this issue p. [715][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aal1579
Levels in Er 168

12.0-MeV deuterons were used to study the levels in ${\mathrm{Er}}^{168}$ using the reaction ${\mathrm{Er}}^{167}(d, p){\mathrm{Er}}^{168}$. The ground-state $Q$ value for the reaction has been determined as 5541\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 keV. The ground-state rotational band has been observed up to the 8+ state. Members of the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ vibrational band have been observed from the 2+ state at 823 keV to the 6+ state. In addition, ten states of the $K\ensuremath{\pi}=4\ensuremath{-} \mathrm{and} 3\ensuremath{-}$ bands of the two-neutron configuration [633\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}521\ensuremath{\downarrow}] have been observed. Absolute differential cross sections for the population of these states by the ($d, p$) reaction are in agreement with theoretical predictions.
Liminality as Centrality: The Sicilian Eunuch Tradition

In this chapter, Birk examines the liminal figure of the eunuch in Sicily under Norman rule. He analyzes how these men served as a nexus for examining religious tensions and cultural intersections in medieval Sicily. The chapter explores how the phenomenon of the eunuch illuminates the ways in which Sicilian monarchs adopted the semiotic vocabulary of other Eastern Mediterranean rulers but molded the tradition, particularly with respect to the origin of the eunuch, to suit their specific needs. Birk uses the Sicilian eunuch tradition as an individual case study to illustrate a wide array of cultural adaptations in the Normans’ quest to create a Sicilian royal identity.
Complex system approaches to genetic analysis Bayesian approaches.

Genetic epidemiology is increasingly focused on complex diseases involving multiple genes and environmental factors, often interacting in complex ways. Although standard frequentist methods still have a role in hypothesis generation and testing for discovery of novel main effects and interactions, Bayesian methods are particularly well suited to modeling the relationships in an integrated “systems biology” manner. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the principles of Bayesian analysis and their advantages in this context and describe various approaches to applying them for both model building and discovery in a genome-wide setting. In particular, we highlight the ability of Bayesian methods to construct complex probability models via a hierarchical structure and to account for uncertainty in model specification by averaging over large spaces of alternative models.
Combined mutations in five wheat STARCH BRANCHING ENZYME II genes improve resistant starch but affect grain yield and bread-making quality

Increases in the proportion of amylose in the starch of wheat grains result in higher levels of resistant starch, a fermentable dietary fiber associated with human health benefits. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of combined mutations in five STARCH BRANCHING ENZYME II (SBEII) genes on starch composition, grain yield and bread-making quality in two hexaploid wheat varieties. Significantly higher amylose (∼60%) and resistant starch content (10-fold) was detected in the SBEII mutants than in the wild-type controls. Mutant lines showed a significant decrease in total starch (6%), kernel weight (3%) and total grain yield (6%). Effects of the mutations in bread-making quality included increases in grain hardness, starch damage, water absorption and flour protein content; and reductions in flour extraction, farinograph development and stability times, starch viscosity, and loaf volume. Several traits showed significant interactions between genotypes, varieties, and environments, suggesting that some of the negative impacts of the combined SBEII mutations can be ameliorated by adequate selection of genetic background and growing location. The deployment of wheat varieties with increased resistant starch will likely require economic incentives to compensate growers and millers for the significant reductions detected in grain and flour yields.
Reconsidering the Unusual Suspect: Immigration and the 1990s Crime Decline

The United States experienced a dramatic decline in crime during the 1990s. A number of explanations for this decline have been put forth, including demographic shifts, economic trends, stricter gun control laws, and changes in drug markets. A widely reported explanation is that the surge of immigration during the 1990s was the main cause for that decade's crime decline. Although the claim has received considerable attention, it has yet to be tested empirically using national-level data. In order to fully test the immigration-1990s crime decline relationship, we use national-level homicide and Census data from 1990 to 2000. Our results reveal four key findings: (1) crime declined for nearly all groups during the 1990s; (2) non-Latino blacks contributed the most to the crime decline, by a wide margin; (3) both overall and black homicide declined the least in areas with the highest levels of immigration; and (4) we find no evidence that immigration indirectly lowered non-immigrant crime rates by revitalizing communities. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings.
Uncertainty Ahead: Pell Grant Funding for Prisoners

The essay considers the fate of Pell Grant funding for prisoners. In the 2016 Presidential Debates, criminal justice reform was repeatedly discussed, with both sides arguing for reform. However, what reform looks like under Donald Trump is anything but certain. As he touts himself as a "law and order" president, one might speculate what this means for restoring Pell Grants for prisoners. This is particularly the case since he has threatened to dismantle or seriously weaken the Department of Education, which administers Pell Grants. With these variables at play, determining where education reform sits is uncertain, and is destined to remain this way. As this issue has fallen heavily along partisan lights, the essay concludes that the next realistic opportunity for change would be after the 2018 Midterm Elections, assuming the elections bode well for Democrats.
Putting the World in Orders: Plurality in Organizational Evaluation:

Sociologists have shown that external evaluation stimulates convergent organizational behavior, yet many evaluative practices are superficial or susceptible to manipulation. When does external evaluation lead to convergence in organizational fields? Organizations regularly and increasingly experience fragmented social orders based on orthogonal notions of value, or so-called plurality. I propose that the plurality of evaluative landscapes, that is, the universe of rankings, ratings, and awards in an organizational field, compromises the potential homogenizing influence of any single evaluative practice. Plurality in the evaluative landscape weakens the causal channels through which evaluative practices influence organizational behavior. Because evaluative activities are responsive to social conditions, plurality is suggested to be highest when organizations face multiple audiences, when the meaning of value is contested, and when access to evaluation is unregulated. Neoinstitutional organizational theory ...
From Excess to Economy: The Elements of Recovery

This chapter shows how our attempt to carve out a new landscape for understanding (and, indeed, speaking of addiction), implies a strategy for treating the illness. Specifically, any process of recovery or healing must begin from the individual’s capacity for self-understanding and the transformative power of the moment (Augenblick) to offset the fetish-like pull of immediate gratification. This recovery and healing must be conceived anew as a path recoiling upon itself in an elliptical orbit that returns, as it were, “each day” to anchor the individual in the “gifting” and initiative of freedom, of “choosing to choose” again and again. The self-inducement of this transformative way of temporalizing departs from the linearly based, clinically oriented model that is assumed as the theoretical premise of various treatment programs. The hermeneutic-phenomenological method redirects the individual to a path whose coordinates are defined as much by the challenge of discovering the meaning of life, as in submitting to any single model of treatment. In this way, the path to recovery lies in challenging each individual to re-examine his/her set of priorities and the freedom on which they are based. The challenge of rediscovering the self’s life-trajectory, of its striving for transcendence, opens a pathway of healing and recovery.
Black Skin, White Masks : Negotiating Institutional Resistance to Revolutionary Pedagogy and Praxis in the HBCU

Spencer’s work chronicles the evolution of a Black female professor’s revolutionary and liberatory pedagogy and praxis in her work at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and as a human rights activist. Through the utilization of the critical works of hooks, Freire, Fanon, and Frazier, Spencer celebrates the passion of engaging students in critical and revolutionary pedagogy. Simultaneously, the chapter analyzes the manner in which institutional resistance emerges from the situation of patriarchal and supremacist ideologies, that vilify “non-conformist” Black female scholars who engage “liberatory” and revolutionary approaches and action, within the HBCU academy.
Development of a Prompt Radiation Oncology Mediated Palliative Treatment (PROMPT) program for handling urgent cases at an academic hospital.

173Background: Oncology inpatients frequently need urgent palliative radiation therapy (RT). Evaluating and treating these unscheduled patients adds challenge and stress to all members of the radiation oncology team. To efficiently and compassionately address these situations, and ensure prompt, evidence-based, quality treatment, we developed the PROMPT program. This included scheduling designated consult slots for emergencies, adding flexible CT simulation times, assigning palliative-specific dosimetrists, and engaging support staff to improve workflow. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the PROMPT program with various quality metrics and identify areas for further improvement. Methods: Patient data from inpatient encounters for academic year 2016-2017 (July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017) were reviewed. The day of the consultation, reason for consult, date of simulations, and dose fractionation were recorded. Time from consult to simulation, and treatment initiation were calculated. Results: A total ...
Optimizing the structure and movement of a robotic bat with biological kinematic synergies

In this article, we present methods to optimize the design and flight characteristics of a biologically inspired bat-like robot. In previous, work we have designed the topological structure for the wing kinematics of this robot; here we present methods to optimize the geometry of this structure, and to compute actuator trajectories such that its wingbeat pattern closely matches biological counterparts. Our approach is motivated by recent studies on biological bat flight that have shown that the salient aspects of wing motion can be accurately represented in a low-dimensional space. Although bats have over 40 degrees of freedom (DoFs), our robot possesses several biologically meaningful morphing specializations. We use principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize the two most dominant modes of biological bat flight kinematics, and we optimize our robot’s parametric kinematics to mimic these. The method yields a robot that is reduced from five degrees of actuation (DoAs) to just three, and that actively folds its wings within a wingbeat period. As a result of mimicking synergies, the robot produces an average net lift improvesment of 89% over the same robot when its wings cannot fold.
Light-Dependent OCT Structure Changes in Photoreceptor Degenerative rd 10 Mouse Retina.

Purpose Using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to analyze the effects of light/dark adaptation in a mouse model of inherited photoreceptor degeneration (rd10), and to study dynamics of subretinal fluid during the progress of retinal degeneration. Methods rd10 and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J mice were reared in cyclic light or darkness and imaged with Bioptigen UHR-OCT or Spectralis HRA+OCT after adaptation to either light or darkness. Results OCT images from rd10 mice were analyzed at three progressive stages of degeneration. After light-adaptation, stage I (postnatal age [P]26-29) eyes demonstrated no apparent subretinal fluid. At stage II (P32-38), subretinal fluid was present and restricted to parapapillary area, while at stage III (P44-45) extensive subretinal fluid was present across many retinal areas. Following overnight dark-adaptation, WT eyes showed a large reduction in outer retinal thickness (4.6 ± 1.4 μm, n = 16), whereas this change was significantly smaller in stage I rd10 eyes (1.5 ± 0.5 μm, n = 14). In stage II rd10 eyes, dark-adaptation significantly reduced the extent of subretinal fluid, with the amount of reduction correlating with the amount of fluid pre-existing in the light-adapted state. However, dark-adaptation did not significantly alter the amount of subretinal fluid observed in stage III rd10 mice. In addition, dark-rearing of rd10 mice from P6 to P30 slowed retinal degeneration. Conclusions Visual experience in the form of light/dark adaptation exerts a significant effect on outer retinal structure in the context of photoreceptor degeneration. This effect may arise from light-dependent alterations in fluid transport across the RPE monolayer, and promote photoreceptor survival as induced by dark-rearing.
Adult social environment alters female reproductive investment in the cricket Gryllus firmus

The social environment surrounding an individual has the potential to affect not only external behaviors and actions but also internal physiological processes linked to fitness. We exposed adult female crickets to male calling song, which signals the presence of reproductively viable mates. Females exposed to male calling song boosted their ovary investment compared to unexposed females, suggesting that individuals alter their reproductive decisions to best suit the current social environment.
Proximal tibial physis fractures and the use of noninvasive studies in detecting vascular injury: a case report and literature review.

A fracture to the proximal tibia physis is a relatively rare injury, possibly because of the relatively protected position of the physis in the knee. Rarer yet is a displaced, apex-anterior, growth plate fracture. This injury should be regarded as a knee dislocation and evaluated for the potentially catastrophic outcome of a thrombosed popliteal artery. The risk of vasospasm in children from an invasive procedure (e.g., angiogram), however, must be taken into account. This article presents an unusual case of an anteriorly displaced proximal tibia physis fracture in a 14-year-old boy. A noninvasive solution for evaluation of the potential vascular injury is proposed.
Estimation of Item and Person Parameters

The MIRT models presented in this book are useful from a theoretical perspective because they provide a model for the interaction between persons and test items. The different kinds of models represent different theoretical perspectives. For example, the compensatory and partially compensatory models provide two different conceptions of how levels on hypothetical constructs combine when applied to items that require some level on the constructs to determine the correct response. Although the theoretical models are interesting in their own right, the practical applications of the models require a means of estimating the item and person parameters for the models. Without practical procedures for parameter estimation, the usefulness of the models is very limited.
Infrared Laser Window Materials

Publisher Summary This chapter outlines the optical and mechanical properties of infrared laser window materials. Windows developed for high-power infrared lasers must have extremely small losses so that laser heating of the window do not optically distort the laser beam or thermally fracture the window. Polycrystalline material has been prepared using conventional hot-forging techniques. In addition, polycrystalline fluoride windows have been prepared using a fusion-casting technique. In this method, a two-zone vacuum furnace is used to first purify and then to grow, by unidirectional solidification, windows as large as 25 cm in diameter. The growth process must be carried out very slowly to prevent cracking because the thermal-expansion coefficient is large for these materials. Zinc selenide holds great promise as a window material because of its many favorable mechanical properties and its broad transmission range from 0.5 μm to beyond 18 μm. It is found that the chemical vapor deposition process lends itself well to the fabrication of irregularly shaped optics, even though uniformity of temperature and growth rates would not be trivial problems for large areas or convoluted shapes.
Aging in Monkey Cerebral Cortex

This chapter will focus on aging in the nonhuman primate cerebral cortex. Essentially the review documents what is known about aging changes in the cerebral cortex of the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta, since this is the species that has been most extensively used in such studies. But before the existing information is reviewed, it is appropriate to consider what is known about the life span of this species, so that we can define the period of the life span when a rhesus monkey can be considered to be old.
“Je suis circonflexe”: grassroots prescriptivism and orthographic reform

This paper addresses the role of bottom-up prescriptive pressures in language policy debates and their interplay with institution-driven, top-down influences. I approach this issue through an analysis of social media data concerning debates surrounding recent orthographic reform in France. Building on Heyd’s (Lang Soc 43: 489–514, 2014) discussion of grassroots prescriptivism, I illustrate how French speakers on Twitter oppose the suggested changes through a set of common strategies. I argue that these strategies largely hinge upon the mobilization of particular discourses, especially that of the ideal French speaker. This ideal French speaker is presented as a figure with which speakers in opposition to the reforms may align themselves, thus casting those in favour of the reform as “bad” French speakers. The dynamic in these social media discourses shifts the traditional balance of prescriptivist power away from the institutional level and toward the public. I conclude by arguing that prescriptivist ideologies need to be understood in terms of the interaction of top-down and bottom-up pressures, and in this context the role of policymakers in language planning projects becomes more challenging.